Premiership Rugby 23/24 Semi finals

[Crash Hamster]

Just watched a recording of the game through "as live" and hve to agree with the comments about Sarries being 7m from the kicker every penalty. Good case for Ridley giving Smith another go at the one he missed.

Excellent win from Saints and some nice incisive attack from both sides. Really enjoyed the game.

 

[Reiser99]

Tbh, the 7m thing is really where you need your captain to have a word with the ref.

 

[Lé Ddanno]

Tbh, the 7m thing is really where you need your captain to have a word with the ref.

And the coaches need to have got a message to the captain. Poor effort all round

 

[Which Tyler]

Just watched a recording of the game through "as live" and hve to agree with the comments about Sarries being 7m from the kicker every penalty. Good case for Ridley giving Smith another go at the one he missed.

Excellent win from Saints and some nice incisive attack from both sides. Really enjoyed the game.

Pretty sure they were moving around in his eyeline a few times as well.
When the lawn mower is 5m wide, it's really easy to tell - from TV camera angles at least, and even without, you'd expect professionals to have a pretty good idea of what 10m looks like.

 

[BPM]

It's mental when Owen Farrell first played in the prem I was still in school, and now this will be most likely his last Premiership game.
14 years of Prem rugby and still only 32 years old.
I know Ford has played for just as long but I feel the amount of clubs he has played for ruins the image a bit.

End of a era

End of an era indeed.

Saracens will be a different animal without Farrell, the Vunipolas and Maitland. Goode can't have many more miles left on the clock either.

Dowson and Vesty seem to be doing a fine job at Saints with a great brand of rugby and a lot of English talent so I'm very pleased they have made the final. On a personal level, I'll be delighted if Lawes can bow out with a ***le win too.

 

[Reiser99]

End of an era indeed.

Saracens will be a different animal without Farrell, the Vunipolas and Maitland. Goode can't have many more miles left on the clock either.

Dowson and Vesty seem to be doing a fine job at Saints with a great brand of rugby and a lot of English talent so I'm very pleased they have made the final. On a personal level, I'll be delighted if Lawes can bow out with a ***le win too.

It's interesting because I feel like there are a lot of similarities between Dowson and Hooper at Bath. Both former players who took on the DoR role at a relatively young age. However, Dowson seems to have done what Hooper couldn't, which is build a winning team around a good crop of players. Maybe it's because Dowson wasn't paraded as the heir to the throne like Hooper and had to earn it a bit more.

 

[BPM]

Possibly. The Saints set-up feels more like a collective effort with Dowson as the figurehead. Vesty obviously deserves a lot of credit for their attack, but the difference-makers this season seem to have been more on the defence and S&C. Dowson seems to be doing a good job of providing the leadership and direction to focus on the right things to address.

 

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

It's interesting because I feel like there are a lot of similarities between Dowson and Hooper at Bath. Both former players who took on the DoR role at a relatively young age. However, Dowson seems to have done what Hooper couldn't, which is build a winning team around a good crop of players. Maybe it's because Dowson wasn't paraded as the heir to the throne like Hooper and had to earn it a bit more.

The foundations of Chris Boyd v Blackadder and Craig

 

[Reiser99]

Possibly. The Saints set-up feels more like a collective effort with Dowson as the figurehead. Vesty obviously deserves a lot of credit for their attack, but the difference-makers this season seem to have been more on the defence and S&C. Dowson seems to be doing a good job of providing the leadership and direction to focus on the right things to address.

True, the whole setup needs to function well together.

 

[Reiser99]

The foundations of Chris Boyd v Blackadder and Craig

Again, probably true. Felt like Northampton were already on an upward trajectory with Boyd, where as Bath were on a downward trajectory under Blackadder.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

14 academy products in our side today, just 6 for Bath

Anyone know the numbers for last nights game?

 

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

Saints 11 I think
Sarries 7

I count 12 for Sale though
Carpenter is 50/50 I guess considering he's spent just as long in Yorkshire academy than he has at Sale. Still trying to think of the last one though

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Carpenter is 50/50 I guess considering he's spent just as long in Yorkshire academy than he has at Sale. Still trying to think of the last one though

Transferred from junior academy at Yorkshire to senior at Sale, so I'm still counting him (otherwise I'm claiming Alex Mitchell as Sale)

1. Carpenter
2. Roebuck
3. S.James
4. Warr
5. Rodd
6. Taylor
7. Harper
8. B.Curry
9. Dugdale
10. McIntyre
11. Bamber (another academy transfer, so might be the one you're missing - iffier than Carpenter as he was in a League academy first, was at Bristol for 18months before swapping to our academy 2years ago - if he only counts as half, then knock us down for 13 as he and Carpenter count half each)
12. Quirke
13. L.James
14. T.Curry

 

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

TBF I count Mitchell as sale academy product
Personally academy product = junior academy as the senior academy players are only named like that for cap reasons they all train with the senior squad basically

 

[TRF_Olyy]

That's fair - Bristol used to count Sam Bedlow as academy, despite going to them at 22 (I think that's the oldest an academy player can be?) and having double figures of senior appearances for Sale
Pretty sure Guy Pepper has signed for Bath's academy, rather than a senior deal, as well

I'll take 12.5 instead of 14 - still partially counting Carpenter as he was still 17 when he made the switch (but 18 when technically starting training )

 

[Which Tyler]

For me, it depends on the situation.

Pepper signing into Bath's senior academy, aged 21 with 26 senior appearances, won't make him a Bath academy graduate for me (nor did Ant Watson, despite officially signing to the academy).
Obano doing so, aged 19 with 0 senior appearances does - because he was club-less when he came to us, rather than transferring straight from one academy to another.
I'd say the same for Bath's intake from the disbanding academies this summer. They may be signing into our senior academy, but they're definitely coming as academy players with an eye to the future, rather than senior players we can make salary cap room for by officially naming them academy I don't think any of them are older than 19, and I don't think any of them have any senior appearances yet (but can't be bothered to actually fact-check that).

Equally, there are a fair few players who move FOR university, and then go to the nearest club's academy (eg IFW when he moved to Wasps), who I'm fine counting, even if leaping from one academy to another.

Other opinions are, of course, valid.

 

[TopTen2003]

Anyone make a case for Sale today or have Bath got all angles covered?

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Andrews out, that's a blow to our lineout - he was great the last two rounds, been calling it since Beaumont's injury

 

[Which Tyler]

Go well boys

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Still don't know who signed off on both our gone and away kits being blue