By TheSaracens.com
January 14 2026
So after a stunning victory in the wind and rain last Sunday, Sarries have given themselves a shot at a home tie in the next phase of the Champions Cup. But it really is all to play for and even with Maximum points, Glasgow are not assured of top place!
Sharks v Clermont,
Toulouse v sale
Glasgow v Sarries
Glasgow 15 (PD 24)
Sale 11 (PD32)
Sarries 10 (PD 38)
Toulouse 7 (PD 24)
Sharks 5 (PD -48)
Clermont 0 (PD -70)
Let’s look at the permutations: Glasgow and Sale have definitely qualified and Sarries technically need 1 point to ensure they go through (although it would require a huge victory for Sharks over Clermont for them to catch Sarries). Glasgow just need a single point from their game with Saracens to finish on top. On the other hand a 5 point win for Sarries with Glasgow getting nothing would put Sarries on top (assuming Sale don’t beat Toulouse). A win for Sarries should put them in 2nd place (again barring a Sale miracle). Anything else is likely to mean not only playing away for the rest of the competition, but a low ranking and thus a higher chance of being drawn against one of the best teams.
The other 2 games in the pool take place on Saturday so by the time Sarries take the field at Scotstoun they will know exactly what they need to do.
Glasgow have had a great season so far. They are second to Stormers in the United Rugby Championships having won 7 of their 9 games and they have 100% record in this years’ Champions Cup. They reached the semi-finals last year losing to Leinster having won the title in 2024with a fabulous victory away against Bulls at Loftus Versfield. Under coach Franco Smith, the team seem to have gelled and especially at home they are a force to be reckoned with. BUT just this week it was announced that Hugh Jones, their Lions’ centre, will be moving to Toulon next season only days after Adam Hastings announced his departure for Montpelier. Will that affect the mood in the dressing room?
But the big question is how will Sarries perform? Can they put together back-to-back performances especially against high quality sides? Glasgow are unlikely to be phased by inclement weather in the way that Toulouse were. And what sort of team will Mark McCall put out? Given the performance last Sunday, one would hope for not too many changes. I would love to see Charlie Bracken get a start but I fear that in a game of this magnitude that won’t happen. I hope we persist with Burke at 10, maybe with Owen on the bench again. In Mark McCall we trust!
It’s a shame most people won’t be able to watch the match – can’t help thinking that ERCC sold their soul to the highest bidder – short-term gain but long term pain. We shall see. Good luck to the team, another performance like last week should be enough: but can we raise our game to that level again?
Quote:Don't agree has been poor just not upto his usual high standard. A spell at 13 owuld be interesting after all it is his natural n and prefered position I believePaulHerox
Good preview.
I just want to see us have two (plus) decent games on a bounce.
A committed performance will do me fine. A point r two points would be a bonus. Anything more a dream but I felt the same way last weekend so who knows.
Daly has been poor the last 4 games. If that might be changed by playing him at 13 we should definitely consider it in the absence of both Lozo and Cinti and give Malins the start with Segun and Caluori.
Quote:gerry1Quote:Don't agree has been poor just not upto his usual high standard. A spell at 13 owuld be interesting after all it is his natural n and prefered position I believePaulHerox
Good preview.
I just want to see us have two (plus) decent games on a bounce.
A committed performance will do me fine. A point r two points would be a bonus. Anything more a dream but I felt the same way last weekend so who knows.
Daly has been poor the last 4 games. If that might be changed by playing him at 13 we should definitely consider it in the absence of both Lozo and Cinti and give Malins the start with Segun and Caluori.
Quote:JK12
Fear worse with Cinti at 13 opposite Tua...
As TK says we need Earl to step up..stop celebrating scrums and provide a consistent ball carrying threat.
Quote:TommyKentishQuote:JK12
Fear worse with Cinti at 13 opposite Tua...
As TK says we need Earl to step up..stop celebrating scrums and provide a consistent ball carrying threat.
He celebrates plenty for England as well, we just need the rest.
Quote:To be fair to them the comment of ‘if you’re a saracens fan that’s not enough effort’ was close to the mark wasn’t it.Harrow Sarrie
Tough viewing so far. At least we have the benefit of knowledgeable and impartial commentary
Quote:JK12
To avoid any negative feedback..
