RugbyRebels

Gloucester Rugby
15. Tom Marshall; 14. Louis Rees-Zammit, 13. Billy Twelvetrees, 12. Mark Atkinson, 11. Ollie Thorley; 10. Lloyd Evans, 9. Callum Braley; 1. Josh Hohneck, 2. Franco Marais, 3. Fraser Balmain; 4. Alex Craig, 5, Franco Mostert (capt); 6. Jake Polledri, 7. Lewis Ludlow, 8. Ruan Ackermann

Replacements
16. Henry Walker, 17. Alex Seville, 18. Ciaran Knight, 19. Ed Slater, 20. Aaron Hinkley, 21. Charlie Chapman, 22. Danny Cipriani, 23. Tom Seabrook

Unavailable for selection: Freddie Clarke, Ruan Dreyer, James Hanson, Chris Harris, Willi Heinz, Val Rapava-Ruskin, Charlie Sharples, Joe Simpson, Owen Williams, Jason Woodward

Wasps
15 Lima Sopoaga (38)
14 Marcus Watson (44)
13 Malakai Fekitoa (14)
12 Jimmy Gopperth (95)
11 Josh Bassett (118)
10 Jacob Umaga (20)
9 Dan Robson (c) (114)
1 Ben Harris (58)
2 Tom Cruse (76)
3 Kieran Brookes (34)
4 Charlie Matthews (27)
5 Thibaud Flament (15)
6 Brad Shields (25)
7 Jack Willis (53)
8 Nizaam Carr (55)

Replacements
16 Gabriel Oghre (19)
17 Tom West (23)
18 Biyi Alo (10)
19 Tim Cardall (14)
20 Ben Morris (26)
21 Will Porter (18)
22 Sam Spink (6)
23 Paolo Odogwu (5)

Looks relatively even on paper. Another defeat for Glos could be the nail in this seasons coffin.

3 10s for Wasps. Well, I guess it’s better than 5 locks

I don't like either front five, but at least I have no idea whose is likely to perform better

Cips being dropped seems worth a comment....

Polledri is back, does this mean the test window is a moveable feat when it comes to player release, or are the clubs simply going to be accepting of what's a difficult situation?

Banquo wrote:Cips being dropped seems worth a comment....

He’s been misfiring of late, coupled with the injury layoff and the emotional turmoil of his recent loss I think the management are, er, managing him.

I’ve not been disappointed with Evans at all when he’s played.

Polledri and Braley have both featured on and off outside of international weeks, Chris Harris hasn’t. Whereas Exeter have played Hogg on the in between weeks. I think from a Gloucester perspective they’re being managed as much as they can within varying injury crises, without flogging them half to death.

Gloskarlos wrote:

Banquo wrote:Cips being dropped seems worth a comment....

He’s been misfiring of late, coupled with the injury layoff and the emotional turmoil of his recent loss I think the management are, er, managing him.

I’ve not been disappointed with Evans at all when he’s played.

Polledri and Braley have both featured on and off outside of international weeks, Chris Harris hasn’t. Whereas Exeter have played Hogg on the in between weeks. I think from a Gloucester perspective they’re being managed as much as they can within varying injury crises, without flogging them half to death.

Are you sure it’s not just that Harris is, well, shit?

It’s levels of shite, Harris arguably less shit than 36 this season

Harris has done well for Gloucester when I’ve seen him play this season.

I think he gets judged a little harshly TBF. He shouldn’t be starting as a tier 1 international and isn’t Scottish but he’s a very good Premiership standard 13. He was a lot more likeable at Newcastle before he discovered his dubious Scottishness.

I think this one could be a bit of a try fest. Both teams have mixed it up a bit - Evans over Cipriani is an interesting call (particularly against Wasps) but Wasps have mirrored that by picking Sopoaga at 15.

Willis with an intercept from a lineout, and runs in from 40m out.

Some frantic play from both sides.

Wasps get a yellow, Glaws with a 5m lineout, maul goes down but glaws keep possession, willis pen, glaws marched 10m by tempest, then give away another lineout offence, Wasps in their 22, strong maul, and Robson down the blindside, pass to the wing and score.

Tempest is in a foul mood today.

BP win for Wasps. They really have turned things around and have moved up to 5th. Glos did get a try BP but have now slipped to 9th. Their season, which promised so much, is in danger of petering out rather badly.

Charlie Matthews has been absolutely immense these last few games. Starting to look like a very handy signing.

Fair play to Charlie. That’s a sentence I never thought I’d see, but I do tend to think he was a little harshly judged at Quins, even if his flashes of promise were generally countered by powderpuff performances.