Prem squads 2017/18 season

[Not Mike Brown's Sock]

I'd argue differently:
9. Care - Still and England regular but would say he's got nothing on De Klerk
10. Swiel - Not got much much to say on him really. Wouldn't say he's much better or worse than MacGinty.
11. Visser - Yeah he's better than Odogwu
12. Roberts - Far past his prime while O'Conner, although not in his best form is still an incredibly talented player and I think he'll be revived at Sale where he'll get regular game time in his favoured position. I think JOC wins this.
13. Marchant - Yeah he's better than James
14. Yarde - Neither he nor Solomona can defend but Solomona offers far more in attack. Clear winner in Denny IMO
15. Brown - Brown hasn't shown good form in a Quins shirt for years. He is currently better than Haley but Haley could easily overtake.

Sale's dominance within the inside backs means that they'll create more chances for the rest of their team and I think will go on to have a better back line than Quins this season.

Salai vs O'connor in that case... Don't really know tbh, not making a point, but rather just gaguing opinion

 

[BPM]

I'd argue differently:
9. Care - Still and England regular but would say he's got nothing on De Klerk
10. Swiel - Not got much much to say on him really. Wouldn't say he's much better or worse than MacGinty.
11. Visser - Yeah he's better than Odogwu
12. Roberts - Far past his prime while O'Conner, although not in his best form is still an incredibly talented player and I think he'll be revived at Sale where he'll get regular game time in his favoured position. I think JOC wins this.
13. Marchant - Yeah he's better than James
14. Yarde - Neither he nor Solomona can defend but Solomona offers far more in attack. Clear winner in Denny IMO
15. Brown - Brown hasn't shown good form in a Quins shirt for years. He is currently better than Haley but Haley could easily overtake.

Sale's dominance within the inside backs means that they'll create more chances for the rest of their team and I think will go on to have a better back line than Quins this season.

I'm probably more critical of Quins than any other team, but personally I think we have the edge on Sale. I disagree that Sale have better inside backs. Care gets a lot of stick, but IMO he is a better player than De Klerk who has only genuinely shone in one season and may or may not be any good in English rugby.

My take is:

9. Care - see above. Not a world beater, but better than De Klerk IMO

10. Catrakilis - will be first choice ahead of Swiel. A bit of an unknown quanitiy but MacGinty hasn't looked outstandingly good in the Premiership yet. Evens.

11. Visser - better than Odogwu

12. Roberts - past his best. O'Connor has the ability to be far better, but the question is whether he'll perform to his potential? O'Connor with a big IF.

13. Marchant - better than James

14. Yarde - as Toby said they're poor in defence, but Solomona is infinitely more deadly.

15. Brown - all round game is currently better than Haley.

It's close. TBH, I think Solomona is the only one who is likely to be unanimous.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Addison is comfortably better than both marchant and James

 

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

Addison is comfortably better than both marchant and James

Said no one.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

We'll see when the prem starts up. Addison gets forgotten about because of his injuries but he's ridiculously good.
James is a play making 12 who has been playing 13 because of our lack of 13s
Marchant is a flat track bully. He's the backs version of will skelton.

 

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

What?

Have you seen Marchant because he ain't back version of skelton

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Yup, I have.
Skelton relies on his size and has suffered as a rugby player because he never rounded out his game because he didn't need to when he was younger.
Marchant relies on his speed. He's not as one track as Skelton, mind, but he's really overrated on here because of a decent u20s campaign (see: Marland Yarde, before everyone wised up).


We'll see how they turn out in the end anyway, this season will be exciting as there's a lot of youth talent coming through and getting more experience.
I'm on record as not drinking the Marchant koolaid, though, so I won't be swayed until I see it with my own eyes

 

[Pieter Steph du Teague]

Yup, I have.
Skelton relies on his size and has suffered as a rugby player because he never rounded out his game because he didn't need to when he was younger.
Marchant relies on his speed. He's not as one track as Skelton, mind, but he's really overrated on here because of a decent u20s campaign (see: Marland Yarde, before everyone wised up).