Great 1st 40 mins with a lot of hard work in cold weather which must be hard to play in. Well done boys.
Quote:#wolfpack1
Earl particularly poor imo. Giving away penalties and making no yards in the carry. Frustrating because he is a better player than he shows for us.
Quote:Nosher1979
The boys are turning on each other now! That’s sums it all up
Quote:#wolfpack1Quote:Nosher1979
The boys are turning on each other now! That’s sums it all up
The most intent any of our players have shown all evening
Quote:JK12
This squad...and people may not like it being said but time and time again up against physical teams we get beaten up ..toulouse was the exception to 18 months of passive conservative play..it starts with the selection and migrates into the play.
Quote:Nosher1979
Positive from this is the last 50 minutes we have not conceded a point. Couldn’t Score for love nor money but didn’t leak any more.
Quote:StonexjimQuote:JK12
This squad...and people may not like it being said but time and time again up against physical teams we get beaten up ..toulouse was the exception to 18 months of passive conservative play..it starts with the selection and migrates into the play.
This
Quote:#wolfpack1Quote:Nosher1979
Positive from this is the last 50 minutes we have not conceded a point. Couldn’t Score for love nor money but didn’t leak any more.
Errrrr….
Quote:JK12
This squad...and people may not like it being said but time and time again up against physical teams we get beaten up ..toulouse was the exception to 18 months of passive conservative play..it starts with the selection and migrates into the play.
Quote:SarrovQuote:JK12
This squad...and people may not like it being said but time and time again up against physical teams we get beaten up ..toulouse was the exception to 18 months of passive conservative play..it starts with the selection and migrates into the play.
Glasgow aren't a particularly physical team. They just stuck their tackles and played the ref much better at the breakdown and scrum.
Quote:JK12Quote:SarrovQuote:JK12
This squad...and people may not like it being said but time and time again up against physical teams we get beaten up ..toulouse was the exception to 18 months of passive conservative play..it starts with the selection and migrates into the play.
Glasgow aren't a particularly physical team. They just stuck their tackles and played the ref much better at the breakdown and scrum.
They drove us of our own scrum. 5 times., dominated ball carries , line breaks and smashed us at the maul.... ref had zero to do with that marking.
Quote:#wolfpack1
I know a lot of people get annoyed when there’s a lot of criticism when we lose and think there’s always more good than bad in every loss but I don’t think anyone could have watched that and not thought it was totally abject.
That “our defence wasn’t as bad as it can be and has been occasionally” is the best thing I can say about the game sums it up.
Segun was the only one worth his place in the side.
We really have to sort out:
1) our pathetic ball carrying when Tom doesn’t do it all for us; and
2) our complete inability to find space or fashion a line break.
I’d love to know the yards per carry of all players less Segun and Tom. I bet it will be in the negative.
There are far too many passengers in this team. Too few have any positive impact on a game.
Quote:SarrovQuote:#wolfpack1
I know a lot of people get annoyed when there’s a lot of criticism when we lose and think there’s always more good than bad in every loss but I don’t think anyone could have watched that and not thought it was totally abject.
That “our defence wasn’t as bad as it can be and has been occasionally” is the best thing I can say about the game sums it up.
Segun was the only one worth his place in the side.
We really have to sort out:
1) our pathetic ball carrying when Tom doesn’t do it all for us; and
2) our complete inability to find space or fashion a line break.
I’d love to know the yards per carry of all players less Segun and Tom. I bet it will be in the negative.
There are far too many passengers in this team. Too few have any positive impact on a game.
Official stats:
Meters made - Us 409. Glasgow 343
Clean breaks - Us 7. Glasgow 8
Defenders beaten - Us 24. Glasgow 27
Killer was conceeding 16 pens to 8.
We lost awat to one of the best sides in the competition who have built a team over a number of years. They won the crucial moments, territory battle and our red zone efficiency (usually right up there) was poor.
Quote:#wolfpack1Quote:SarrovQuote:#wolfpack1
I know a lot of people get annoyed when there’s a lot of criticism when we lose and think there’s always more good than bad in every loss but I don’t think anyone could have watched that and not thought it was totally abject.
That “our defence wasn’t as bad as it can be and has been occasionally” is the best thing I can say about the game sums it up.
