L.I vs Bristol, GP rd 15 - Sun 3pm

[jimKRFC]

London Irish:
15 Ben Loader, 14 Lucio Cinti, 13 Luca Morisi, 12 Benhard van Rensburg, 11 Ollie Hassell-Collins, 10 Paddy Jackson, 9 Ben White, 1 Will Goodrick-Clarke, 2 Mike Willemse, 3 Lovejoy Chawatama, 4 Chunya Munga, 5 Rob Simmons (c), 6 Josh Basham, 7 Tom Pearson, 8 Matt Rogerson.

Replacements:
16 Ignacio Ruiz, 17 Danilo Fischetti, 18 Oliver Hoskins, 19 Api Ratuniyarawa, 20 Juan Martin Gonzalez, 21 Chandler Cunningham-South, 22 Joe Powell, 23 Rory Jennings.

Bristol:
15. Noah Heward, 14. Toby Fricker, 13. Semi Radradra, 12. Ioan Lloyd, 11. Gabriel Ibitoye, 10. AJ MacGinty, 9. Andy Uren,
1. Ellis Genge, 2. Harry Thacker, 3. Kyle Sinckler, 4. Joe Batley, 5. Chris Vui, 6. Steven Luatua c), 7. Jake Heenan, 8. Magnus Bradbury

Subs: 16. Jake Kerr, 17. Yann Thomas, 18. Max Lahiff, 19. Joe Joyce, 20. Dan Thomas, 21. Tom Whiteley, 22. Callum Sheedy, 23. Jack Bates

Usually a high scoring game, but Bristol need to find some form soon or will cut adrift at the bottom of the table. Some key names back in the pack but a new look back line with Ioan Lloyd needing to be on his game defensively and Fricker back in with no game time recently.

Suspect a close game with Irish edging Bristol out.

[fivepointer]

Bris lifted with the return of their 2 international props. Good news for them and England.

Difficult game to call. Both sides can blow hot and cold.

[p/d]

Down to whether or not LI can finish with the 3 double-barrellers on the park

[Margin_Walker]

Not sure about this one really.

We go for a 6-2 split on the bench most weeks, but I prefer it when it's BJVR acting as the back up 10 and an outside back on the bench. Especially without Joseph at 13. As it stands here, if Loader or OHC were to go down injured early, you strip a huge amount of pace out of the 15.

As usual though, it should be won or lost up front, so we'll see. We've certainly started our strongest scrummaging prop pairing to try to counter that Bristol front row.

[Banquo]

whats the story with Fitz Harding? Injured?

[fivepointer]

Harding's on the unavailable list.
So too RICH LANE otherwise his selection could be taken for granted.

[Banquo]

Harding's on the unavailable list.
So too RICH LANE otherwise his selection could be taken for granted.

ah can't see that on this thread

[jimKRFC]

I don't tend to put the unavailable list up as it doesn't seem really relevant. But here you go;

Unavailable: Jay Tyack, Bryan Byrne, Will Capon, Ed Holmes, Joe Owen, Sam Jeffries, Fitz Harding, Sam Lewis, Will Porter, Harry Randall, Sam Bedlow, Joe Jenkins, Piers O’Conor, Siva Naulago, Charles Piutau, Rich Lane.

[Banquo]

I don't tend to put the unavailable list up as it doesn't seem really relevant. But here you go;

Unavailable: Jay Tyack, Bryan Byrne, Will Capon, Ed Holmes, Joe Owen, Sam Jeffries, Fitz Harding, Sam Lewis, Will Porter, Harry Randall, Sam Bedlow, Joe Jenkins, Piers O’Conor, Siva Naulago, Charles Piutau, Rich Lane.

lol, I wasn't making a request/criticising , but thanks.


PS RICH LANE!!!!

[Margin_Walker]

Important win in the end for LI 23 - 7. For a welcome change we never really looked under any pressure in the second half and I can't remember one visit to the 22 by Bristol in that half.

Conditions were very poor again, so not the greatest spectacle. Bristol's scrum and defence were decent, but outside of that it was a very quiet game from them. Genge probably their best player and looked in decent nick. They gave away a mountain of penalties.

For LI, the highlight was probably a cameo off the bench from Cunningham-South who at one point ploughed straight over the top of Radradra like he wasn't there. That kid needs to be starting games, sooner rather than later. They had all sorts of problems trying to put him to ground.

[fivepointer]

Cunningham-South certainly has a raw energy that is quite striking.

[Margin_Walker]

Cunningham-South certainly has a raw energy that is quite striking.

Yeah, you don't often see a teenager with that kind of physicality. Will be interesting to see how well his all round game develops in the next season or two.

[TheNomad]

Is he EQP?

