TIME FOR A DAY AT THE SALE(S) : Bath v Sale
Ted Hill
By Bath Supporter Jack
October 23 2024
I spent the weekend with my wife’s Saracens supporting family visiting us in Bath, them going to Ashton Gate having kindly invited me to join them, to which I replied in a rather vulgar fashion that I would rather nail a part of my anatomy to a door, I was then allowed to binge watch rugby on television.
There is some symmetric elegancy in Saracens beating Bristol with the last kick of the match having not been in the lead at any point and Bath’s last(ish) minute winning try also securing the try bonus point. These results put Saracens and Bath in first and second positions respectively in the league after more than a quarter of the season (5/18). Jamie George, the Saracens captain was interviewed after the game and his response to the question….” how did it turn out like that” …….was appropriate for Saracens and Bath…….”I have no idea!!”…..before saying it was to do with never giving up and squad spirit.
Whisper it, but Bath is not firing on all cylinders for a full 80 minutes. I absolutely acknowledge that Bristol and Harlequins have shown over the past few years a capacity to score tries very quickly and to cut teams apart. However, in the first half against Gloucester the Cherry and Whites also demonstrated the capability of attacking and scoring from all parts of the pitch.
However, as I am sure JVG would say, the Premiership is not won in the first six weeks. It is telling that Bath lost, badly, to Bristol, Gloucester beat Bristol and, in the end, Bath easily beat Gloucester.
There is no bigger supporter than me of Finn Russell and Ben Spencer, around whom the forwards dynamism and the backs creativity revolve. However, it is an indication of how far we have come in the past 24 months that we sit in second place in the league, having won four from five, and yet, apart from 20 – 30 minute spells in matches I do not believe we have seen a comprehensive 80 minute display. It feels like they have been playing…adequately. I am also completely aware that that this is a very, very competitive league, and now that Newcastle have got “the monkey off their back” it has just got more competitive. Maybe the art is to manage other teams for 40 – 50 minutes and then to really deliver, take the lead and win as a result of a sparkling period. To date this has seemed to happen in the last 30 minutes as our consistently strong bench come on.
The next match up this Saturday is against Sale at the Rec. They are mid-table having won three from five. However, in a league of only 10 a couple of wins would move them well up into the play-offs. The fixture will be affected by the England Squad call ups, albeit that both teams are almost equally hit.
Sale will lose, Cowan Dickie, Ben Curry, Tom Curry and Tom Roebuck with George Ford rehabilitating from injury. Raffi Quirke and Bevan Rodd were not considered for England Squad selection.
Bath will lose Ewels, Stuart, Underhill, Lawrence and Spencer. In addition, JC, Muir and Ojomoh were not considered for England Squad selection. Barbeary is going through the usual concussion protocols, Redpath has some stiffness in his leg but may be alright and de Glanville got a knock but may also be available. Sam Harris was unfortunately injured in training.
With all the absentees this will be a real test for JVG’s depleted squad. Sale are always competitive which is why their drubbing away at Northampton last Friday night was a real shock. No doubt they will come out motivated to put that “wrong” right.
Possible Bath Team
1Obano
2Dunn
3Du Toit
4Roux
5Hill
6Richards
7Pepper
8Coetzee
9Carr Smith
10Russell
11Emens
12Butt
13Hennessy
14JC
15De Glanville
16Annett
17Van Wyck
18Griffin
19Molony
20Reid
21Bayliss
22Bailey
23Schreuder
I have selected Hill in the second row to replace Ewels because he excelled in that position when he played there a few weeks ago.
Predicted score – a low scoring 22 – 14 and a Bath win.
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Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2024:10:30:17:31:22 by CoochieCoo.
That said, Sale games are often an arm wrestle up front and our strength there should come through. Bath by a score or so feels about right.
PG
Exactly the sort of game we signed him for to cover ewels in terms of experience, leadership and lineout calling.
Backs could be threadbare if cam and tdg out but hopefully gives chances of rare starts for bailey, hennessey and maybe TCS which is exciting.
Need the pack to dominate and finn to run the show.
Meanwhile, Sale fly-half George Ford is nearing a return to full training after a quad injury and remains in contention for next weekend.