Segun was the only one worth his place in the side.
We really have to sort out:
1) our pathetic ball carrying when Tom doesn’t do it all for us; and
2) our complete inability to find space or fashion a line break.
I’d love to know the yards per carry of all players less Segun and Tom. I bet it will be in the negative.
There are far too many passengers in this team. Too few have any positive impact on a game.
Official stats:
Meters made - Us 409. Glasgow 343
Clean breaks - Us 7. Glasgow 8
Defenders beaten - Us 24. Glasgow 27
Killer was conceeding 16 pens to 8.
We lost awat to one of the best sides in the competition who have built a team over a number of years. They won the crucial moments, territory battle and our red zone efficiency (usually right up there) was poor.
They did not “win the territory battle”. In the second half they showed the graphic showing us with 70 odd % possession, and the biggest % (37 I think from memory) was in their 22, with the next biggest (33%?) between halfway and their 22. And we didn’t look like getting over the line.
We had plenty of possession and plenty of territory… but just could not score and really didn’t know how to go about doing it. (Summed up by Farrell and AOC shouting at each other in frustration when yet another series of pointless carries went nowhere and resulted in a knock on the moment we tried to move it more than one out).
Quote:PaulHerox
Three cheers for Sireli Bombo!
Quote:Sarrov
I think people need to gain some perspective on where we are as a side. We aren't at the top table and it will take seasons to get back there as we cant spend our way to success.
Quote:Sarrov
I think people need to gain some perspective on where we are as a side. We aren't at the top table and it will take seasons to get back there as we cant spend our way to success.
We are through to the knock outs from a tough group. Sharks, Clermont, La Rochelle and Munster are all out. I guess they must also have squads full of lightweights who aren't good enough.
At the moment, aiming for top 4 in the Prem is about our level. We have good players coming through but on the whole they are very young. Nobody benefits from throwing them to the wolves.
Quote:TommyKentishQuote:Sarrov
I think people need to gain some perspective on where we are as a side. We aren't at the top table and it will take seasons to get back there as we cant spend our way to success.
We are the top spending team in England. If we can’t spend our way to the top four then change it up and play the young guys who want that big contract. That’s what gets me, we arent Saints or Exeter spending way below budget but with actual playing identities, we’re a squad full of international who half the time either look like they don’t know the plan or don’t have the physicality to live with other teams.
Quote:TommyKentishQuote:Sarrov
I think people need to gain some perspective on where we are as a side. We aren't at the top table and it will take seasons to get back there as we cant spend our way to success.
We are the top spending team in England. If we can’t spend our way to the top four then change it up and play the young guys who want that big contract. That’s what gets me, we arent Saints or Exeter spending way below budget but with actual playing identities, we’re a squad full of international who half the time either look like they don’t know the plan or don’t have the physicality to live with other teams.
Quote:JK12Quote:Sarrov
I think people need to gain some perspective on where we are as a side. We aren't at the top table and it will take seasons to get back there as we cant spend our way to success.
We are through to the knock outs from a tough group. Sharks, Clermont, La Rochelle and Munster are all out. I guess they must also have squads full of lightweights who aren't good enough.
At the moment, aiming for top 4 in the Prem is about our level. We have good players coming through but on the whole they are very young. Nobody benefits from throwing them to the wolves.
You do realise we are top spenders in Prem?
Quote:SarrovQuote:TommyKentishQuote:Sarrov
I think people need to gain some perspective on where we are as a side. We aren't at the top table and it will take seasons to get back there as we cant spend our way to success.
We are the top spending team in England. If we can’t spend our way to the top four then change it up and play the young guys who want that big contract. That’s what gets me, we arent Saints or Exeter spending way below budget but with actual playing identities, we’re a squad full of international who half the time either look like they don’t know the plan or don’t have the physicality to live with other teams.
But neither of those teams achieved that over night.
Chiefs spent 4 years in the doldrums, far worse then we are now, and have benefited from being able to concentrate on the league and relatively few internationals going in to camps or summer tours. That will change.
Saints went a decade between titles and built around a young group, the same as we are trying to do.
We won the league 3 seasons ago. Hardly starved of success.
I am as keen as anyone to see the young lads come through but it needs to be managed properly.
Again, I would disagree we struggle with physicality overall.
