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[2013 Premiership] Round 1

Raining cats and dogs in Newcastle....I quite fancy Newcastle, in that case.
They play well at home in crap conditions.

Ruined the game as a spectacle but showed that Bath have a very good front 8 unit and Newcastle do not................now with the wind in the second half, the score is 14 nil to Bath and the game is well over....actually it was over at half time. Newcastle definite relegation candidate and their 10 is pretty ****e!!
 
Yeah, Bath have looked good, can't wait to see them in the dry to see their backs run some ball. Watson has looked very good tonight.
Brookes, bar the scrum, has been brilliant - some huge hits!

Interviewing the directors of rugby mid-game is interesting - I eagerly anticipate Cockerill and Diamond's appearances.
 
A very composed performance from Bath.
Their discipline was superb, especially when compared with what it was like at the beginning of last season and the season before that.
Dave Attwood had a stormer, as did the Bath pack in general.
Ford's kicking was outstanding, but we already knew that.
Banahan looked much more comfortable in his natural position.
Watson, Young, Houston, Garvey, Wilson and Webber all looked great too.
I was initially very worried about Kyle, but he ended up walking off the pitch unassisted so I think it could just be a stinger.
He only got the ball twice, but was very aggressive in defence.

Dem scrums.....

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If Kieran Brookes can continue to carry like he did, that will be a massive positive for the Falcons.
 
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Great to have Rugby Union back, Impressed with Bath and certainly played the conditions a lot better than Newcastle did.
 
My thoughts:

Bath

1. Rob Webber/Hooper were poor in the lineout. Some balls were dropped, others didn't reach their target well, and the best of them weren't clean. You can blame the conditions, but when Batty and Attwood took control the lineout, they ruled it - clean possession and two mauled tries.

2. Scrum-wise, again, Paul James/Rob Webber/David Wilson as a unit should have ruled the scrum. But it was basically parity for the duration they were on the field. They get replaced, Brookes gets replaced, and Bath slaughter the Falcons scrum from then on.

3. Nothing impressive 11-14. Bad conditions, but 11-14 may well have not been on the field for the little they did.

4. Didn't expect it, but Ford was great tonight, one of the best on the field. Brilliant in-field kicking game, and nailed some hard penalty kicks. Controlled well in wet weather.

5. Watson looks good. The one runner in the Bath backline that made some decent runs, and was solid in wet weather. Looking forward to seeing more.

Pack 8/10, backs 5/10

Newcastle

1. Initial thoughts: they aren't going to be rolled over as easily as Welsh. The score line doesn't tell the picture of the game imo. Bath scored most of their points through lineout drives. Sort this problem out, and Falcons would have been in it until the end.

2. Brookes was fantastic. As I highlighted in Bath's summary, it was around the time that Brookes went off that the Falcons scrum got demolished. He made some great carries and tackles. Tigers will be disappointed. I think Brookes put Wilson to shame tonight, personally. Too early to talk about England, but tighthead is a problem position, and if he keeps it up, he'll be back in the Saxons and aiming for England in no time.

3. I thought Godman was really poor, didn't control the game, and was charged down a few times. I hope Clegg gets some time at some point soon. On the other hand, Mike Blair may have been the best back on the pitch imo. Still has it.

4. I was impressed with Alex Tait.
 
Brookes is poor in the scrum, though.
It wasn't parity with him on, Bath were still on top, just not to the extent that they were after the 2nd choice Falcons front row came on - most (all?) of Bath's penalties at the scrum came from James vs Brookes.

That said, he's still very young and will improve here - wouldn't have him for England yet, and to say he put Wilson to shame is a bit silly.
Absolutely immense away from the scrum, though.
 
I think it's a little harsh to score the backs 5/10, when as you point out, they didn't get the ball.
5/10 suggests they were poor, when in reality they didn't have the opportunity to play badly, let alone well.
I think Webber did pretty well initially, his first 8 throws were good... then it got a little muddled.
 
Brookes is poor in the scrum, though.
It wasn't parity with him on, Bath were still on top, just not to the extent that they were after the 2nd choice Falcons front row came on - most (all?) of Bath's penalties at the scrum came from James vs Brookes.

That said, he's still very young and will improve here - wouldn't have him for England yet, and to say he put Wilson to shame is a bit silly.
Absolutely immense away from the scrum, though.
I remember it differently. Reading into the stats, for example, both Falcons and Bath lost 2 scrums on their own feed. The 2 scrums Falcons lost were the two following Brookes leaving the field. So up until Brookes left, Falcons had held their own scrum on every occasion and Bath had lost it twice. The turning point in the scrum was certainly when the entire Bath front row and Brookes were replaced. So all in all, I think Brookes did very well in the scrum. It may be that he's finding his feet, or the rule changes suit him, or he just had a really good game. Not sure.

On another note, looking at the stats, someone explain when Vickers ran 109 meters?

I think it's a little harsh to score the backs 5/10, when as you point out, they didn't get the ball.
5/10 suggests they were poor, when in reality they didn't have the opportunity to play badly, let alone well.
I think Webber did pretty well initially, his first 8 throws were good... then it got a little muddled.
Okay, I should have pointed out that I don't do the internet rating thing of 1-6 = crap, 7 = average, 8 = good, 9 = great, 10 = perfect. 5 is bang-in-the-middle average. Nothing special, but not poor either.

