The Official English Rugby Thread

[Raggs]

Just watching Bath Falcons. Falcons really didn't have to do very much there did they? Bath were dire. Did they play any pre-season games?

[Margin__Walker]

LI are going to be a rollercoaster to watch again this season. Was a fun game for the neutral no doubt.

Need to start winning a few games at some point though, otherwise it's all just window dressing. Turned it round, but that's two games and two shocking first halves so far this season.

[Sinkers]

I know this is Squidge and all that goes along with that, but I thought the bits about the amount of contact outside of gametime and the coaching quartet were interesting.

[Hells Bells]

What goes along with Squidge?

[Sinkers]

Some great analysis but also a lot of conjecture and supposition IMO

[Paddington Bear]

His videos are fun but I think he sees a lot that isn't actually going on.

[sockwithaticket]

He likes a to make facts to fit a narrative rather than the other way round.

[Sinkers]

Agree with all that, but putting it to one side for a minute - if you can be arsed to sit through the video and assuming they're accurate, there are a couple of interesting insights into how and why they reduced contact training by a massive amount and how they continued as a coaching group after Gustard left.

Both seem pretty progressive and particularly re the contact training one it will be interesting to see if others take it up (I appreciate the coaching set-up was probably as much make do and mend as anything else - but quite successful all the same)

[sockwithaticket]

Agree with all that, but putting it to one side for a minute - if you can be arsed to sit through the video and assuming they're accurate, there are a couple of interesting insights into how and why they reduced contact training by a massive amount and how they continued as a coaching group after Gustard left.

Both seem pretty progressive and particularly re the contact training one it will be interesting to see if others take it up (I appreciate the coaching set-up was probably as much make do and mend as anything else - but quite successful all the same)

My understanding is that a lot of clubs do far less contact training than we might think anyway, but the idea of a further reduction on top of that driven by smart mouth guards is certainly interesting and if the Quins doc thinks it's been crucial then it's probably worth paying attention to. If nothing else, the reduced injury rates will probably have caught the eye of someone in other clubs, no one wants their prized assets in the physio room doing rehab rather than out on the field and with a slightly reduced salary cap getting the most out of your squad spend is going to be even more important than usual.

The coaching by committee thing is interesting. Obviously no club is going to volunteer to run the experiment, but it'd be interesting to see whether that dynamic would work over a longer period of time and through patches of rough results. You probably need certain personality types and traits to make it work effectively too. I can definitely see it being fractious with the wrong mix or a case of too many cooks spoiling the broth.

[Kawazaki]

Is Squidge a rather goblin-like fella? Has he got any track record at all in the game as a player/coach/analyst or is he completely gnome-schooled?

[Dinsdale Piranha]

Agree with all that, but putting it to one side for a minute - if you can be arsed to sit through the video and assuming they're accurate, there are a couple of interesting insights into how and why they reduced contact training by a massive amount and how they continued as a coaching group after Gustard left.

Both seem pretty progressive and particularly re the contact training one it will be interesting to see if others take it up (I appreciate the coaching set-up was probably as much make do and mend as anything else - but quite successful all the same)

Quins have had a disastrous record with injuries going back several seasons. A few years back we were getting injury replacements for our injury replacements and had 50% of the squad out. No amount of squad depth can cope with that (legally)

If the change to contact through better monitoring helps then that's a big win. Last season we were mostly putting out pretty strong sides.

On a general point, there's nothing more demotivating than a boss you don't like. Gustard is a knowledgable guy with plenty of experience but plenty of people either didn't get on with him or the style he was playing.

[Paddington Bear]

Is Squidge a rather goblin-like fella? Has he got any track record at all in the game as a player/coach/analyst or is he completely gnome-schooled?

Just a bit of an internet nerd who sees grand strategy behind everything on a rugby pitch, where generally I see people reacting to circumstance. His videos are generally entertaining but he's predictably Welsh and dull when it comes to England.

[JM2K6]

Strangely enough I thought that he largely stayed away from his conjecture and ~grand master plan~ stuff he's usually so obsessed with. The only time it really showed up was when he did that long bit of analysis on the Cuthbert injury and kicking vs Exeter.

Squidge: Ah you see, Cuthbert is injured, so Quins keep kicking in order to stretch the other backs who are having to cover for him, and keep winning the kicking battle, all while manipulating the emergency back three employed by Exeter so eventually Quins create a big overlap and exploit it to score. BIG BRAIN stuff from Quins.

