Glasgow vs Northampton - Friday night

[Puja]

Glasgow Warriors: McKay; Cancelliere, Jones, McDowall (capt), Smith; Jordan, Kennedy; Bhatti, Matthews, Fagerson, Manjezi, Gray, Cummings, Darge, Fagerson.

Replacements: Turner, Kebble, Sordoni, Williamson, Miller, Vailanu, Afshar, Thompson.

Northampton Saints: Furbank (capt); Sleightholme, Freeman, Dingwall, Hendy; Smith, Mitchell; Waller, Langdon, Hill, Lockett, Moon, Lawes, Scott-Young, Graham.

Replacements: R Smith, Haffar, Davison, Mayanavanua, Pearson, James, Litchfield, Seabrook.

Referee: Luc Ramos (Fra).

[Puja]

Freeman appears to be committing to the number 13 shirt - understandable with the void that Marchant has left for England. Will be interesting to see Smith go against international opposition, as well as the young guns of Hendy, and Haffar off the bench.

Puja

[Margin_Walker]

Great to see Haffar back fit. Was worried that he was out long term again.

[Banquo]

Freeman appears to be committing to the number 13 shirt - understandable with the void that Marchant has left for England. Will be interesting to see Smith go against international opposition, as well as the young guns of Hendy, and Haffar off the bench.

Puja

he's started every game there bar one, and that was last minute. Personally, I'm not sure its his best position. Saints back row looks a tad stodgy.

[FKAS]

Great to see Haffar back fit. Was worried that he was out long term again.

He was playing national league rugby a few weeks back. Whether that was just keeping him match fut or recovering from injury I don't know. The brothers Waller have been steadily average for most of the season so far.

Agree with Banquo, that backrow does look stodgy. Darge will have seen how Reffell and Evans got after Saints at the breakdown and will be fancying similar joy.

[fivepointer]

Odd time to rest Pearson.

Testing evening for Saints. Glasgow going well in the URC.

[Banquo]

Odd time to rest Pearson.

Testing evening for Saints. Glasgow going well in the URC.

yes to all.

[Margin_Walker]

Great to see Haffar back fit. Was worried that he was out long term again.

He was playing national league rugby a few weeks back. Whether that was just keeping him match fut or recovering from injury I don't know. The brothers Waller have been steadily average for most of the season so far.

Agree with Banquo, that backrow does look stodgy. Darge will have seen how Reffell and Evans got after Saints at the breakdown and will be fancying similar joy.

Pretty sure he has been injured for a while, but playing a National League game or two to get some match fitness again makes sense especially if he missed a chunk of pre season.

[FKAS]

Alex Mitchell not enjoying this first five mins. Knock on and then an interception pass for a Glasgow try.

[Oakboy]

Horrible pitch and stadium!

Enjoying Freeman at 13 and Furbank at 15.

[FKAS]

[

Enjoying Freeman at 13 and Furbank at 15.

Furbank looks like he's bulked up a bit for this season. Just seems to have given him a little bit more power when bursting through the tackle. He's been impressive so far.

Freeman, bar one misplaced pass and one instance where he didn't pass and should have, has been outstanding. Defensively sound and in attack a real threat. Doubts over him at 13 are vanishing very quickly.

[Mr Mwenda]

Good stuff from Northampton and Freeman. They'll be disappointed not to have grabbed the bonus during that dominant first half.

[Banquo]

[

Enjoying Freeman at 13 and Furbank at 15.

Furbank looks like he's bulked up a bit for this season. Just seems to have given him a little bit more power when bursting through the tackle. He's been impressive so far.

Freeman, bar one misplaced pass and one instance where he didn't pass and should have, has been outstanding. Defensively sound and in attack a real threat. Doubts over him at 13 are vanishing very quickly.

yep, his distribution needs work, but he and dingwall are a very good emerging combo. Saints backs look handy, Sleightholme looks sharp as well.

