The Official English Rugby Thread

[Slick]

Good for him. He's been a loyal servant to the Falcons and probably stuck with them longer than he ought to have done. Time to see about winning something and earning more.

The continued degredation of Newcastle's playing squad means they're unlikely to climb off the bottom any time soon which means we have a de facto ring-fenced 9 team league...

If finances don't improve soon, it'll be an actual 9 team league...

Seems a strange way of all coming together to save the club

[geordie_6]

Good for him. He's been a loyal servant to the Falcons and probably stuck with them longer than he ought to have done. Time to see about winning something and earning more.

The continued degredation of Newcastle's playing squad means they're unlikely to climb off the bottom any time soon which means we have a de facto ring-fenced 9 team league...

If finances don't improve soon, it'll be an actual 9 team league...

Seems a strange way of all coming together to save the club

We've been a recruitment pinata for quite some time now, I'm used to that. I think the financial issue is symptomatic of the game in the country as a whole, and not something the other clubs will be able to remedy even if they wished to.

[SaintK]

Unconfirmed but rumour has it that Exeter have spoken to Stuart Lancaster taking the Head Coach role

[Kawazaki]

Unconfirmed but rumour has it that Exeter have spoken to Stuart Lancaster taking the Head Coach role

He's bound to crop up somewhere back in England. He's a level 5 coach which means on paper he really knows his stuff. He's also got decades of experience operating at the very highest level. He's the coaching equivalent of Ben Youngs.

[sockwithaticket]

Ok, so, with the Lions selection made I've combined the remnants of the 6N squad (including all call ups during the tournament) and the A team that played Ireland A to start the summer tour squad speculation

Loosehead:
Baxter, Brantingham, Haffar, Rodd

Hooker:
Dan, George, Langdon, Oghre

Tighthead:
Green, Heyes, Kloska, Opoku-Fordjour

Lock:
Clark, Coles, Lockett, Tizard

Back Row:
Barbeary, Capstick, B. Curry, Cunningham-South, Fisilau, Hill, Kenningham, Pearson, T. Willis

Scrum Half:
Quirke, Randall, Spencer, Van Portvliet

Fly Half:
Atkinson, Ford, Shillcock

Centre:
Beard, Butt, Dingwall, Lozowski, Ojomoh, Slade

Wing:
Elliott, Hassell-Collins, Murley, Roebuck, Sleightholme

Fullback:
Carpenter, Hendy, Steward

Who do we think travels out of that lot? Does anyone come in who wasn't involved during the 6N?

My immediate thoughts on the latter point are that Seb Atkinson (12) and Guy Pepper (6) seem likely. I have a horrible feeling that Ewels might get a recall given the paucity of proven second rows and to provide 'leadership and experience' to a relatively callow group. Tuima at Exeter might have an outside chance of going as a lock.

[Oxbow]

If Dingwall isn't made captain I'll be having words.

[sockwithaticket]

I reckon it'll be

Loosehead:
Baxter, Brantingham, Rodd

Hooker:
Dan, George, Langdon

Tighthead:
Heyes, Kloska, Opoku-Fordjour

Lock:
Clark, Coles, Ewels, Tizard

Back Row:
Barbeary, B. Curry, Cunningham-South, Hill, Pepper, T. Willis

Scrum Half:
Quirke, Randall, Van Portvliet

Fly Half:
C. Atkinson, Ford

Centre:
S. Atkinson, Dingwall, Ojomoh, Slade

Wing:
Hassell-Collins, Murley, Roebuck

Fullback:
Carpenter, Steward

Shillcock going as some kind of utility back. I don't get it, but someone in the England set up seems to rate him.

Hendy, Furbank and Sleightholme are injured as far as I know. Any one of them go if fit I reckon.

[Madness]

It'll be an interesting tour as even the old sweats like Ford and George will want to go to be match fit for the inevitable Lions injuries.

I'm going with this as the 23 for Argentina, won't be what Borthers takes.

Obano
George
Fasogbon
Ewels
Coles
Hill
Curry
Willis

JVP
Ford

Roebuck
Dingwall
Ojomoh
Feyi Wabaso
Carpenter

Baxter, Langdon, Opoku Fordjour, CCS, Pepper, Barbeary, Quirke, Slade

[Kawazaki]

It'll be an interesting tour as even the old sweats like Ford and George will want to go to be match fit for the inevitable Lions injuries.

I'm going with this as the 23 for Argentina, won't be what Borthers takes.

Obano
George
Fasogbon
Ewels
Coles
Hill
Curry
Willis

JVP
Ford

Roebuck
Dingwall
Ojomoh
Feyi Wabaso
Carpenter

Baxter, Langdon, Opoku Fordjour, CCS, Pepper, Barbeary, Quirke, Slade

Slade needs the screens drawn around him and the bolt gun.

[Paddington Bear]

Given he’s unlikely to get the call up and his very apparent recent leadership skills, I wonder if Dingwall will captain

[Hal Jordan]

Given he’s unlikely to get the call up and his very apparent recent leadership skills, I wonder if Dingwall will captain

Slade's experience and versatility makes him a shoo in for both inside centre and captain.

