Bath Vs Saints

[FKAS]

Bath Rugby team to play Northampton Saints:

15 Matt Gallagher, 14 Joe Cokanasiga, 13 Ollie Lawrence, 12 Cameron Redpath, 11 Will Butt, 10 George Worboys, 9 Louis Schreuder; 1 Juan Schoeman, 2 Tom Dunn (c), 3 Aranos Coetzee, 4 Dave Attwood, 5 Quinn Roux, 6 Josh Bayliss, 7 Miles Reid, 8 Richard de Carpentier

Replacements:

16 Niall Annett, 17 Arthur Cordwell, 18 D’Arcy Rae, 19 Fergus Lee-Warner, 20 Ted Hill, 21 Tom Carr-Smith, 22 Billy Searle, 23 Max Ojomoh

Northampton Saints team to play Bath Rugby:

15 George Furbank, 14 Tom Collins, 13 Matt Proctor, 12 Fraser Dingwall, 11 Ollie Sleightholme, 10 James Grayson, 9 Alex Mitchell; 1 Alex Waller, 2 Sam Matavesi, 3 Paul Hill, 4 Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, 5 David Ribbans, 6 Alex Coles, 7 Lewis Ludlam (c), 8 Juarno Augustus

Replacements:

16 Robbie Smith, 17 Emmanuel Iyogun, 18 Alfie Petch, 19 Alex Moon, 20 Sam Graham, 21 Tom James, 22 Tom Litchfield 23 George Hendy

[fivepointer]

Bath improving. They've got a young 10 starting with Hill and Searle on the bench. Hendy, on the bench for Saints, looks a very promising youngster.

[FKAS]

The Bath Warriors are improving. Not sure they've got enough to get past Saints here but it should be interesting given Bath's love of a second half fightback and the Saints tendency to switch off for periods.

[Mellsblue]

Bath improving. They've got a young 10 starting with Hill and Searle on the bench. Hendy, on the bench for Saints, looks a very promising youngster.

See Champ fred for some Hendy love.

[Banquo]

Saints first side to lose to Bath, they won't be happy. Mind Bath have been improving and Saints a bit hit and miss.

[Adam_P]

As we have most games this season so far - we created plenty and spent lots of time in the oppo red zone, but managed to fuck it up most of the time and leave without points

[Banquo]

As we have most games this season so far - we created plenty and spent lots of time in the oppo red zone, but managed to fuck it up most of the time and leave without points

Yep it’s frustrating to watch. Dowson must be wondering what to do.

[francoisfou]

Ted Hill was impressive when he came in for the last 20. Maintain this form and he could well force himself into the 6N squad (I don’t think he’s in the AI squad?)

[Spiffy]

The Redpath/Lawrence midfield combo seems to working well.

[Adam_P]

Ted Hill was impressive when he came in for the last 20. Maintain this form and he could well force himself into the 6N squad (I don’t think he’s in the AI squad?)

Yeah he was good - tackled Moon back a fair way and he's not a small man

[FKAS]

As we have most games this season so far - we created plenty and spent lots of time in the oppo red zone, but managed to fuck it up most of the time and leave without points

Yep it’s frustrating to watch. Dowson must be wondering what to do.

Shore up the defence? Some of those tries were back to back poor errors but some of the defence was bad. Watching Redpath canter round Ludlum in the midfield is not really the type of line breaks a top four side would want to concede.

Didn't two of the tries come from turnovers 5m from the Bath line? Saints let them get down the field far to easily.

Saints backline does lack physicality. Freeman offers a bit of that and they are desperately missing his finishing capabilities.

[Adam_P]

As we have most games this season so far - we created plenty and spent lots of time in the oppo red zone, but managed to fuck it up most of the time and leave without points

Yep it’s frustrating to watch. Dowson must be wondering what to do.

Saints backline does lack physicality.

Yep - this has pretty much been the case since Burrell left. Though he had his issues later on, in his prime he offered a real heavy carrying threat, that Downey offered before him. Now we have a backline almost entirely consisting of pretty much the same body type, when we could really use a heavy runner to fix some defenders to allow the likes of Hutchinson, Furbank, etc some space to exploit. Would absolutely kill for someone like Esterhuizen to add to our backline.

[Banquo]

As we have most games this season so far - we created plenty and spent lots of time in the oppo red zone, but managed to fuck it up most of the time and leave without points

Yep it’s frustrating to watch. Dowson must be wondering what to do.

Shore up the defence? Some of those tries were back to back poor errors but some of the defence was bad. Watching Redpath canter round Ludlum in the midfield is not really the type of line breaks a top four side would want to concede.

Didn't two of the tries come from turnovers 5m from the Bath line? Saints let them get down the field far to easily.

Saints backline does lack physicality. Freeman offers a bit of that and they are desperately missing his finishing capabilities.

Defence is one part of it- I actually think it’s as much concentration. Proctor is pretty physical tbf, but I take your point, back three aren’t big at all. Think this is the first game Freeman has missed - don’t know what’s up with him tbh.

