By Beardedshark
#26600
Lood was magnificent. Still impressed with Quirke’s pass and speed of play, for me, created the last try.
Only ⅓ of possession surely not good enough for a top 4 team, however didn’t really look in trouble and the defensive line was superb. Maybe it’s just the way the game is played these days. Rodd again more than held his own, going to be a top notch player.

Stuffed budgie still tastes good 🤤😁
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By StalyShark
#26601
Van Cannonball wrote:
Fri Mar 05, 2021 11:07 pm
On the subject of captain, if he can stay fit then there has to be a good shout for Lood.

He’s captained other teams, he’s calm, he leads by example and he’s a hell of a player.
No, he doesn’t speak well with referees:
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By LJK
#26604
Good to see an entertaining game between us and N'cl after some dreadful ones in the past. The slow-mo replays of the 2 early tries showed clearly the great skill of Yarde and AJ adjusting the placing of their feet with slight body angle changes within centimetres of the line. The second try, inc. the backwards offload from AJ to Lood was worthy of the All Blacks repertoire!
As often happens though we couldn't keep that intensity up for the game and let N'cl back in. Thankfully they were as poor in our 22 as we have been in other games recently in the same part of the field.
The energy of Yarde and LDJ (for such a big man) is remarkable, and we didn't miss Jono at all from an inspirational point of view. However, as someone else has said Faf's extreme energy runs out and he made 2 errors of misjudging the ball position in the 2nd half by over running. Quirke is clearly a player of the same speed of thought and is already a very impressive 2nd choice scrum half to bring on. He made a great break in the dying minutes but I seem to recall the support wasn't there due to the fatigue levels by then, and the bonus point chance went.

Martin Gillingham is a good commentator and avoids the flowery language of some of the others. He seems to have good knowledge of the players and team history e.g. the comments about Sale struggling with the no 10 shirt in the last few seasons, and that AJ now developed into a real class FH. The comments by Jake C-W about the scrum were also quite amusing and interesting, and is not something that BT often does on the games on the 'Extra' channels.
By Ashtonshark
#26605
Good win last night! My thoughts on Sale team:

L James - solid game, looked good under the high ball

McGuigan - not much to do but solid. Tackling looked a bit shaky at times but no major issue

S James - defence better than in past weeks and great hands for the third try

Hill - very quiet again, although the nasty cut he got in the first minute probably didn't help!

Yarde - top performance again. Great finish for first try and showed good pace for the third. Solid under the high ball.

AJ - very good game. Brilliant offload for the second try and kicking from hand and tee good.

De Klerk - brilliant as ever

Rodd - some player for a 20 year old prop! Seemed dominant against Mulipola (most of the time) and a few turnovers in the loose.

Langdon - good game again. Don't remember us losing a lineout with him on and a nuisance in the loose

John - solid. Thought the yellow was a bit harsh but didn't need to do it.

De Jager - absolutely everywhere. Always makes yards in the tackle and carry. Charge downs. Disrupting rucks. Brilliant.

Beaumont - solid and the break for 2nd try was like Beaumont of old! Him and Lood could be a great lock pairing going forward - a number of times they tackled in a pair and made good yards from it.

Wiese - lots of tackles, no fuss. Exactly what you need from a 6.

Dugdale - very quiet but don't think the style of game suited him i.e. didn't get to show his pace or carrying.

Du Preez - not his best night. Few dropped balls and don't remember many big carries. But did well cleaning up at the back of the lineouts.
Last edited by Ashtonshark on Sat Mar 06, 2021 11:46 am, edited 1 time in total.
By HR1861
#26608
The MOM adjudicator could never have had an easier decision. Lood was awesome.
I just hope he can stay fit as his work rate and athleticism were on a different level.
I just hope he’s settled in the North West and happy to sign a new contract, when due.
Anybody know when his current deal expires?