(with "next weekend" referring to 2nd/3rd November)
[www.bbc.co.uk]
When it comes to Bath's selections at lock/back row, probably worth bearing in mind that Sale's hooker options are going to be an inexperienced academy player (Caine) and an emergency injury cover signing who's only been at the club for a week (McElroy), so I'd be tempted to really target the lineout and field a back 5 of:
Maloney
Roux
Hill
Bayliss
Coetzee
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2024:10:24:10:39:36 by boozeboozebooze.
Tom de Glanville - Adopted player 2024-5
PG
[24/25 adoptee: Francois van Wyk]
Tom de Glanville - Adopted player 2024-5
I’ve seen a few calls for Coetzee to start - which are completely warranted as he’s probably been the form 8 in the league behind Willis. But this has all been off the bench (albeit 10 mins in last week). It’s very clear the bench is viewed very very highly by JVG and arguably he’s probably the most explosive and game changing backrower at bath.
My team I’d expect
1. Obano
2. Dunn
3. TDT
4. Roux
5. Hill (Molony didn’t travel last week so possibly injured?)
6. Pepper
7. Bayliss
8. Reid
9. TCS
10. Russell
11. Emens
12. Butt
13. Hennessy
14. Joe
15. Bailey
16. Annett
17. Van Wyk
18. Griffin
19. Richards
20. Green/Cowan/Staddon
21. Schreuder
22. RMC/Donoghue
23. Coetzee
Personally I would go for the Roux/Molony combination. Based this on Sharks bench with Injuries and abstractions may not be as strong as normal; probably come back to bite me.
Interesting Tom Ellis on the Scrum saying Dunny just loves these matches.
My 23 would be::
Obano
Dunn
Du Toit
Molony
Roux
Reid/Bayliss
Pepper
Coetzee
Schreuder
Russell
Emens
Butt
Hennessy
Joe C
TDG (if fit)/RMC
Annett
Van Wyk (Been really impressed with him)
Griffin
Ted Hill
Bayliss/Reid
Ewan Richards
TCS
Bailey
Maybe Cuckson if fit on the bench
Ali puzzled that you have Ted Hill on the bench.......I think he is our best player at the moment shouldn't we have him on the pitch for 85 minutes??
Hence my approach to have him at 5 and then move to 6.
It is going to be a very interesting and tough match....
I totally agree by the way about Ted and also I wouldn’t be surprised if Archie Griffin starts with TdT coming off the bench.
JvG's thinking in the match preview. As you'd expect, he doesn't seem overly concerned and I presume he's got a well thought out plan!
Interestingly, he seems to be factoring in Cam.
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2024:10:24:16:21:23 by Susanne.
Quote:Susanne
Interestingly, he seems to be factoring in Cam.
Good spot! Would be delighted if that were the case.
The cynic in me thinks that maybe this preview got written earlier in the week before Cam's injury had been properly assessed, but then again JvG does seem like a pretty genuine and measured character, so would be unlikely that he'd suggest a player is in contention without being pretty sure about it.
Bath Rugby: 15 Tom de Glanville, 14 Joe Cokanasiga, 13 Louie Hennessey, 12 Will Butt, 11 Will Muir, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Louis Schreuder; 1 Beno Obano2 Tom Dunn, 3 Thomas du Toit, 4 Quinn Roux, 5 Ross Molony, 6 Ted Hill, 7 Guy Pepper, 8 Miles Reid (capt)
Replacements: 16 Niall Annett, 17 Francois van Wyk, 18 Vilikesa Sela, 19 Josh Bayliss, 20 Ethan Staddon, 21 Tom Carr-Smith, 22 Orlando Bailey, 23 Jaco Coetzee
PG
Huge for TDG to be starting and Bailey gives us a lot of cover on the bench
15. Joe Carpenter, 14. Will Addison, 13. Luke James, 12. Sam Bedlow, 11. Arron Reed, 10. Rob du Preez ©, 9. Gus Warr; 1. Si McIntyre, 2. Tadgh McElroy, 3. James Harper, 4. Ben Bamber, 5. Hyron Andrews, 6. Ernst van Rhyn, 7. Sam Dugdale, 8. Dan du Preez.
