Gloucester vs Saracens - Friday night

[Puja]

15. Lloyd Evans*
14. Jonny May*
13. Chris Harris
12. Giorgi Kveseladze
11. Ollie Thorley*
10. Santi Carreras
9. Ben Meehan

1. Val Rapava Ruskin
2. George McGuigan
3. Kirill Gotovtsev
4. Freddie Clarke*
5. Matias Alemanno
6. Ruan Ackermann
7. Lewis ludlow (c)*
8. Ben Morgan

Replacements:
16. Seb Blake*
17. Harry Elrington
18. Ciaran Knight*
19. Cam Jordan*
20. Jack Clement*
21. Stephen Varney*
22. Billy Twelvetrees
23. Tom Seabrook*


1 Mako Vunipola
2 Jamie George
3 Marco Riccioni
4 Maro Itoje
5 Hugh Tizard
6 Andy Christie
7 Ben Earl
8 Billy Vunipola

9 Aled Davies
10 Owen Farrell (c)
11 Alex Lewington
12 Duncan Taylor
13 Alex Lozowski
14 Max Malins
15 Alex Goode

Replacements:
16 Theo Dan
17 Eroni Mawi
18 Christian Judge
19 Nick Isiekwe
20 Jackson Wray
21 Ivan van Zyl
22 Josh Hallett
23 Rotimi Segun

[Gloskarlos]

Not much optimism to be had here. Just hoping for no further season ending injuries.

[ilovelamp]

Pitching up at ‘holm more in hope than expectation tonight. Our wafer thin squad depth is being horrendously exposed at the moment and whilst I’m confident we will give Sarries a good game they just have too much quality in that 23 for us to get a win.

[Banquo]

where's polledri in the comeback trail?

[ilovelamp]

A long way from being the player he was. I think there is a very good reason why we have signed Mercer for next season.

I would love to see Jake back to his world class destructive best but think it’s gone. Such a shame.

[Banquo]

A long way from being the player he was. I think there is a very good reason why we have signed Mercer for next season.

I would love to see Jake back to his world class destructive best but think it’s gone. Such a shame.

That is a huge shame. Hopefully he can reinvent himself- it was a bad one.

[FKAS]

A long way from being the player he was. I think there is a very good reason why we have signed Mercer for next season.

I would love to see Jake back to his world class destructive best but think it’s gone. Such a shame.

That is a huge shame. Hopefully he can reinvent himself- it was a bad one.

Given just how long he was out it's still early in his comeback. Realistically next season will be the real acid test, it's probably going to take the rest of this season just to approach passable fitness levels.

I thought Mercer would be more of a Morgan replacement?

[Banquo]

A long way from being the player he was. I think there is a very good reason why we have signed Mercer for next season.

I would love to see Jake back to his world class destructive best but think it’s gone. Such a shame.

That is a huge shame. Hopefully he can reinvent himself- it was a bad one.

Given just how long he was out it's still early in his comeback. Realistically next season will be the real acid test, it's probably going to take the rest of this season just to approach passable fitness levels.

I thought Mercer would be more of a Morgan replacement?

That was my point about being a bad one.

[twitchy]

Fun start to the game.

[FKAS]

Glaws discipline and errors giving Sarries a pretty easy way back into the game.

VRR looking good again, hopefully he's not hurt to badly after that scrum.

[twitchy]

Yep VRR off injured.

[FKAS]

Yep VRR off injured.

Real shame that.

Good decision on the yellow card by Dickson there. This game is getting a fractious. Good stuff.

[FKAS]

Farrell kicks the winning drop goal just minutes after Dickson opts to not go back and review a tackle that would have almost certainly seen him receive a red card.

[stepsider]

What a farce...why did it take so long for the collective cohorts of officialdom to compute that OF should have been sent off for a shoulder-to-head contact prior to his inebriated DG?

Glaws must be fuming (mind you, they did have chances to put the game away earlier).

[Banquo]

Farrell kicks the winning drop goal just minutes after Dickson opts to not go back and review a tackle that would have almost certainly seen him receive a red card.

triply annoyingas he will get plaudits having been pony most of the game. He is so poor going to the right its sad-if he isnt nailing his place kicks ad kicking badly from hands....well...whats the point. Ludlow showed Earl up at the breakdown too.

[Mellsblue]

[FKAS]

Farrell kicks the winning drop goal just minutes after Dickson opts to not go back and review a tackle that would have almost certainly seen him receive a red card.

triply annoyingas he will get plaudits having been pony most of the game. He is so poor going to the right its sad-if he isnt nailing his place kicks ad kicking badly from hands....well...whats the point. Ludlow showed Earl up at the breakdown too.

Did he? I thought Ludlow only escaped going to the bin just before halftime because Jamie George went a bit WWE on him. It was the wild west at the breakdown, a lot of turnovers and not many legal. VRR was probably the best exponent but sadly didn't return after the break.

Farrell did not have a good game you're right there. His drop goal at the end was easily his best contribution. A lot of food for thought for Borthwick in the stands.

[Adam_P]

Dickson being a really good ref again

[Banquo]

Farrell kicks the winning drop goal just minutes after Dickson opts to not go back and review a tackle that would have almost certainly seen him receive a red card.

triply annoyingas he will get plaudits having been pony most of the game. He is so poor going to the right its sad-if he isnt nailing his place kicks ad kicking badly from hands....well...whats the point. Ludlow showed Earl up at the breakdown too.

Did he? I thought Ludlow only escaped going to the bin just before halftime because Jamie George went a bit WWE on him. It was the wild west at the breakdown, a lot of turnovers and not many legal. VRR was probably the best exponent but sadly didn't return after the break.

Farrell did not have a good game you're right there. His drop goal at the end was easily his best contribution. A lot of food for thought for Borthwick in the stands.

Ludlow was a nuisance at the breakdown and Earl awol I thought- he carried well to be fair.

[stepsider]

Earl did get MoM, presumably for the flash stuff (he is very fast with a sharp step)

[Banquo]

Earl did get MoM, presumably for the flash stuff (he is very fast with a sharp step)

That's me told! Thought a few worked a lot harder and were more effective but hey- his carrying is not the question mark for me.

[stepsider]

TBF it was such an error-fest that the MoM (sorry, player of the match) decision was probably a process of elimination as to who made the fewest mistakes. Thought Thorley looked sharp, except when kicking.

If OF is cited + gets a long ban, and Marcus Smith and George Ford aren't fit, who's the next England No.10?

[SouthFalcon87]

The media had an Owen Farrell praisefest last week. I’m sure this week they Will be balanced, talk about how bad he was and how he should have been sent off.

Checks twitter

Nope half the media are finding it really funny he’ll be banned and be back for the 6N to be “Iceman”

Also surely this should lead to some sort of demotion for Dickson? He is reaching Glen Jackson levels of chaos every single game.

[Banquo]

TBF it was such an error-fest that the MoM (sorry, player of the match) decision was probably a process of elimination as to who made the fewest mistakes. Thought Thorley looked sharp, except when kicking.

If OF is cited + gets a long ban, and Marcus Smith and George Ford aren't fit, who's the next England No.10?

fair.

Furbank if Eddie was there . Joe Simmonds? Fin Smith?.....er....

[Mellsblue]

Freddie ‘the Eden Park Matador’ Burns? Although lols at the idea that any ban will run in to the 6N…