Premiership Rugby 22/23 - Rd 4

[Geordie]

See its interesting...I see Jack as More of a 6...who's exceptional at the breakdown.
Reffell is getting a lesson today..Will evans is good at the breakdown nothing else...

Maybe Curry is better...but noone else.

Earl is just a class explosive all round back rower who should be in the England squad.

 

[Jimbo]

He can also do a

Fantastic rugby player but best openside?
He's mmmaaaayyyybbbbeeee top 5

There's T.Curry, J.Willis, Reffell and W.Evans above the rest, then there's a 2nd tier with a bunch more in that could make claims for the 5th spot

Would still have him on the bench for England, don't get me wrong

similar job to Simmons at 8, not saying I like either there particularly but in a long tournament like the WC having some ultility for a couple of positions even if it's to give some players a brief break can only be a good thing.

 

[BPM]

See its interesting...I see Jack as More of a 6...who's exceptional at the breakdown.
Reffell is getting a lesson today..Will evans is good at the breakdown nothing else...

Maybe Curry is better...but noone else.

Earl is just a class explosive all round back rower who should be in the England squad.

I suggest you spend a bit more time watching Evans then … I think Earl is probably better but to dismiss him as only being good at the breakdown is pure ballix.

IMO, Earl should be in the England squad but I think he's behind Tom Curry, Jack Willis and (depending on the opposition), Underhill too. Underhill's super strength is his defensive game but he's underrated in an attacking sense. I'd almost say Earl is the opposite. I think Earl is a better player than Ludlam, but I'd argue Ludlam had done a better job of taking chances when he's had them.

 

[Jimbo]

Tigers allowed to hold on the floor for that try.

 

[Scotty]

@TRF_Olyy hows the Chiefs game going?

 

[TRF_Olyy]

@TRF_Olyy hows the Chiefs game going?

Disjointed, looks more like a season opener than a few rounds in

Very physical, both sides have had a couple go off injured

Sales pack winning the arm wrestle (set pieces pretty even but in terms of physicality/defence) but every time Chiefs go through the hands they're finding gaps everywhere
Hogg dropped a walk-in earlier, game could hang on that

 

[Jimbo]

I thought Sarries would win but not in that manner, after Tigers early second half spell Sarries just seemed dominant, it could quite easily have been more tbf, Daly looks rejuvenated, although defence has always been the question mark and wasn't asked to do too much.

 

[Reiser99]

Hogg dropped a walk-in earlier, game could hang on that

As good as this?

 

[TRF_Olyy]

As good as this?

View attachment 15199

Not quite, but his man bun does up the embarrassment for today's

 

[Arcturus]

Going into this game I thought that this could go the way of the final, with just a penalty deciding affairs today, especially with a combined 250 international caps sitting on Leicester's bench. How wrong!

I was massively impressed by how quick the guys played the ball across the pitch with some sublime passing. The penalty count was a tad high but Leicester never felt like they were up for capitalising on our mistakes. Perhaps some Tiger fans could comment, but they felt like they wanted to play ultra conservative.

We saw signs of it in the Harlequins and Gloucester games, but the level of self belief in the squad really shone through today. They simply know that they'll eventually crack their opponents. Leicester looked absolutely ragged in the final 10mins.

I really struggle to find fault with any of the squad, everyone put in 8, 9 and 10/10 efforts. Daly was slick, Earl an unstoppable force, Malins class, Farrell stewardship spot on. McFarland securing MoM was well deserved, he operates on another level, collecting the ball out of the air as if he has magnets in his hands, that one handed line out.

The season is still young, but I'd like to believe that we'll be in contention come the end of the season. Still got Itoje and Isekewe to come back as well.

 

[Ragey Erasmus]

Bath are just a full blown embarrassment now, we are performing worse than sides with players who don't even know if their club will make it to the end of the season and with smaller budgets than us... I keep wondering just how bad it needs to get but I guess there is no limit to how **** Bath must get before a proper overhaul is done.

 

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

Borthwick has a history of playing completely different away from home compared to home, certainly missed Kelly and Porter in the centres and Wiese + Montoya upfront. But Borthwick picked to rest 3 of them today.

 

[Vieux Talonneur]

Good performance from Sarries.

I think Earl's added a lot more substance to his game over the last year or so, but without sacrificing the highlight reel stuff. He should be in the England conversation.

While Daly can be a mare defensively, he can be fantastic to watch ball in hand.

 

[Don't Skip Leg Day]

You need either Earl or Ludlam in your squad (England) who can genuinely cover 6,7 & 8 if really needed. I'd argue that while Earl does look in good form, Lewisnis a better back row. His tackles and carrying and top notch and he's a dog over the ball.

 

[Which Tyler]

You need either Earl or Ludlam in your squad (England) who can genuinely cover 6,7 & 8 if really needed. I'd argue that while Earl does look in good form, Lewisnis a better back row. His tackles and carrying and top notch and he's a dog over the ball.

And I'd expect both to lose out to Mercer the moment the PRL consider him eligible

 

[BPM]

Depends on how Eddie looks at the makeup of the back row.

Does he want specialists or does he want versatility?

As an 8 who can cover 6 and 7, Mercer could be competing with Ludlam and Earl, but he could also be competing with Billy and Dombrandt.

Lawes*, Billy, Dombrandt and Underhill are the least versatile so it could be that Eddie prefers only a couple of those and elects for the versatility the others offer.

*Lawes would only ever be a 6 in back row terms and I'm not sure he's considered a lock anymore TBH?

 

[BPM]

As an aside - did Curry pick up another injury yesterday? Just saw the highlights and looked like he was in pain on the deck when Carpenter picked up the winning score.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

As an aside - did Curry pick up another injury yesterday? Just saw the highlights and looked like he was in pain on the deck when Carpenter picked up the winning score.

Ben went off with an ankle injury but Tom played the 80 - saw him getting some treatment but don't think it was anything worse than a stinger

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Forget not getting off the bus I'm not sure saints ever got in it

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Holy **** Mitchell just butchered a 3 on 1