RugbyRebels

15 Harry Mallinder
14 Ahsee Tuala
13 Andrew Kellaway
12 Luther Burrell
11 Taqele Naiyaravoro
10 Dan Biggar
9 Cobus Reinach

1 Alex Waller (co-captain)
2 Dylan Hartley (co-captain)
3 Ehren Painter
4 David Ribbans
5 Courtney Lawes
6 Jamie Gibson
7 Lewis Ludlam
8 Teimana Harrison

Replacements:
16 Mike Haywood
17 Francois Van Wyk
18 Ben Franks
19 Api Ratuniyarawa
20 Mitch Eadie
21 Alex Mitchell
22 Fraser Dingwall
23 Tom Collins

Good to see Manu back again. Also good to see Mallinder getting a start under Boyd. He's got so much talent and I want Boyd to address his issues and turn him into a good player. Hopefully this is a sign that he's impressed in training.

Puja

PS. Thanks for doing the threads this week Stom. Appreciated.

Puja wrote:Good to see Manu back again. Also good to see Mallinder getting a start under Boyd. He's got so much talent and I want Boyd to address his issues and turn him into a good player. Hopefully this is a sign that he's impressed in training.

Puja

PS. Thanks for doing the threads this week Stom. Appreciated.

TBH, I was impatient to see how the hell I was going to manage the fantasy rugby

Mallinder has definitely added in attack off the bench in recent weeks, and dare I say it - looked a bit more physical in the tackle (not hard!). Shame Collins has dropped to the bench, his pace would have been useful against May.

I think Eastmond and Manu could be very hard to contain. It'll be interesting to see how the Saints centres do, as we've played a distributing 12 so far under Boyd but injury has forced Burrell back in at 12. Kellaway really impressed me last week so happy to see him at 13.

Mallinder looked very good last week. He does seem to have toughened up a bit. Hope thats maintained.
Great to see Painter starting. I'm very excited by this lad.
Dingwall on bench is another reason to cheer.
Tigers have their own youngsters on the bench. Lets hope Heyes gets more than the last 5 minutes.
Neutral venue so its not an easy one to predict but i just favour Saints.

Eastmond/Manu must be a nightmare to defend. Each of them can beat you on their own anyway, add in the fact that Eastmond is a very good distributor and you've really got to be on your game.

I’m pleased that both clubs are investing in youth this season.

Ludlam scored a nice try last week and I’m keen to see if he can make good on his potential with a decent run in the 7 shirt.

Wayne Barnes as a pundit on Channel 5 is a very interesting choice and one which I think is paying off. He's having to work quite hard to avoid the rhetorical traps that they're trying to get him to step into (inviting him to talk about the Hartley red card, asking which of the teams he wants to see win, etc), but he's been personable and erudite and I'm interested to hear his comments on the refereeing of the game.

Puja

Blimey. Not a very good turnout.

Why have Saints gone Baabaas with the socks?

That doesn't look great for May. Reinach and Biggar isn't really a combination to set the pulses racing is it?

Mellsblue wrote:Why have Saints gone Baabaas with the socks?

It's the socks of the clubs in their area who have supported Horne.

Cole does give away some boneheaded penalties but that was ludicrously harsh.

Doyle could do with having a think about where he's standing, that's twice he's been in between the 9 and the first receiver.

Edit: Though as I type that he does an excellent job for the try.

He should have kept dribbling it in these conditions.

Good lord, how long does Reinach want to stretch the rucks out for?

There's some ambition but little skill

Puja wrote:Wayne Barnes as a pundit on Channel 5 is a very interesting choice and one which I think is paying off. He's having to work quite hard to avoid the rhetorical traps that they're trying to get him to step into (inviting him to talk about the Hartley red card, asking which of the teams he wants to see win, etc), but he's been personable and erudite and I'm interested to hear his comments on the refereeing of the game.

Puja

Would be very interesting to see a ref retire into the pundits box rather than just players. I also like it when coaches do that, but it never seems to last

Which Tyler wrote:

Puja wrote:Wayne Barnes as a pundit on Channel 5 is a very interesting choice and one which I think is paying off. He's having to work quite hard to avoid the rhetorical traps that they're trying to get him to step into (inviting him to talk about the Hartley red card, asking which of the teams he wants to see win, etc), but he's been personable and erudite and I'm interested to hear his comments on the refereeing of the game.

Puja

Would be very interesting to see a ref retire into the pundits box rather than just players. I also like it when coaches do that, but it never seems to last

I suspect this is him testing the waters, as he is planning on retiring next year. I'd be in favour so far. The thing with coach pundits is they're likely to get recalled to duty when a vacancy opens up - a ref's like a player in that they're not likely to return to the field again.

The game is forgettable apart from two brilliant moments from Jonah Holmes. Furious at Dan Cole for giving away the free kick on 40 minutes. We'd turned over the ball and just needed to complete the scrum to go in 20-5 at half time, but he had to try and be clever and get one over his opponent and now it's 20-10. Idiot.

Puja

Hartley backing up bad plays

Amateur from Mallinder

Kyle Eastmond's having a good game in defense.

Do we think Biggar is embarrassed in the video sessions when they show him crying and flailing his arms around and leaping about like a little child?

16th man wrote:Kyle Eastmond's having a good game in defense.

And again

Neither side has any intent to put pace on the game, it's pathetic if sadly all too English