Premiership Rugby 21/22 - Rd 1

[BPM]

Kristen is a good stand in.



Also see Simpson on loan to Sarries for a month.
Am I the only one who finds that really odd?
Even if Gloucester are backing their youngsters why would you help a rival club, Simpson might be getting on but he's still capable of helping out a team.

The only way it makes sense is if it's a trail and Saracens have the option of taking Simpson for the season freeing up cap for Gloucester.

Covering the van Zyl ban I imagine. Still very generous from Gloucester …

 

[BPM]

Thats a fair assessment of where we are. Anything more than midtable would be a bonus. However i still think as a side we do better against sides like yourselves than we tend to do against drilled sides like Exeter and Saracens.

We beat you at home last season and i think it'll be very interesting to see how this one goes.

Only just and with a pretty contentious penalty …

You've improved since then for sure, but I'd argue we have improved fair bit more.

 

[Not Mike Brown's Sock]

Only just and with a pretty contentious penalty …

You've improved since then for sure, but I'd argue we have improved fair bit more.

Agree with BPM that in theory we should be looking for a fairly strong win here. But then again, this is Quins so we could equally go in with a big deficit at half time, put in an amazing performance in the last 20 but it not be enough to claw it back.

 

[BPM]

In the past, we might have thought it was OK to win our home games and a couple of away fixtures, but if we want to make our ***le win into more of a lasting challenge at the top of the league, we need to think differently (and I think we do).

I used to think 'we can beat anyone on our day', but I didn't really trust our day to come around that often - definitely not against the top 6 sides. Now though, we know we can beat anyone in the league and should be aiming to build upon the consistency we showed in the second half of last season.

 

[BPM]

Why is 't i t l e' coming up as ***le haha? Hardly the most profane word around …

 

[Geordie]

Why is 't i t l e' coming up as ***le haha? Hardly the most profane word around …

It does it for lots of words....i couldnt use the word... n.i.g.g.l.e - just gave me ****le

 

[Geordie]

In the past, we might have thought it was OK to win our home games and a couple of away fixtures, but if we want to make our ***le win into more of a lasting challenge at the top of the league, we need to think differently (and I think we do).

I used to think 'we can beat anyone on our day', but I didn't really trust our day to come around that often - definitely not against the top 6 sides. Now though, we know we can beat anyone in the league and should be aiming to build upon the consistency we showed in the second half of last season.

BPM, do you think you can retain the ***le?

If its not us (which aint going to happen) , i hope you do over the usual suspects. ...

The biggest question for me is around injuries / Call ups. Many of your players are on the radar now...and no doubt Uncle Eddie and others will be swooping. Can you cope without key players...and just how many will you actually be without Smith, Louw, Kenningham, Marchant, Lynagh if called up by Australia etc etc....

 

[BPM]

I'd love to say yes, but realistically I don't think we can retain the ***le.

As you say, call-ups could be our main enemy. I really want Smith, Marchant and Dombrandt to get a proper shot with England as I think all three are genuinely our best options in their position, but it will hurt Quins in the bargain. It wouldn't be the amount of call-ups, more their importance to our team.

Probably too soon for Kenningham given England's back row depth and hopefully Evans is back in a couple of months too. Could be a real tug of war for Lynagh.

Can we cope? To a degree, yes. With Allan joining, we've gone from having the least capable back up 10 in the league to arguably the best. I think he will more than cover for Smith. The possible issue is that he gets called-up for Italy and we end up relying on Edwards who is really a 7s player finding his way. Not a dig at him, but a player on a learning curve is not what you need as your creative fulcrum.

I think Northmore and Jones are excellent competition/cover for Marchant. Dombrandt is much harder to replace … he's fairly unique and a big contributor to our style of play. James Chisholm is a top player (very underrated IMO) who can capably cover 8 but there are real questions over his durability. Maybe Taulani our new Tongan turns out to be an inspired find from Matson?