What really happened: Cuthbert got injured. The Exeter scrum half thought it would be a really good idea to then box kick (badly) with his main chaser out of the game. Exeter are then handed possession repeatedly, and instead of doing the sensible thing that every coach and fan would've been screaming at them to do and kick it out, try and keep the game going. While a man down. Who happens to be the best chaser of the high ball. Eventually, Quins make the advantage count.

It wasn't clever rugby by Quins, because they handed Exeter several chances to kill the danger stone cold dead. It was a meltdown by Exeter, who had clearly been rattled by that first half and were not thinking straight at all, aided and abetted by one of the dumbest 9s in the league.


Aside from that, it was a decent video.

[Niegs]

He likes a to make facts to fit a narrative rather than the other way round.

To be fair, I haven't watched any of his stuff in ages so maybe he's evolved, but what I also disliked was how fast-paced it all was. Barely any time spent on the thing he's talking about, next point, next point, next point... Certainly no slow-mos or replays.

And then there's all the fanboys saying it's the best content out there.

[inactionman]

Bath vs Bristol Friday night.

Last season I could only see Bristol giving us a slapping, now it seems more up for grabs. Not because Bath have improved, mind.

Was hoping to get a view of Cips at 10 but it's bailey in (assume Cipriani injured? Missed that if so), and Watson on Bench.

Bristol: Piutau; Lloyd, O'Conor, Bedlow, Purdy; Sheedy, Randall; Thomas, Capon, Sinckler, Holmes, Joyce, Vui, Heenan, Luatua (capt).

Replacements: Kerr, Woolmore, Lahiff, Harding, Thomas, Uren, Frisch, Leiua.

Bath: De Glanville; Rokoduguni, Joseph, Ojomoh, Muir; Bailey, Fox; Obano, Du Toit, Stuart, McNally, Ewels (capt), Ellis, Underhill, Bayliss.

Replacements: Dunn, Boyce, Rae, Williams, Reid, Green, Clark, Watson.

[Kawazaki]

Are all British Lions players free to play this weekend then?

[Kawazaki]

He likes a to make facts to fit a narrative rather than the other way round.

To be fair, I haven't watched any of his stuff in ages so maybe he's evolved, but what I also disliked was how fast-paced it all was. Barely any time spent on the thing he's talking about, next point, next point, next point... Certainly no slow-mos or replays.

And then there's all the fanboys saying it's the best content out there.

I've never really watched any of his stuff tbh.

I know this might be unpopular but I don't like David Flatman's style either. His C5 highlights show has been pulled and he does a one-man to camera highlights roundup on YouTube now which is even more toe-curling than the TV act was. If he spent less time trying to make the show about him it would be so much better.

[sockwithaticket]

He likes a to make facts to fit a narrative rather than the other way round.

To be fair, I haven't watched any of his stuff in ages so maybe he's evolved, but what I also disliked was how fast-paced it all was. Barely any time spent on the thing he's talking about, next point, next point, next point... Certainly no slow-mos or replays.

And then there's all the fanboys saying it's the best content out there.

I don't watch much of his stuff tbh. Was too put off by the little I did see. However, because Sinkers asked so nicely, I did watch this one and Squidge did go at a very quick pace.

[Happyhooker]

He likes a to make facts to fit a narrative rather than the other way round.

To be fair, I haven't watched any of his stuff in ages so maybe he's evolved, but what I also disliked was how fast-paced it all was. Barely any time spent on the thing he's talking about, next point, next point, next point... Certainly no slow-mos or replays.

And then there's all the fanboys saying it's the best content out there.

I don't watch much of his stuff tbh. Was too put off by the little I did see. However, because Sinkers asked so nicely, I did watch this one and Squidge did go at a very quick pace.

He goes at a ridiculous pace. This wasn't a bad one of his, but there's no way you can read all the text he flashes on the screen.

I stopped watching him a while ago. He was talking about how things were planned from the set piece while talking about a move on the 12th phase when I gave up on him

[Raggs]

To be fair, I haven't watched any of his stuff in ages so maybe he's evolved, but what I also disliked was how fast-paced it all was. Barely any time spent on the thing he's talking about, next point, next point, next point... Certainly no slow-mos or replays.

And then there's all the fanboys saying it's the best content out there.

I don't watch much of his stuff tbh. Was too put off by the little I did see. However, because Sinkers asked so nicely, I did watch this one and Squidge did go at a very quick pace.