PS Good to see the AJ doom mongers haven’t made an appearance yet on this thread. He, too, had an excellent game last night to cement the starter slot at 10.
Flumpty, ageinghoody, chris1850 and 2 others liked this
By Van Cannonball
#26610
No doom-mongers...AJ did lots of positive things, as always, and added in that outrageous offload.

But if you want a negative then we still didn’t move the ball wide well enough apart from the 2 great bits of skill for the 1st 2 tries, first of which was all Faf and finish by Yarde.

I’m happy to concede in this game that was largely from getting too much into a kicking scrap and not on AJ. That kept them in the game far longer than they should have.

The only time we really got outside the defence through hands along the line was the 3rd try and that was Quirke/RdP (and Sam J)

We have 1 try bonus in 12 games which is way down on last year, and fewer bonus points in total than any other team in the top half, even having played a game more than most.

2 seasons ago a lot of the talk on here was that we needed to do more to get bonuses and large part of us missing out on top 4.

Let’s hope we can win enough games this year that it won’t come to that.
By RugbyMarvel
#26613
Thoughts

Front row - Rodd looking better every game, Langdon busy and John was solid until the yellow.

Locks - LDJ is possibly the best in the league on current form. The partnership with Josh is well balanced. Brutal in defence, dynamic in attack and intelligent at set piece.

Back row - Dugdale was quiet and looks to be better off the bench. DDP did alright but not fully firing, Wiese added the necessary physicality and hard yards

Half backs - Faf had moments of brilliance but did look to become more error prone as he tired. Still world class.
AJ had some brilliant moments, beautiful pass to Beaumont before looping around in support and then that fantastic offload. Seemed to be getting the ball out a bit wider in general but felt he had gone deeper to get more time and that wasn’t necessarily working.

Centres - Hill should be big enough to draw defenders but he just isn’t. He popped up one nice pass that was very nearly forward, conceded a silly penalties.
James had some good touches but not getting enough ball in space.

Back three - Yarde shone but others put in good performances. Still need some more pace.

Subs

Akker shone from the forwards. Disruptive at breakdown.

Quirke looked good again.

Hammersley took his try well.

Rob Du Preez looked like an improvement on Hill at 12 and I would be against him starting there.
User avatar
By poyntonshark
#26614
Very happy with the win, very happy with the first 20 minutes, but we seemed to decide that this scoring tries for fun nonsense wasn't for us. In that first 20 we moved quick ball away from the breakdown and actually handled the ball, both forwards and backs. Then we just stopped, ball got slower and aimless box kicks more and more frequent. Newcastle were unusually poor, that should have been a comfortable 5 points. We started Mauls well this week, but they soon disintegrated. First try began with a decent maul, but we were lucky Newcastle weren't paying attention when Langdon managed to sneak the ball away to Faf. We lost another a little later when 2 Newcastle players legally came through our maul unmolested, luckily their open side had a brain fart. Most pleasing was that we didn't miss Jono from a leadership P.O.V. which may not be such good news for Jono.
By Clutch
#26616
Don’t worry the AJ doom monger is here!! Another game with no BP and we laud his performance. He offload was beautiful but it’s a wingers offload. Great to see but I want to see him doing conventional fly half stuff to match the moments of high skill. He still can’t draw the defence in when in the 10 channel. His skills tend to come from wider channels. When Ron Webber is better at distributing from the 10 channel it’s definitely a weakness!! Also he only made that offload because he couldn’t outpace a prop!

Lots to like yesterday but not seeing any improvement in the backline. 99/100 that offload goes to the floor and after that we created nothing. Obviously that’s not just down to AJ but I’m not enjoying watching us at the moment and I’ve not said that for a long long time.

Defence was awesome, set piece as well. When Rohan comes back everything should change. It’s not easy for AJ. He needs the right players around him so he can do all the classy things that we get from him week in week out. No doubts Sanderson will recruit and develop the right players required for this to happen.

