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By Narbia
#43581
Screenshot 2022-01-21 at 12-48-09 Saracens Rugby Club ( Saracens) Twitter.png
Screenshot 2022-01-21 at 12-48-09 Saracens Rugby Club ( Saracens) Twitter.png (121.01 KiB) Viewed 3861 times
As far as I can tell, that's full strength.
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By Stevie J
#43594
This is where getting ready for league action means more to both teams; we played our largely A1 line up last week, Sarries are well rested and want a run out for their 1sts ahead of next week.

What does this mean for our qualification then if we lose?

Currently we are top of Pool 3 with 11 points and looking good for a pool winner spot. Sadly that 'draw' with Brive cost us likely 3 points and if we lose tomorrow then a wide range of outcomes are possible (not to mention, who knows how COVID will impact any of his). Given the two teams you'd say its likely we lose.

Pau can't overtake us and Saracens could only match us with two five-pointers. So one point tomorrow should be enough for 3d place in the pool and the knockouts. It just might mean a tougher route in the comp against a Heineken Cup team that finishes 9th to 11th.
By Florida
#43597
Stevie J wrote:
Fri Jan 21, 2022 2:40 pm
What does this mean for our qualification then if we lose?

Given the two teams you'd say its likely we lose.
I fancy our chances against that rabble
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By Narbia
#43600
Well for those among you who are still doing permutations and combinations, all I can say is that with CV19 we've lost 3 points in that cancelled game against CA Brive.

Going by tonight's EDI v BRI I can safely say that that would've been a home 5-pointer for almost anyone. BRI were just not at the races. :bored:

Edit: I should add that COVID seems to wreaking havoc over a number of European games.
User avatar
By Stevie J
#43701
Irish have made three late changes to the match day squad after some failed fitness tests.

Cillian Redmond replaces Kyle Rowe in the 14 jersey, Tadgh McElroy replaces Mike Willemse in the 16 jersey and Henry Arundell wears the 23 shirt instead of Ben Loader.

https://t.co/4eMkQB9rhX
User avatar
By Narbia
#43729
Stevie J wrote:
Sun Jan 23, 2022 2:28 pm
Irish have made three late changes to the match day squad after some failed fitness tests.

Cillian Redmond replaces Kyle Rowe in the 14 jersey, Tadgh McElroy replaces Mike Willemse in the 16 jersey and Henry Arundell wears the 23 shirt instead of Ben Loader.

https://t.co/4eMkQB9rhX
The commentator is obviously doing his first broadcast, as he's still calling out Loader and Rowe.
Anyway, 4 tries for us would be nice.
By M_W
#43730
It's an honest mistake, but I hope someone has a word at HT.

Real shame that pass at the end didn't stick. Game could run away from us as it stands with a very makeshift backline. Gutted for Williams too as it looked another bad one for him.
By GHA
#43732
Pretty pleased with a try bonus considering we made three changes off the bus and two more within 20-odd minutes. Second half we were under the cosh the whole time so it was delightfully efficient to get 2 tries from 2 visits into their red zone. Bodes well for facing them in the Premiership IMO considering we were missing a helluva lot more first teamers than they were!
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By Narbia
#43733
Scrum decent, maul defence good.4 tries giving bonus point. Shame about the injuries, but quite a few got some game time.

Onto the knock-out stage then.

Williams (and Atkins) seem to have rotten luck with injuries. Jennings HIA? Lovejoy not much luck either.
By GHA
#43734
Anyone else wonder if Sarries' penultimate try by the prop could've been a forward pass or offside or something? Centre takes it into contact, prop just in front and to the side joins, takes the ball and disappears..?
By M_W
#43744
That Sarries try looked just about okay on replay, although it looked wrong on first viewing for sure.

Interesting game. We never really had enough to get close, especially with the hugely makeshift backline, but there was some positive stuff.

