Premiership 24/25 - Round 3

[Crash Hamster]

Tobias Elliot is very very good

Josh Hodge might have the worst defence of any 15 in the league, the calls for him to be in the England squad are crazy

Eye-catching (and lucky) in attack...

Obviously, he shouldn't be anywhere near England.

 

[Jimbo]

Tobias Elliot is very very good

Josh Hodge might have the worst defence of any 15 in the league, the calls for him to be in the England squad are crazy

Worse than Daly's according to most on here he is undeniably bad on D.

 

[West Country Wail]

Hard being a Chiefs fan at the moment. Shocking missed tackles and a 9 in slo-mo.

 

[Jimbo]

Healy has a point Willis is really starting to mature as a player has to be a serious contender for England now.

 

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

Willis was a england candidate before he left wasps imo
Sarries have the best backbone in the league starting wise at least

 

[Arcturus]

I don't want more Sarries being called up to international duty

 

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

Freddie steward had a very good start of the season imo, he looks a bit quicker and a lot more aggressive in attack and defence which has been nice to see

Furbank still starts but I feel Steward will get his chance again soon

 

[Jimbo]

Willis was a england candidate before he left wasps imo
Sarries have the best backbone in the league starting wise at least

I'd agree but he was just lacking a bit of maturity in certain situations and his time at Sarries has just rounded him a bit more, plus having some team mates in the setup can't hurt either.

 

[Jimbo]

I don't want more Sarries being called up to international duty

I can understand why a Sarries fan wouldn't want that, they've clearly had a great pre season, don't have the depth they once did to cope with international periods in the same way IMO.

 

[West Country Wail]

For Chiefs, I don't think it's too early to say next week's home game against Bristol could be season defining. A win picks them back up and gives them the needed confidence for Falcons and Quins, two sides who ware just waiting to pick off them off if their heads are down. Players coming back in will help but the coaches need to make the right calls. Both games followed the same pattern and it revolved around 9.

 

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

Chiefs are desperate for slade

 

[Becca]

Chiefs are desperate for slade

I agree. They're definitely missing a guiding hand.

 

[BPM]

I'd agree but he was just lacking a bit of maturity in certain situations and his time at Sarries has just rounded him a bit more, plus having some team mates in the setup can't hurt either.

Agreed. Willis is a class act and possibly our most natural number 8. He reminds me of Duane Vermeulen.

The dilemma in bringing him in is what to do with the rest of the back row? Earl wasn't great in NZ but has a lot of credit in the bank. The obvious move would be to shift Earl to 7 to replicate the club combination with Willis. However, I'm not fully convinced that he's as good at 7 as Underhill or Curry and he definitely isn't a 6. We also don't have a McFarland blindside to balance the back row. CCS is not totally dissimilar but aside from the lineout, I think he and Willis might be looking for similar work which would be tougher to balance. Right now, I'd probably be in favour of continuity with CCS, Underhill and Earl starting but I'd swap out Curry for Willis on the bench - at least until Curry regains the form to demand selection.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

6/7. Underhill/Earl (doesn't matter about the number on the back)
8. Willis

20. CCS

For me

Think we can allow for a little bit on an unbalance in the flanks because our second row options are so good

 

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

I'll be interested to see what Borthwick has in mind for Chessum

 

[BPM]

6/7. Underhill/Earl (doesn't matter about the number on the back)
8. Willis

20. CCS

For me

Think we can allow for a little bit on an unbalance in the flanks because our second row options are so good

For me it's more about the skill sets/distribution of work.

On paper, I like the idea of Underhill, Earl and Willis but in practice, I'd have question marks about who does what. Willis could definitely take the heavier carrying role and he and Underhill have the work rate and dog to allow Earl to have a bit more of a roaming role/link with the backs.

Who is our third lineout jumper though? Underhill very rarely does it and Earl is usually stationed in the back line as an auxiliary centre/for quick clean outs. Willis can jump, but I wouldn't have said it was a notable strength.

I know some will argue you only need two jumpers or that we have the second row to compensate. However, the Saracens back row works well as a trio because McFarland offers a complementary skill set to Willis and Earl and that includes a lot of the lineout work. I'd also argue that CCS has done well enough at 6 to warrant keeping his place.

Not a bad problem to have but there isn't a totally straightforward solution.

 

[BPM]

I'll be interested to see what Borthwick has in mind for Chessum

True. Chessum, Earl, Willis would be interesting.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Who is our third lineout jumper though?

I'll be interested to see what Borthwick has in mind for Chessum

Yeah, wouldn't be surprised to see him at 6
Gonna be tough fitting Itoje/Chessum/Martin into the same side - and I reckon Itoje probably takes the captains armband off George sooner rather than later

 

[BPM]

Who to play at lock is another nice problem to have. I think we need to look at this as trying to build the best possible 23. I don't like the whole 'starter/finisher' or 'bomb squad' terminology, but the aim is having 8 players on the bench who are good enough to start.