[Puja]

Yep it’s frustrating to watch. Dowson must be wondering what to do.

Saints backline does lack physicality.

Yep - this has pretty much been the case since Burrell left. Though he had his issues later on, in his prime he offered a real heavy carrying threat, that Downey offered before him. Now we have a backline almost entirely consisting of pretty much the same body type, when we could really use a heavy runner to fix some defenders to allow the likes of Hutchinson, Furbank, etc some space to exploit. Would absolutely kill for someone like Esterhuizen to add to our backline.

You really want to be getting in for Burger Odendaal from Wasps. He'd be a gane-changer for your lineup.

Puja

[Puja]

[FKAS]

Saints backline does lack physicality.

Yep - this has pretty much been the case since Burrell left. Though he had his issues later on, in his prime he offered a real heavy carrying threat, that Downey offered before him. Now we have a backline almost entirely consisting of pretty much the same body type, when we could really use a heavy runner to fix some defenders to allow the likes of Hutchinson, Furbank, etc some space to exploit. Would absolutely kill for someone like Esterhuizen to add to our backline.

You really want to be getting in for Burger Odendaal from Wasps. He'd be a gane-changer for your lineup.

Puja

Or Olly Hartley but I still have hopes he'll settle slightly further North, just over the county border.

Someone to set the tone in the midfield with a couple of gain line stopping hits and to do the unflashy carrying, very much like Burrell and Downey used to, would help that Saints team. Particularly if they were a leader who could take control of the defensive line. Big Andre at Quins or van Rensburg at LI have done that for their clubs, Puja makes a good call with Odendaal who was looking like a good acquisition for Wasps.

[Banquo]

Lots of pressies for Bath in there, who finished them off well.

[Timbo]

Yep it’s frustrating to watch. Dowson must be wondering what to do.

Shore up the defence? Some of those tries were back to back poor errors but some of the defence was bad. Watching Redpath canter round Ludlum in the midfield is not really the type of line breaks a top four side would want to concede.

Didn't two of the tries come from turnovers 5m from the Bath line? Saints let them get down the field far to easily.

Saints backline does lack physicality. Freeman offers a bit of that and they are desperately missing his finishing capabilities.

Defence is one part of it- I actually think it’s as much concentration. Proctor is pretty physical tbf, but I take your point, back three aren’t big at all. Think this is the first game Freeman has missed - don’t know what’s up with him tbh.

Foot injury, not sure how bad.

[Adam_P]

Quite how the TMO decided this was just a 'rugby incident' is beyond me - was pretty clear at the time.

[Which Tyler]

From the angles shown at the time, it really wasn't obvious enough (the main angle, there's a Bath player in the way; from the second angle it's all on the other side of a ruck). All you could tell is that Attwood was moving his shoulders up and down in a pretty orthodox way for a player trying to remove someone from lying all over the ball. I'm sure other angles would have shown what actually happened, but we weren't shown those, and we typically get shown the angles the TMO sees.
The reverse angle did show though, that his bloody nose wasn't caused by Attwood (which absolutely doesn't mean that Attwood wasn't doing anything).

[FKAS]

I understand the frustration given Dingwall is as cynical as cynical can be (should have been sin binned that close to the line) but six weeks reduced for prior good behaviour is entirely fair for two strikes there. Attwood doing the decent thing and apologising directly to Dingwall after the game is always good to see.

Unsure how it wasn't reviewed on field given the movement of Attwood's shoulders there's something kicking off from the angle mainly blocked by the Bath player.

[Adam_P]

From the angles shown at the time, it really wasn't obvious enough

Obvious enough that it should have been formally reviewed and not brushed off.

[Puja]

That's nasty - wasn't even accomplishing anything productive in terms of getting him to move, either.

There was one from Johnny Hill in the Exeter vs Sale match, where he just randomly bounced Roebuck's head against the floor for no apparent reason. Completely unnoticed by the TMO or the touch judge who was 2ft away.

Puja

[Mikey Brown]

That's nasty - wasn't even accomplishing anything productive in terms of getting him to move, either.

There was one from Johnny Hill in the Exeter vs Sale match, where he just randomly bounced Roebuck's head against the floor for no apparent reason. Completely unnoticed by the TMO or the touch judge who was 2ft away.

Puja

Which team was he playing for?

[Puja]

That's nasty - wasn't even accomplishing anything productive in terms of getting him to move, either.

There was one from Johnny Hill in the Exeter vs Sale match, where he just randomly bounced Roebuck's head against the floor for no apparent reason. Completely unnoticed by the TMO or the touch judge who was 2ft away.

Puja

Which team was he playing for?

You've spotted my deliberate mistakes, I see.

My brain got very confused in typing that. I meant Sale vs Quins and, on looking back at the recording, I was wrong on just about every detail. It was Ross deciding to take a cheap shot and bounce Marcus Smiths head off the ground.

Sorry Jonny! Maligned you there.

Puja