Wasps vs Glos Friday Night

[Raggs]

Gloucester Rugby
15. Kyle Moyle, 14. Ollie Thorley *, 13. Billy Twelvetrees, 12. Mark Atkinson, 11. Jonny May *, 10. Adam Hastings, 9. Ben Meehan, 1. Val Rapava-Ruskin, 2. Jack Singleton, 3. Kirill Gotovtsev, 4. Matias Alemanno, 5. Andrew Davidson, 6. Freddie Clarke *, 7. Lewis Ludlow (c) *, 8. Jack Clement *.

Replacements
16. Santiago Socino, 17. Jamal Ford-Robinson, 18. Fraser Balmain, 19. Freddie Thomas *, 20. Jordy Reid, 21. Charlie Chapman *, 22. Giorgi Kveseladze, 23. Lloyd Evans *.

Wasps Rugby
15 Ali Crossdale (7), 14 Zach Kibirige (54), 13 Josh Bassett (156), 12 Michael Le Bourgeois (64), 11 Marcus Watson (58), 10 Jacob Umaga (56), 9 Will Porter (35), 1 Robin Hislop (7), 2 Gabriel Oghre (51), 3 Jeffery Toomaga-Allen (51), 4 Vaea Fifita (6), 5 Elliott Stooke (7), 6 Brad Shields (59) (c), 7 Thomas Young (145), 8 Tom Willis (47).

Replacements
16 Dan Frost (3), 17 Gordon Reid (2), 18 Elliot Millar-Mills (3), 19 Sebastian de Chaves (3), 20 Nizaam Carr (61), 21 Alfie Barbeary (14), 22 Francois Hougaard (3), 23 Jimmy Gopperth (134).

Officials
Referee: Luke Pearce (119th Premiership game). Assistant Referees: Anthony Woodthorpe & Paul Dix. TMO: David Rose. Citing Officer: Jay Curts.
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Nice to see a few injured guys back in the squad. Bassett at 13 will be interesting too. Think Wasps are slight favourites, but it's by no means settled. Would be a nice one to get a big win though.

[Tom Moore]

Good to see Barbeary back.

[FKAS]

The reserve tight five for Wasps looks a big step down. If I was Skivington I'd be hoping to make them work hard in the set piece for the first half with the hope of turning the screw and making them run more in the second half when Glaws have some decent fresh legs.

If Glaws knew that Wasps were going to have to put a winger in at OC I suspect they might have gone for more pace. Atkinson and Twelvetrees are both good carriers but are somewhat lacking in pace. A bit more pace might have made it easier to isolate the out of position Bassett from the slower but experienced IC he's got alongside him.

4-8 of Wasps looks quite handy though going to be a big ask of the Glaws backrow in particular.

[Peej]

I thought Wasps would go for a 6:2 bench. They did that with a lot of success in their run to the final in 2020

[Puja]

I thought Wasps would go for a 6:2 bench. They did that with a lot of success in their run to the final in 2020

Have Wasps actually got 14 fit forwards though?

Puja

[Peej]

I think we might even have 16. For now, at least.

Backs wise - well, maybe that's also a driver for only having two on the bench!

[Banquo]

what's the news on Polledri?

[Gloskarlos]

36 at 13 will be a mistake. He has been playing really well at 12 with youngsters around him during the tin pot cup games but this aint the same gravy. Missing Ackerman and Morgan in the back row. Big test for Clement, think he will do ok though. Glad to see Jordy Reid back in the fold.

Polledri still a way off, he has 'dropped foot' as the nerve damage is taking much longer than expected to heal. Small signs recently that things are progressing but it was touch and go for a while.

[fivepointer]

Clement up against Willis could be a good watch.

[Banquo]

36 at 13 will be a mistake. He has been playing really well at 12 with youngsters around him during the tin pot cup games but this aint the same gravy. Missing Ackerman and Morgan in the back row. Big test for Clement, think he will do ok though. Glad to see Jordy Reid back in the fold.

