Timbo wrote:I feel a bit like Comical Ali sometimes with the injury stuff, as i’m habitually more optimistic than the board consensus...BUT the injury situation is never as bad as feared when we get round to an AI series or 6N’s etc. Likes of Billy and Manu very frustrating as they’re X factor players, but generally we’ve not been in bad shape over the last few years. Also, I find the reporting on England players’ injuries to be pretty disingenuous, ruling players out of games very prematurely. Makes better headlines I guess.
Local Bath press saying Joseph expecting to be back in October by the way. Case in point.
Local Bath press don't know their arsehole from their earhole at the best of times. Todd Blackadder said the other day that Joseph's injury is taking longer than expected and he would be December at the earliest.
Timbo wrote:I feel a bit like Comical Ali sometimes with the injury stuff, as i’m habitually more optimistic than the board consensus...BUT the injury situation is never as bad as feared when we get round to an AI series or 6N’s etc. Likes of Billy and Manu very frustrating as they’re X factor players, but generally we’ve not been in bad shape over the last few years. Also, I find the reporting on England players’ injuries to be pretty disingenuous, ruling players out of games very prematurely. Makes better headlines I guess.
Local Bath press saying Joseph expecting to be back in October by the way. Case in point.
Local Bath press don't know their arsehole from their earhole at the best of times. Todd Blackadder said the other day that Joseph's injury is taking longer than expected and he would be December at the earliest.
Puja
Ok, well I disagree. I’ve followed Dan Evans, the local rugby guy, on Twitter for quite a while now. He has great access, good contacts and posts plenty of informative content.
He’s the bloke all the Nationals are getting their quotes and info from. They’ve just chosen to put their own negative slant on things. He quotes Blackadder from yesterday as saying “JJ is still on target” and that he’ll certainly be back this side of Christmas. The article then says that Joseph himself expects to be back in October.
Timbo wrote:I feel a bit like Comical Ali sometimes with the injury stuff, as i’m habitually more optimistic than the board consensus...BUT the injury situation is never as bad as feared when we get round to an AI series or 6N’s etc. Likes of Billy and Manu very frustrating as they’re X factor players, but generally we’ve not been in bad shape over the last few years. Also, I find the reporting on England players’ injuries to be pretty disingenuous, ruling players out of games very prematurely. Makes better headlines I guess.
Local Bath press saying Joseph expecting to be back in October by the way. Case in point.
Local Bath press don't know their arsehole from their earhole at the best of times. Todd Blackadder said the other day that Joseph's injury is taking longer than expected and he would be December at the earliest.
Puja
Ok, well I disagree. I’ve followed Dan Evans, the local rugby guy, on Twitter for quite a while now. He has great access, good contacts and posts plenty of informative content.
He’s the bloke all the Nationals are getting their quotes and info from. They’ve just chosen to put their own negative slant on things. He quotes Blackadder from yesterday as saying “JJ is still on target” and that he’ll certainly be back this side of Christmas. The article then says that Joseph himself expects to be back in October.
Apologies - I thought by Bath press you meant the Chronicle and Somerset Live.
"Gloucester Rugby are very aware of an incident involving Danny Cipriani in the early hours of Wednesday morning following an incident at a St Helier nightclub. He was arrested and has since been charged."
Well, they sound pleased. You did know he was a scorpion when you picked him up Glaws...
ETA. The Sun reckon he was charged with common assault, larceny, resisting arrest and being disorderly on licenced premises. No wonder Glaws are peeved.
That actually is good news. It's not perfect, but it is better.
Strikes me that a sensible solution to one of the issues raised is to treat the summer window as the start of the next season, not the end of the last. That way anyone who plays in the July internationals starts the season with those games and minutes on their record and needing to be taken into account for the next season, rather than players being played up to the limit because clubs "didn't know" they'd be selected.
I reckon a few English internationals will be on the move after this season then.
Especially among the teams with the smaller squads.
Exeter have three internationals who will be wanting wage increase end of season and these extra missed games will have to be factored into it.
Going back to a recent comment somewhere on whether Chris Ashton is left or right footed (and someone kindly noted he's right footed) I'd wondered if he might be left footed as he might be left handed
And we've just seen more evidence he might be left handed as in pre season for Sale there was some minor pushing and holding at a ruck in response to which Ashton bravely punched the opposition player next to him and did so with his left hand. Okay he happened to punch the opposition 9, but I'm sure he'd have taken on whoever
Ashton will surely face some sort of ban, and most likely an RFU enquiry for bringing the game into disregard, the RFU now being keen to get involved and no doubt wanting to be consistent
Much like the Cipriani situation I thought this was his career over before really even getting it going again, but it turns out it was only Rory Kockott that he punched. A lot of fuss over nothing.
Digby wrote:Going back to a recent comment somewhere on whether Chris Ashton is left or right footed (and someone kindly noted he's right footed) I'd wondered if he might be left footed as he might be left handed
And we've just seen more evidence he might be left handed as in pre season for Sale there was some minor pushing and holding at a ruck in response to which Ashton bravely punched the opposition player next to him and did so with his left hand. Okay he happened to punch the opposition 9, but I'm sure he'd have taken on whoever
Ashton will surely face some sort of ban, and most likely an RFU enquiry for bringing the game into disregard, the RFU now being keen to get involved and no doubt wanting to be consistent
I believe Ashton already knows all about the RFU being fair and consistent with their disciplinary process and definitely not arbitrarily banning players depending on what's been in the news recently.
How many games do some players get to before the summer? What happens if you make playoffs? 22 AP games, 6 Euros, only leaves 2 spare games, but 5? potential playoff games in just the league.
Raggs wrote:How many games do some players get to before the summer? What happens if you make playoffs? 22 AP games, 6 Euros, only leaves 2 spare games, but 5? potential playoff games in just the league.
Then you should have rotated the squad more - which is the point.
If you insisted that your star player started in all 4 matches against the 2 relegation candidates; and therefore you can't play them for the SF and F in Europe and Prem - then you can't play them in the SF and F for Europe and the Prem.
FTR, I did put this together back in May; so the numbers of matches actually played a part in - doesn't include internationals; I don't think it included Prem KO matches; but does include European finals. https://www.therugbyforum.com/attachmen ... -jpg.5895/
Last edited by Which Tyler on Mon Aug 20, 2018 5:43 pm, edited 6 times in total.
Raggs wrote:How many games do some players get to before the summer? What happens if you make playoffs? 22 AP games, 6 Euros, only leaves 2 spare games, but 5? potential playoff games in just the league.
Then you should have rotated the squad more - which is the point.
Oh I agree, I'm just wondering if a club plays a player 30 times, and the 31st game is the Euro Final, is the player going to say "No thanks, I've hit my limit..." Or if it's an England player, who's going to refuse £22k?
Raggs wrote:How many games do some players get to before the summer? What happens if you make playoffs? 22 AP games, 6 Euros, only leaves 2 spare games, but 5? potential playoff games in just the league.
Then you should have rotated the squad more - which is the point.
Oh I agree, I'm just wondering if a club plays a player 30 times, and the 31st game is the Euro Final, is the player going to say "No thanks, I've hit my limit..." Or if it's an England player, who's going to refuse £22k?
It won't (shouldn't) be up to the player - they need protecting from themselves.
If the player's played 30 matches already, then they would be unavailable for selection
We don't know yet - but it should or the entire thing is a waste of time.
In any other match, if you play someone who's not eligible, then you typically forfeit the match.
ETA: Image above not wanting to embed for some reason, so I've made it clickable.