The 2014/15 pre-season general news/discussion thread

[Patchey]

The Saracen? haven't heard of him for a while now, where does he play now? Was he even a 10 though.

The one I'm thinking of was a back row, but he hardly hit any rucks and wasn't very strong so he didn't really work. He was a bit like Tom Croft but without the gas really...

 

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

The one I'm thinking of was a back row, but he hardly hit any rucks and wasn't very strong so he didn't really work. He was a bit like Tom Croft but without the gas really...

Oh okay no wonder I haven't really heard of him.

Sounds a bit light weight TBh, Wait I think I heard a Dave Seymour plays for sedgley park 2nds, cant remember now. Some club up Manchester way.

God some good abstract info there from Patchey and Oly, suppose there is a view like him, who just cant really fully make that leap to Premiership rugby.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

 

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

Can Olyy just tell us who this Seymour is.

I have looked at all the English capped players and he isn't there, I don't mean to upset you.


Oh wait is Olyy really this Seymour guy player. Look if he is a young player I will understand why he might be scared to hit the rucks and attack the breakdown, but to make it as a 7 you need to be aggressive perhaps some more LV cup games will do him some good maybe he is one to watch as a rising player but I still havn't really heard of him.

 

[Patchey]

For a while there was a small group of fans who thought he'd be the next Richard Hill. I think they've been proven to be deranged (at best) by the nose dive his career took after it became apparent he was nowhere near physical enough for the premiership, let alone international rugby.

Must suck to be one of those fans now eh?

 

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

Yeh must certainly be embarrassing.

So who did Saracens mange to unload him on then?

Must be a pretty desperate and poor team.

 

[Patchey]

Some club side in Lancashire I think?!

 

[TRF_Olyy]

I think the most painful part of this is that you said "Oly" several times.



Actually, no. Everything else is far more painful.

 

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

 

[Don't Skip Leg Day]

Wasn't seymore more of a 6 anyway. Didn't really fill the 7 role very well.

 

[ratsapprentice]

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/rugby/glasgow-warriors-v-harlequins-watch-4089775

Highlights from Quins' preseason game vs Glasgow

 

[TheSaffycen]

Looked like a really exciting game. The problem for Harlequins is that they don't have enough strike runners, in the backs they dont have anyone who will crash over players. Even in the forwards all they have is Marler and Sinkler, relying on Easter for another year is risky. Glasgow looked really good and if they play like that consistently they will cause alot of teams problems, James Eddie looked pretty good with ball in hand.
I think Harlequins will finish just outside the top 4, other teams have bulked up their packs and I think that Bath will now step up into 4th spot.

 

[Patchey]

Wasn't seymore more of a 6 anyway. Didn't really fill the 7 role very well.

I always thought of him as a 6.5...

Looked like a really exciting game. The problem for Harlequins is that they don't have enough strike runners, in the backs they dont have anyone who will crash over players. Even in the forwards all they have is Marler and Sinkler, relying on Easter for another year is risky. Glasgow looked really good and if they play like that consistently they will cause a lot of teams problems, James Eddie looked pretty good with ball in hand.
I think Harlequins will finish just outside the top 4, other teams have bulked up their packs and I think that Bath will now step up into 4th spot.

Spot on there mate, exactly my thoughts.

We haven't recovered from the loss of Johnson and Kohn and have now lost Mo as well, reducing the number of carriers in the pack considerably. Clifford is a big presence but I think he is more of a Kieran Reed, a big back row who can make yards in tight but is at his best operating a bit wider, rather than a Vunnipola or Morgan style ball carrier. Matthews is a big, mobile lock but, as he's said himself, is keen on fitting into the 'enforcer' role as much as possible. That is great, because we've been lacking a big presence around the rucks for a while but that leaves us with Robson (not a big carrier), Robshaw (excellent link play, not a big carrier) and Wallace (breakdown specialist) in the back five, along with an ageing Easter, to do the carrying. When Ward comes back we'll at least have another good carrier, but it isn't ideal when your most dynamic ball carriers are your front row! IMO we should have invested in a big lump of a lock and tried to keep Mo or Tom Guest for another season. We've got plenty of young potential in the back row but the balance isn't right at the moment.

In the backs we've got lots of talent but again, there is an odd mix of older guys who can't play as much (Evans and Monye for example), young bright sparks and a few somewhat average players. I suspect we'll see a lot of JTH in an attempt to get over the gain line more, which is going to stifle creativity in midfield somewhat.

On the current evidence we won't make the top four. Leicester and Saints are looking very good and I'd probably back Bath to be third, with Sarries and Glos fighting in out for the final semi-final spot. In contrast to those team Quins look lightweight and underprepared.

 

[Peat]

I think Harlequins will finish just outside the top 4, other teams have bulked up their packs and I think that Bath will now step up into 4th spot.

Not arguing with your logic per se, just that I made a rather similar case last season and lo and behold...

In the Premiership I'd expect Quins' accuracy and support running to carry them through against the majority of teams. They need far less of a gap than most teams. They won't trouble the final I think, but I'm not sure I'd rule them out of the play-offs.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Not arguing with your logic per se, just that I made a rather similar case last season and lo and behold...

...they signed Molenaar, who became one of their most important backs, and then sacked him off.

 

[Patchey]

...they signed Molenaar, who became one of their most important backs, and then sacked him off.

At least Wasps didn't steal two of our best players...


Olly's right though, Molenaar's signing really turned our season around by giving us the very thing we've lacking now we've let him go, a consistent way of getting over the gain line in the backs.

You've got a point Peat about how much our accuracy and support play can compensate for other weaknesses but I don't think that'll be enough this year. All of last season I was, almost without fail, on the edge of my seat every time a Quins player was tackled and a ruck former. We were terribly vulnerable to turnovers and were often guilty of trying to compensate for this by throwing daft offloads out of tackles that only served to cough up possession. This season our pack is set up even less to dominate the breakdown, especially as we're not going to be consistently putting teams on the back foot through big carriers.

 

[Peat]

...they signed Molenaar, who became one of their most important backs, and then sacked him off.

Well yeah, I'd have kept him ahead of Turner-Hall too... still, they do have him back as a bosh centre. Sloan's a fair sized unit too. Not Molenaar sized, but big enough to matter. I don't think it was all Molenaar.

 

[Patchey]

Well yeah, I'd have kept him ahead of Turner-Hall too... still, they do have him back as a bosh centre. Sloan's a fair sized unit too. Not Molenaar sized, but big enough to matter. I don't think it was all Molenaar.

His presence, Evans hitting some form and Brown and Ward operating in beast mode for most of the season were the big things.

I like the look if Sloan. Would have him of JTH at 12 I think.

 

[TheSaffycen]

Not arguing with your logic per se, just that I made a rather similar case last season and lo and behold...

In the Premiership I'd expect Quins' accuracy and support running to carry them through against the majority of teams. They need far less of a gap than most teams. They won't trouble the final I think, but I'm not sure I'd rule them out of the play-offs.

Yes but they only just managed to get in and other teams have improved. Harlequins haven't gone forwards, they've gone slightly backwards if anything. Monye and Evans have another year in the legs, same as Easter and Robson. They play the best rugby in my opinion but it didn't work against the big teams and it probably wont work this year, no offence too Harlequins but everytime we play them i go into the game just knowing we are going to win. The players i would have got this year is Adam Jones, a big lock like Wyn Jones/ Galarza and probably a player like Downey.

 

[ratsapprentice]

http://www.rugbynetwork.net/boards/read/s104.htm?107,14869272,showresults=1

The results = top lel.