Superb individual efforts from Gonzales and Arundell especially. Have seen the latter play two senior games of rugby and he's looked incredibly dangerous in both. He's going to be a serious player imo.
GHA liked this
By Ruckinggood
#43774
I was unable to watch the game on line so would be interested to hear from those who did as to who stepped up and who did not deliver. It seemed that the team had a solid if unspectacular game?
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By SixNineOne
#43776
Ruckinggood wrote:
Mon Jan 24, 2022 6:39 am
I was unable to watch the game on line so would be interested to hear from those who did as to who stepped up and who did not deliver. It seemed that the team had a solid if unspectacular game?
I too didn’t get to see the whole game, only the highlights. It was a bit worrying to see reports of Jennings and Williams going off injured - were they just knocks or did it look like something more significant for them?
By GC89
#43779
I've only watched the first half, will report back when I have caught up on rest later on.

Didn't really notice the Jennings injury so assume a knock. Unfortunately Williams looks like he has picked up something bad. Had to be carried off the pitch. Really hope it isn't a repeat of what he has already done.
By M_W
#43781
Yeah, Jennings was something upper body somewhere as he walked off unaided. Hopefully nothing serious. I'm no doctor but the Williams one did look bad. Hoping he's not wrecked the same knee, but I wouldn't expect to see him any time soon.

Ruckingwood - It was a tough game to draw too many conclusions on. We let in a few soft long range tries. In mitigation we played pretty much the whole game with a midfield of van Rensburg, Stokes, Cinti at 10, 12, 13. Something that's not going to happen in the league unless something goes seriously wrong. Stokes then went off injured in the second half, so we had two 9s playing (again).

OHC had a quiet game, although he did pop up in a defensive maul almost single-handedly trashing a Sarries maul that looked to be heading to the try line, which was ammusing.

It was just a bit of a non descript performance. No one really had a shocker, but there weren't many stand out moments either from anyone. Game would have felt a little different if we'd have scored just before HT when van Rensburg dropped a simple pass from Arundell that would have seen him in under the posts.
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By Stevie J
#43782
I caught it all. Few thoughts from me:
  • Start of match looked ominous with plenty of Sarries possession but we held firm and got the intercept try. I thought Daly was quick but evidently not quick enough to catch Stokes.
  • We did well in attack for most of the match considering who was out there and the injuries. While Sarries started off slightly plodding their way through the game, gaps started to open up later and their offloading really upped the pace and our defence really couldn't cope.
  • Set pieces worked well and our scrum got on top as the game wore on. Even as we replaced with the bench they got on top.
  • Injury worries: Not sure on Jennings, he walked off and they never confirmed if it was HIA on the stream. But seemed innocuous enough, no noticeable limp or holding of limbs. Williams looked bad, think his ankle or knee might have got twisted in the artificial turf in a tackle. Lovejoy didn't last long and Van Der Merwe had to come back on.
  • Hard to judge as the TV angles were poor at times but Arundell continue to looks good. I will be honest and say I couldn't judge his defence but he broke the line at the end of the first half and passed back to BJVR who knocked on, really should have been our third try. And his solo effort with only a few minutes left secured us the BP we needed to qualify.
By Ruckinggood
#43812
Thanks for the update and it sounds like the team delivered but had moments where the combinations did not click which is not surprising.

Lets hope that the injuries were not too bad and that we can run out a full squad for Exeter this weekend. Any news re LJ - other injuries were mentioned but I heard that he lasted 15 before coming off.. not good news really
By GC89
#43895
Finally caught up on this.

As others have said, nobody really stood out. I thought the experienced guys in the pack like Coleman and Rogerson were full of effort, but overall the pack was clearly second best. The lack of a ball carrier to win the gainline was very noticeable.

In the backs, I was really impressed by BJVR. Not that he did anything special, but he showed enough to indicate he can be a back up 10 if required. As we often use him on the crash ball at 12, it was good to see a wider range of skills. He is a very good Rugby player. Arundell scored a superb try and showed some other really nice glimpses in attack. He looks to have a bit more of an ability to beat players one on one than Parton so it will be fascinating to watch that competition develop over the years. Defensively he needs some work though, but imagine that will come.
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