The good:

Watson 7.5 (second to Blair in the backs, best runner, think he's made a case to be kept at the back, with Bendy onto the wing?)
Stringer, Ford 7 (Stringer's passing was crisp, Ford controlled the hell out of the second half and put in some nice kicks)

The average:

Rokoduguni 6 (made some decent, powerful runs for the conditions)
Eastmond 6 (played one half, and still made more tackles for a back than any other back on the field - rating lowered because he didn't do much else)
Banahan 5 (made some good kicks ahead, but strangely seems to struggle at making meters in runs, for an 18st wing)

The bad:

Henson 4 (only involvement was to throw a poor pass, okay in defence)
Joseph 2 (when you play for 80 minutes, you have to do more than touch the ball once, regardless of the conditions - anonymous in attack and defence)

As a unit? 5/6 seems fair to me.

As for Webber... sometimes it's difficult to tell how much is his fault, the jumpers, the lifters or the callers. I think there was a ball that Garvey/Hooper (can't remember which) dropped, and I blamed Webber for it because it seemed as if the ball didn't reach the jumper and was too hard to take, but it may well be that the jumper mistimed the jump, or one of the lifters didn't give him decent height or the call was too confusing to begin with. It just seemed as if everything went a lot smoother when Batty came on.
 
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I remember it differently. Reading into the stats, for example, both Falcons and Bath lost 2 scrums on their own feed. The 2 scrums Falcons lost were the two following Brookes leaving the field. So up until Brookes left, Falcons had held their own scrum on every occasion and Bath had lost it twice. The turning point in the scrum was certainly when the entire Bath front row and Brookes were replaced. So all in all, I think Brookes did very well in the scrum. It may be that he's finding his feet, or the rule changes suit him, or he just had a really good game. Not sure.

On another note, looking at the stats, someone explain when Vickers ran 109 meters?


Okay, I should have pointed out that I don't do the internet rating thing of 1-6 = crap, 7 = average, 8 = good, 9 = great, 10 = perfect. 5 is bang-in-the-middle average. Nothing special, but not poor either.

The good:

Watson 7.5 (second to Blair in the backs, best runner, think he's made a case to be kept at the back, with Bendy onto the wing?)
Stringer, Ford 7 (Stringer's passing was crisp, Ford controlled the hell out of the second half and put in some nice kicks)

The average:

Rokoduguni 6 (made some decent, powerful runs for the conditions)
Eastmond 6 (played one half, and still made more tackles for a back than any other back on the field - rating lowered because he didn't do much else)
Banahan 5 (made some good kicks ahead, but strangely seems to struggle at making meters in runs, for an 18st wing)

The bad:

Henson 4 (only involvement was to throw a poor pass, okay in defence)
Joseph 2 (when you play for 80 minutes, you have to do more than touch the ball once, regardless of the conditions - anonymous in attack and defence)

As a unit? 5/6 seems fair to me.

As for Webber... sometimes it's difficult to tell how much is his fault, the jumpers, the lifters or the callers. I think there was a ball that Garvey/Hooper (can't remember which) dropped, and I blamed Webber for it because it seemed as if the ball didn't reach the jumper and was too hard to take, but it may well be that the jumper mistimed the jump, or one of the lifters didn't give him decent height or the call was too confusing to begin with. It just seemed as if everything went a lot smoother when Batty came on.


BT Sports needs you................better analysis than they have ever achieved!
 
Is there any news on Jamie Helleur (Newcastle) after he was carried off with a nasty head injury?
 
Bad concussion but nothing more sinister (i.e. broken bones), according to Newcastle papers
 
Ford was magnificent last night, bossed the game and landed some very difficult kicks. Looks like a completely different player from the one that struggled last season at Leicester.

Other than that the conditions ruined the spectacle.
 
Anyone watching Sarries beating Irish? I like the comentator who knows when to shut up and not commentate like he has to explain evrything that you can see anyway as he would if he was on the radio and as many of them do! Unfortunately, Dayglo is there on the down side!
 
Sarries look good.

Yarde has looked good in the areas I think Lancaster wants him to be - physical and secure in attack and defence.
He got round onto the ball before a maul had formed to get the turnover from which they scored the try.
 
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Did Eamonn Sheridan or Jamie Hagan play? If so can someone tell me how they got on.
 
Sheridan started at 12, Hagan not in the 23. Haven't really watched enough of it (listening to the Sale game) to make a proper judgement but I've seen Sheridan make a few strong runs.
You should be able to watch the game on the PremiershipRugby.tv website when it's put up if you wanted to watch it (though may require a UK IP/Proxy) - or it might end up on youtube, quite a few games are these days.


Sale winning 3 - 14 (1 try by Cueto) vs Gloucester at halftime.
We were getting done at the scrum then something clicked and Henry Thomas ended up getting Nick Wood yellow carded!
 
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Yarde vs Ashton - only one winner - Marland.

Tomkins is looking much more comfortable than last season, he's not having to constantly think about what he's doing, it's become more instinctive for him.
I was quietly impressed by him, I'm not as unhappy about him being on the England fringes now, especially when our lack of depth there is considered.
 
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3 - 19 to Sale now after a Forsyth try.
Billy Twelvetrees just got binned for a spear tackle on Peel!
 

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