Premiership Run in

[Gloskarlos]

BREAKING: Gloucester have been awarded a 20-0, 5 point victory over Worcester after the Warriors forfeited their Premiership game last month.

That bumps Gloucester into fifth on 60 points.

Wow - wasn't expecting that

[Gloskarlos]

Gloucester Rugby awarded five points and a 20-0 victory

PREMIERSHIP RUGBY can confirm that the independent panel has made its adjudication on the cancelled Gallagher Premiership Rugby match between Gloucester Rugby and Worcester Warriors.

In accordance with the Premiership Rugby regulations Sport Resolutions was asked to form an independent panel to decide the result of the match, chaired by Rt. Hon. Sir Gary Hickinbottom, and he was joined on the panel by Carol Couse and Jonathan Rennie.

Worcester Warriors were unable to field the required six front row players for the Gallagher Premiership Rugby match due to be played against Gloucester Rugby on Friday 25 March, resulting in the cancellation of the fixture.

A Premiership Rugby spokesperson said: "The independent Sport Resolutions panel has decided as follows: Under regulation 4.4(j)(iii), the Match result shall be 20-0 in favour of Gloucester; and that, in respect of the Match, Gloucester shall be awarded 5 league points.

"Regulation 4.4(j)(iii) states: Where the unfulfillment of a Premiership League Match is due to the unavailability of players due to injury or unavailability (which is not related to Covid-19), the match result shall be 20-0 and 5 league points shall be awarded to the opposition Club who could play the match.

"A reasoned decision will follow as soon as possible, and hopefully within the next week. That reasoned decision will incorporate this decision; and, for the avoidance of doubt, time for appealing under regulation 14.2 will start to run from the date of that reasoned decision."

Premiership Rugby will publish the full judgement when completed by the Panel.

[Puja]

BREAKING: Gloucester have been awarded a 20-0, 5 point victory over Worcester after the Warriors forfeited their Premiership game last month.

That bumps Gloucester into fifth on 60 points.

Wow - wasn't expecting that

That is a bold decision and definitely what Gloucester needed. Makes tomorrow's game even more vital - if you can win that well and Exeter lose to Saracens, you could be 3 points ahead in fourth place with a game in hand.

Still a bit of a big if there though.

Puja

[Which Tyler]

Looks like it's suggesting that other injuries / unavailabilities were more relevant that Covid absences, and therefore normal rules apply, rather than the Covid allowance.
They may not have helped their cause by fielding a midweek team a few days later.
Or possibly Diamond was a prick at the hearing, can never rule that out.

[Gloskarlos]

Big if indeed Puja.

Now comes the tricky part I guess, if it’s not a Covid cancellation, the compensation argument continues.

[Scrumhead]

A moderate ‘if’ IMO.

That Gloucester side should have too much for Bristol IMO. Same goes for a likely full strength Saracens side facing a less than full strength Exeter.

I’d have fancied Gloucester to have taken the full 5 had the game gone ahead so it’s the right result. Not just a moral victory but the likely outcome too.

[Puja]

A moderate ‘if’ IMO.

That Gloucester side should have too much for Bristol IMO. Same goes for a likely full strength Saracens side facing a less than full strength Exeter.

I’d have fancied Gloucester to have taken the full 5 had the game gone ahead so it’s the right result. Not just a moral victory but the likely outcome too.

Gloucester should really have had too much for a depleted Wasps last time out too though. They're variable. Plus, while I would generally bet on Saracens, the Exeter Racists do have a habit of ekeing out wins when I don't want them to.

You're right that, on form, it should be Gloucester's to lose. Depends on if Gloucester actually bring any form though.

Puja

[fivepointer]

And now...

Leicester P 21 81 pts
Saracens 21 77
Quins 21 72
Saints 21 63
Exeter 22 62
Glos 21 62
LI 22 58
Wasps 21 57
Sale 21 56
Bristol 21 42
Newcastle 21 32
Wuss 22 30
Bath 21 29

[FKAS]

Four points over second. No more slip ups allowed for Tigers but quite frankly there shouldn't be with the three remaining games. Bristol and Wasps can be tricky teams but as they are both at Welford Road and I wouldn't expect rotation for home games we should get the wins.

Second, third and Glaws heading to fourth all looks likely but there's always some odd results lurking.

[Puja]

Four points over second. No more slip ups allowed for Tigers but quite frankly there shouldn't be with the three remaining games. Bristol and Wasps can be tricky teams but as they are both at Welford Road and I wouldn't expect rotation for home games we should get the wins.