Replacements:
16. Ethan Caine, 17. Tumy Onasanya, 18. Asher Opoku-Fordjour, 19. Le Roux Roets, 20. Josh Beaumont, 21. Nye Thomas, 22. Tom Curtis, 23. JL du Preez.
PG
I thought I read earlier Mr Dickson was down for this one Somerset Live reporting Mr Woodthorpe of the infamous Herbst yellow card listed as officiating?
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2024:10:25:12:19:17 by Ali1969.
[24/25 adoptee: Francois van Wyk]
Quote:P G Tips
Agree. Stronger than anticipated. I hope we can wear down and eventually outpace their pack- some serious pace in Bath's backrow.
PG
I thought the same. There’s a lot of power in that Sale pack but it’s not particularly mobile. If we can keep things moving and wear them down that seems like a path to victory.
In fact Reed and Carpenter are the only two in that side who have pace you need to account for. A rare game where we don’t want it to be too slow and controlled maybe
Agree our back row both starting and the bench has exceptional and frightening pace.
Reed and Carpenter are rapid. Dugdale, J-L & D Du Preez always impress.
Hopefully this will be the start of a glittering career for Hennessy.
Come on Bath.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2024:10:25:12:32:58 by Ali1969.
Beno 150 prem appearances v McIntyre 168 prem appearances
Dunn 176 prem apps v McElroy 17 URC/prem apps
Du Toit 129 Super Rugby /URC/prem apps v Harper 35 apps
Most likely rotation.
PG
Guess hill will move up at some stage as 3 backrowers on bench.
Great to see sela again- hopefully gets another 10-15 mins of prem rugby. Easing him in nicely.
Hennessey is a v good player- fingers crossed be gets some chances to show it.
Big bonus having muir and tdg- backline looks decent and packed v strong.
2 fairly well matched 23s - home advantage to see us sneak it would be my prediction
Quote:Ali1969
Strong Sale team - interesting to see JL Du Preez and Le Roux Roets on bench to no doubt counter act Jaco Coetzee who has been outstanding when coming off the bench.
I thought I read earlier Mr Dickson was down for this one Somerset Live reporting Mr Woodthorpe of the infamous Herbst yellow card listed as officiating?
GP page has Dickson as man in the middle.
PG
Bris vs Saints, 5-2
Glos vs Newc, 5-0
Bath vs Sale, 5-0
Sarries vs Leics, 4-1
Exe vs Quins, 0-5
Sarries, 21 > 25
Bath, 20 > 25
Leics, 20 > 21
Bris, 19 > 24
Saints, 14 > 16
Sale, 14 > 14
Quins, 13 > 18
Glos, 11 > 16
Exe, 5 > 5
Newc, 4 > 4
Not exactly sure where England got this list from
“Not considered for selection: Alex Coles (Northampton Saints), Joe Cokanasiga (Bath Rugby), Fraser Dingwall (Northampton Saints), Alex Mitchell (Northampton Saints), Will Muir (Bath Rugby), Max Ojomoh (Bath Rugby), Raffi Quirke (Sale Sharks), Bevan Rodd (Sale Sharks).”
Tom de Glanville - Adopted player 2024-5
Tom de Glanville - Adopted player 2024-5
Quote:tigersimon
Sela over Griffin or has Griffin got a knock?
Griffin has been out for weeks with an unspecified illness. Imagine you knew that already and just questioning if he has picked up a knock this week? Not sure tbh.
Can't remember if he played any pre season? If not then hasn't played a game since early July for Wales I guess.
Sounded like he was available earlier in week and maybe they are backing sela given he has been in full training and had a few games this season (played in preseason/ vs leic/ vs edinburgh)
So I assume this is either rotation, or more likely, keeping him fresh to lead the Prem Cup team for Ampthill on 2 Nov.
PG
I often wrong though and you are often right!
In amongst this I have almost forgotten to be delighted for staddon.
Class player, first team debut aged 19 and had rotten luck with injury since. Big guy, v mobile for his size. Only got a 1 year deal so this opp plus prem Cup is huge for him. Go well than, wish you all the best!
Quote:Charlieboa1
Agree to disagree pgt- struggling to see why staddon would get in ahead of richards if he was fully fit and can't believe we would rest someone from benching in a prem game with an eye on a prem Cup game.
I often wrong though and you are often right!
