NPR

JM2K6 wrote: ↑Mon Mar 28, 2022 4:38 pm

geordie_6 wrote: ↑Mon Mar 28, 2022 3:14 pm Cassius Cleaves set for his senior debut for Quins in the PRC. Journos must be praying he is a successful player with a surname like that

He's gonna score a bucket load of tries in his career. We'll see if the rest of his game can keep pace.

geordie_6 wrote: ↑Wed Mar 30, 2022 5:37 am https://www.premiershiprugby.com/watch/ ... up-round-5

Highlights and full match videos from last night's games.

sockwithaticket wrote: ↑Wed Mar 30, 2022 7:22 pm Those who've turned out for a mid-week Prem Cup game at Ashton Gate aren't being given much of a reason to do so again. Pretty poor game so far.

Paddington Bear wrote: ↑Thu Mar 31, 2022 9:30 am

sockwithaticket wrote: ↑Wed Mar 30, 2022 7:22 pm Those who've turned out for a mid-week Prem Cup game at Ashton Gate aren't being given much of a reason to do so again. Pretty poor game so far.

I gave up at half time. You at least hope that the dirt trackers and young lads will show a bit of invention, that was very turgid.

SaintK wrote: ↑Thu Mar 31, 2022 11:57 am Diamond back to Sale for his first 2 signings. Curtis Langdon (Hooker) and Cameron Nield (flanker) sisgned for next season
Dave Attwood back to Bath next season. Was out of contract at Bristol and unlikely to be offered a new one at Bristol

SaintK wrote: ↑Thu Mar 31, 2022 11:57 am Diamond back to Sale for his first 2 signings. Curtis Langdon (Hooker) and Cameron Nield (flanker) sisgned for next season
Dave Attwood back to Bath next season. Was out of contract at Bristol and unlikely to be offered a new one at Bristol

inactionman wrote: ↑Thu Mar 31, 2022 12:37 pm

SaintK wrote: ↑Thu Mar 31, 2022 11:57 am Diamond back to Sale for his first 2 signings. Curtis Langdon (Hooker) and Cameron Nield (flanker) sisgned for next season
Dave Attwood back to Bath next season. Was out of contract at Bristol and unlikely to be offered a new one at Bristol

Not a bad move - Bath desperately lacking grunt (yes, yes, amongst a number of other things) and Attwood is an absolute slab of a man.

Bath have also signed Chris Cloete, utterly no clue about him, sounds like he's a flanker but thought we might want an 8 given Faletau's departure.

Kawazaki wrote: ↑Thu Mar 31, 2022 12:49 pm Just seen that Attwood only has two England caps. How did he drop below Ewels in the pecking order?

JM2K6 wrote: ↑Thu Mar 31, 2022 12:51 pm

Kawazaki wrote: ↑Thu Mar 31, 2022 12:49 pm Just seen that Attwood only has two England caps. How did he drop below Ewels in the pecking order?

He has 24 caps

Kawazaki wrote: ↑Thu Mar 31, 2022 12:49 pm Just seen that Attwood only has two England caps. How did he drop below Ewels in the pecking order?

Kawazaki wrote: ↑Thu Mar 31, 2022 12:53 pm

JM2K6 wrote: ↑Thu Mar 31, 2022 12:51 pm

Kawazaki wrote: ↑Thu Mar 31, 2022 12:49 pm Just seen that Attwood only has two England caps. How did he drop below Ewels in the pecking order?

He has 24 caps

Ah, used Wiki for stats

Question still stands on Ewels though...

Kawazaki wrote: ↑Thu Mar 31, 2022 12:53 pm

JM2K6 wrote: ↑Thu Mar 31, 2022 12:51 pm

Kawazaki wrote: ↑Thu Mar 31, 2022 12:49 pm Just seen that Attwood only has two England caps. How did he drop below Ewels in the pecking order?

He has 24 caps

Ah, used Wiki for stats

Question still stands on Ewels though...

inactionman wrote: ↑Thu Mar 31, 2022 2:18 pm

Kawazaki wrote: ↑Thu Mar 31, 2022 12:53 pm

JM2K6 wrote: ↑Thu Mar 31, 2022 12:51 pm

He has 24 caps

Ah, used Wiki for stats

Question still stands on Ewels though...

There were questions about Attwood's mobility. True, he's not a jack-in-the-box, but he was always involved in the play when at Bath.

Think he might have suffered from an England push to go for lightwight and mobile, but that might be a false recollection.