/brain damage/

[SaintK]

Given he’s unlikely to get the call up and his very apparent recent leadership skills, I wonder if Dingwall will captain

Would be a good call

[Rhubarb & Custard]

Given he’s unlikely to get the call up and his very apparent recent leadership skills, I wonder if Dingwall will captain

if he was running the side it would be a rare instance of Dingwall looking like he was able to run anything in a game. but he is the man in the berth and it's not an awful idea to hand him the job

[sockwithaticket]

Given he’s unlikely to get the call up and his very apparent recent leadership skills, I wonder if Dingwall will captain

Slade's experience and versatility makes him a shoo in for both inside centre and captain.

/brain damage/

I fear we are headed, due to a lack of experience in the side, for a Dingwall - Slade partnership that gets the best out of neither (as is so often the case when Slade is partnered with anyone other than a battering ram).

As an aside, I truly despise that mediocre or under-performing players are kept on for their experience, thereby depriving anyone else of getting any while increasing the cap total that thus makes them undroppable due to their experience and around we go in that particularly unhelpful circle.

[SaintK]

Just seen the Saints team for Sunday's match against Exeter
Looks like they're resting everyone who played last week apart from Tom James who is playing at 10 for only the second time in his pro career!!!!!
I've changed my Sup erbru pick

[sockwithaticket]

Bath look like they're sending out the academy against Bristol too.

I get that both sides have European finals to focus on and both are safe (Bath have a huge cushion at the top of the league and the bottom 2 are too far behind for Saints to worry about falling out of European qualification position), but it does undermine the league a bit to pull the wholesale changes. Especially as the league is only ten teams now. When that happened the owners and DoRs were out in force saying it would make every game more meaningful and there'd be less need to rest stars

[Oxbow]

Just seen it, it's a ridiculously callow team but to be fair Saints have a shit ton of injuries which is why we're down to Academy lads for this one with the top lads rested.

[Rhubarb & Custard]

Given he’s unlikely to get the call up and his very apparent recent leadership skills, I wonder if Dingwall will captain

Slade's experience and versatility makes him a shoo in for both inside centre and captain.

/brain damage/

I fear we are headed, due to a lack of experience in the side, for a Dingwall - Slade partnership that gets the best out of neither (as is so often the case when Slade is partnered with anyone other than a battering ram).

As an aside, I truly despise that mediocre or under-performing players are kept on for their experience, thereby depriving anyone else of getting any while increasing the cap total that thus makes them undroppable due to their experience and around we go in that particularly unhelpful circle.

I'm not sure if that aside has Slade in mind, if so it's rather harsh. I noted somewhere else Pollock is a player around whom things happen, whereas Spade for all his talent doesn't make things happen for England, maybe it's the balance of the team, maybe the tactics, but it just hasn't happened for him at test level for a long time when the talent does appear to be there, and that has to be at least partly on Slade. I can see why he's kept on though, he is a talent, and experience in players and combinations is important

[Paddington Bear]

Brilliant game at Welford Road, Leicester playoff bound

[Brazil]

Carley is an absolute fucking disgrace. He should not be allowed near a whistle ever again.

[geordie_6]

Fissler reporting that Red Bull may look to take over the Falcons.

https://www.rugbypass.com/news/red-bull ... ons-wings/

[sockwithaticket]

Take Fissler with a whole cellar of salt, but that would be great. I think we all want to see Newcastle do better and the Premiership to stop shedding teams.

[SaintK]

Carley is an absolute fucking disgrace. He should not be allowed near a whistle ever again.

Yep, his second half performance was woeful.
I don't particularly like him at the best of times but bloody hell!!!!

[Rhubarb & Custard]

You might not like a ref's performance, or even a certain ref, but that sort of language and indeed thinking feels just wrong. They're doing their best, feel free to do better, or to encourage others to pursue a path into match officiating and try/hope to raise standards that way.

[SaintK]

You might not like a ref's performance, or even a certain ref, but that sort of language and indeed thinking feels just wrong. They're doing their best, feel free to do better, or to encourage others to pursue a path into match officiating and try/hope to raise standards that way.

That's bollocks, they are full time, well paid professionals just like the players we criticise for poor performances
I had no skin the game but it was embarrassing to watch in the second half.
I sincerely hope he learns something from the match review or Paul Hull has a word in his ear.

[Kawazaki]

Dare I ask, what did Carley do this time?

I haven't seen any of the match.

[SaintK]

Dare I ask, what did Carley do this time?

I haven't seen any of the match.

Appeared to be only reffing/penalising one team in the 2nd half particularly the scrum when Sale had been monstering Tigers in the first half
No yellow card for Pollard who clearly played the ball on the grounf when being dragged ove his own line
Talked down the TMO to a penalty from a yellow on a clear head on head contact by Kata (who has lots of previous)
Steward taking Roebuck out in the air dangerously as he wasn't looking at the ball. Carley called it 50/50
Steward clear knock on into touch to prevent a try. Carley said it went backwards. It didn't
Penalised Carpenter for hands in front of the ball on a turnover in front of Sale's posts. All the replasys showed they weren't. Even Healey sounded embarrased

There were others!