[Margin_Walker]

Well he was playing for Eng U20s last year, so I assume so unless there's a relaxed eligibility criteria at U20 that I'm not aware of.

[FKAS]

Cunningham-South certainly has a raw energy that is quite striking.

Yeah, you don't often see a teenager with that kind of physicality. Will be interesting to see how well his all round game develops in the next season or two.

He's a big lad isn't he. Possibly a little to short for the row unless he has a growth spurt but the current trend for big blindsides that can jump. If he can refine down his game, up his skills and demonstrate a top level work rate and he'll be some player. He's still got another year in the under 20s and I wouldn't put it past Borthwick to drop into their 6N camp and observe a training session or two with some recommendations for works on for the high flyers.

[Margin_Walker]

Cunningham-South certainly has a raw energy that is quite striking.

Yeah, you don't often see a teenager with that kind of physicality. Will be interesting to see how well his all round game develops in the next season or two.

He's a big lad isn't he. Possibly a little to short for the row unless he has a growth spurt but the current trend for big blindsides that can jump. If he can refine down his game, up his skills and demonstrate a top level work rate and he'll be some player. He's still got another year in the under 20s and I wouldn't put it past Borthwick to drop into their 6N camp and observe a training session or two with some recommendations for works on for the high flyers.

Yeah, he's not a second row. Too short and I doubt he really has the hands at the moment to be a first line lineout option. 6 or 8 really, with him actually getting more time at 8 for us at the moment. I doubt he'll be playing any U20s until the JWC given his first team involvement. Will be interesting to see whether Borthwick does the whole apprentice thing, as he'd definitely be a candidate.

[FKAS]

Yeah, you don't often see a teenager with that kind of physicality. Will be interesting to see how well his all round game develops in the next season or two.

He's a big lad isn't he. Possibly a little to short for the row unless he has a growth spurt but the current trend for big blindsides that can jump. If he can refine down his game, up his skills and demonstrate a top level work rate and he'll be some player. He's still got another year in the under 20s and I wouldn't put it past Borthwick to drop into their 6N camp and observe a training session or two with some recommendations for works on for the high flyers.

Yeah, he's not a second row. Too short and I doubt he really has the hands at the moment to be a first line lineout option. 6 or 8 really, with him actually getting more time at 8 for us at the moment. I doubt he'll be playing any U20s until the JWC given his first team involvement. Will be interesting to see whether Borthwick does the whole apprentice thing, as he'd definitely be a candidate.

The 6N squads have tended to be quite large. Do LI have any bye weekends in that period? If they do then he might find himself involved.

Apprentice wise I don't know if Borthwick has that much time on his hands given it's pretty much a rebuild to the world cup. He might well contact those he might rate for post world cup and let them know they are on his radar. Given the injuries at 6 (Lawes and Martin) could be a well spent apprentice spot if Borthwick does follow Eddie's example. It would be foolish not to keep Fin Smith in the training squad as an apprentice.

[Puja]

He's a big lad isn't he. Possibly a little to short for the row unless he has a growth spurt but the current trend for big blindsides that can jump. If he can refine down his game, up his skills and demonstrate a top level work rate and he'll be some player. He's still got another year in the under 20s and I wouldn't put it past Borthwick to drop into their 6N camp and observe a training session or two with some recommendations for works on for the high flyers.

Yeah, he's not a second row. Too short and I doubt he really has the hands at the moment to be a first line lineout option. 6 or 8 really, with him actually getting more time at 8 for us at the moment. I doubt he'll be playing any U20s until the JWC given his first team involvement. Will be interesting to see whether Borthwick does the whole apprentice thing, as he'd definitely be a candidate.

The 6N squads have tended to be quite large. Do LI have any bye weekends in that period? If they do then he might find himself involved.

Apprentice wise I don't know if Borthwick has that much time on his hands given it's pretty much a rebuild to the world cup. He might well contact those he might rate for post world cup and let them know they are on his radar. Given the injuries at 6 (Lawes and Martin) could be a well spent apprentice spot if Borthwick does follow Eddie's example. It would be foolish not to keep Fin Smith in the training squad as an apprentice.

I still maintain that with the wealth of riches we have at 7, we have to go KamikazeKids 2.0. Pick any two of BCurry, TCurry, Underhill, JWillis, and target the opposition breakdown.

Puja

[Banquo]

Yeah, he's not a second row. Too short and I doubt he really has the hands at the moment to be a first line lineout option. 6 or 8 really, with him actually getting more time at 8 for us at the moment. I doubt he'll be playing any U20s until the JWC given his first team involvement. Will be interesting to see whether Borthwick does the whole apprentice thing, as he'd definitely be a candidate.

The 6N squads have tended to be quite large. Do LI have any bye weekends in that period? If they do then he might find himself involved.