Second, third and Glaws heading to fourth all looks likely but there's always some odd results lurking.

Glaws to fourth? Surely Saints are in the hotseat, given that Glaws have lost their last two eminently winnable games.

I'm not 100% sure Exeter are as dead and buried as commentary would believe. Glaws and Saints both have two games against Quins and Saracens which they could conceivably get zero points from, so the target for 4th could realistically be 68 points (assuming Saints thump Newcastle). Hells, that target wouldn't put Wasps or Sale out of the equation as they've got much friendlier last three games than anyone else.

Puja

[FKAS]

Four points over second. No more slip ups allowed for Tigers but quite frankly there shouldn't be with the three remaining games. Bristol and Wasps can be tricky teams but as they are both at Welford Road and I wouldn't expect rotation for home games we should get the wins.

Second, third and Glaws heading to fourth all looks likely but there's always some odd results lurking.

Glaws to fourth? Surely Saints are in the hotseat, given that Glaws have lost their last two eminently winnable games.

I'm not 100% sure Exeter are as dead and buried as commentary would believe. Glaws and Saints both have two games against Quins and Saracens which they could conceivably get zero points from, so the target for 4th could realistically be 68 points (assuming Saints thump Newcastle). Hells, that target wouldn't put Wasps or Sale out of the equation as they've got much friendlier last three games than anyone else.

Puja

Saints have got Quins and Sarries though. Biggar's suspension to contend with as well. Hmm just realised so do Glaws. You're right Chiefs might not be quite so buried after all. Could Sale or LI sneak it then?

[Raggs]

Four points over second. No more slip ups allowed for Tigers but quite frankly there shouldn't be with the three remaining games. Bristol and Wasps can be tricky teams but as they are both at Welford Road and I wouldn't expect rotation for home games we should get the wins.

Second, third and Glaws heading to fourth all looks likely but there's always some odd results lurking.

Glaws to fourth? Surely Saints are in the hotseat, given that Glaws have lost their last two eminently winnable games.

I'm not 100% sure Exeter are as dead and buried as commentary would believe. Glaws and Saints both have two games against Quins and Saracens which they could conceivably get zero points from, so the target for 4th could realistically be 68 points (assuming Saints thump Newcastle). Hells, that target wouldn't put Wasps or Sale out of the equation as they've got much friendlier last three games than anyone else.

Puja

Saints have got Quins and Sarries though. Biggar's suspension to contend with as well. Hmm just realised so do Glaws. You're right Chiefs might not be quite so buried after all. Could Sale or LI sneak it then?

LI are a game ahead of most teams, which makes it tougher. Glaws and Saints are best positions, but there's still definitely 6 teams that can be targeting it. A lot of them have to rely on other teams though. Irish vs Wasps and Saints vs Quins are both huge with regards to the race for the top 4.

Obviously upsets for Glaws or Sharks have a bearing too, just seem less likely.

[Timbo]

Both Leicester & Sarries will be very keen to get top spot to avoid Quins I’d have thought.

[Scrumhead]

Prior to this weekend, I thought Gloucester would most likely finish up 4th. They still could, but they’ve definitely made life a bit more difficult for themselves.

It’s incredibly hard to call and I think it’s made harder by he big gaps between fixtures for the clubs who aren’t in the Cup or European competitions. Those could be a blessing or a curse TBH as any momentum built in this block of fixtures is put on a long pause.

No idea who is in the box seat for 4th and as a Quins fan, I’m pretty relieved we’ve built a bit of a buffer as our run-in is tough. Three games against teams fighting hard to make the play-offs including two away from home has the potential to go wrong.

[FKAS]

Both Leicester & Sarries will be very keen to get top spot to avoid Quins I’d have thought.

Yeah there's definitely a dip off between the top 3 and the fourth place contenders. Makes top spot that little bit more valuable. Whomever finishes top will fancy their chances against fourth place, I think Tigers have TBP wins home and away over both Glaws and Saints this season. They'll know that the second and third playoff will be a brutal affair which could play into the legs for the final.

[Puja]

Both Leicester & Sarries will be very keen to get top spot to avoid Quins I’d have thought.

Agreed. While I would still be confident that Leicester could beat Quins in a semi-final, they are just so dangerous that they could take down anybody on their day. I would prefer not Saints, as they bring something extra for an East Midlands derby, but I'd be pretty comfortable playing Gloucester or this season's Exeter.