We'll see how they turn out in the end anyway, this season will be exciting as there's a lot of youth talent coming through and getting more experience.
I'm on record as not drinking the Marchant koolaid, though, so I won't be swayed until I see it with my own eyes

Is this true? After the World Cup campaign many had the opinion that you do now, that he's only got his speed and only had one good campaign. But after a season of a regular starting place he's rightly silenced most of those critics as he's shown to be consistently reliable in attack and defence. I think it's definitely worth mentioning that in the Quins victory against Wasps he utterly outplayed Daly. I'm by no means saying that I think Marchant is some God send that should be fast tracked to the England team but to say he's rated purely off of his "decent u20s campaign" is just not true.

 

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

Yup, I have.
Skelton relies on his size and has suffered as a rugby player because he never rounded out his game because he didn't need to when he was younger.
Marchant relies on his speed. He's not as one track as Skelton, mind, but he's really overrated on here because of a decent u20s campaign (see: Marland Yarde, before everyone wised up).


We'll see how they turn out in the end anyway, this season will be exciting as there's a lot of youth talent coming through and getting more experience.
I'm on record as not drinking the Marchant koolaid, though, so I won't be swayed until I see it with my own eyes

i mean i remember agreeing with you that Marchant didn't look much during the U20's but he has really shown what he is capable of IMO.

(also think Yarde whilst at Irish was pretty good.

 

[BPM]

Is this true? After the World Cup campaign many had the opinion that you do now, that he's only got his speed and only had one good campaign. But after a season of a regular starting place he's rightly silenced most of those critics as he's shown to be consistently reliable in attack and defence. I think it's definitely worth mentioning that in the Quins victory against Wasps he utterly outplayed Daly. I'm by no means saying that I think Marchant is some God send that should be fast tracked to the England team but to say he's rated purely off of his "decent u20s campaign" is just not true.

Exactly this. I couldn't have said it better myself. The Skelton comment was just plain bizarre.

Addison is a player I like, but I think Olyy may be slightly overstating it by describing him as 'ridiculously good'.

I don't think anyone here has made a specific point of hyping him up but I'm looking forward to Marchant justifying the praise he's been given.

 

[Scotty]

As a fully fit team I'd like to see:
1. Hepburn
2. LCD
3. Williams
4. Dennis
5. Armand
6. Ewers
7. Kvesic
8. Simmonds
9. Maunder
10. Steenson
11. Short
12. Devoto
13. Hill
14. Nowell
15. Slade

16. Yeandle
17. Moon
18. Francis
19. Lees
20. Waldrom
21. Townsend
22. Simmonds
23. Campagnaro
.

Where is dollman and turner for fullback. Dont agree with slade at FB. He isnt fast enough like the other 2 i just said.

Like him at 12. Thats his future i think
9 maunder
10 Steenson
11 Woodburn
12 Slade
13 Hill
14 Nowell
15 turner

I like steeno sladey then slade moves to 10, devoto comes on or campegnaro depending who's at 23. Where is armand? He is a must

 

[TRF_Olyy]

From what I hear Addison is going to be named as our captain this season. Happy with that, he captained well before his injury and I never really rated Beaumont as a captain.

If we spend big on a lock I can see Beaumont not making our starting XV, if he loses the captaincy. Strauss and Ross will have cost a lot, so will play as much as possible, Bryn Evans is probably the first name on our team sheet as he's been excellent for us, and then that leaves the other lock spot free. Hopefully Josh has been on an all steak-and-lard diet over the summer to pack on some mass and become a tighthead lock.

 

[Pieter Steph du Teague]

Where is dollman and turner for fullback. Dont agree with slade at FB. He isnt fast enough like the other 2 i just said.

Like him at 12. Thats his future i think
9 maunder
10 Steenson
11 Woodburn
12 Slade
13 Hill
14 Nowell
15 turner

I like steeno sladey then slade moves to 10, devoto comes on or campegnaro depending who's at 23. Where is armand? He is a must

You can't leave out Devoto. For me, if Slade isn't at fullback then he isn't in the starting team. Steeno's a better 10, Devoto's a better 12 and he's not a 13. ~I think Slade could turn out to be quality at FB if given time there.

 

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

From what I hear Addison is going to be named as our captain this season. Happy with that, he captained well before his injury and I never really rated Beaumont as a captain.