Quote:TommyKentish
I’d love to say I have the answers but the only angry thing I can think of is to play all these young lads who we’ve heard so much about. Stop coddling them. Keep them in a team with Maro, George maybe Daly for the backs and let’s watch them grow. Cinti isn’t a winger and just doesn’t suit us at 13, no one’s fault so let’s get Hall at 13 immediately with Hartley and build a partnership. Sodeke needs to put muscle on, fair enough. Can he play while he does that? We’ve apparently got about 10 back rows coming through, I’d play all of them over JMG, AOC and Theo M
Quote:PaulHeroxQuote:TommyKentish
I’d love to say I have the answers but the only angry thing I can think of is to play all these young lads who we’ve heard so much about. Stop coddling them. Keep them in a team with Maro, George maybe Daly for the backs and let’s watch them grow. Cinti isn’t a winger and just doesn’t suit us at 13, no one’s fault so let’s get Hall at 13 immediately with Hartley and build a partnership. Sodeke needs to put muscle on, fair enough. Can he play while he does that? We’ve apparently got about 10 back rows coming through, I’d play all of them over JMG, AOC and Theo M
Good grief and you say I talk bollocks.
Quote:StonexjimQuote:SarrovQuote:TommyKentishQuote:Sarrov
I think people need to gain some perspective on where we are as a side. We aren't at the top table and it will take seasons to get back there as we cant spend our way to success.
We are the top spending team in England. If we can’t spend our way to the top four then change it up and play the young guys who want that big contract. That’s what gets me, we arent Saints or Exeter spending way below budget but with actual playing identities, we’re a squad full of international who half the time either look like they don’t know the plan or don’t have the physicality to live with other teams.
But neither of those teams achieved that over night.
Chiefs spent 4 years in the doldrums, far worse then we are now, and have benefited from being able to concentrate on the league and relatively few internationals going in to camps or summer tours. That will change.
Saints went a decade between titles and built around a young group, the same as we are trying to do.
We won the league 3 seasons ago. Hardly starved of success.
I am as keen as anyone to see the young lads come through but it needs to be managed properly.
Again, I would disagree we struggle with physicality overall.
Chiefs have gone from 9th to 3rd in 8 months.
Quote:TommyKentish
I admitted in the above that I am angry but I can still say that I think we should take advantage of this slump and blood some more players regularly. It also might allow us to trim our bloated wage bill if some talent emergea that can replace very expensive players that are not getting us anywhere very fast.
Quote:TommyKentish
Again, Chiefs are not spending up to the wage bill. In fact they detonated their team to cut costs hence the drop in form.
Quote:#wolfpack1
This current group aren’t going to get better at this stage in their careers
Quote:We made changes last week and took precisely zero lessons from the performance.#wolfpack1
I do think we need to roll the dice. But we won’t. We’ll carry on doing the same things and will scratch our heads when the results stay the same.
Quote:MarkCol7
Can only hope some of the kids who are so highly thought of, show enough in this prem cup block to get themselves a chance when the prem restarts
Quote:Sarrov
They have brought in Hooper, Dweba, Varney and Ikitau. All internationals and unlikely to be cheap. When IFW, Fisilau etc come up for contract renewal do you think they might not request more money?
Quote:PaulHeroxQuote:MarkCol7
Can only hope some of the kids who are so highly thought of, show enough in this prem cup block to get themselves a chance when the prem restarts
This is certainly something to be positive about.
I don't follow the Championship so am a bit unclear who is fit and who isn't but we have some very promising talent coming through and it will be good to have a look at them against some Prem/PRC level opposition.
I'm less sure about the pack but in the backs could we see something like Bracken, Johnson, Bracken, Hartley, Hall, Caluori, Elliott with maybe the odd more experienced player in.
I'd prefer that later balance with giving some time to combinations that might transition more realistically to the Prem team so Bracken, Johnson/Farrell, Segun/Bracken, Hartley, Cinti, Caluori, Malins.
Quote:saracensfan62
A thoroughly disappointing performance but we must admit we got totally outplayed by a far better team.