In amongst this I have almost forgotten to be delighted for staddon.
Class player, first team debut aged 19 and had rotten luck with injury since. Big guy, v mobile for his size. Only got a 1 year deal so this opp plus prem Cup is huge for him. Go well than, wish you all the best!
’’Paint the whole world with a rainbow”
’’Paint the whole world with a rainbow”
’’Paint the whole world with a rainbow”
Dull by Schreudet
’’Paint the whole world with a rainbow”
Quote:Toast and Marmite
God I hate all this kick screening
Quote:Toast and Marmite
Miles Reid so underrated outside of Bath
Quote:Toast and Marmite
The ref gave him plenty of warning
Dull by Schreudet

RAEBURN SHIELD
’’Paint the whole world with a rainbow”
RAEBURN SHIELD
Quote:Which Tyler
Always happier when we don't score 4 in the first half (no idea if we could have) as we tend to switch off and think "job done"
Agreed. We’re playing well but Sale are awful
’’Paint the whole world with a rainbow”
Not safe and controlled, but...
Okay, can't argue with any of that explanation, or conclusion.
Goes down as "harsh but fair" to me. Could have been mitigated down, but not an outrage that it wasn't.
RAEBURN SHIELD
Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 2024:10:26:16:21:16 by Which Tyler.
What on earth was the second movement they were on about
’’Paint the whole world with a rainbow”
Quote:Which Tyler
Is that a lift or a roll?
Not safe and controlled, but...
Okay, can't argue with any of that explanation, or conclusion.
Goes down as "harsh but fair" to me. Could have been mitigated down, but not an outrage that it wasn't.
My concern is the fact that they decided on the slow motion review- I would be less concerned if they had then watched in real time again
’’Paint the whole world with a rainbow”
Quote:Which Tyler
Is that a lift or a roll?
Not safe and controlled, but...
Okay, can't argue with any of that explanation, or conclusion.
Goes down as "harsh but fair" to me. Could have been mitigated down, but not an outrage that it wasn't.
Commentators making a good argument for it being suitable for a 20 minute Red if it were next week. It happened at 52 minutes though, so wouldn’t make a huge amount of difference.
Nope, he's done brilliantly to keep his feet in there
RAEBURN SHIELD
Quote:9215Quote:Which Tyler
Is that a lift or a roll?
Not safe and controlled, but...
Okay, can't argue with any of that explanation, or conclusion.
Goes down as "harsh but fair" to me. Could have been mitigated down, but not an outrage that it wasn't.
Commentators making a good argument for it being suitable for a 20 minute Red if it were next week. It happened at 52 minutes though, so wouldn’t make a huge amount of difference.
Pretty sure Bath would like to be back to 15 for the last 8 minutes
’’Paint the whole world with a rainbow”
RAEBURN SHIELD
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2024:10:26:16:36:16 by Which Tyler.
Quote:Toast and MarmiteQuote:9215Quote:Which Tyler
Is that a lift or a roll?
Not safe and controlled, but...
Okay, can't argue with any of that explanation, or conclusion.
Goes down as "harsh but fair" to me. Could have been mitigated down, but not an outrage that it wasn't.
Commentators making a good argument for it being suitable for a 20 minute Red if it were next week. It happened at 52 minutes though, so wouldn’t make a huge amount of difference.
Pretty sure Bath would like to be back to 15 for the last 8 minutes
Your maths is correct, well done. The point is that 8 minutes is 10% of a game, hence not a huge amount.
’’Paint the whole world with a rainbow”
’’Paint the whole world with a rainbow”
Quote:Dan Wiley
I'm sure bath would like to have 15 for the last 8min. Maybe we shouldn't have committed a red card offense or was the offense not worth a red card? Whichever it is I still don't think the solution is bringing in a new car that's somewhere in between and certainly not losing an actual red in the process.
They’re not losing actual reds
’’Paint the whole world with a rainbow”
Fair play to Dickson for timing out Schreuder - it was 7 seconds by my reckoning and he had warned us.
Overall a really strong performance again without too many standout performances. I thought Schreuder was really good (bar the above), and Finn was Finn. Ted was quiet I thought, but scored a great try. Miles quietly very good.