Polledri still a way off, he has 'dropped foot' as the nerve damage is taking much longer than expected to heal. Small signs recently that things are progressing but it was touch and go for a while.

That does not sound good.

On 36, I always thought he was better at 13 tbh....but that was before he got old

[Gloskarlos]

Not good at all - months with no sign of any movement, career ending potentially when you google it.

[Mellsblue]

All Bedford centre partnerships. There could be fireworks.

[FKAS]

Not good at all - months with no sign of any movement, career ending potentially when you google it.

I heard on a podcast somewhere that he'd recently been given the news that his career wasn't over and that he'll actually make a recovery. No news on timescale though. Sounded a pretty horrible injury.

[Timbo]

Strange to think that Polledri- if he can make a full recovery of course- could (re)qualify and play for England at the next World Cup if he wanted.

Edit- actually think he’d be a month short of completing the stand down period. Nevermind.

[p/d]

Strange to think that Polledri- if he can make a full recovery of course- could (re)qualify and play for England at the next World Cup if he wanted.

.

The big downside of the new ruling.

[Epaminondas Pules]

Good to see Barbeary back. Here's hoping he can stay injury free and get a good run.

[Gloskarlos]

Pretty one sided until the last 15 mins when Wasps nearly stole it. Happy with 5 points on the road, but those finishes don’t help the blood pressure one bit.

[Timbo]

Blackett, Eddie Jones and Barbeary himself have all decided he is going to concentrate on becoming a backrower, focussing primarily on 8.

[FKAS]

Blackett, Eddie Jones and Barbeary himself have all decided he is going to concentrate on becoming a backrower, focussing primarily on 8.

Tom Willis no doubt annoyed by that news. I suppose with Lawes seemingly staying at 6 and with Martin and Ted Hill as understudies to him we have the three lineout jumpers so height won't be an issue for the 8 which will help Barbeary. Certainly his explosive carrying would give England something a bit different, off the bench he could be a real menace. Be interesting to see how he develops his breakdown game.

[Raggs]

Tom Willis can easily move to 6 without breaking a sweat, though his work at the back of a retreating scrum may be missed. I suspect Barbeary has better explosiveness in the carry from the base.

[Scrumhead]

Blackett, Eddie Jones and Barbeary himself have all decided he is going to concentrate on becoming a backrower, focussing primarily on 8.

Probably the right decision, but it’s not as though there isn’t a fairly steep learning curve to play 8.

Tom Willis is reliably excellent and is a specialist 8, so at least for now, I can see Barbeary being more of an impact player than a starter.

Moving forward, it’s a going to be a bit of a selection headache with Jack Willis due back in early 2022. Young is leaving which probably means Jack is inked in at 7 (with Carr deputising). Shields has stepped-up to the extent that I think he’s a key player at 6 which really leaves Tom Willis and Barbeary fighting for the 8 spot. Collectively, that has to be up there with one of the best back rows in the Premiership.

[Raggs]

I suspect Wasps were quite happy with the idea once Frost showed himself to be very good at this level, and we have an academy hooker who looked like he could at least mix it up in the Prem Cup.

[Puja]

Blackett, Eddie Jones and Barbeary himself have all decided he is going to concentrate on becoming a backrower, focussing primarily on 8.

{Takes a moment to be smug after consistently predicting this would happen}

I think it's a reasonable decision - while the idea of a Barbeary who can do all the things he can do producing it from 2 is enthralling, there's a lot of risk in moving. Playing front row is exhausting so would reduce his effectiveness in the loose, plus there's no evidence that he's got the skill or mentality of a top-drawer lineout thrower and it'd be a shame if he turned into a great player who couldn't be selected cause his darts were wonky.

With the emergence of Oghre as a very decent player, it's a good decision for Wasps as well. Can absolutely see why everyone decided to stick rather than twist.

Puja

[p/d]

Just pray Barbeary doesn’t get his head turned by Dior or invitations to Cannes film festival

[Puja]

Just pray Barbeary doesn’t get his head turned by Dior or invitations to Cannes film festival

Puja