Report writing for that won't be easy
Quote:#wolfpack1
“We obviously started the game slowly,” said Mark McCall, Saracens’ director of rugby. “It was 7-3 after 24 minutes, but it didn’t feel that way. I felt that they were the team on the front foot, we were the team on the back foot. We had a hill to climb in the second half and I thought our effort and our fight in the second half was great. But at the minute we’re just not joining that effort and fight up.
“I think we had 70 per cent territory in the whole game and to come up with three points when we’ve got 70 per cent territory is not good enough. We just couldn’t get the speed of ball, we couldn’t take the odd five-metre line-out opportunities that we got and they defended brilliantly.”
Quote:#wolfpack1
“We obviously started the game slowly,” said Mark McCall, Saracens’ director of rugby. “It was 7-3 after 24 minutes, but it didn’t feel that way. I felt that they were the team on the front foot, we were the team on the back foot. We had a hill to climb in the second half and I thought our effort and our fight in the second half was great. But at the minute we’re just not joining that effort and fight up.
“I think we had 70 per cent territory in the whole game and to come up with three points when we’ve got 70 per cent territory is not good enough. We just couldn’t get the speed of ball, we couldn’t take the odd five-metre line-out opportunities that we got and they defended brilliantly.”
Quote:LondonSarrie
the complete lack of respect shown to travelling fans by the Saracens players I thought sums up where we are as a club at the moment. Three players could be bothered to walk across the pitch to acknowledge travelling fans who had spent hundreds of pounds and 10s of hours to get to the game.
Quote:LondonSarrie
After a bumpy night on the sleeper train back down from Glasgow, I still can't believe quite how insipid that performance was. But before talking about the game, the complete lack of respect shown to travelling fans by the Saracens players I thought sums up where we are as a club at the moment. Three players could be bothered to walk across the pitch to acknowledge travelling fans who had spent hundreds of pounds and 10s of hours to get to the game. Might feels like a small thing, but I think its indicative of where the club is at the moment. We seem intent on being known as the "@#$%&**les of rugby" but that shouldn't apply to your own fans.
- What is our new attack coach actually doing in training? We get to the opposition 22 and just freeze. If you sign a coach from a Welsh region I guess you can't be surprised when we start attacking with the same effectiveness as a Welsh region.
- I feel sorry for Malins - he was never the fastest but has a lost a yard of pace after his injury and just isn't fast enough or competitive enough in the air to play wing at a high level at the moment.
- The centre pairing just doesn't work. It has no creativity and is porous in defence.
- It used to be the case that Saracens players often played much better for club than they did for country. It is concerning that the opposite pattern is now emerging (Earl, Cinti etc)
- Once Williams is here, I don't understand why we would waste salary cap on Van Zyl, he is constantly poor and would be such an error to not give Bracken on more game time.
MM keeps blaming poor performances on transition - but isn't picking the players to give us a chance to transition. Insanity is doing the same things over and over again and expecting a different result and picking a Dads army backline that gets picked apart in away games just keeps happening.
Quote:LondonSarrie
After a bumpy night on the sleeper train back down from Glasgow, I still can't believe quite how insipid that performance was. But before talking about the game, the complete lack of respect shown to travelling fans by the Saracens players I thought sums up where we are as a club at the moment. Three players could be bothered to walk across the pitch to acknowledge travelling fans who had spent hundreds of pounds and 10s of hours to get to the game. Might feels like a small thing, but I think its indicative of where the club is at the moment. We seem intent on being known as the "@#$%&**les of rugby" but that shouldn't apply to your own fans.
- What is our new attack coach actually doing in training? We get to the opposition 22 and just freeze. If you sign a coach from a Welsh region I guess you can't be surprised when we start attacking with the same effectiveness as a Welsh region.
- I feel sorry for Malins - he was never the fastest but has a lost a yard of pace after his injury and just isn't fast enough or competitive enough in the air to play wing at a high level at the moment.
- The centre pairing just doesn't work. It has no creativity and is porous in defence.
- It used to be the case that Saracens players often played much better for club than they did for country. It is concerning that the opposite pattern is now emerging (Earl, Cinti etc)
- Once Williams is here, I don't understand why we would waste salary cap on Van Zyl, he is constantly poor and would be such an error to not give Bracken on more game time.
MM keeps blaming poor performances on transition - but isn't picking the players to give us a chance to transition. Insanity is doing the same things over and over again and expecting a different result and picking a Dads army backline that gets picked apart in away games just keeps happening.