My gut feel is that we have enough depth and quality to cope if Allan isn't called-up. If he is, we'll struggle.

My prediction is that we do fairly well for most of the season and then go on a late surge to make the play-offs. If that happens, all bets are off.

 

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

George Ford @ 40/1 top points scorer.
Basically a 40/1 bet on if Ford is picked for England tbh

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Alex Sanderson warns Sale players against risk of not getting vaccinated, saying jobs may be on the line

Exclusive: Sale Sharks director of rugby says he is being 'brutally honest' with players as risk of Covid-19 refuses to go away

www.telegraph.co.uk

Looks like the same question was asked of all the DoRs at their press day - looking forward to seeing how Baxter tackles it at theirs

Sanderson, Skivington, Hooper and Borthwick all said their squads are in the 85% region atm, mostly just waiting for the younger guys to get their 2nd to bring it up to 100%

 

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

Alex Sanderson warns Sale players against risk of not getting vaccinated, saying jobs may be on the line

Exclusive: Sale Sharks director of rugby says he is being 'brutally honest' with players as risk of Covid-19 refuses to go away

www.telegraph.co.uk

Looks like the same question was asked of all the DoRs at their press day - looking forward to seeing how Baxter tackles it at theirs

Honestly with how Exeter are i'm expecting a horse de-wormer sponsorship

 

[Which Tyler]

Honestly with how Exeter are i'm expecting a horse de-wormer sponsorship

To be fair, ivermectin has it's uses in human medicine as well - mostly as a topical cream for parasitic skin infections, but hey.

Sanderson, Skivington, Hooper and Borthwick all said their squads are in the 85% region atm, mostly just waiting for the younger guys to get their 2nd to bring it up to 100%

Is that from the article? Can you pull quotes?

What I'd like to see is RFU/PRL saying no crowds until squads are 85% fully vaccinated

 

[Don't Skip Leg Day]

Well if people are double jabbed (which I am) you can still pass it on and still get it. So why would it make any difference to anything. All the risks of passing it on to vulnerable people etc won't go away and it must be a nightmare for the prem to know how to deal with this.

 

[Geordie]

Faint rumours emerging that Burrell is out for the season for us after limping off in the first pre season game...

That would be a blow.

 

[Which Tyler]

Well if people are double jabbed (which I am) you can still pass it on and still get it. So why would it make any difference to anything. All the risks of passing it on to vulnerable people etc won't go away and it must be a nightmare for the prem to know how to deal with this.

Because that's not how public health works, it's how anti-vax spin works.
Yes, fully vaccinated people can still catch and pass on the virus.
But they're about 80% less likely to catch the virus, and those that do are about 50% less likely to spread it.
So about 90% less spread amongst the fully vaccinated population - which makes "but they can still spread it, so why bother" a completely bullshit, argument.
a dangerously bullshit argument.

On top of that, it's not just about spread, as it's become inevitable that everyone will get covid at some point now; it's also about managing severity and keeping people out of hospital beds (where their personal decisions end up killing someone else who can't use that bed) and morgues (because even the unvaccinated deserve to live)


Of course risk doesn't just go away - the only that happens is with an elimination strategy - that's been made impossible by anti-mask, anti-vaxx, anti-lockdown sociopaths; and their pro-vaxx spreaders of misinformation (who aren't sociopaths, just misinformed)


ETA: the 80% and 50% are pulled from memory; those numbers do stack, but only partially, as far as I've seen no-one knows how far they stack, so the real number will be somewhere between 50% and 80% (assuming I've got those right), but even if it's a 50% reduction - that's still massively worth it, and it's a 50% reduction for each and every interaction. 50% is a hell of a lot better than, for example, a bike helmet

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Is that from the article? Can you pull quotes?

Sanderson:

Sanderson said Sale, who host Bath on Saturday, are close to the 85 per cent marker and "all we've got to do is follow up with a number of people for their second jab".