[sockwithaticket]

Dare I ask, what did Carley do this time?

I haven't seen any of the match.

Appeared to be only reffing/penalising one team in the 2nd half particularly the scrum when Sale had been monstering Tigers in the first half
No yellow card for Pollard who clearly played the ball on the grounf when being dragged ove his own line
Talked down the TMO to a penalty from a yellow on a clear head on head contact by Kata (who has lots of previous)
Steward taking Roebuck out in the air dangerously as he wasn't looking at the ball. Carley called it 50/50
Steward clear knock on into touch to prevent a try. Carley said it went backwards. It didn't
Penalised Carpenter for hands in front of the ball on a turnover in front of Sale's posts. All the replasys showed they weren't. Even Healey sounded embarrased

There were others!

I thought direction was somewhat irrelevant in incidents like that. Whether backwards or forwards, deliberately sending the ball into touch, rather than genuinely attempting to catch it, is illegal?

[Rhubarb & Custard]

You might not like a ref's performance, or even a certain ref, but that sort of language and indeed thinking feels just wrong. They're doing their best, feel free to do better, or to encourage others to pursue a path into match officiating and try/hope to raise standards that way.

That's bollocks, they are full time, well paid professionals just like the players we criticise for poor performances
I had no skin the game but it was embarrassing to watch in the second half.
I sincerely hope he learns something from the match review or Paul Hull has a word in his ear.

And too it'd be better if we could also avid calling the players a 'fucking disgrace' for an inept performance before suggesting they shouldn't be allowed near the game.

If one found out the ref was in on match fixing, that would be the level to pile on

[SaintK]

You might not like a ref's performance, or even a certain ref, but that sort of language and indeed thinking feels just wrong. They're doing their best, feel free to do better, or to encourage others to pursue a path into match officiating and try/hope to raise standards that way.

That's bollocks, they are full time, well paid professionals just like the players we criticise for poor performances
I had no skin the game but it was embarrassing to watch in the second half.
I sincerely hope he learns something from the match review or Paul Hull has a word in his ear.

And too it'd be better if we could also avid calling the players a 'fucking disgrace' for an inept performance before suggesting they shouldn't be allowed near the game.

If one found out the ref was in on match fixing, that would be the level to pile on

I called his performance woeful............which in the second half it was!

[Oxbow]

Some interesting selections from Bristol today.

Screenshot_2025-05-10-16-06-39-52_4641ebc0df1485bf6b47ebd018b5ee76.jpg (112.91 KiB) Viewed 1162 times

[Lady P]

You might not like a ref's performance, or even a certain ref, but that sort of language and indeed thinking feels just wrong. They're doing their best, feel free to do better, or to encourage others to pursue a path into match officiating and try/hope to raise standards that way.

Writes someone who has not watched rugby within any proximity of Brazil.

[sockwithaticket]

Gloucester seem to have caught whatever's wrong with Exeter after their game last week. Quins are taking them apart even with a couple of tries having been chalked off.

[Kawazaki]

Amazingly, Saracens have ended up in fourth after this round of matches and must now be favourites to finish in that fourth position.

[SaintK]

Amazingly, Saracens have ended up in fourth after this round of matches and must now be favourites to finish in that fourth position.

Fifth on points difference!

[Jock42]

The way the pundits and commentators were talking yesterday Saints are out but looking at the table they have a mathematical chance. Am I missing something?

[Rhubarb & Custard]

That's bollocks, they are full time, well paid professionals just like the players we criticise for poor performances
I had no skin the game but it was embarrassing to watch in the second half.
I sincerely hope he learns something from the match review or Paul Hull has a word in his ear.

And too it'd be better if we could also avid calling the players a 'fucking disgrace' for an inept performance before suggesting they shouldn't be allowed near the game.

If one found out the ref was in on match fixing, that would be the level to pile on

I called his performance woeful............which in the second half it was!

Someone else labelled it differently, I suspect it wasn't the 'woeful' labelling which felt a little puerile

[SaintK]

And too it'd be better if we could also avid calling the players a 'fucking disgrace' for an inept performance before suggesting they shouldn't be allowed near the game.

If one found out the ref was in on match fixing, that would be the level to pile on

I called his performance woeful............which in the second half it was!

Someone else labelled it differently, I suspect it wasn't the 'woeful' labelling which felt a little puerile

Yawn!!!!!

[SaintK]

The way the pundits and commentators were talking yesterday Saints are out but looking at the table they have a mathematical chance. Am I missing something?

Not with the team that they're putting out today.
Only one player from the starting XV last week and he's playing out of position as is Tom James at 10.
Potentially 5 academy debutants and I think one of them is only 17

[sockwithaticket]

The way the pundits and commentators were talking yesterday Saints are out but looking at the table they have a mathematical chance. Am I missing something?

It's a very faint mathematical chance, possible yet highly improbable.They've put the B team out for today's game, so I doubt they'll be picking up the much needed points.