Shame we didn't get to see Sela vs AFO , but both surely have massive futures. Sela was excellent in the lose.
Always nice to hand Sale a thumping!
Quote:Toast and Marmite
The ref gave him plenty of warning
Dull by Schreudet
In fairness to Schneider, after the ref warning Dunn joins the back of the ruck and then Beno I think
A- for this block of games based on the points haul.
Top 4 is going to be so hard to predict but we should be feeling very confident
Quote:down to Schreuder to tell them to stay out.gaz59Quote:Toast and Marmite
The ref gave him plenty of warning
Dull by Schreudet
In fairness to Schneider, after the ref warning Dunn joins the back of the ruck and then Beno I think
He knew there wasn't the time, but he faffed about anyway
RAEBURN SHIELD
Great to see the horse 🐎 back again, looked sharp, and impressed with Tom Carr-Smith.
Prem final tickets available... family of 4 for £100... tempting..
Quote:gaz59Quote:Toast and Marmite
The ref gave him plenty of warning
Dull by Schreudet
In fairness to Schneider, after the ref warning Dunn joins the back of the ruck and then Beno I think
It happened nearly every time, Schreuder was told to play it and we added at least one more player to the caterpillar, he was lucky not to get pinged sooner.
Highlights for me:
Genuine concern from jldp after the muir head knock
Bailey congratulating staddon on his turnover- old Dorchester and bath age group mates, he looked genuinely delighted for him
Sela and AOF both being excellent off the bench
Really confident we can make top 4 again and with decent injury luck we should be aiming for top 2 again.
I am only able to listen not watch currently, but on commentary there were not too many questions raised about KD’s refereeing, even with 2 red cards.
It sounded on the radio like Will Butt took out a player by coming in from the side of a ruck and that KD saw this as reckless act with complete disregard for player safely - i.e potential for serious ligament or leg injury (Charlie Ewels for England v Japan?). If that’s it, then a red is perfectly justified.
How did those able to see the game view this incident, and the Sale red? Very little detail given on the radio about the second red. Overall did KD have a good day?
VftN
Quote:View from the North
Just picking up a discussion at the end of the Quins match thread re Karl Dickson.
I am only able to listen not watch currently, but on commentary there were not too many questions raised about KD’s refereeing, even with 2 red cards.
It sounded on the radio like Will Butt took out a player by coming in from the side of a ruck and that KD saw this as reckless act with complete disregard for player safely - i.e potential for serious ligament or leg injury (Charlie Ewels for England v Japan?). If that’s it, then a red is perfectly justified.
How did those able to see the game view this incident, and the Sale red? Very little detail given on the radio about the second red. Overall did KD have a good day?
VftN
The Butt clear out was about the player landing on his head rather than leg injuries. It was borderline red/yellow with the question being whether the position of the other players in the ruck affected the angle.
The Sale red was head on head tackling Muir. The mitigation question was due to the carded player being the second tackler and whether the first tackler had meaningfully affected Muir’s height, but he didn’t.
Both decisions were really clearly made, the right questions asked and answered re mitigation.
No issues with KD, he controlled things well.
My MotM - TdT. The scrum helped win us the game but his acceleration for his try was truly startling in a 140kg man.
A word for the ref. Well, he was Karl Dickson so there were a few headscratchers but I thought he communicated well and both reds were correct. It was good to see a 9 penalised for wasting time, even if it was ours!
... IMHO, of course.
Now in Honolulu
Quote:Charlieboa1
Sela and AOF both being excellent off the bench
AOF is a seriously impressive prospective. Wow, Sale need him given the struggle of today's starter but young props need managing and I really hope their form doesn't jeopardise that.
Sela impressive too and didn't look out of place at all. If they both can maintain solid set piece play with their dynamism then England's propping future is not so bleak.
Butt’s red- thought was harsh. The impact of the other guys in the ruck clearly impacted the way the big Sale chap fell, and the angle his body took, so that sounds like mitigation to me, like a secondary tackler affecting the height of a tackled player.
Overall great fun day out in the autumn sunshine and interesting to watch the recording this morning (clock change + children = early rise!). Enjoyed TNT coverage too although if I had a £ for every time Flatman says “aggressive” in 80 minutes I’d have about £137.