"To start with, we've tried to educate them as best we can," he said. "Our doctor has sent numerous emails regarding rumours surrounding negative effects and the positives of having the vaccine. These are doctors. They are ethically-bound to give the correct information.

"Still, it is a choice. But the consequences of them not having it are not being able to travel, not being able to play in every arena if vaccine passports come in. Even though they've got rid of that [idea], it might come back in. You never know.

"The knock-on effect of that is that it could be detrimental to selection and therefore future employment. That's the reality. We haven't sugar-coated it. We've been brutally honest."

Skivington:

"Every single staff member and player has had their first vaccination at least," he said. "We'll be 85 per cent next week, and then 100 per cent within a couple of weeks. The boys, to be fair to them, it's all their decision. They have all bought into it and as a group decided they want to be as safe as possible."

Borthwick/Hooper:

Leicester Tigers head coach Steve Borthwick said his squad's vaccination rate is "very high", while Bath director of rugby Stuart Hooper said his club are "striving to get there".

"We're close to [85 per cent]," he added. "Obviously there are a number of factors which affect how quickly you can get there, one being the age of the squad – the younger the squad are, the later they could get their first vaccinations. And obviously Covid infections is another thing, because if you've been infected you can't get another vaccination for 28 days."

 

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

To be fair, ivermectin has it's uses in human medicine as well - mostly as a topical cream for parasitic skin infections, but hey.

TBF I said Horse de-wormer the dosage is very different.

 

[Which Tyler]

Sanderson:
Skivington:
Borthwick/Hooper:

Thank you

TBF I said Horse de-wormer the dosage is very different.

Oh, I know.
It's probably the dosage issue that is putting people in hospitals. We're talking about people who read the package and "1 dose = 15ml" so they take 15ml, not realising that they're not a 900kg horse

 

[Don't Skip Leg Day]

Because that's not how public health works, it's how anti-vax spin works.
Yes, fully vaccinated people can still catch and pass on the virus.
But they're about 80% less likely to catch the virus, and those that do are about 50% less likely to spread it.
So about 90% less spread amongst the fully vaccinated population - which makes "but they can still spread it, so why bother" a completely bullshit, argument.
a dangerously bullshit argument.

On top of that, it's not just about spread, as it's become inevitable that everyone will get covid at some point now; it's also about managing severity and keeping people out of hospital beds (where their personal decisions end up killing someone else who can't use that bed) and morgues (because even the unvaccinated deserve to live)


Of course risk doesn't just go away - the only that happens is with an elimination strategy - that's been made impossible by anti-mask, anti-vaxx, anti-lockdown sociopaths; and their pro-vaxx spreaders of misinformation (who aren't sociopaths, just misinformed)


ETA: the 80% and 50% are pulled from memory; those numbers do stack, but only partially, as far as I've seen no-one knows how far they stack, so the real number will be somewhere between 50% and 80% (assuming I've got those right), but even if it's a 50% reduction - that's still massively worth it, and it's a 50% reduction for each and every interaction. 50% is a hell of a lot better than, for example, a bike helmet

Hold your horses. We aren't talking general public here. If Sale have 32 double jabbed and 3 players not for example, why does it really matter to the extent of a threat of losing their jobs over it?

 

[Which Tyler]

Bullshit.
You're moving the goal posts.
My post was in reply to your words of "Well if people are double jabbed (which I am) you can still pass it on and still get it. So why would it make any difference to anything. All the risks of passing it on to vulnerable people etc won't go away"
Which is pure bullshit. Dangerous bullshit. And spreading anti-vax misinformation which will get more people killed.

My post didn't mention the premiership at all (I have elsewhere, feel free to pull me up on that one, not this).
Your mention of the priership was tagged on at the end with "and it must be a nightmare for the prem to know how to deal with this. " with "this" being - the dangerous bullshit you were spouting.