Not quite sure on the Ewels hate, he's a perfectly decent player in pretty much all facets of what a lock needs to be (ignoring the red card which was dull). Not sure what he's actually bad at? Is it just he's not standout in any one area?

inactionman wrote: ↑Thu Mar 31, 2022 2:18 pm

Kawazaki wrote: ↑Thu Mar 31, 2022 12:53 pm

JM2K6 wrote: ↑Thu Mar 31, 2022 12:51 pm

He has 24 caps

Ah, used Wiki for stats

Question still stands on Ewels though...

There were questions about Attwood's mobility. True, he's not a jack-in-the-box, but he was always involved in the play when at Bath.

Think he might have suffered from an England push to go for lightwight and mobile, but that might be a false recollection.

Not quite sure on the Ewels hate, he's a perfectly decent player in pretty much all facets of what a lock needs to be (ignoring the red card which was dull). Not sure what he's actually bad at? Is it just he's not standout in any one area?

JM2K6 wrote: ↑Thu Mar 31, 2022 4:42 pm

inactionman wrote: ↑Thu Mar 31, 2022 2:18 pm

Kawazaki wrote: ↑Thu Mar 31, 2022 12:53 pm


Ah, used Wiki for stats

Question still stands on Ewels though...

There were questions about Attwood's mobility. True, he's not a jack-in-the-box, but he was always involved in the play when at Bath.

Think he might have suffered from an England push to go for lightwight and mobile, but that might be a false recollection.

Not quite sure on the Ewels hate, he's a perfectly decent player in pretty much all facets of what a lock needs to be (ignoring the red card which was dull). Not sure what he's actually bad at? Is it just he's not standout in any one area?

Ewels isn't a big tackler, isn't a big carrier, isn't a good ball handler, doesn't appear to be better in the scrum than anyone, gives away dumb penalties, isn't a great lineout option, and doesn't appear to be particularly aggressive. Most of the time I struggle to remember positive impact he's had on a match. And yet he continues to get selected despite stand-out performances by other locks.

Kawazaki wrote: ↑Thu Mar 31, 2022 4:49 pm

JM2K6 wrote: ↑Thu Mar 31, 2022 4:42 pm

inactionman wrote: ↑Thu Mar 31, 2022 2:18 pm

There were questions about Attwood's mobility. True, he's not a jack-in-the-box, but he was always involved in the play when at Bath.

Think he might have suffered from an England push to go for lightwight and mobile, but that might be a false recollection.

Not quite sure on the Ewels hate, he's a perfectly decent player in pretty much all facets of what a lock needs to be (ignoring the red card which was dull). Not sure what he's actually bad at? Is it just he's not standout in any one area?

Ewels isn't a big tackler, isn't a big carrier, isn't a good ball handler, doesn't appear to be better in the scrum than anyone, gives away dumb penalties, isn't a great lineout option, and doesn't appear to be particularly aggressive. Most of the time I struggle to remember positive impact he's had on a match. And yet he continues to get selected despite stand-out performances by other locks.

Why is Ribbans ignored?

Kawazaki wrote: ↑Thu Mar 31, 2022 4:49 pm

JM2K6 wrote: ↑Thu Mar 31, 2022 4:42 pm

inactionman wrote: ↑Thu Mar 31, 2022 2:18 pm

There were questions about Attwood's mobility. True, he's not a jack-in-the-box, but he was always involved in the play when at Bath.

Think he might have suffered from an England push to go for lightwight and mobile, but that might be a false recollection.

Not quite sure on the Ewels hate, he's a perfectly decent player in pretty much all facets of what a lock needs to be (ignoring the red card which was dull). Not sure what he's actually bad at? Is it just he's not standout in any one area?

Ewels isn't a big tackler, isn't a big carrier, isn't a good ball handler, doesn't appear to be better in the scrum than anyone, gives away dumb penalties, isn't a great lineout option, and doesn't appear to be particularly aggressive. Most of the time I struggle to remember positive impact he's had on a match. And yet he continues to get selected despite stand-out performances by other locks.

Why is Ribbans ignored?

Oxbow wrote: ↑Thu Mar 31, 2022 5:15 pm

Kawazaki wrote: ↑Thu Mar 31, 2022 4:49 pm

JM2K6 wrote: ↑Thu Mar 31, 2022 4:42 pm

Ewels isn't a big tackler, isn't a big carrier, isn't a good ball handler, doesn't appear to be better in the scrum than anyone, gives away dumb penalties, isn't a great lineout option, and doesn't appear to be particularly aggressive. Most of the time I struggle to remember positive impact he's had on a match. And yet he continues to get selected despite stand-out performances by other locks.

Why is Ribbans ignored?

Because Eddie is a petty fuck? Ribbans was in line to get picked at the end of last season but got sent off and a ban so wasn't available for the games. Eddie hasn't looked at him since.