We are in a great position and we are only going to get better. Really think we are a small tweak from being able to win the whole thing. In fact, with a fit Rohan no reason why we can’t. Think Sanderson thinks the same.
By chris1850
#26617
Clutch. Don't disagree with you particularly, but it is a worry if the difference between, let's say a top four finish, and winning the prem is a very injury prone 12.

Clearly, we are playing better than we have been, but we are still a way off the great rugby we were playing immediately pre Covid, which was the best we have consistently played since winning the Prem in 2006. There are many green shoots appearing under Axe, and I am not in the least concerned about our forwards.

I do worry about the backs though. We just don't seem willing or able get them moving. Not sure that can all be pinned on AJ, I think both 12 and 15 have become problem positions from an attacking POV. I have a lot of time for Luke, particularly defensively, but he is far from electrifying in attack, being more of a finisher than a creator.

I think we need to credit Sanderson with having stabilised performances since he arrived and trust him to develop the team as he gets his feet under the table.
By Clutch
#26618
Agree. A quality full back, some added pace and another bulky 12 would be handy.

After Sanderson interview we should call AJ “fine fettle” from now on
By stevene
#26619
thoughts from me (although didnt see 20 mins of second half, not sure I missed much):

L James: settled in at FB again. quality
McGuigan. quiet but effective
S James: still quiet
Hill. ineffective
Yarde. continues to improve. quality performance.
AJM. very good. showed some good instincts which suggests he is v confident at the moment.
FDK. Quieter than the last game but still good.
Rodd. Quality over the ball, good carries and better in the scrum.
Langdon. Having Josh and LDJ to throw too lineout is functioning. Quieter than last game but still good.
John. Solid
Beaumont. Overshadowed by LDJ but lineout and mauling very good.
LDJ. MoM. Just needs to stay fit /injury free.
Wiese. Old school angry six who does the hard work effectively.
Dugdale. Not a stand out but effective.
DDP. Not upto last seasons form but better than recently.

RDP. Played well I thought we he can on and nice to see him hit some kicks.
Quirke. Breakthrough talent of the season so far.
Harrison. Quiet but needs game time.
AVDM. One dodgy arrow I saw. Better in the loose than Curtis but has to get the basics done.
Coenie. Quiet
By Surbiton_Shark
#26656
Our lack of bonus points will really come back to bite us. This was another game where 4 tries should have been attained but we're just not yet in that confident mindset.

Watching Quins/Northants - already in 8 mins 3 tries are scored.

By the time I finished writing this Quins scored another try (10 mins) though it's going to the TMO for a potential knockon
By Thekeg
#26659
Surbiton_Shark wrote:
Sun Mar 07, 2021 3:10 pm
Our lack of bonus points will really come back to bite us. This was another game where 4 tries should have been attained but we're just not yet in that confident mindset.

Watching Quins/Northants - already in 8 mins 3 tries are scored.

By the time I finished writing this Quins scored another try (10 mins) though it's going to the TMO for a potential knockon
I know where you are coming from but how many teams have stuck 4 tries on Newcastle this year?
By Van Cannonball
#26662
Probably fair to say that some of that was our defence making them look poor, as with Bristol.

But I think it’s also probably Newcastle’s weakest lineup of the season
User avatar
By Lord Elpus
#26663
Surbiton_Shark wrote:
Sun Mar 07, 2021 3:10 pm
Our lack of bonus points will really come back to bite us. This was another game where 4 tries should have been attained but we're just not yet in that confident mindset.

Watching Quins/Northants - already in 8 mins 3 tries are scored.

