Premiership Cup 2023/24

[Which Tyler]

Very young side that for the first (away) fixture.
Nice to see Jaco Coetzee in the team - wonder if he string more than 3 matches together without breaking.

[Adam_P]

I always rated Tonks as a solid player in his time at Saints. Good tackler. Does he stand much chance of game time in the Bath first team this season?

[Which Tyler]

Not really, 5th choice flanker at best. 4th #8 at best, probably 6th at lock.

[jimKRFC]

Bristol side for Exeter:
15. Matthew Jones, 14. Isaac Campbell-Wu, 13. Harry Ascherl, 12. Dylan Power, 11. Aidan Boshoff, 10. Sam Worsley, 9. Sam Wolstenholme; 1. Andrew Turner, 2. Fred Davies (c), 3. Jonathan Benz-Salomon, 4. Josh Caulfield, 5. Joe Owen, 6. George Taylor, 7. Macenzzie Duncan, 8. Paddy Pearce.

Subs: 16. Tomas Gwilliam, 17. Tom Sims, 18. Jimmy Halliwell, 19. Ed Harvey, 20. Kofi Cripps, 21. Oscar Lennon, 22. Toby Baker, 23. Sami Hamid.

A noticeable side as it's all EQP, 17 academy & ex-academy players, 15 of which are from the Bristol "region" (I assume catchment area not Bristol itself) and the youngest ever Bristol side.

Exeter side is neither young nor break through players...

15. Josh Hodge, 14. Ben Hammersley, 13. Henry Slade, 12. Joe Hawkins, 11. Tommy Wyatt, 10. Harvey Skinner, 9. Tom Cairns;
1. Scott Sio, 2. Jack Yeandle ©, 3. Ehren Painter, 4. Matt Postlethwaite, 5. Lewis Pearson, 6. Ethan Roots, 7. Jacques Vermeulen, 8. Greg Fisilau

Replacements
16. Dan Frost, 17. Billy Keast, 18. Patrick Schickerling, 19. Rusi Tuima, 20. Ross Vintcent, 21. Niall Armstrong, 22. Will Haydon-Wood, 23. Tom Hendrickson

I like the ambition and trust PL has put in the youngsters but hard to see how we'll be competitive...

[Mellsblue]

The slaughter:

https://x.com/bedfordbluesrfc/status/17 ... MV3j-SK8yQ

[Mellsblue]

The lamb:

https://x.com/salesharksrugby/status/17 ... MV3j-SK8yQ

[fivepointer]

Bristol side for Exeter:
15. Matthew Jones, 14. Isaac Campbell-Wu, 13. Harry Ascherl, 12. Dylan Power, 11. Aidan Boshoff, 10. Sam Worsley, 9. Sam Wolstenholme; 1. Andrew Turner, 2. Fred Davies (c), 3. Jonathan Benz-Salomon, 4. Josh Caulfield, 5. Joe Owen, 6. George Taylor, 7. Macenzzie Duncan, 8. Paddy Pearce.

Subs: 16. Tomas Gwilliam, 17. Tom Sims, 18. Jimmy Halliwell, 19. Ed Harvey, 20. Kofi Cripps, 21. Oscar Lennon, 22. Toby Baker, 23. Sami Hamid.

A noticeable side as it's all EQP, 17 academy & ex-academy players, 15 of which are from the Bristol "region" (I assume catchment area not Bristol itself) and the youngest ever Bristol side.

Exeter side is neither young nor break through players...

15. Josh Hodge, 14. Ben Hammersley, 13. Henry Slade, 12. Joe Hawkins, 11. Tommy Wyatt, 10. Harvey Skinner, 9. Tom Cairns;
1. Scott Sio, 2. Jack Yeandle ©, 3. Ehren Painter, 4. Matt Postlethwaite, 5. Lewis Pearson, 6. Ethan Roots, 7. Jacques Vermeulen, 8. Greg Fisilau

Replacements
16. Dan Frost, 17. Billy Keast, 18. Patrick Schickerling, 19. Rusi Tuima, 20. Ross Vintcent, 21. Niall Armstrong, 22. Will Haydon-Wood, 23. Tom Hendrickson


I like the ambition and trust PL has put in the youngsters but hard to see how we'll be competitive...

I'm with Bristol here. I applaud the fact they've gone with youngsters and a heavy EQ bias. Think thats what this Comp should be about. Exeter not really entering into the spirit of things with such a strong line up.

[FKAS]

Bristol side for Exeter:
15. Matthew Jones, 14. Isaac Campbell-Wu, 13. Harry Ascherl, 12. Dylan Power, 11. Aidan Boshoff, 10. Sam Worsley, 9. Sam Wolstenholme; 1. Andrew Turner, 2. Fred Davies (c), 3. Jonathan Benz-Salomon, 4. Josh Caulfield, 5. Joe Owen, 6. George Taylor, 7. Macenzzie Duncan, 8. Paddy Pearce.

