Gallagher Premiership restart is finally reaching boiling point - Andy Goode
It’s taken a while but the Gallagher Premiership is finally reaching boiling point this weekend and we could have a two-tier league at the end of it. The neutrals will be hoping for wins for Harlequins and Gloucester in order to ensure the Premiership remains as close and fiercely competitive as it has been in recent times.
However, a gap has already opened up and the bottom half of the league could be cut adrift if those two don’t come out on top in round 17.
That would not be good for anyone. The race for the top six is normally one of the main points of interest in the run-in to the end of the season, but interest could yet be maintained if it is decided that more teams will be involved in the Heineken Champions Cup next season.
The quality of Gallagher Premiership rugby has inevitably been hit and miss since the restart and it isn’t easy for players after such a long break, but they all seem to have got used to how the breakdown is being refereed and there can be no excuses about not being up to speed now.
There have been three rounds since the 2019/20 campaign got up and running again and all teams are currently in the midst of a run of six games in just 24 days. That isn’t great for player welfare but it means the Premiership table is taking shape very quickly.
Round 17 kicks off with a MASSIVE clash today as @SaleSharksRugby host @BristolBears ???
Before 3?? thrillers tomorrow and a #GallagherPrem Bank Holiday special double-header on Monday ?
Game of the weekend? pic.twitter.com/R1EN1oiRwk
— Premiership Rugby (@premrugby) August 29, 2020
Harlequins vs Northampton and Bath vs Wasps are the picks of this latest round, with Sale vs Bristol going the way of quite a few others in recent weeks after seeing the team news. You can expect a home win in that one. Paul Gustard described Harlequins’ performance against Worcester as “embarrassing” and it feels season-defining for them this weekend. It looks a way off at the moment but they need to win to keep the top four dream alive.
Aside from the top two of Exeter and Bristol, who are impressing everyone at the moment, Bath and Wasps have been the form sides since the restart and they lock horns on Monday afternoon – arguably, the best game of the weekend has been saved until last.
Bath have won all of their last three games and a squad that has always looked good on paper is now showing their quality on the pitch. Again, much will depend on team selection in terms of determining the outcome of that one so we will have to wait until Sunday’s announcements to see if the fixture will live up to its billing.
There have been blowouts with first teams facing youths XVs over the course of the past couple of weeks. That is unavoidable but this period is the ultimate test of squad strength.
One team that has really disappointed since the restart have been Saints. They looked like top four material all season long but with games against Exeter and Bristol in the next two rounds after this one, their play-off place could be slipping between their fingers.
With Saracens already relegated after the salary cap scandal, it has ensured there won’t be any intrigue at the foot of the table. Without relegation there will be a host of unwanted dead rubbers at the tail-end of the campaign so this weekend feels big in terms of keeping interest alive.
The play-off places look to be going to four of the current top six and there may not be much suspense involved in the race for Champions Cup spots depending on what format is decided.
You would expect Gloucester to beat Leicester at home but the pressure is on them and Harlequins, in particular, to prove they have what it takes to mix it with the top six this weekend and make sure the final five rounds of the Gallagher Premiership are as interesting as we have come to expect.
We always thought @jpref9 was a lovely guy and his interview about leaving the RFU only reinforces that impression ? https://t.co/dzV9nJrLvZ
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) August 28, 2020
Comments on RugbyPass
We had during the week twilight footy, twilight cricket, tw golf plus there was the athletics club. Then the weekend was rugby 15s plus the net ball, really busy club scene back then but so much has changed and rugby has suffered. And it was all about changing lifestyles.
6 Go to commentsIn the 70s and 80s my club ran 5 Senior sides plus a Vets. Now it is 2 sides with an occasional 3rd team. Players have difficulty getitng to training now, not sure why and the commitment is not there. It seems to me more a problem of people applying themselves and not expecting to turn up and play whenever they want to.
6 Go to commentsROG’s contract is until 2027. The conversation about a successor to Galthie after RWC 2027 may be starting now. We can infer that Galthie’s reign stops then. He is throwing the Irish Coaching Job angle in because he is Irish. The next Irish coach MUST be Leo Cullen. As well as being the best coach available, coaching the vast majority of Irish Internationals week in week out, he has shown incredible skill at recruiting the best coaching staff for the job in hand. That was a failing in France. Cullen is a shrewd guy and if there is a need for foreign coaches underneath him he won’t hesitate. Rightly so. Ireland does need to start to bring Irish coaches through. Not just at the professional level but we need to train coaches to man new pathways for developing kids from schools/clubs up through the divisions.