[Puja]

Thought that was a fantastic performance from Saints. Took advantage of being with the wind in the first half and then were mostly resolute when going against it. Absolutely filthy conditions and incredible to only have one knock-on all match.

Thought the ref didn't do Glasgow too many favours. The yellow for landing on Waller was an awful decision, especially since it was the jumper who got binned instead of one of the lifters who threw him across the line!

Was excited to see Haffar, but I think the kindest thing you can say about his game was that he learned quite a lot about a higher level of rugby and will hopefully be better for it.

Puja

[fivepointer]

Saints were quite excellent for an hour. Really impressive until subs disrupted the flow and Glasgow staged a bit of a comeback. Great result, though.
Freeman is looking the business. Smith is blossoming very nicely. After a shaky start Mitchell was first rate.
Saints 9-13 should be in the 6N squad.

[Banquo]

Saints were quite excellent for an hour. Really impressive until subs disrupted the flow and Glasgow staged a bit of a comeback. Great result, though.
Freeman is looking the business. Smith is blossoming very nicely. After a shaky start Mitchell was first rate.
Saints 9-13 should be in the 6N squad.

Bit of a leap for Hendy but ok . I also kind of wish Furbank would make a permanent move to 10- he has a lot of attacking talent.

[Oakboy]

Saints were quite excellent for an hour. Really impressive until subs disrupted the flow and Glasgow staged a bit of a comeback. Great result, though.
Freeman is looking the business. Smith is blossoming very nicely. After a shaky start Mitchell was first rate.
Saints 9-13 should be in the 6N squad.

Bit of a leap for Hendy but ok . I also kind of wish Furbank would make a permanent move to 10- he has a lot of attacking talent.

Whether it's the captaincy or putting on muscle, who knows, but Furbank looks a far better player all of a sudden. He seems to look tough whereas he always looked fragile. He seems to be authoritative in line and contact rather than tentative. He always had good hands. Now, he has character too and his ability to be in the right place at the right time means more. I'd have him as a serious contender for the England 15 shirt. He'd certainly be better there than Smith.

I agree about 9-13.

[Banquo]

Saints were quite excellent for an hour. Really impressive until subs disrupted the flow and Glasgow staged a bit of a comeback. Great result, though.
Freeman is looking the business. Smith is blossoming very nicely. After a shaky start Mitchell was first rate.
Saints 9-13 should be in the 6N squad.

Bit of a leap for Hendy but ok . I also kind of wish Furbank would make a permanent move to 10- he has a lot of attacking talent.

Whether it's the captaincy or putting on muscle, who knows, but Furbank looks a far better player all of a sudden. He seems to look tough whereas he always looked fragile. He seems to be authoritative in line and contact rather than tentative. He always had good hands. Now, he has character too and his ability to be in the right place at the right time means more. I'd have him as a serious contender for the England 15 shirt. He'd certainly be better there than Smith.

I agree about 9-13.

He's had a haircut, that'd do it. He's always looked a very good club player.

So you would pick Hendy as well?

[FKAS]

Might be a little bit early for Hendy but it appears to be a case of when he plays for England as opposed to if he plays for England.

Bar one nice pass I thought Dingwall was fairly anonymous, was only towards the end of the game that it occurred to me that the Glasgow attack started making metres after he left the field and wasn't there to organise the defence. Credit to him for doing a very good job on that front.

Fin Smith played brilliantly. The level of control he exerted was fantastic. Didn't overplay but wasn't overly risk averse either. Some of his touches were absolute class. Any Scottish coaches watching will no doubt be wanting to check again with Fin as to how English he feels.

Puja, bit harsh on Haffar. The Saints scrum improved after he came on and he made some good carries. He learnt a hard lesson about being upright on contact though as the Glasgow defence doubled up on him in contact and turned him over a couple of times. At 21 that's the kind of lesson you expect a young prop to learn though.

[Mikey Brown]

[

Enjoying Freeman at 13 and Furbank at 15.

Furbank looks like he's bulked up a bit for this season. Just seems to have given him a little bit more power when bursting through the tackle. He's been impressive so far.

