Premiership Cup 23/24

[BPM]

Just to add … if he's still in form in the summer, I would 100% support a reconciliation, but for now … I think a little water under the bridge is a good thing.

 

[Vieux Talonneur]

When I read the interview it didn't come across like that. More that he was focussing on club rugby now as England didn't want him at the moment.

Worth a read as the headline warped what he said as they always do.

The media are scum.

Yeah it was a slightly naughty headline, but what he said in the interview was fine if ill advised.

(The media are appalling when they intrude in areas which are not in the public interest but I can't get too exercised about a little headline spin - happens all the time in the wider commercial world).

 

[Scotty]

Barring international callups that's as strong as chiefs can put out - fair enough Chiefs have more international callups than Gloucester, but Gloucester have also been guff all season and Chiefs are flying

What ever we think about him for England, We likely missed Roots quite abit to add that physical edge alongside Vermulen to deal with Mercer. We also missed Slade quite alot to bring some control from 13 to that backline.

It also is wierd our first time is like a secondstring te when just players are gone. We have zero depth in experience.


How did Becconsall and Jenkins get on? I missed the end of the game and could only watch on my phone anyway.

IFW would have just added that bit of extra.

 

[Geordie]

Interesting game so far at Ealing...

 

[Crash Hamster]

Competitive, isn't it?

(Also, another 1 ball at the lineout goes awry. It's a pet hate of mine, there's nearly always a not straight, forward pass, not five, tackled into touch or turnover. No idea why people do it when it works about 1% of the time...)

 

[BPM]

Do you mean a 0 ball?

 

[Geordie]

Diamond better sort us out for the Relegation playoff game.....

 

[Ragey Erasmus]

The media are scum. I agree with you there. However, IMO, Mercer came across as petulant and entitled. I understand his disappointment, but when you say you are 'done with England', you can't really expect to be in the picture.

When the 6N squad was announced, Mercer was probably the 3rd best performing 8 across the season behind Dombrandt and Barbeary. When you also consider that Earl is an 8 for England and he man in possession, I really don't think not selecting him was particularly controversial. Personally, I would have called up Mercer ahead of CCS, but so far the latter has been one of the finds of the tournament for England and Earl is playing well at 8 so it's worked out well.

For the A squad, I expect Barbeary is the player they want to look at and Mercer's reaction to not being selected for the senior squad doesn't suggest he'd graciously accept being included for the As.

I think Mercer was very petulant and I have cooled to him a fair bit since but, from his perspective, he is told that he probably isn't physical enough/well rounded/lacks big game experience. He uproots his life and goes to arguably the most physical league in the world and doesn't just hold his own, he excels, repeatedly. He then comes back to England in the hopes of rekindling his England hopes and sees a useless lump like Vunipola waltz right back in off the back of injury and poor performances and gets completely snubbed.

His performances recently haven't been great but then he's been playing in a Gloucester team, who also aren't great and are the graveyard of England hopes. I can understand why, when a player feels they have gone above and beyond what would have been expected of them only to continue to get snubbed, that they would be pretty ****** off. He has handled it very poorly and needs to work on that side of his attitude. He either feels entitled to the position, which is a bad attitude, or he feels he has worked hard at it and really wants it, which is a good attitude as we need that fight. If he had a bit of a tantrum because he really wanted it, that can potentially be ironed out. If he feels entitled to it though then that's a more permanent character flaw and has probably undermined all his effort to this point.

More generally, England seem to repeatedly be at the forefront of poor man management and it's something that seriously needs to be addressed. I think most professionals can deal with players in better form getting in ahead of them but nobody likes seemingly arbitrary selection where players in terrible form can keep walking back into the squad. There must be a consistent standard of performance across the team, you can't have some players being snubbed after pulling up trees all year and another walking in who has just rolled off the medical bed.

 

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

Sums up the championship a bit Ealing couldn't sell out the smallest of stadiums for a semi final v Leicester

 

[Not Mike Brown's Sock]

Sums up the championship a bit Ealing couldn't sell out the smallest of stadiums for a semi final v Leicester

Looked like the cheapest standard ticket.wss £40ish yesterday morning, unless I was looking wrong...

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Stadium did look crazy small on BT, I know it is crazy small, but never really noticed it before

 

[Don't Skip Leg Day]

playing in a Gloucester team, who also aren't great and are the graveyard of England hopes

Never has a truer word on this forum been said, in a lovely poetic manner as well.

Want to play for England, avoid Gloucester.

 

[Which Tyler]

Sums up Ealing a bit that they couldn't sell out the smallest of stadiums for a semi final v Leicester

FTFY.

There are clubs in the championship who get higher attendances than that for championship matches, we've also seen plenty of higher attendances than that at Champ clubs in the earlier rounds of the PRC.
Within the PRC, Bedford, Coventry and Pirates* all have high average attendances than Sale or Saracens - which doesn't sum up the Premiership

*Although Pirates ended up with just the 1 home match, as Jersey went under.

 

[Crash Hamster]

Looked like the cheapest standard ticket.wss £40ish yesterday morning, unless I was looking wrong...

If clubs can charge it and sell out, then I suppose it's fair enough. Theoretically, that'd be £80 plus transport costs for Mrs H and me; by the time you've had a beer/pie/programme/whatever, it's £100 and we'd not pay it.

If they're not selling out, it seems shortsighted to charge so much. A full ground at half the price is much better than a half empty one at full price. Worcester used to over-price all the time, then record 'half-full' attendances. Twice the crowd makes for a better atmosphere and more money on pies and beer.

 

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

Not going full strength I see

 

[TRF_Olyy]

sPiRiT oF tHe cOmPeTiTiON

 

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

sPiRiT oF tHe cOmPeTiTiON

TBF with the season as it is and the big ass gap it's also basically a preseason game in a way

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Loooooool

Knew there was a reason I always hated Gloucester

 

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

These angles are unwatchable gonna switch to the u20's

 

[Scotty]

These angles are unwatchable gonna switch to the u20's

Just seen the score at 46 min, glad i watched the u20s