Quote:LondonSarrie
After a bumpy night on the sleeper train back down from Glasgow, I still can't believe quite how insipid that performance was. But before talking about the game, the complete lack of respect shown to travelling fans by the Saracens players I thought sums up where we are as a club at the moment. Three players could be bothered to walk across the pitch to acknowledge travelling fans who had spent hundreds of pounds and 10s of hours to get to the game. Might feels like a small thing, but I think its indicative of where the club is at the moment. We seem intent on being known as the "@#$%&**les of rugby" but that shouldn't apply to your own fans. .
Quote:SarrovQuote:LondonSarrie
the complete lack of respect shown to travelling fans by the Saracens players I thought sums up where we are as a club at the moment. Three players could be bothered to walk across the pitch to acknowledge travelling fans who had spent hundreds of pounds and 10s of hours to get to the game.
That is incredibly poor
Quote:For the first time in many years we are way off being a top English team (it is taking me back to Vicarage Road where I normally travelled with hope and not expectation!)
Quote:dirtybertieQuote:SarrovQuote:LondonSarrie
the complete lack of respect shown to travelling fans by the Saracens players I thought sums up where we are as a club at the moment. Three players could be bothered to walk across the pitch to acknowledge travelling fans who had spent hundreds of pounds and 10s of hours to get to the game.
That is incredibly poor
I have passed this onto management - Embarssing and can only appologise
Quote:TommyKentish
I’m sorry I thought this was nonsense when I suggested something similar Paul!
Quote:nedrichardsQuote:For the first time in many years we are way off being a top English team (it is taking me back to Vicarage Road where I normally travelled with hope and not expectation!)
I made a similar point to a friend yesterday, similarly then we had a host of top players, and occasionally put in marvellous performances or individual feats and other games just didn't seem up for it, or suffered 'impossible' collapses.
Quote:PaulHeroxQuote:nedrichardsQuote:For the first time in many years we are way off being a top English team (it is taking me back to Vicarage Road where I normally travelled with hope and not expectation!)
I made a similar point to a friend yesterday, similarly then we had a host of top players, and occasionally put in marvellous performances or individual feats and other games just didn't seem up for it, or suffered 'impossible' collapses.
But the thing is can't most of us see a good team in the players we have?
Sure we have weaknesses in the squad, so do most teams, I also think towards the top of the table a number of teams have strengthened and improved as we've fallen away but I'm still not convinced that a return to respectable performances and good wins isn't as far away as recent performances might suggest.
Quote:PaulHeroxQuote:TommyKentish
I’m sorry I thought this was nonsense when I suggested something similar Paul!
Because you didn't suggest something similar.
You suggested dropping a load of Internationals to play youth and Academy players in the Prem under the auspices of a small number of senior players two of whom are a major part of why our attack isn't working right now (in their current positions with the current gameplan)
Quote:StonexjimQuote:PaulHeroxQuote:nedrichardsQuote:For the first time in many years we are way off being a top English team (it is taking me back to Vicarage Road where I normally travelled with hope and not expectation!)
I made a similar point to a friend yesterday, similarly then we had a host of top players, and occasionally put in marvellous performances or individual feats and other games just didn't seem up for it, or suffered 'impossible' collapses.
But the thing is can't most of us see a good team in the players we have?
Sure we have weaknesses in the squad, so do most teams, I also think towards the top of the table a number of teams have strengthened and improved as we've fallen away but I'm still not convinced that a return to respectable performances and good wins isn't as far away as recent performances might suggest.
Paul were 6th in the league and 4 wins from 9.
We have one win in Europe against an awful clermont and a good win v Toulouse.
We also finished 6th last year.
These aren’t just recent performances
Quote:But the thing is can't most of us see a good team in the players we have?
Quote:#wolfpack1
On coaching-
They do seem to have lost their magic touch of getting in a player no one’s heard of or taking a player with an apparently low ceiling and making them play well above themselves, turning them into a really good player. I’m thinking Baz Barrington, Petrus, Michael Rhodes, Jackson Wray, Ben Spencer, Chris Wyles, Duncan Taylor etc. The haters say our best years were on the back of galacticos, but I always thought it was on the back of our coaches ability to massively improve players who no one else was interested in.