He goes at a ridiculous pace. This wasn't a bad one of his, but there's no way you can read all the text he flashes on the screen.

I stopped watching him a while ago. He was talking about how things were planned from the set piece while talking about a move on the 12th phase when I gave up on him

I really don't mind pausing it, and re-running segments. I tend to do that with a lot of analysis vids anyway, so not having to sit through slow bits that I don't want to rewatch doesn't worry me :D.

[tc27]

Only just worked out the Channel 5 highlights package is gone.

What an awful decision by PR...a niche sport like rugby needs maximum visibility.

[sockwithaticket]

Only just worked out the Channel 5 highlights package is gone.

What an awful decision by PR...a niche sport like rugby needs maximum visibility.

I don't know how much visibility being on Channel 5 was providing, especially as it was often shunted around the schedule, but that probably has more to do with Channel 5 than the show. A highlights show with a mainstream TV channel presence is important for the sport and it is a bad decision to have ostensibly ditched it. What seems to exist in its stead is Flatman doing 10 minutes on youtube.

I would typically watch it while cooking and eating. Just having it there on a decent size screen rather than having to break off and cycling through multiple videos on a tablet was a much better way of catching up with the games I hadn't watched and seeing again the best bits of the ones I had.

[JM2K6]

To be fair, I haven't watched any of his stuff in ages so maybe he's evolved, but what I also disliked was how fast-paced it all was. Barely any time spent on the thing he's talking about, next point, next point, next point... Certainly no slow-mos or replays.

And then there's all the fanboys saying it's the best content out there.

I don't watch much of his stuff tbh. Was too put off by the little I did see. However, because Sinkers asked so nicely, I did watch this one and Squidge did go at a very quick pace.

He goes at a ridiculous pace. This wasn't a bad one of his, but there's no way you can read all the text he flashes on the screen.

I stopped watching him a while ago. He was talking about how things were planned from the set piece while talking about a move on the 12th phase when I gave up on him

The pace of things is very much a late Millennial / Zoomer way to do YouTube videos, unfortunately. And, honestly, the incredible over-enthusiasm and reading way too much into everything is a hallmark of a certain type of YouTuber as well.

[Paddington Bear]

Would echo that Flatman's banter merchant routine falls fairly flat, I watch rugby on TV to watch and enjoy the game rather than for some wisecracks. Sure he's good value over a pint but that's a different thing.

[Raggs]

Would echo that Flatman's banter merchant routine falls fairly flat, I watch rugby on TV to watch and enjoy the game rather than for some wisecracks. Sure he's good value over a pint but that's a different thing.

Think he struggles on his own, but he's learning the craft. He's got good insights, but he's not suited to being sole commentator (yet).

[Raggs]

Just me or is the ref (can't remember his name) coughing and burping a lot?

[sockwithaticket]

Decent score from Muir. Considering how much they get from him vs, Cokanasiga I struggle to credit the pay disparity.

[Paddington Bear]

Very enjoyable half of rugby

[Dinsdale Piranha]

Very enjoyable half of rugby

Yup, both teams trying to play a bit.

[sockwithaticket]

Very enjoyable half of rugby

Certainly is as a neutral, I imagine fans of either team are a little less appreciative of how open it's been.

[Paddington Bear]

Very enjoyable half of rugby

Certainly is as a neutral, I imagine fans of either team are a little less appreciative of how open it's been.

Yes both sides lucky not to ship points from brain farts. Hard to know how this will finish

[Dinsdale Piranha]

That was quality.

[sockwithaticket]

That was quite someting.

[Paddington Bear]

Cracking atmosphere. Plenty of twists left in this

[sockwithaticket]

Bristol have been trying very hard to lose the game with this late swell of penalties.

[sockwithaticket]

Pull it out of the bag, though. The scrum has done a lot of work for them tonight.

[ASMO]

Bristol are so Jeckyl and Hyde, unbelievablly brilliant and completely braindead in equal parts. I would hate to be their coach.

[Kawazaki]

Bristol are so Jeckyl and Hyde, unbelievablly brilliant and completely braindead in equal parts. I would hate to be their coach.

The coach is responsible for them being that capricious. Bristol won't make the play-offs.

[ASMO]

They absolutely miss Earls and Malins, Semi is no small loss either.

[Kawazaki]

Lets face it, Bath are not a very good team and Bristol were really struggling to beat them at home. Saracens and Wasps both beat them with second teams with ease.

That 5-year contract extension for Pat Lam is looking a bit hasty already.