By the time I finished writing this Quins scored another try (10 mins) though it's going to the TMO for a potential knockon
Stains could have done us a huge favour but failed to score against 13 men and then let Quims get the try bp. grrrr....
By Thekeg
#26666
poyntonshark wrote:
Sun Mar 07, 2021 4:41 pm
How often have Newcastle played that poorly this year?
They weren’t at their best but our defence was excellent aside from some offside Ill discipline. They are still a very tricky team to play against , no one has really got properly on top of them all season
User avatar
By SixNineOne
#26668
StalyShark wrote:
Sun Mar 07, 2021 9:10 pm
I’ve just noticed that we have won twice as many games as Irish but they are only 5 points behind us. Bonkers.
Have you also noticed that you’ve lost the same amount of games as Irish?!
By Surbiton_Shark
#26673
Lord Elpus wrote:
Sun Mar 07, 2021 5:59 pm
Surbiton_Shark wrote:
Sun Mar 07, 2021 3:10 pm
Our lack of bonus points will really come back to bite us. This was another game where 4 tries should have been attained but we're just not yet in that confident mindset.

Watching Quins/Northants - already in 8 mins 3 tries are scored.

By the time I finished writing this Quins scored another try (10 mins) though it's going to the TMO for a potential knockon
I thought Sale at times have played some poor rugby (notable Newcastle away) - that performance from Northants though...........considering the manner in which they blew the Bath game the week before, now Quins.....let's hope it continues for our sakes!

Stains could have done us a huge favour but failed to score against 13 men and then let Quims get the try bp. grrrr....
By Surbiton_Shark
#26674
Surbiton_Shark wrote:
Mon Mar 08, 2021 8:03 am
Lord Elpus wrote:
Sun Mar 07, 2021 5:59 pm
Surbiton_Shark wrote:
Sun Mar 07, 2021 3:10 pm
Our lack of bonus points will really come back to bite us. This was another game where 4 tries should have been attained but we're just not yet in that confident mindset.

Watching Quins/Northants - already in 8 mins 3 tries are scored.

By the time I finished writing this Quins scored another try (10 mins) though it's going to the TMO for a potential knockon

Stains could have done us a huge favour but failed to score against 13 men and then let Quims get the try bp. grrrr....
I thought Sale at times have played some poor rugby (notable Newcastle away) - that performance from Northants though...........considering the manner in which they blew the Bath game the week before, now Quins.....let's hope it continues for our sakes!
User avatar
By poyntonshark
#26675
I swear there was steam coming out from behind Chris Boyd's mask. Stains were truly awful in second half. Quins go down the 13 men and Stains panic. Quins remained defensively organised and deserve some credit, but still.......

Not even EJ can ignore Marcus Smith for too much longer....Can he? Don't tell Flumpty I said this, but Mike Brown looks the closest there is to an English, international quality full back at the moment.
By Surbiton_Shark
#26676
Boyd was remarkable constrained.......I watched the post match analysis. Normally Lawrence D doesn't say much of note but he got the Northants failures absolutely spot on. They kept trying to fling it about playing unstructured rugby as opposed to going route 1 - tying up the defence then going wide

Quite interesting how Quins really use their big SA runner at 12 - we need to watch and learn from that when Rohan comes back. Someone on the forum mentioned in another thread that being so reliant on Rohan isn't a good thing - I agreed on that thought until I saw the Quins match - having someone of that strength who attracts defenders and creates space for others is literally the holy grail against such strong defences.

For anyone sad enough - there was a try Quins had disallowed in the second half - it all was from a scrum around the Quins 22 which they ran. Their massive SA 12 ran a really good dummy line and just that created enough space which Quins exploited with a series of good passes taken at pass. The try was scrubbed off for a forward pass but it just showed how you can create space
User avatar
By Flumpty
#26682
poyntonshark wrote:
Mon Mar 08, 2021 8:35 am
Can he? Don't tell Flumpty I said this, but Mike Brown looks the closest there is to an English, international quality full back at the moment.
Oh to see him repeatedly running into the biggest opposition player on the field, before giving away the inevitable penalty for holding on (again), whilst wearing an England shirt , fills my heart full of joy !?!?!?!!?!?!?!??!?!

He does seem to be hitting a very rich vein of form for the the Hairies and given that he has just come back from a very serious injury, I tip my hat in his direction.