This seems to have gone the other way now.
Either we have good players playing well below their ceiling (Earl, McFarland (until last couple of months), Max), or players who appeared to have a very high ceiling only getting so far and stalling (Tizard (although he’s been better recently), Isikwe, AOC, Tompkins, IVZ etc).
Quote:PaulHerox
Really interesting to hear a number of different voices and views. Exactly what makes these discussions interesting.
nedrichards you obviously missed that Vyvyan dusted his boots off for the Toulouse game, or at least so the commentators would have had us believe!
I also agree 100% re the Women's team. Unity of coaching and commitment and implementing a pretty significant change to how we attack in this first half of the season with great results.
#wolfpack1 I think that's a good point about those bought in a developed. I feel we still do that to a degree but we're maybe not backing those players. For me Wilson has done enough that he should be a regular in the 23 but he isn't and will now be off. Hadfield likewise should be regularly challenging for at least a bench spot. Obviously the coaches know these players better than us but those both feel like the type of players who might previously have been given a chance to establish their places based on merit.
Keffer K don't you feel Farrell Snr's current issues with Ireland are a mirror for our own re holding onto senior players and not embracing the next generation.
My own feeling is we would benefit from new thinking if we had a change of coaching/DoR.
Quote:TommyKentish
However you subsequently literally said let’s play and entire backline with maybe one experienced player:
Quote:PaulHerox
This is certainly something to be positive about.
I don't follow the Championship so am a bit unclear who is fit and who isn't but we have some very promising talent coming through and it will be good to have a look at them against some Prem/PRC level opposition.
I'm less sure about the pack but in the backs could we see something like Bracken, Johnson, Bracken, Hartley, Hall, Caluori, Elliott with maybe the odd more experienced player in.
I'd prefer that later balance with giving some time to combinations that might transition more realistically to the Prem team so Bracken, Johnson/Farrell, Segun/Bracken, Hartley, Cinti, Caluori, Malins.
Quote:PaulHerox
It's certainly possible Keffer K I just think of clubs with strong club identities that have lost their way in past seasons; Bath, Tigers, and to a lesser extent Quins and a significant part of that is backing those comfortable and familiar with the set up and maybe not getting the critical eye that an outsider provides in soon enough.
I think the Farrell we have is already an issue to be honest and don't see that improving with Snr joining.
I appreciate that view is an outlier and I could easily be proved wrong on both counts. Which would delight me to be honest as I want to see the club slip it's current malaise.
I think one of the issues re the current set-up is clarity. It's early days to be saying whether Dai is having an impact but other than our ruck ball being much quicker our attack seems to be a work in progress. Shaw had a reputation as an innovative coach, is that something we're seeing. Likewise I know several players who were incredibly positive about Sorrell and yet that didn't translate to the attack.
Are these coaches actually getting to coach or is the ultimate plan and playing structure coming from elsewhere.
The Fezcast episode taking about the Academy coach with an up to date take on the state of the game and the attacking realities being let go was both illuminating and worrying.
Quote:TommyKentish
However you subsequently literally said let’s play and entire backline with maybe one experienced player:
Your reply was re the Prem. I replied to a specific post mentioning the upcoming PRC games and made reference in that post that I'd like to see that team with a view to the PRC games with maybe further consideration when the Prem starts.
That's not what you said, that's not what you inferred, you talked about the Prem alone. I don't agree with you.
Quote:PaulHerox
This is certainly something to be positive about.
I don't follow the Championship so am a bit unclear who is fit and who isn't but we have some very promising talent coming through and it will be good to have a look at them against some Prem/PRC level opposition.
I'm less sure about the pack but in the backs could we see something like Bracken, Johnson, Bracken, Hartley, Hall, Caluori, Elliott with maybe the odd more experienced player in.
I'd prefer that later balance with giving some time to combinations that might transition more realistically to the Prem team so Bracken, Johnson/Farrell, Segun/Bracken, Hartley, Cinti, Caluori, Malins.
Farrell was due to start the Toulouse game. He didn't as he took a knock and it was relatively late in the week that the decision was made he'd be on the bench.
Quote:TommyKentish
Agreed. On the bench is fine too. I’m hoping this isn’t the case with the coaching as well but the way things are going…
