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After losing to Bath, this is going to be a big round for Quins. Not the ideal time to be playing away from home missing SIX of our best players.
Smith and Baxter will be the biggest losses and it's frustrating to lose Dombrandt and CCS when I think the former only has an outside chance of featuring in the AIs. I'd also question the logic behind Marler's call up when other, younger players are in form and should be getting a shot (Obano being the obvious one). In theory, Wyn Jones should be great cover, but he hasn't looked anything like he was as a Lions tourist so far. On the plus side, Beard has started the season really well Northmore is more easily covered for. Arguably, he was more deserving of a call-up than Luke.
The backs should be fine. Porter, Evans, Murley, Anyanwu, Beard, Isgro, Green is still a very handy back line with good options in Joseph, David and Halfpenny. My concern is whether they will get any kind of platform. Our scrum has been under the pump with Lamositele not impressing so far so losing Baxter and Marler is not helpful. Neither is losing Dombrandt's control at the base.
I think we can pull off a win, but Exeter have to come good sometime and I feel like they have the power game to make life difficult for us up front.
Yes. Particularly considering Bristol are only losing a couple to England.Saints sob story is that we'll have these injured or missing through England camp:
4 Lockett
5 Coles
6 Graham
7
8 Augustus
9 Mitchell
10 F Smith
11 sleightholme
12 Dingwall
13 Burger O
14 Freeman
15 Furbank
That's basically 11 or our starting 23 out and really only Graham and Lockett are potential bench players meaning 9 of our starting 15 are missing.
Just ridiculous.
That's possibly a little kind to us … in the forward we'll be missing our 1st and 2nd choice looseheads and our 8. The issue isn't the number we're losing, more the quality + the fact that it's two in one key position with a big step down to our back ups.You find us at our lowest ebb without some of our influential players too and the young heads might not be able to take the pressure of delivering at home with so much riding on it. That said, Vermeulen will be back and if we use Cairns at 9 from the start, we might see something different. If our pack can't match your second string (is that fair?) then the plan has not worked and it would not be out of this world to hear disgruntled noises from the fans come the end.
I also think they can do it and they bloody well should be too.
I just hope we can pull it together, I'm still bitter about last weekend. We need to front up and put in a big performance, if we lose 6 on the bounce it will be devastating to say how we started last season.After losing to Bath, this is going to be a big round for Quins. Not the ideal time to be playing away from home missing SIX of our best players.
Smith and Baxter will be the biggest losses and it's frustrating to lose Dombrandt and CCS when I think the former only has an outside chance of featuring in the AIs. I'd also question the logic behind Marler's call up when other, younger players are in form and should be getting a shot (Obano being the obvious one). In theory, Wyn Jones should be great cover, but he hasn't looked anything like he was as a Lions tourist so far. On the plus side, Beard has started the season really well Northmore is more easily covered for. Arguably, he was more deserving of a call-up than Luke.
The backs should be fine. Porter, Evans, Murley, Anyanwu, Beard, Isgro, Green is still a very handy back line with good options in Joseph, David and Halfpenny. My concern is whether they will get any kind of platform. Our scrum has been under the pump with Lamositele not impressing so far so losing Baxter and Marler is not helpful. Neither is losing Dombrandt's control at the base.
I think we can pull off a win, but Exeter have to come good sometime and I feel like they have the power game to make life difficult for us up front.
Calm down mate. No need to get so worked up."Fewer clashes" =/= "no clashes", whilst "no clashes" was never proposed by anyone other than fans who couldn't do the maths.
Losing 3 teams saves 6 weekends. There used to be what? 8 clashes? 9?
8 or 9 is still more than 6
Oh, and the "point" was never to avoid clashes with internationals, the "point" was 3 clubs going bust, 13 always being a stupid number for a league, and to give us a more competitive league.
But given the number of times this has had to be spelled out, I suspect you already knows all of that, but just prefer logical fallacies to express unhappiness.
Your second point has some validity. However, it's not the RFU relying on the largesse of wealthy owners to service its debt. (Worth noting, again, that the clibs can afford to do the same, and can be sustainable on their income - they actively choose not to be - then get screwed when their owner changes their mind, or simply stops whilst they're already committed)
I just hope we can pull it together, I'm still bitter about last weekend. We need to front up and put in a big performance, if we lose 6 on the bounce it will be devastating to say how we started last season.
How the hell is Slade with England? If he is fit then get some gametime in with us, if he isn't then it's a huge risk putting him in camp.
I've got some bad news for you Olly - bad news for both sides...We've just signed a hooker (Tadgh McElroy) with immediate effect so I guess that solves that issue