7 Go to commentsNo Islam says it must rule where it stands Thus it is to be deleted from this planet Earth
18 Go to commentsThis team probably does not beat the ABs sadly Not sure if BPA will be available given his signing for Force but has to enter consideration. Very strong possibility of getting schooled by the AB props. Advantage AB. Rodda/Skelton would be a tasty locking combination - would love to see how they get on. Advantage Wallabies. Backrow a risk of getting out hustled and outmuscled by ABs. Will be interesting to see if the Blues feast on the Reds this weekend the way they did the Brumbies we are in big trouble at the breakdown. Great energy, running and defence but goalkicking/general kicking/passing quality in the halves bothers me enormously. SA may have won the World Cup for a lot of the tournament without a recognised goalkicker but Pollard in the final made a difference IMO. Injuries and retirements leave AB stocks a bit lighter but still stronger. 12 and 13 ABs shade it (Barret > Paisami, Ione = Ikitau, arguably) Interesting clash of styles on the wings - Corey Toole running around Caleb Clark and Caleb running over the top of Toole. Reece vs Koro probably the reverse. Pretty even IMO. 15s Kelleway = Love See advantage to ABs man for man, but we are not obviously getting slaughtered anywhere which makes a nice change. Think talent wise we are pretty even and if our cohesion and teamwork is better than the ABs then its just about doable.
11 Go to commentsCompletely agree. More friday night games would be a hit. RFU to make sure every club has a floodlit pitch. Club opens again Saturday to welcome touch / tag. Minis and youths on Sunday
6 Go to comments1.97m and 105Kg? Proportionately, probably skinnier than me at 1.82 and 82kilos. He won’t survive against the big guys at that weight.
55 Go to commentsThe value he brought to the crusaders as an assistant was equal to what he got out of being there. He reflected not only on the team culture but also the credit he attributed to the rugby community. Such experience shouldn’t be overlooked.
7 Go to commentsGood luck Aussie
11 Go to commentssmith at 9 / mounga 10 / laumape 12 / fainganuku 14
57 Go to commentsBar the injuries, it’s pretty much their top team …
2 Go to commentsDon’t disagree with much of this but it appears you forgot Rodda and Beale, who started at the Force on the weekend.
11 Go to commentsExcept for the injured Zach Gallagher this would be Saders best forward pack for the season. Blackadder needs to stay at 7, for all of Christies tackling he is not dominant and offers very little else. McNicholfullback is maybe a good option, Fihaki not really upto it, there was a reason Burke played there last year. Maybe Havilli to 2nd five McLeod to wing. Need a strong winger on 1 side to compliment Reece
1 Go to commentsTo me TJ is clearly the best 9 in the competition right now but he's also a proven player off the bench, there's few playmaking players who can come off the bench as calm and settled as he is, Beauden can, TJ can and I doubt any of the scrumhalves in contention can, if they want to experiment with new 9s I want him on the bench ready to step in if they crumble under the pressure. The Boks put their best front row on the bench, I'd like to see us take a similar approach, the Hurricanes have been doing similar things with players like Kirifi.
57 Go to commentsROG has better chance to win a WC if he starts training and make himself eligible as a player. He won’t make the Ireland squad but I reckon he may get close with Namibia (needs to improve his Afrikaans) or Portugal. Both sides had 1000:1 odds to win the RWC in 2023 which is an improvement on ROG’s odds of winning a RWC as a coach. Unlike Top 14 teams, national teams can’t go shopping and buy the best players - you work with the available talent pool and turn them into world beaters.
7 Go to commentsthat backline nope that backline is terrible why would you have sevu Reece when he’s not even top 5 wingers in the comp why have Blackadder when there’s better players no Scott barret isn’t an automatic the guy is more of a liability than anything why have him there when you have samipeni who’s far far better
57 Go to commentsAh, good to find you Nick. Agree with everything about Cale. So much to like about his game
55 Go to commentsNot too bad. Questions at 6, lock and HB for me. The ABs will be a lot stronger once Jordan and Roigard return. Also, work needs to be made to secure Frizzell back for next season and maybe also Mo’unga; they’re just wasting time playing in japan
57 Go to commentsOn the title, i wonder for many of those people it is a case something like a belief in working smarter, not harder?
1 Go to commentsForget Sotutu. One of those whose top level is Super Rugby. Id take a punt on Wallace Sititi Finau ahead of Glass body Blackadder.
57 Go to comments