However, after his recent falling out with Yoda, I've probably got as much chance of playing for England (with my arthritic knees), as Brown has for getting a recall.
Last edited by Flumpty on Tue Mar 09, 2021 11:51 am, edited 1 time in total.
By Clutch
#26712
I have to say it’s inaccurate and pretty disparaging though of course tongue in cheek!. I’m not going to claim Brown is an Eng great but he’s been a top class full back for over 10 years and had a spell as an England 15 when he was 6 nations player of the tournament. Sure he was never lightening and perhaps didn’t pass enough but he’s made the most out of his career and despite him being probably an objectionable character he’s a great example for young full backs.
Olyy, 45jumper and 1 others liked this
By Olyy
#26713
Don't know how anyone can watch Daly and not yearn for the days of Brown tbh

He's a very good player and is in some form atm - not saying get him back in an England shirt of anything, but he's unfairly maligned imo
User avatar
By poyntonshark
#26714
I agree with most of that, but, as is common with many England players, he remained in the position whilst Flumpty's statement was becoming more and more accurate.
By Clutch
#26716
He was inexplicably on the wing at one point!!

I don’t get Daly at 15. He ranges from occasionally decent games to outright terrible. There’s no evidence he’s going to become a world class 15 and Sarries aren’t playing him there. Though hopefully they will and Sell Mallins to us.
User avatar
By Flumpty
#26717
Clutch wrote:
Tue Mar 09, 2021 11:17 am
........and perhaps didn’t pass enough ..............
I've just snorted my lunch through my nose onto my laptop.

Thats the biggest understatement since someone said that Stalin had a touch of paranoia.


Here's the golden $64k question - in the world of Fantasy Rugby, MIke Brown is available on a loan until the end of the season, no strings attached. If you were Sales DoR, would it be Deal, or No Deal.
If I was DoR, on his current form, it would be Deal.
Last edited by Flumpty on Tue Mar 09, 2021 4:53 pm, edited 1 time in total.
By SimonG
#26721
Clutch wrote:
Tue Mar 09, 2021 11:17 am
I have to say it’s inaccurate and pretty disparaging though of course tongue in cheek!. I’m not going to claim Brown is an Eng great but he’s been a top class full back for over 10 years and had a spell as an England 15 when he was 6 nations player of the tournament. Sure he was never lightening and perhaps didn’t pass enough but he’s made the most out of his career and despite him being probably an objectionable character he’s a great example for young full backs.
People are often very different on and off the pitch.
User avatar
By SixNineOne
#26725
Clutch wrote:
Tue Mar 09, 2021 11:54 am
He was inexplicably on the wing at one point!!

I don’t get Daly at 15. He ranges from occasionally decent games to outright terrible. There’s no evidence he’s going to become a world class 15 and Sarries aren’t playing him there. Though hopefully they will and Sell Mallins to us.
I don't get EJ's insistence on playing the back 3 out of position (actually, I don't get much of what EJ does...). It seems perverse to put Daly at 15 when he's got Anthony Watson, who undoubtedly is a world class 15, on the pitch. But then again, some might say that putting Kyle Sinckler in the front row is a bizarre decision when that no 12 shirt is going begging...
User avatar
By Yareet
#26727
SixNineOne wrote:
Tue Mar 09, 2021 1:47 pm
Clutch wrote:
Tue Mar 09, 2021 11:54 am
He was inexplicably on the wing at one point!!

I don’t get Daly at 15. He ranges from occasionally decent games to outright terrible. There’s no evidence he’s going to become a world class 15 and Sarries aren’t playing him there. Though hopefully they will and Sell Mallins to us.
I don't get EJ's insistence on playing the back 3 out of position (actually, I don't get much of what EJ does...). It seems perverse to put Daly at 15 when he's got Anthony Watson, who undoubtedly is a world class 15, on the pitch. But then again, some might say that putting Kyle Sinckler in the front row is a bizarre decision when that no 12 shirt is going begging...
Hard disagree

He has been good at 15 at times but he's also had stinkers. The Leicester v Bath game in January was an example.
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