2024/25 adoptee: Guy Pepper
Great performance by our forwards who really won the game for us, any one of them could have been man of the match.
All the wittering about KD before the match proved to be unfounded, spot on with both red cards and finally a PL ref prepared to enforce the 5s rule on a scrum half. He had a good game.
Quote:CoochieCoo
Loved Thomas’ try. It was biblical as in the parting of the Red Sea making a clear path to the white line!
Agree, although the 'sea' was orange, what a terrible kit !
Adopted Player 2018/19 Ross Batty
Adopted Player 2019/20 Jack Davies
Adopted Player 2020/21 Cam Redpath
Adopted Player 2021/22 Darren Atkins
Adopted Player 2022/23 Gabriel Hamer-Webb
Adopted Player 2023/24 Tom Carr-Smith
Adopted Player 2024/25 Max Ojomoh
"AN OUNCE OF ACTION IS WORTH A TON OF THEORY"
FRIEDRICH ENGELS
Du Toit is one of the great Premiership signing. POTM for me. On the flip side, AOF looks a special player. Completely turned the tide in the scrum after we'd really profited. It's a shame Sale just lack any kind of shape without Ford
I've been very critical of Schreuder over the last 12 months but this was by far his best game in BB&W
Butt's red is stonewall for me, and I'm really surprised there's been any discussion. If that happened against Bath I'd be expecting the full red under the new trial laws
Quote:OutsideBath
All the wittering about KD before the match proved to be unfounded, spot on with both red cards and finally a PL ref prepared to enforce the 5s rule on a scrum half. He had a good game.
Agree about the cards and his overall performance OB. However, he seemed to dither over decisions at a number of scrums and to be quite confused as to who was infringing. This is a view I know a number of pro front row players hold about his officiating.
PG
I was also surprised just how much he allowed players from both sides to talk to him, not just asking for clarification on decisions but having moans about other players. And I lost count of the number of times he came out with his standard deflection of "I can't see everything"
Took me back to this absolute beauty from James Phillips a few years ago, spare a thought for the Worcester player acting as the final speed bump before he crashes over.

Quote:9215Quote:View from the North
Just picking up a discussion at the end of the Quins match thread re Karl Dickson.
I am only able to listen not watch currently, but on commentary there were not too many questions raised about KD’s refereeing, even with 2 red cards.
It sounded on the radio like Will Butt took out a player by coming in from the side of a ruck and that KD saw this as reckless act with complete disregard for player safely - i.e potential for serious ligament or leg injury (Charlie Ewels for England v Japan?). If that’s it, then a red is perfectly justified.
How did those able to see the game view this incident, and the Sale red? Very little detail given on the radio about the second red. Overall did KD have a good day?
VftN
The Butt clear out was about the player landing on his head rather than leg injuries. It was borderline red/yellow with the question being whether the position of the other players in the ruck affected the angle.
The Sale red was head on head tackling Muir. The mitigation question was due to the carded player being the second tackler and whether the first tackler had meaningfully affected Muir’s height, but he didn’t.
Both decisions were really clearly made, the right questions asked and answered re mitigation.
No issues with KD, he controlled things well.
I thought there was mitigation for a YC in that Butt and the Sale player rolled over the back of another Sale player and that Butt was no longer able to control the landing as this was the case...
Adopted Players: All of the little blighters!!!
Both reds were the kind of red where I'd have had no issue if they weren't but then the POSIWID.
Quote:The Bear
Butt's disciplinary will be interesting. Still unlikely they'll - in essence - overturn the card but will they apply mitigation when assessing the suspension?
Both reds were the kind of red where I'd have had no issue if they weren't but then the POSIWID.
Can’t see them overturning it, but I doubt it’ll be a lengthy ban.
Also presumably the ban will be served during the cup which he’s eligible for but probably wasn’t going to picked for anyway.
Quote:9215Quote:The Bear
Butt's disciplinary will be interesting. Still unlikely they'll - in essence - overturn the card but will they apply mitigation when assessing the suspension?
Both reds were the kind of red where I'd have had no issue if they weren't but then the POSIWID.
Can’t see them overturning it, but I doubt it’ll be a lengthy ban.
Also presumably the ban will be served during the cup which he’s eligible for but probably wasn’t going to picked for anyway.