If we spend big on a lock I can see Beaumont not making our starting XV, if he loses the captaincy. Strauss and Ross will have cost a lot, so will play as much as possible, Bryn Evans is probably the first name on our team sheet as he's been excellent for us, and then that leaves the other lock spot free. Hopefully Josh has been on an all steak-and-lard diet over the summer to pack on some mass and become a tighthead lock.

I might be biased but i really think Beaumont should've taken the deal Tigers offered a bit ago.

 

[ratsapprentice]

Did Yarde have a good u20's career? Eh.... not really. He did have a very, very good season for Irish.

Is Marchant particularly/notably quick, no... really don't understand why you dislike him so much.

 

[BPM]

From what I hear Addison is going to be named as our captain this season. Happy with that, he captained well before his injury and I never really rated Beaumont as a captain.

If we spend big on a lock I can see Beaumont not making our starting XV, if he loses the captaincy. Strauss and Ross will have cost a lot, so will play as much as possible, Bryn Evans is probably the first name on our team sheet as he's been excellent for us, and then that leaves the other lock spot free. Hopefully Josh has been on an all steak-and-lard diet over the summer to pack on some mass and become a tighthead lock.

I agree on this. A couple of seasons ago, Beaumont looked really promising, but last season felt like a big step back. I'm not sure if the responsibility of captaining the side got to him or his injury was more of a setback than expected, but either way he was a shadow of the player he was in the 15/16 season.

It might be a bit unfair, but he just strikes me as too passive. Strauss and Ross bring a level of aggression and 'dog' that he just doesn't have.

Grobler is the only lock I've seen linked to Sale recently.

 

[Scotty]

You can't leave out Devoto. For me, if Slade isn't at fullback then he isn't in the starting team. Steeno's a better 10, Devoto's a better 12 and he's not a 13. ~I think Slade could turn out to be quality at FB if given time there.

I rate devoto highly. He is big strong and can pass but as a 12 i prefer slade. He is still dangerous has alot of talant and is a better distributor to bring the wings amd fb into the game. I just dont see him as a FB unless its req'd by injurt

 

[BPM]

I really hoped that the Argentina tour was going to be Slade's opportunity to show what an asset he is, but if anything he probably just confirmed why he's not locked down a place for club or country.

His assist for May's try in the first test was sublime and underlined his talent, but rather than build on that in the second test, he had an absolute shocker. I haven't looked at the stats, but he seemed to knock the ball on virtually every time it was passed to him and was poor in defence as well.

Had that been Billy Twelvetrees, he would have been castigated, but Slade seems somehow immune to criticism.

At his best he has moments of brilliance, but I'm beginning to wonder if his apparent flakiness/inconsistency is behind his failure to nail down one position at Exeter?

Devoto is less talented but seems to be much more consistent and deserves to start at 12 IMO.

 

[Chief Pete]

I rate devoto highly. He is big strong and can pass but as a 12 i prefer slade. He is still dangerous has alot of talant and is a better distributor to bring the wings amd fb into the game. I just dont see him as a FB unless its req'd by injurt

Personally think Slade will end up at 10 by the end of the season or he'll be off, he's not going to sit on the bench much longer and simply fill in when required, he should train as a FH for me and look at displacing Steenson in the next 12 - 18 months..

 

[Chief Pete]

I really hoped that the Argentina tour was going to be Slade's opportunity to show what an asset he is, but if anything he probably just confirmed why he's not locked down a place for club or country.

His assist for May's try in the first test was sublime and underlined his talent, but rather than build on that in the second test, he had an absolute shocker. I haven't looked at the stats, but he seemed to knock the ball on virtually every time it was passed to him and was poor in defence as well.

Had that been Billy Twelvetrees, he would have been castigated, but Slade seems somehow immune to criticism.

At his best he has moments of brilliance, but I'm beginning to wonder if his apparent flakiness/inconsistency is behind his failure to nail down one position at Exeter?

Devoto is less talented but seems to be much more consistent and deserves to start at 12 IMO.

The problem with Slade is what is he? their's 3 Chiefs fans in this thread, one says 15, another 12 and I say 10 and Eddie Jones played him at 13 against Argentina, he needs to pick a position and train for that position..