Subs: 16. Tomas Gwilliam, 17. Tom Sims, 18. Jimmy Halliwell, 19. Ed Harvey, 20. Kofi Cripps, 21. Oscar Lennon, 22. Toby Baker, 23. Sami Hamid.

A noticeable side as it's all EQP, 17 academy & ex-academy players, 15 of which are from the Bristol "region" (I assume catchment area not Bristol itself) and the youngest ever Bristol side.

Exeter side is neither young nor break through players...

15. Josh Hodge, 14. Ben Hammersley, 13. Henry Slade, 12. Joe Hawkins, 11. Tommy Wyatt, 10. Harvey Skinner, 9. Tom Cairns;
1. Scott Sio, 2. Jack Yeandle ©, 3. Ehren Painter, 4. Matt Postlethwaite, 5. Lewis Pearson, 6. Ethan Roots, 7. Jacques Vermeulen, 8. Greg Fisilau

Replacements
16. Dan Frost, 17. Billy Keast, 18. Patrick Schickerling, 19. Rusi Tuima, 20. Ross Vintcent, 21. Niall Armstrong, 22. Will Haydon-Wood, 23. Tom Hendrickson


I like the ambition and trust PL has put in the youngsters but hard to see how we'll be competitive...

I'm with Bristol here. I applaud the fact they've gone with youngsters and a heavy EQ bias. Think thats what this Comp should be about. Exeter not really entering into the spirit of things with such a strong line up.

It's a pre season comp at the end of the day. If they feel the need to get their first choice options game time then so be it, I'd expect my more teams to do similar in the latter weeks. Isn't there fault Bristol chose to play the Baabaas on Thursday and so field a weaker team at the weekend.

[FKAS]

Tigers going with a lot of the guys who didn't get a go Vs Nottingham last weekend. Great to see Dolly back fit and leading from the front.

Tigers STARTING XV
15 Jamie Shillcock *
14 Harry Simmons [33]
13 Guy Porter (vc) [59]
12 Phil Cokanasiga [6]
11 Ollie Hassell-Collins *
10 Kieran Wilkinson *
9 Tom Whiteley [3]
1 Francois van Wyk [30]
2 Nic Dolly (c) [23]
3 Will Hurd [23]
4 Lewis Chessum [6]
5 Mike Williams [80]
6 Finn Carnduff [5]
7 Emeka Ilione [10]
8 Kyle Hatherell *

REPLACEMENTS
16 Archie Vanes [6]
17 James Whitcombe [35]
18 Dan Richardson [10]
19 Sam Carter *
20 Joshua Manz [4]
21 Joe Powell *
22 Charlie Atkinson [17]
23 Jacob Cusick [8]

The Caldy team to take on Leicester Tigers is:

1 Adam Agabokhae
2 Ollie Hearn
3 Nathan Rushton
4 Tom Sanders
5 Sam Dickinson
6 Martin Gerrard
7 Nyle Davidson
8 JJ Dickinson (captain)
9 Chris Pilgrim
10 Sam Rogers
11 Louis Beer
12 Mike Barlow
13 Connor Wilkinson
14 Nick Royle
15 Rhys Hayes

16 Matt Gallagher
17 Joe Sproston
18 Ryan Higginson
19 Callum Atkinson
20 Callum Ridgway
21 Joe Murray
22 Mike Cartmill
23 Lewis Barker

[Adam_P]

15 Ewan Baker
14 Jake Garside
13 George Hendy
12 Tom Litchfield
11 Will Glister
10 James Grayson
9 Archie McParland

1 Alex Waller
2 Craig Wright
3 Paul Hill
4 Theo Vukasinovic
5 Tom Lockett
6 Sam Graham (c)
7 Henry Pollock
8 Izaiha Moore-Aiono

Replacements:
16 Tom Cruse
17 Elliot Millar Mills
18 Ed Prowse
19 Emeka Atuanya
20 Kayde Sylvester
21 Matthew Arden
22 Oscar Daniel
23 Tommy Freeman


EALING TRAILFINDERS TEAM TO FACE SAINTS:
15 Cian Kelleher, 14 Jonah Holmes, 13 Dan O’Brien, 12 Reuben Bird-Tulloch, 11 Nathan Earle, 10 Steven Shingler, 9 Craig Hampson; 1 Will Goodrick-Clarke, 2 Mike Willemse, 3 Jimmy Roots, 4 Bobby de Wee, 5 Barney Maddison, 6 Jordy Reid, 7 Simon Uzokwe, 8 Rayn Smid.
Replacements: 16 Matt Cornish, 17 Brad Thyer, 18 George Davis, 19 Simon Lindell, 20 Ollie Newman, 21 Jordan Burns, 22 Bruce Houston, 23 Max Bodily.

[Adam_P]

Decent mix of youth and experience for Saints. McParland looked really handy in the pre season games. Interesting to see Hendy deployed at 13, have only ever seen him play at fullback. He can definitely run an outside arc.

There are plenty of familiar premiership faces in the Ealing team. Hopefully its a good match up.

[Which Tyler]

Very young side that for the first (away) fixture.
Nice to see Jaco Coetzee in the team - wonder if he string more than 3 matches together without breaking.