SaintK wrote: ↑Thu Mar 31, 2022 5:31 pm Yep, really don’t understand why he hasn’t been looked at again. Strong lineout operator, lots of grunt and gets around the pitch well.
What’s not to like

fishfoodie wrote: ↑Thu Mar 31, 2022 10:45 pm

SaintK wrote: ↑Thu Mar 31, 2022 5:31 pm Yep, really don’t understand why he hasn’t been looked at again. Strong lineout operator, lots of grunt and gets around the pitch well.
What’s not to like

Does Eddie & co attend many games ?

SaintK wrote: ↑Fri Apr 01, 2022 7:29 am

fishfoodie wrote: ↑Thu Mar 31, 2022 10:45 pm

SaintK wrote: ↑Thu Mar 31, 2022 5:31 pm Yep, really don’t understand why he hasn’t been looked at again. Strong lineout operator, lots of grunt and gets around the pitch well.
What’s not to like

Does Eddie & co attend many games ?

Yes. Can't criticise him for that, he's a regular at Prem matches as are the coachhes. Not sure what he's looking for mind

Rhubarb & Custard wrote: ↑Fri Apr 01, 2022 8:50 am I like Ribbans, and he's well worth having a look at. But, I don't think it evidences failure on Eddie's part he's spent a number of our games having another look at Isiekwe. Both with a view to Isiekwe perhaps being the better lock, and with a view to putting a WC squad together with some players needing to cover more than 1 role

it's unfortunate Ribbans missed out when he was perhaps about to get his chance, but that happens over and over at any level of the game where you can get more than 15 players to turn up

Rhubarb & Custard wrote: ↑Fri Apr 01, 2022 9:42 am he basically picked Itoje and Isiekwe. if one wants to say he could have picked Ribbans to take the lesser game time of Chessum and Ewels then fine, but then you'd be saying there's a big problem that someone didn't get minimal time, which suggests it can't be that big a thing.

When the Premiership clubs voted two years ago to reduce the salary cap from £6.4 million to £5 million for the 2021-22 season, a lot of clubs, including Bristol, took advantage of a clause that allowed them to count 75 per cent of existing contracts against the revised cap.
In Bristol’s case, the majority of players signed “two plus one” deals, which is a two-year contract with an option of a third on the same terms unless either party decides to pull out by a set deadline. It is understood Bristol intended to release six players, whose contracts were worth an estimated £400,000. However, they missed the deadline, meaning the third-year extensions had already kicked in. A club spokesman declined to comment on Thursday night.
Even if those players are paid off, it is understood that would still count against the salary cap, so Bristol are now having to make savings wherever they can. Including their marquee players, Bristol had one of the biggest wage bills in the Premiership and an emergency board meeting was convened when the mistake came to light in March. They have also committed to signing England prop Ellis Genge and Sale fly-half AJ MacGinty for next season.
Yet offloading players is no simple matter. Many other clubs are struggling to balance the books with the “existing contract” clause coming to an end. It is estimated that up to 30 players could be left without a club this summer.

JM2K6 wrote: ↑Fri Apr 01, 2022 10:14 am Talking of fuckups, Bristol have absolutely shit the bed: https://archive.ph/xUoJg

When the Premiership clubs voted two years ago to reduce the salary cap from £6.4 million to £5 million for the 2021-22 season, a lot of clubs, including Bristol, took advantage of a clause that allowed them to count 75 per cent of existing contracts against the revised cap.
In Bristol’s case, the majority of players signed “two plus one” deals, which is a two-year contract with an option of a third on the same terms unless either party decides to pull out by a set deadline. It is understood Bristol intended to release six players, whose contracts were worth an estimated £400,000. However, they missed the deadline, meaning the third-year extensions had already kicked in. A club spokesman declined to comment on Thursday night.
Even if those players are paid off, it is understood that would still count against the salary cap, so Bristol are now having to make savings wherever they can. Including their marquee players, Bristol had one of the biggest wage bills in the Premiership and an emergency board meeting was convened when the mistake came to light in March. They have also committed to signing England prop Ellis Genge and Sale fly-half AJ MacGinty for next season.
Yet offloading players is no simple matter. Many other clubs are struggling to balance the books with the “existing contract” clause coming to an end. It is estimated that up to 30 players could be left without a club this summer.

Bad news for a lot of blameless players

sockwithaticket wrote: ↑Fri Apr 01, 2022 10:39 am Fucking hell, that's a big error. 30 players out of contract due to an administrative error is awful.

Without knowing any of the regulations it feels like the sort of thing that should come with tangible league punishment for the club, like a 10 or 15 point handicap to start next season. They shouldn't be allowed to get away with treating players like this.

As a player it would certainly make me think thrice about heading to Bristol in future.