Freeman, bar one misplaced pass and one instance where he didn't pass and should have, has been outstanding. Defensively sound and in attack a real threat. Doubts over him at 13 are vanishing very quickly.

yep, his distribution needs work, but he and dingwall are a very good emerging combo.

How’s the old defensive positioning looking? I’ve got a source in the know and they tell me that’s important when playing 13.

Centre is looking like a realistic long-term option? He’s certainly got a beautifully balanced running style. Not quite seen enough to know how well he uses his size?

[Oakboy]

Bit of a leap for Hendy but ok . I also kind of wish Furbank would make a permanent move to 10- he has a lot of attacking talent.

Whether it's the captaincy or putting on muscle, who knows, but Furbank looks a far better player all of a sudden. He seems to look tough whereas he always looked fragile. He seems to be authoritative in line and contact rather than tentative. He always had good hands. Now, he has character too and his ability to be in the right place at the right time means more. I'd have him as a serious contender for the England 15 shirt. He'd certainly be better there than Smith.

I agree about 9-13.

He's had a haircut, that'd do it. He's always looked a very good club player.

So you would pick Hendy as well?

No, forgot he was 11.

[Banquo]

[

Furbank looks like he's bulked up a bit for this season. Just seems to have given him a little bit more power when bursting through the tackle. He's been impressive so far.

Freeman, bar one misplaced pass and one instance where he didn't pass and should have, has been outstanding. Defensively sound and in attack a real threat. Doubts over him at 13 are vanishing very quickly.

yep, his distribution needs work, but he and dingwall are a very good emerging combo.

How’s the old defensive positioning looking? I’ve got a source in the know and they tell me that’s important when playing 13.

Centre is looking like a realistic long-term option? He’s certainly got a beautifully balanced running style. Not quite seen enough to know how well he uses his size?

All that looked pretty good last night- he used his size well.

[Oakboy]

[

Furbank looks like he's bulked up a bit for this season. Just seems to have given him a little bit more power when bursting through the tackle. He's been impressive so far.

Freeman, bar one misplaced pass and one instance where he didn't pass and should have, has been outstanding. Defensively sound and in attack a real threat. Doubts over him at 13 are vanishing very quickly.

yep, his distribution needs work, but he and dingwall are a very good emerging combo.

How’s the old defensive positioning looking? I’ve got a source in the know and they tell me that’s important when playing 13.

Centre is looking like a realistic long-term option? He’s certainly got a beautifully balanced running style. Not quite seen enough to know how well he uses his size?

Freeman looks to my untutored eye to have a good rugby brain and I'd guess he will be quick to learn. Physically, he looks outstanding. I still want Lawrence at 12 for England. At 13, I'd be happy with Slade or Marchant but Freeman could move ahead of both.

[Banquo]

yep, his distribution needs work, but he and dingwall are a very good emerging combo.

How’s the old defensive positioning looking? I’ve got a source in the know and they tell me that’s important when playing 13.

Centre is looking like a realistic long-term option? He’s certainly got a beautifully balanced running style. Not quite seen enough to know how well he uses his size?

Freeman looks to my untutored eye to have a good rugby brain and I'd guess he will be quick to learn. Physically, he looks outstanding. I still want Lawrence at 12 for England. At 13, I'd be happy with Slade or Marchant but Freeman could move ahead of both.

Ridiculous he wasn't at the world cup tbh

[Mellsblue]

How’s the old defensive positioning looking? I’ve got a source in the know and they tell me that’s important when playing 13.

Centre is looking like a realistic long-term option? He’s certainly got a beautifully balanced running style. Not quite seen enough to know how well he uses his size?

Freeman looks to my untutored eye to have a good rugby brain and I'd guess he will be quick to learn. Physically, he looks outstanding. I still want Lawrence at 12 for England. At 13, I'd be happy with Slade or Marchant but Freeman could move ahead of both.

Ridiculous he wasn't at the world cup tbh

Any chance it was a brilliant long term plan to give him a preseason at 13?