Pirates 23 - 29 Bath
https://www.bathrugby.com/news/match-ro ... ath-rugby/

[Epaminondas Pules]

Decent mix of youth and experience for Saints. McParland looked really handy in the pre season games. Interesting to see Hendy deployed at 13, have only ever seen him play at fullback. He can definitely run an outside arc.

There are plenty of familiar premiership faces in the Ealing team. Hopefully its a good match up.

He did look very good. Excellent pass on him!

Garside on the wing again. Interesting!

[Which Tyler]

Pirates 23 - 29 Bath

Pirates' match report: https://cornish-pirates.com/match-repor ... -rugby-29/

Report from a Bath fan in the crowd

OK, so now back at the hotel in the bar having watched France dispose of New Zealand in the company of a room full of disgruntled Kiwis! Time for some thoughts about this evening at the Mennaye.
Fist of all, this was a very hard, fast game, well above “A” League level and against a well organised Pirates team with a strong pack and some very fast backs.
A lot of positives for the Bath boys. Yes, there were some errors and the front row was under huge pressure in the first half. The introduction of Kieran Verdan, Mikey Summerfield and Jasper Spandler fixed that and gave Bath a much more stable platform.
Some good performances across the squad. Warboys and Harris went very well and Ewan Richards had a good game and handled the Captaincy very well. Will Muir didn’t see much of the ball but when he did, he was sheer class. His break for the Worboys try was the Horse of old, back on form!
The last 10 minutes seemed to go on forever and Bath were under real pressure, especially after the award of a quite extraordinary try for Pirates with about 5 to go. But this essentially young squad has got some “dog” and held on.
Yes, a lot to work on. Not the finished article by any means, but Andy Robinson should be reasonably pleased. Pirates expected to win this game and may have underestimated the amount of talent in this squad. Jersey won’t do that next week,

TBH, based on that, the tournie is doing exactly what I was wanting it to; a properly tough outing for the 2nd XV of the Prem team, and a genuine opportunity at a giant-slaying, complete with a large (comparatively) crowd for the Champ team, taking place whilst the internationals are away.

[Banquo]

We lost 38-11 at Doncaster Knights; what a set up they have there, superb facilities and pitches. We were 6-5 up 35 mins in, but them having 30 + full time pros showed just before and just after halftime, where we shipped three tries quick smart. But we hung in well- forwards stood up well, which was very pleasing. Saints next week.....

[Margin_Walker]

I used to live in Sheffield and head over to Castle Park to watch Donny occasionally.

Then obviously, a few trips when LI were in the Championship. It really is a lovely spot to watch a game.

[Adam_P]

Decent mix of youth and experience for Saints. McParland looked really handy in the pre season games. Interesting to see Hendy deployed at 13, have only ever seen him play at fullback. He can definitely run an outside arc.

There are plenty of familiar premiership faces in the Ealing team. Hopefully its a good match up.

He did look very good. Excellent pass on him!

Garside on the wing again. Interesting!

Aye - he's rapid and his feet are electric. With McParland coming through behind him and looking so good maybe Garside to wing will become a permanent thing.

[Mellsblue]

Decent mix of youth and experience for Saints. McParland looked really handy in the pre season games. Interesting to see Hendy deployed at 13, have only ever seen him play at fullback. He can definitely run an outside arc.

There are plenty of familiar premiership faces in the Ealing team. Hopefully its a good match up.

He did look very good. Excellent pass on him!

Garside on the wing again. Interesting!

Aye - he's rapid and his feet are electric. With McParland coming through behind him and looking so good maybe Garside to wing will become a permanent thing.

He ran some seriously top quality cheat lines from 9 when playing for Bedford. If he can replicate that skill from the wing… he could be the next Chris Ashton.

[fivepointer]

Decent mix of youth and experience for Saints. McParland looked really handy in the pre season games. Interesting to see Hendy deployed at 13, have only ever seen him play at fullback. He can definitely run an outside arc.

There are plenty of familiar premiership faces in the Ealing team. Hopefully its a good match up.

On TV tomorrow.

Ealing putting out a pretty good looking team with lots of Prem experience. Good test for the Saints youngsters.

[Banquo]

Cov turn Sarries over! Otherwise as expected, good shows from Ampthill and 1st half from Caldy.

Not quite sure Bears got their strategy right for their back to back hammerings!

[Which Tyler]

Now that's what I call a giant slaying!

[Mellsblue]

The slaughter:

https://x.com/bedfordbluesrfc/status/17 ... MV3j-SK8yQ

I got this

[Mellsblue]

The lamb:

https://x.com/salesharksrugby/status/17 ... MV3j-SK8yQ

And this the wrong way round…

[fivepointer]

Cov's win is exactly what this competition needed. Saracens had plenty of youngsters but there were a few in their 23 with Prem experience including West, Judge, Hunter-Hill, T Willis and Isiekwe.

[jimKRFC]

Well done Cov!

Bristol spanked 0-75, about as one sided as expected. Not sure what anyone gained from this mis-Match.