RugbyRebels

Stom wrote:Would be kinda hilarious if Tigers went down...

Be nearly as funny as when Quins did

Seems Wuss lost Mama and Singleton as well. If it is a dislocated elbow then Singleton might be out for a while.

Both a big loss for them.

Not sure about Mama, but Singleton could well be out for 5 or 6 weeks which is most of the remainder of the season.

Annett and Taufete’e are decent enough but I don’t think either are fit. Miller looked poor when he came on. Granted they were playing against one of the best lineout forwards in the league when it comes to steals (Green), but without a functional lineout, they’re toast.

Scrumhead wrote:Not sure about Mama, but Singleton could well be out for 5 or 6 weeks which is most of the remainder of the season.

Annett and Taufete’e are decent enough but I don’t think either are fit. Miller looked poor when he came on. Granted they were playing against one of the best lineout forwards in the league when it comes to steals (Green), but without a functional lineout, they’re toast.

We've barely had a function lineout all season. Miller's performance yesterday was very similar to Singleton at Bath and Taufete'e at any lineout!! Annett is a solid player but always injured. Really struggling for a hooker if Singleton is out for that long. Taufete'e is probably the best option as he almost makes up for his lineout with his ball carrying.

Mama will be a big loss. We've already lost Du Preez, Van Velze, Faosaliva and Potgeiter at 8. Nearly all for the season. Cox is a solid player but after that we've not got a lot left. Hopefully mama won't have to long out.

Looking at the run-ins again, the relegation battle is going to be fierce.

I would never have expected to see Tigers down to 10th, but they have a very tough set of fixtures. Getting the England contingent back will definitely help, but they’re not where they are solely based upon the past couple of months, so I think it could be very uncomfortable, particularly if they lose next week’s derby game.

Worcester’s run-in is ugly too, but watching he highlights of yesterday’s game, they seem to have remembered how to attack and if they can keep that up, they are good enough to survive.

Newcastle seem to have finally woken up. Their run in is not quite as horrible as the others and they could yet pull off a late escape.

After last night, I think it will go to the wire and Tigers are in real trouble.

Today’s games will have a big say in this. If Bristol beat Worcester, they’ll open up either a 5 or 6 point gap on Tigers and if Newcastle win, they’ll leapfrog Worcester to go within 5 (or possibly 4 points) beneath Tigers, who Newcastle play next.

Newcastle have Wilson and Goneva back and if they can win today at home against Sale, I think they can definitely beat this Tigers side in the next round at Kingston Park. If that happens, Newcastle either go level or 1 point behind Tigers!

Right now, I think it’ll be Worcester or Tigers, which I never saw coming.

Tigers are in very real trouble.
I fancy Newcastle to escape. Win today and they will cement their upturn in form. I also think Bris will win, thereby going a very long way to staying up and putting Wuss deep in the mire.

Squeeky bum time for more than the usual suspects after invaluable Wuss win at Briz:

Sal 39*
Bath 39*
Wasps 37*
Briz 36
Lei 34
Wuss 32
Newc.25*

* teams have 6 matches to play, others have 5.

Wasps have 5 to play they didn't get any points v Gloucester.

Today's rather poor performance by Bristol may have helped Worcester off the hook. I think Bristol may still be safe but they need better work on and off the pitch, the game plan didn't work. Not quick enough ball and defending too narrow. (Entertaining game though.)

Final 5 prem games

Wasps 37
Worcester (H)
Exeter (A)
Saracens (H)
Bath (A)
Quins (H)

Bristol 36
Bath (N)
Saracens (H)
Leicester (A)
Sale (H)
Falcons (A)

Tigers 34
Exeter (H)
Falcons (A)
Bristol (H)
Quins (A)
Bath (H)

Worcester 32
Wasps (A)
Sale (H)
Gloucester (H)
Saints (A)
Saracens (H)

Falcons 29
Saracens (A)
Leicester (H)
Saints (H)
Gloucester (A)
Bristol (H)

Winner stays up on the final day of the season - Newcastle v Bristol?

Bedford v Tigers next season ?

Wasps getting dragged into it now.

I have an increasingly sinking feeling about Wasps....

They'll need max. returns from the Wuss match, as there could be very little else for them on the run-in.

francoisfou wrote:Bedford v Tigers next season ?

Would do them some good to spend an afternoon at the finishing school.

Makes for an interesting run-in! (perhaps more stressful for fans of the teams involved) and no meaningless end-of-season games now...

Peej wrote:I have an increasingly sinking feeling about Wasps....

Yes, the team seems to have lost its collective bottle and the management have run out of inspiration. Presumably, financial implosion would follow relegation?

loudnconfident wrote:Makes for an interesting run-in! (perhaps more stressful for fans of the teams involved) and no meaningless end-of-season games now...

True. Teams are having to fight for every point and understand that there is no such thing as 'deserving to stay up'.

2 weeks ago my money was on Worcester. Yesterday they got a massive win which may turn out to be crucial.

Think BP's could decide this. Newcastle only have 5 so far, Wuss 8, Tigers 10 & Bris 12. Ability to pick up any pts - losing and try scoring - could be key.

The bottom of the table is significantly more interesting than the top, that would be different without the playoffs but this is so much fun we'd be mad to scrap relegation

The difference in points between 2nd and 3rd is the same amount as the difference between 5th and 12th.

Looking at the remaining fixtures, it seems to me that Wasps could be prime candidates for the drop if they don’t get their act together pdq !

Tigersman wrote:The difference in points between 2nd and 3rd is the same amount as the difference between 5th and 12th.

The difference between 1st and 3rd is the same as between 3rd and 12th