Premiership Predictions Thread 2020-202?

[FKAS]

Or could Sale go up a gear with a new coach. It worked for Wasps last season.

Definitely. I just don't think they'll get into trouble anymore, since Diamond is gone.

Diamond built up the coaching staff and they are all still there. There shouldn't be any regression. Diamond wasn't on the training pitch drilling the players every day. It's whether the head coach can keep the all as a cohesive unit that will be key. Possibly post Diamond they might look to be more expansive.

[Puja]

Also reckon Radwan will get in the England squad...

I have to say, that is the boldest prediction made so far!

Just to make sure everyone's aware of where my own personal level is in predicting.

Premiership Winner and Table Order:
Welp, it's safe to say no-one got this right, not least because not a single one of us predicted Quins would even make the playoffs, let alone win them. Tigersman got closest by saying they'd come 5th, but I don't think they get any marks for that, just less shame than the many who didn't even pick them coming top half.

An honourable mention does need to go to Epaminondas Pules who went for Wasps champions (as well as Leicester finishing 11th again, which I can feel more insulted by now than I could back in November when it was a very realistic possibility!). Wasn't alone in picking Wasps to have a decent season - 9 from 11 contenders had them as a play-off team and 7 from 11 had Bath in there as well!

Nobody picked Leicester getting top-half either - the highest anyone rated them was 8th (and it wasn't me being over-optimistic for once!). Newcastle were also doomed to relegation by everyone, but Shiny, with one person saying they'd go winless. That'll teach us all to underestimate Luther Burrell!

European predictions - how will the English teams do?
I genuinely had to look up what had happened in Europe this year, as I'd forgotten all about it after a stupid format and the random qualification process based around COVID withdrawals. There were unusual levels of confidence in England teams this year - normally we get at least one or two Eeyores saying that no English team will do anything and this year everyone was picking Exeter to final or semis and maybe Wasps/Bristol to go on a run.

Top try scorer:
Nice easy one this year, or at least it was for Stom, Tigersman, Scrumhead, and me. Bonus points for Which Tyler picking Drunkie Dennie as top try scorer - did he even play this year?

Top points scorer:
Switchskier and FKAS picked the actual winner in Marcus Smith - he was over 100 points higher than the most popular choice of Joe Simmonds and about 270 points more than my choice of Jimmy Gopperth.

Surprise of the season:
The obvious answer which nobody got was, "Gustard burnishes his reputation further by leaving Quins in the doldrums only for the same group of players to self-manage themselves to the title." Frankly, I'm not sure why none of us predicted that, so since we're feeling bad, let's look at some of the less accurate answers:

* Shiny - "The RFU don’t use the current situation to ringfence the Premiership". It's nice that you still believe in people. Never change.
* Fivepointer - "Not a single game is postponed due to COVID". Well... I guess you were technically correct in that none were postponed cause they were all cancelled.
* Stom wrote a lovely bit of speculative fiction about Sale breaking COVID regs, being docked points and "casting a cloud over English rugby again," which was sadly thwarted by Steve Diamond resigning.

Which was probably the most accurate in "Leicester find some form and start climbing the table," although Switchskier's offering of an orange card introduction has found some purchase in the ELV of red cards only lasting 20 minutes in the USA and Super Rugby.

Biggest disappointment:
"No crowds allowed back till the end of March," I said, thinking I was being pessimistic and undershooting the restrictions by nearly 2 months.

Player having a breakthrough season:
This one we got right! Multiple mentions of Barbeary, Steward, Martin, Redpath, and a good pick of Capon from 5p.

Best signing:
This one, we got... slightly less right. I had a good idea in picking a Saffer Leicester no 8 but picked the wrong one in Cyle Brink, Shiny picked Jamie Gibson (who I also had as my best unheralded - think he's just been released!), 5p had George Merrick.

I think Tigersman takes this one for picking the right Saffer Tigers no 8, as Wiese was definitely the reason we finished 6th and they might be bang on in having nominated him as South Africa's next number 8.

Special mention to Scrumhead, who picked out the superb Wilco Louw as a signing to look out for - anchor of the title-winning pack and scorer of a great try, he's been undoubtedly one of the signings of the season and was an excellent call to have picked out for mention in a prediction. Unfortunately, s-h put him down for the [Redacted] award for lowest performance to hype. Still, at least you didn't put Jasper Wiese down for the Jerome Schuster of worst overall signing or anything...

Best unheralded signing:
Scrumhead redeems themselves by picking Tyrone Green as the winner for this and we'll allow Stom to join in, despite having said that Green would be "a bright spark in a dreadful Quins season." Frankly, I don't think they'll care too much about having been wrong right at this moment - I'm hoping they're still off their tits with glee/alcohol after that ridiculous Prem final.

The [Redacted] Award for lowest performance to hype ratio from a new signing:
A couple of mentions for Nadolo here, who turned out to be pretty good in the end (if clearly not fully fit). However, three brave souls went with the bold and dangerous prediction of Manu Tuilagi as "Injured for half the season, England duty for the rest of it. It's far less irritating when he's somebody else's expensive paperweight." Which was correct, but a very boring prediction.

The Jerome Schuster Award for worst signing:
There were a couple of blasphemous suggestions that the mighty Luther Burrell might be anything but a thundering success at Newcastle, but the best answer on this has to go to FKAS, who picked out both Blake Enever and Nick Auterac. Double whammy of uselessness, both of whom did not survive the season at their new clubs.


So, that was certainly a... set of predictions that had... some? accuracy? maybe? I think more important than trying to pick out an overall winner, or least loser, is just to agree that we all had a good time and that we really should have learned a lot from the experience, even though we absolutely did not.

See you all next season for another round of terrible predictions.

Puja

[TheNomad]

Excellent read, thanks Puja.

I had a draft of every single right answer, perfectly predicted, all those months ago…I just forgot to post it

Ps well done Quins. Lovely stuff

[Shiny]

Great job Puja, thank you for summing it up so well.