[Olyy]

I think commentary yesterday mentioned yesterday that La Rochelle have only managed one point on the road this season.
After taking a bit of a tonking at home it could be that they've already turned their sights back to the league.


I'd be surprised if Faf came straight in to start - he's still on South Africa. I wouldn't be surprised at a 6-2 bench split with all the world cup guys on the bench

[Surbiton_Shark]

Thoughts from the match.

First half defensive performance was poor especially our line speed. I was concerned when I saw Luke James/Redpath lining up and the Glasgow centres were powerful runners - we just kept giving away yards. We seemed way too passive in defence.

I've said this before - I'm not sure what Redpath is offering us at the moment, he's only young and perhaps this is too soon for him - he puts in the effort but seems too lightweight for this level in both defence and attack.

Lineout continues to be a joke even when Webber is on the pitch. I saw in the paper our stats were 56%. Webber's running lines and carries were good, penalty count wasn't as good.....is it worth having Langdon/Neild as a starter for our next match?

Their try was nicely taken albeit it Yarde's defensive positioning really cost us, the second half subs all made a difference - seemed very nice with Aj/De Preez - the back line defence improved immediately however our attack with the backs in way too lateral and easy to defend. Our reliance on Rohan is huge.

I thought Jono was great when he came on - he's literally one of the few players (Webber asides) who runs hard straight lines into the opposition.

Scrums were really messy - we appear (and in other matches) to be dominant but our pens in this area coupled with a wonky lineout just kills us.

A word on the De Preez twins - we have to remember they are young and they really like to 'play' - they already have a lot of our hopes on their shoulders but it's going to be a few months playing in the Prem as they learn when to offload or try some fancy footwork and when to literally just run straight and truck the ball up.

The good news is our defence is largely strong, bar Yarde's defensive mishap they didn't look like scoring. We're only going to get better when we finally click - it's just concerning that our set piece in lineout and scrum which is a cornerstone is taking to long to function.

Lovely visit to Glasgow - would highly recommend it. I did like the setup where all the players come over and sign autographs - nice touch

[Olyy]

It's weird that our lineout is struggling so much even with Webber on - have we changed up the calls etc.?
Beaumonts injury/Ostrikovs departure has seen some changeups to our regular jumpers, but surely not to the extent that every lineout is getting picked off or just a mess in general?

Langdon is probably the best thrower we have, but I doubt he'll get game time ahead of Webber/Akker in Europe/even in the Prem.
I don't think Neild is any better than Akker with his darts and seems to be moving back to the backrow again this season.

[Surbiton_Shark]

For Langdon - I was would be more than tempted to get him in with Webber on the bench - for a few reasons really.

1. Home game - we should be looking to win anyhow
2. La Rochelle - turned over at home - chances are that's it for Europe so shouldn't be the toughest of opponents (hopefully)
3. If we don't sort the lineout - we won't win any tight games
4. It will send a message to the senior players that they need to be performing whilst at the same time send a message to our junior players that they will be given chances - as I am concerned about our ability to retain the young ones.
5. Langdon's a good player in the loose and has a very nice habit of scoring tries!

[FarnhamShark]

Can you make sure La Rochelle are aware of that?!

[Elgar]

I’ll repeat what I’ve posted on the Facebook page:
1. We win the Prem Cup games = we’re world class and going to win every game
2. Lose at home to Gloucester = we’re doomed
3. Thrash LI = we’re world class and going to win every game
4. Lose to Briz = we’re doomed
5. Beat Pests = we’re world class and going to win every game
6. Lose to Glasgow = we’re doomed!
Need to get a grip! Glasgow are class. Maybe not as good as the last two years but still high class, experienced HC campaigners and very rarely lose at home. We’re a relatively new team that is still trying to gel and has a number of top players unavailable. 4th in the Prem after 4 games, in the Prem Cup semi and an opening bonus point away at Glasgow is something we would usually only dream of in recent years!! Give them a chance for God sake.

Totally agree with all that

Seconded.

Before KO I'd have taken a losing BP and no BP for Glasgow from this away game.

[Rich E]

Regarding the line out issues - cheering from the crowd when Akker threw in and we won the line out perhaps highlights where we are:
However that said the players clearly have faith as after the first throw, a head high bullet to the front, (from what I remember) we went long to the back (not straight I think).
I'm not that sure that Langdon is our best thrower though, he's experienced issues last season when coming on for Webber, however, no denying he is lively around the park, especially in the last 20.
Currently I feel our best hooker approach is Webber for 55 followed by Akker for the remainder.
Personal view of course.