[2018/19 Heineken Cup] Round 1: Pool 3 (14/10/2018)

[TRF_Olyy]

They've not got jobs to go to in the morning so can get all buckfasted up on a Sunday afternoon

 

[TommiG88]

Sarries lucky there. 7 cleared beyond the ruck right in front of the ref allowing them to get a turnover. That should have been a penalty Glasgow and a YC for repeated infringements.

Where was Castres yellow for repeated infringements? At least there is some consistency even if it's wrong.

Although, on the first maul, the backs came in front of the ball carrier which was penalised for for Saracens earlier.

 

[Ragey Erasmus]

Itoje penalised for what Glasgow have been doing all game... Literally they never release the player before competing and barely ever support their body weight.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Nothing better than a side acting like dickheads after winning a penalty and then ******* up the lineout

 

[Hanley!]

There's no way that both these teams can lose, is there?

 

[Tooting Carmen]

Glasgow 3-13 Saracens FT. I think the score is a bit harsh on Glasgow actually.

 

[munstermuffin]

lol, just take the D and move on

Exeter lost two of their best carriers in the last few mins after they headbutted each other

Munster lost their best 9 and best back. So averages out

 

[Jimbo]

Reffing needs to become consistent the whole thing is laughable, it seems to me that GP teams have to be whiter than white at every single breakdown or face getting pinged, where as other sides can not release go off feet what ever and very rarely get done for it, not to mention the Gloucester try being disallowed and the scrutiny it went under, contrast that to Leinsters opening try (Kronen I think) did not have both feet behind the ball if that had been scrutinised in the same way would have been disallowed.

 

[Amiga500]

Reffing needs to become consistent the whole thing is laughable, it seems to me that GP teams have to be whiter than white at every single breakdown or face getting pinged, where as other sides can not release go off feet what ever and very rarely get done for it, not to mention the Gloucester try being disallowed and the scrutiny it went under, contrast that to Leinsters opening try (Kronen I think) did not have both feet behind the ball if that had been scrutinised in the same way would have been disallowed.

Its a bit different due to different officials.

We'd a french officiating team yesterday, and the interventions from the TMO were much reduced compared to the league. I think we'd have got a penalty try (when George Ford was binned) if that were a Pro14 match.

As for how the GP teams play the breakdown - that's 'cos, like the English national team - they don't pay enough attention to it so when the heat comes on they make mistakes - plenty of them.

Only ones who can handle the pressure cooker are Exeter and Saracens. Surprise, surprise they are the two English teams not getting whistled off the pitch for it.

 

[Narbz]

Saracens dominating Lyon apart from in the breakdown. A few turnovers already. I worry about England in the ruck in the coming Autumn Internationals...

 

[Reiser99]

Saracens dominating Lyon apart from in the breakdown. A few turnovers already. I worry about England in the ruck in the coming Autumn Internationals...

You're not the only one...trust me.

 

[dullonien]

Man that was frustrating from Cardiff Blues. Just needed some composure in the Glasgow 22, because they created loads of opportunities only to blow them on the final pass.

Saying that Glasgow were good value for their win, they were lethal ball in hand, and they were very clinical. Frazer Brown and Van der Merwe were class.

Blues need to find some consistency in their game. They're all or nothing atm.

 

[Bluemoon]

Man that was frustrating from Cardiff Blues. Just needed some composure in the Glasgow 22, because they created loads of opportunities only to blow them on the final pass.

Saying that Glasgow were good value for their win, they were lethal ball in hand, and they were very clinical. Frazer Brown and Van der Merwe were class.

Blues need to find some consistency in their game. They're all or nothing atm.

They looked extremely tired out there, from very early on in the game. Cardiff's defence has been based on a high pressure rush, and from the off it struggled to reach its usual insentiy against a decent Glasgow back line. The first two try's completely shocked the team, and they were working too hard to get their points from there. They were overplaying a lot.

I was confused as to why at 12/15 nil Cardiff went for the corner in the first half, when they had three kickable penalties. I heard that the commentary team blamed the wind, but for CAP standards, there was barely a breeze. The line out was infuriating. Incredibly poor in attack and defensive moves.

Credit to Glasgow for their attacking flare and taking their chances well with some decent running rugby. I will say though, when you are 20 odd points ahead and there is 8 mins to go, taking the whole slowing down to an obvious crawl when walking to set pieces or return kick offs was disappointing to see.

 

[Thingimubob]

Frustrating result, performance and all round spectacle yesterday as a Blues fan!

Blues created enough chances, but made so many errors in the final third - Glasgow on the other hand were clinical and score some lovely flowing tries.