Puja

[FKAS]

Both Leicester & Sarries will be very keen to get top spot to avoid Quins I’d have thought.

Agreed. While I would still be confident that Leicester could beat Quins in a semi-final, they are just so dangerous that they could take down anybody on their day. I would prefer not Saints, as they bring something extra for an East Midlands derby, but I'd be pretty comfortable playing Gloucester or this season's Exeter.

Puja

They'd be fired up but we've dismantled Saints twice this season. Most notably at their place. I'd hope we could do the same again especially at Welford Road. Seeing them off three times in one season would be nice as well.

[Adam_P]

Aye I think Fridays Saints v Quins game is going to be very key for the 4th place spot. If we can manage a win of any kind, our chances are pretty good. Lose and we're reliant on Glos to do the same in one of their tough run in games.

I would like to see a Tigers v Saints semi final - recreate the drama from 2014

[Puja]

Aye I think Fridays Saints v Quins game is going to be very key for the 4th place spot. If we can manage a win of any kind, our chances are pretty good. Lose and we're reliant on Glos to do the same in one of their tough run in games.

I would like to see a Tigers v Saints semi final - recreate the drama from 2014

Agreed on that - any win will effectively knock out all of your competition except Gloucester, given that you've got a near guaranteed 5 against Newcastle still to come (not to mention that beating Quins might give Saracens room to rotate in their finL game against you).

Big game for all concerned.

Puja

[Peej]

From a Wasps perspective, Tigers losing at the weekend has probably killed any slight chance for rotating at home against Wasps, and Wasps chances of catching them out. Wasps have to play Irish at Brentford and Sale at home before Welford Road on the last day. Sale aren't great away but Wasps never seem able to deal with their power game. Even if Wasps beat Irish next weekend it might not be enough for 8th.

Top 4 I think will be:

Tigers
Sarries
Quins
Saints

[Scrumhead]

Aye I think Fridays Saints v Quins game is going to be very key for the 4th place spot. If we can manage a win of any kind, our chances are pretty good. Lose and we're reliant on Glos to do the same in one of their tough run in games.

I would like to see a Tigers v Saints semi final - recreate the drama from 2014

Agreed on that - any win will effectively knock out all of your competition except Gloucester, given that you've got a near guaranteed 5 against Newcastle still to come (not to mention that beating Quins might give Saracens room to rotate in their finL game against you).

Big game for all concerned.

Puja

It is, but the scenario probably means Saints need a BP win, not just a win I’d say.

If it’s a loose, open game that suits Quins very well TBH. I simply think we’re better at that kind of rugby than Saints are, particularly now we have our England players back.

Should be a cracker.

[Puja]

Aye I think Fridays Saints v Quins game is going to be very key for the 4th place spot. If we can manage a win of any kind, our chances are pretty good. Lose and we're reliant on Glos to do the same in one of their tough run in games.

I would like to see a Tigers v Saints semi final - recreate the drama from 2014

Agreed on that - any win will effectively knock out all of your competition except Gloucester, given that you've got a near guaranteed 5 against Newcastle still to come (not to mention that beating Quins might give Saracens room to rotate in their finL game against you).

Big game for all concerned.

Puja

It is, but the scenario probably means Saints need a BP win, not just a win I’d say.

If it’s a loose, open game that suits Quins very well TBH. I simply think we’re better at that kind of rugby than Saints are, particularly now we have our England players back.

Should be a cracker.

I'd disagree that a BP win is necessary. A four point win (assuming 5 from Newcastle) puts them on 72 league points, meaning that Exeter would only be able to catch them with two BP wins and 40+ point turnaround (before the Newcastle match) in points difference. Glaws would have to get 11 points (as they have fewer victories) from Bath/Quins/Saracens, which is a big ask anyway. I think any win vs your lot would be enough.

Mind, as you say, that's far easier said than done!

Puja

[Scrumhead]

True - for some reason I thought Sale were on 58 but they’re on 56.

4 should see Saints safe.

I’d actually rather see them in the top 4 than Exeter or Gloucester TBH, but I don’t want Quins to lose momentum.

[Adam_P]

I do miss the run of seasons around 2010 when the top 4 routinely consisted of Saints, Tigers, Quins and Saracens in one order or another - so would like to see the current top 4 stay as it is for old times sake

[Danno]

I do miss the run of seasons around 2010 when the top 4 routinely consisted of Saints, Tigers, Quins and Saracens in one order or another - so would like to see the current top 4 stay as it is for old times sake

I prefer to keep 2010ish era Quins as far from my mind as possible