Saints vs Sale

[Mellsblue]

Lol

[Spiffy]

Fair play, very decent second half. Freeman remains very good, often defending at centre with Hutchinson on the wing; Furbank in great nick too. Fin Smith grows in every game. Roebuck showed up well, bar one odd thing. Pearson grew into the game I thought and subs made a difference. Great win for Saints- should have trusted their normal game plan 1st half. coles has a great engine.

Furbank is the forgotten man of English rugby. He looks a far better payer than he did when he got his England games. He's smart, fast and has developed a surprising bit of power that was not previously evident.

The problem for Furbank is, who are you dropping to make room for him in the England 23?

I don't know what the current 23 might be, but Furbank might be a better bet than say Malins. He can cover 10 too. Some players take longer to develop than others, and so may be written off early in their career if they do not immediately hit the high spots. Furbank seems to be improving with time and experience and might be worth a second look. Not saying he is outstanding but if he keeps up his current form, he might well challenge for a squad slot. I support the notion of players who consistently play well against their peers getting their chance over established regulars who are not delivering the goods to the same level.

[Margin_Walker]

Just finished watching that, slightly delayed. Dreadful first half - not sure what Saints plan was, but it wasn't to play the same rugby that has seen us win this season. Endless kicking, mostly aimless with little or no chase.

Thankfully woke up in the second half and started playing. The likes of Langdon, Lawes and Haffar making a big impact off the bench.

Mixed bag debut from Odendaal - a few handling errors in the first half, but some decent defensive contributions in the second.

I'm really not sold on Munga - every time he's played for us he's been bang average or absent.

I've watched a lot of Munga. Said this about him at the start of the season on here. Still not seen anything to change my mind.

Munga's a bit one paced to be honest.

He may develop, but he hasn't ever stuck me as a player that really stands out. He's a decent lineout option, but outside that isn't really exceptional at anything. I may end up being dead wrong and he's got time on his side, but I see him more as a solid prem squad player than someone who'll spend a lot as a nailed on starter for a top team. He'd certainly be a step down from Ribbans at the moment.

Haffar on the other hand has a very high ceiling imo with the potential to be a superb all court LH. He's not really broken free for Saints, but he's genuinely also the quickest prop I've ever seen. Injury has been the only real worry with him and has delayed his development a bit to date.