Apprentice wise I don't know if Borthwick has that much time on his hands given it's pretty much a rebuild to the world cup. He might well contact those he might rate for post world cup and let them know they are on his radar. Given the injuries at 6 (Lawes and Martin) could be a well spent apprentice spot if Borthwick does follow Eddie's example. It would be foolish not to keep Fin Smith in the training squad as an apprentice.

I still maintain that with the wealth of riches we have at 7, we have to go KamikazeKids 2.0. Pick any two of BCurry, TCurry, Underhill, JWillis, and target the opposition breakdown.

Puja

Whither Chessum?

[Puja]

The 6N squads have tended to be quite large. Do LI have any bye weekends in that period? If they do then he might find himself involved.

Apprentice wise I don't know if Borthwick has that much time on his hands given it's pretty much a rebuild to the world cup. He might well contact those he might rate for post world cup and let them know they are on his radar. Given the injuries at 6 (Lawes and Martin) could be a well spent apprentice spot if Borthwick does follow Eddie's example. It would be foolish not to keep Fin Smith in the training squad as an apprentice.

I still maintain that with the wealth of riches we have at 7, we have to go KamikazeKids 2.0. Pick any two of BCurry, TCurry, Underhill, JWillis, and target the opposition breakdown.

Puja

Whither Chessum?

Lock. We're not so flush with no 5s that we can afford to piss about putting them at 6.

Puja

[Banquo]

I still maintain that with the wealth of riches we have at 7, we have to go KamikazeKids 2.0. Pick any two of BCurry, TCurry, Underhill, JWillis, and target the opposition breakdown.

Puja

Whither Chessum?

Lock. We're not so flush with no 5s that we can afford to piss about putting them at 6.

Puja

Tigers missed the memo but fair enough . He has looked good at 6 when I have seen him tho

[jimKRFC]

Going on the feed back from the Bristol this was a bit of turning point. The posters that were still giving Pat Lam the benefit of the doubt seem to have given up. Not watched (and going by the comments I'll not bother) the game but it sounds like Bristol were just rubbish. After 3 seasons still unable to take a restart, a mountain of penalties and the attacking fair and invention all gone. The comments also make out that the players look totally uninterested as well.

I was giving a Mal a pass on last season but Bris have got no better and are, rightly, bottom. I'm now hoping there are some changes made in the coaching structure.

[FKAS]

Whither Chessum?

Lock. We're not so flush with no 5s that we can afford to piss about putting them at 6.

Puja

Tigers missed the memo but fair enough . He has looked good at 6 when I have seen him tho

Given the number of backrow injuries currently we didn't have a lot of choice. He's bulked up quite a bit over time and has played less backrow as time has gone on. He'd be a great bench option for England covering lock and 6.

Personally I'd have Ted Hill at 6 for the first 50ish mins and then go Kamikaze Kids second half and really increase the intensity as the opposition start to fatigue. Load the bench with aggressive and mobile forwards, maybe even bomb squad the front row.

[Margin_Walker]

Going on the feed back from the Bristol this was a bit of turning point. The posters that were still giving Pat Lam the benefit of the doubt seem to have given up. Not watched (and going by the comments I'll not bother) the game but it sounds like Bristol were just rubbish. After 3 seasons still unable to take a restart, a mountain of penalties and the attacking fair and invention all gone. The comments also make out that the players look totally uninterested as well.

I was giving a Mal a pass on last season but Bris have got no better and are, rightly, bottom. I'm now hoping there are some changes made in the coaching structure.

It's an odd one. Decent win last week, but something doesn't look quite right. Scrum went well and the first up defence was pretty good for most of the game, which you clearly need some commitment to achieve. With ball in hand though, not a lot was happening and LI won the battle at the breakdown fairly convincingly. You weren't helped by Ibitoye having to go off, who had looked sharp, quickly followed by Heward.

Otherwise, thought Bradbury and Thacker were decent. I can see why the pressure may start to come on to Lam though given the sustained drop in performance from a couple of seasons ago.

[fivepointer]

Going on the feed back from the Bristol this was a bit of turning point. The posters that were still giving Pat Lam the benefit of the doubt seem to have given up. Not watched (and going by the comments I'll not bother) the game but it sounds like Bristol were just rubbish. After 3 seasons still unable to take a restart, a mountain of penalties and the attacking fair and invention all gone. The comments also make out that the players look totally uninterested as well.

I was giving a Mal a pass on last season but Bris have got no better and are, rightly, bottom. I'm now hoping there are some changes made in the coaching structure.

Bristol's all court attacking game has disappeared. Right now they have scored fewer points (237) than anyone else in the league. The points difference is -95.
in fairness they are missing players and havent had much of a settled side, but the drift isnt a good one and they look like a team seriously out of sorts.