The clash in kits was bloody annoying though, shocked the organizers allowed that to go ahead! Wouldn't say it affected the result, but made the game frustrating to watch - was especially hard to see who was who when the play was in the sunny parts of the pitch!

 

[General Melchett]

Frustrating result, performance and all round spectacle yesterday as a Blues fan!

Blues created enough chances, but made so many errors in the final third - Glasgow on the other hand were clinical and score some lovely flowing tries.

The clash in kits was bloody annoying though, shocked the organizers allowed that to go ahead! Wouldn't say it affected the result, but made the game frustrating to watch - was especially hard to see who was who when the play was in the sunny parts of the pitch!

The clash of kits was quite annoying. I read that clubs are required to submit two kits and are told which one they have to play in. Surely Glasgow in their usual mostly black would have made more sense but whoever made that call needs to have their eyes tested.

From a Glasgow perspective, Adam Hastings development is very encouraging. Seems to have a good all round game and isn't phased by stepping into Finn's boots. Good to have some much needed depth at 10 at international level too. Seymour at 15 also makes a big difference as Jackson just isn't as quick and dynamic. This made a big difference to the backline. Sam Johnson and Huw Jones also did great in midfield.

 

[Thingimubob]

The clash of kits was quite annoying. I read that clubs are required to submit two kits and are told which one they have to play in. Surely Glasgow in their usual mostly black would have made more sense but whoever made that call needs to have their eyes tested.

From a Glasgow perspective, Adam Hastings development is very encouraging. Seems to have a good all round game and isn't phased by stepping into Finn's boots. Good to have some much needed depth at 10 at international level too. Seymour at 15 also makes a big difference as Jackson just isn't as quick and dynamic. This made a big difference to the backline. Sam Johnson and Huw Jones also did great in midfield.

The talk from Welsh rugby media and the Blues is that on paper the EPRC apparently thought it looked fine and approved the kits in advance. Blues said they didn't realise how bad the clash was until they saw Glasgow come out of the dressing room, and their complaints to the officials were met with "it's up to the home team to change their kit" - apparently they didn't have any other kit to hand so had to stick it out.

Have a feeling we'd still have had a clash no matter what kit the Blues wore, as all 3 (Home, Away and Euro) share a lot of similar colours with that Glasgow kit. The white away one would've maybe been best, but there was still a fair chunk of white on the Glasgow kit so still wouldn't have been great.

Not heard much from Glasgow, though they got 5 points from a difficult away trip so doubt they're too bothered either way!

Adam Hastings looks like a hell of a player... Won't be long before we see him regularly starting (or at least on the bench) for Scotland I reckon.

 

[General Melchett]

Yeah I think Glasgow would have made the same complaint had they not come away with the wine. Yesterday's game was effectively a play-off for second place. I fancy Sarries and Glasgow to win the next double header against Blues and an out of sorts Lyon.

I think Hastings has moved ahead of Horne in the pecking order for Scotland's 10 and is a very good option from the bench. Felt for Anscombe who tried hard but too many handling errors from his team mates.

 

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

Why did Eddie pick Earl?
The guy hasn't even played in the prem?

It's almost like Eddie is quite good at identifying young talent...

 

[Thingimubob]

Well that game probably summed up supporting the Blues...

Pre-game: Fully expecting a battering, through a mixture of inconsistent form, injuries and the mad decision to pick a largely 2nd choice backline (3rd choice on the bench) vs one of the best sides in Europe... with two of our smallest players in key defensive positions at 12 and 15...

First Half: Oh... the Blues might actually have a chance? Forwards fronting up, defence up in Sarries faces, and Nipper scoring a beaut to cap off a very decent half.

Second Half: Ah. Business as usual.

It's not even the hammering that hurts most, it's the half time optimism...

Fair play to Sarries though, their intensity after half time was immense and they really played the conditions perfectly, and put the Blues to the sword every time they were given a sniff.

On the flip side, Anscombe really struggled with the conditions and his game management in the 2nd half was non existent. Doesn't help that he barely had a platform in the second half, and injuries during the match lost any sort of cohesion in the backline, but probably sums up why a large contingent of Welsh fans don't trust him to steer Wales home when under pressure!

If the Blues can keep the first half intensity up for the 80 mins then they could be in with a sniff next week at the CAP, but I'm not gonna let myself get dragged into the cycle of optimism and despair again...

 

[CraigWarrior]

Think somebody needs to get to a certain point to beat the Sarries. We stopped them more or less in our game. Cardiff did not. But we did not look anything like dangerous against them, Cardiff did.