Yeah I can see it being a 3 match ban (I think Butt has a pretty clean record previously), so as you said it'll be an enforced rest during the Prem cup, which is no bad thing in my view given he's played every game so far. Should be nice and fresh for the Chiefs game.
Of more interest to me was that other one. Nye Thomas racing across to save the try at high speed. If he didnt tackle upright, then his only other choices were to go for an HIA-tastic dip and stick his head in front of the combined momentum of two pretty big blokes going at high speed, or just not bother and presumably risk the wrath of his teammates and coaches for lacking commitment.
What was he actually supposed to do; what would tackle school say?
Healey, Bod, Kay and co are quick enough to condemn; perhaps one day instead of illustrating the nuances of multi-faceted flowing attack moves they might do a demo or two on avoiding these situations
Quote:PottyDave
I thought Mcintyre starting to get up was what changed a clear out that nobody would have remarked on to a spear - that movement obviously changed the dynamic for me.
Of more interest to me was that other one. Nye Thomas racing across to save the try at high speed. If he didnt tackle upright, then his only other choices were to go for an HIA-tastic dip and stick his head in front of the combined momentum of two pretty big blokes going at high speed, or just not bother and presumably risk the wrath of his teammates and coaches for lacking commitment.
What was he actually supposed to do; what would tackle school say?
Healey, Bod, Kay and co are quick enough to condemn; perhaps one day instead of illustrating the nuances of multi-faceted flowing attack moves they might do a demo or two on avoiding these situations
There was clearly no malice in it, and it all happened in a split second so there's a degree of misfortune that led to the red card.
That being said, Thomas is 5 inches shorter than Muir, so for him to make head on head contact he pretty much had to be bolt upright, even a slight bend going into contact would have avoided such a nasty collision.
Possibly one of the best value signings we've made for a while
Quote:hasta
I think most people here were fairly meh about Van Wyk, but he's been a superb second loosehead behind Beno. In JvG we trust.
Yep I was definitely in this camp, I saw him as a bit of a downgrade on Schoeman, but he's definitely proved me wrong.
Credit has to go to the coaching staff, they're building up a good habit of turning rejects from other clubs into very serviceable squad members.
One thing I've noticed with him is his conditioning. I didn't keep tabs on him at previous clubs but he looks in supreme shape this season. Lean and mean, and his pick and go power is seriously explosive.
Feels like we've got our pick and go game back in the last week or two, which potentially marries with TDT being right back in the BB&W groove. The likes of TDT, VV, Obano, Coetzee, Reid, Pepper look very hard to stop from close range.
2024/25 adoptee: Guy Pepper
His score against Sale showed it was no fluke and like drB says it really does suggest very strong conditioning
[*this is a lie]
[24/25 adoptee: Francois van Wyk]
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2024:10:29:12:06:00 by BathMatt53.
Quote:dr.bath1865
100% agree regarding VV. I liked Schoeman, and would have preferred to keep him, but VV does feel like a step up. Obviously, headline-grabbing tries help, but his set piece and carrying has been great.
One thing I've noticed with him is his conditioning. I didn't keep tabs on him at previous clubs but he looks in supreme shape this season. Lean and mean, and his pick and go power is seriously explosive.
Feels like we've got our pick and go game back in the last week or two, which potentially marries with TDT being right back in the BB&W groove. The likes of TDT, VV, Obano, Coetzee, Reid, Pepper look very hard to stop from close range.
'VV' - Van Wyk or van Velze?
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Meaningful matches are the 3 PRC games!
Was he really going to play in all 3, considering played 6 rounds of the Prem and is likely to be needed post AI?
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2024:11:01:18:12:22 by tigersimon.
Post AI Butt could well be 4th choice centre.
Lawrence should be back, Redpath & Ojomoh are expected to be over their injuries.
PG
He's earned the right to defend his shirt, but you'd put money on Redpath and Lawrence keeping him out, and Ojomoh giving him a real fight for it - and I'm not sure that rotation would include more than 3 players for the centre berths.
After the start to the season Butt has had, I don't know how we keep all 4 of them happy in contract negotiations - let alone how we get Hennesey the gametime he deserves. Nice problem to have.
RAEBURN SHIELD
