I though itoje looked quite quick when he made the brake 😂 I think he just looks slow due to his massive legs but when each step is 5m you don’t need it 😂
@ needs the full context of the prior 30 minutes to really understand, here is a quick rundown (I said quick sorry for the paragraph). As you mentioned Hendy was impeccable in attack and doing well in defence too. He somehow kept a Finn Russel kick infield that was going out in Saints 22 with a flick on the ball, then kicked it long. Just as he kicked it Russell put a knee into his side, nothing wrong with it, the kind of thing you want in a serious game, showed he was realising he needed to put some work in on Hendy, a sign of respect if anything. Later on, Hendy skewed a kick to touch and it went infield, he chased well and got out of Russels field of view before sprinting in and hitting him hard just as he kicked, definitely had some venom in it, again perfect level, fully legal and a good response in their personal battle. In doing so, Fin jumped while he kicked so Hendy actually took the worse of it, and had to get some attention from medics regarding his left shoulder. This was 8 or so mins before half time, so they left him on, presumably to assess it at the break. A minute later, Hendy makes another darting run and passes to Ramm I believe. Lawrence had him lined up and hits him a good second after he releases the ball. No doubt it was a shot he chose to make late, it was easy to pull out of. He hit Hendy directly to the upper body on the side he had gotten treatment for, leading to Hendy having to go off, later seen in a sling. It was given as a penalty and nothing more. I’m in two minds, I get that it’s a professional sport and to be a winner you have to do whatever you can to get an advantage, but it was quite clearly a targeted shot. It seemed like a response to the hit from Hendy on Russell, but that was their separate battle and he didn’t need to be involved. He was then seen laughing and smiling after the penalty was given, which obviously left a bad taste in peoples mouths. This is the incident I believe he apologised for, the Mitchel head contact I can get people saying he should of been off for a HIA, but he absolutely did take a hit to the head so I have no issue with him going down, fans saying it was a dive need to read up on the serious danger of repetitive concussions. My thoughts, should have been a yellow, and was definitely on purpose, but saints took the risk not taking Hendy off when he took the initial knock. If Hendy injury is more serious I think Lawrence should get a bollocking from Borthwick because that’s a real talent for our country, so stupid to do that
This opens up the whole debate about head injuries. Ok, so Mitchell got a yellow card, for what was a fairly innocuous head collision; no problem. Compare that impact with that of one of the Bath replacement props on a Northants player, whilst running a support line, earlier in the second half - the referee (and that idiot Flatman) called it a rugby incident; so penalty only. If the RFU is really concerned with player welfare, it shouldn’t matter how the head contact took place. Moreover, the whole purpose of these card sanctions for head contact was designed to change players (@nd coaches) attitudes to tackling - I don’t see much sign of that. In virtually every game, someone spend time in the bin for poor tackle technique; so the sanctions are clearly inadequate.
A few thoughts on this round which I'll try to keep brief 😛. 1) Its good to see Gloucester prove people wrong by being in the play off picture, I know you are a fan of their attacking style but I do recall you saying they'd end 9th above Newcastle before the season started but fair play for changing your mind now 😀. 2) Cameron Henderson will certainly be in the Scotland 6Ns squad I'd imagine. I actually think you'll be right regarding Warr, the SHs will be White, Horne and Dobie 👍. 3) My final point is in regards to Fergus Burke. I still don't think he'll be in either International squad just yet, England will have both Smith's and Ford and we'll have Finn Russell, Tom Jordan and possibly Dan Lancaster because there's reports that Gregor really wants him 😳.
Another unpredictable round! Delighted and relieved as a saints fan, clinging on but still hanging on in the race. Hopefully will keep the momentum up through two rounds of Europe.. really daft scheduling this season though, one round back in the prem before the 6N and more rugby cup rounds. It’s so fragmented. No bad thing to build out more depth though for the end run.
Talking of Hendy what a player… surely a great option at full back for England, likes to attack and has pace. If Borthwicks conservative rugby brain manages to move through the gears 😂then he might see sense in moving Freeman to the centre to enable out & out speedsters can be picked on the wings like Gabriel itoyje and Adam Radwan and with Hendy at full back and Raffi Quirke on the bench you have serious speed threats.
I don’t understand the general opinion on the Coetzee incident. It’s a clear penalty for crossing at minimum. He is running at full speed and ends up in front of the ball carrier and between the ball carrier and tackler… what am I not understanding? Also are we not mentioning Ollie Lawrence’s late no arms hit and then play acting to get Mitchel a yellow?
@@rugbyanalyst Than your take on some of the major talking points is quite extraordinary. The two accidental head clashes for one, then the Hendy/Lawrence debacle. I wonder if Bath had won Lawrence would have apologised? I don't think so. Hendy is one of the most dangerous attacking players in the Premiership, other teams cant handle him. If Lawrence has put him out of the game for a month or so just when he must have been looking at a national call-up then he has not only let himself down he has let his country down too.
I think I'd cry if Willis isn't starting! Head and shoulders the best player in the league this year. Right now, I'd probably start: Hill, Willis, Earl. I'm shifting Earl to 7 as he has credit in the bank with England and offers more than Underhill - who may be the best tackler in the world but that's all you're getting and i want a line break threat throughout the team where possible. Ben Curry has been the form 7 granted, but needs to wait for his shot, his last 6 Nations performance a couple of years ago was rubbish from memory, so should look to make an impact off the bench along with CCS. Would Borthwick start 2 debutants though?? Somewhat doubtful! Who's in your England back 3 Rich?
Radwan - is he wasted at Newcastle or is his speed all he has to offer? He gets plaudits from All Blacks but I don’t know. A winger has to put himself about these days. If he’s that good why is he still at Newcastle. Only mention him because Newcastle fans are always going on about him…
He doesnt go hunting for the ball enough. Similar to Arundell....they both have the tendency to stand out on their wings waiting for the ball to come to them, rather than trying to make things happen.
If Tom Willis is not in the England squad there is something wrong with the selection process, Tom is as good as,s his brother Jack now. Wouldn’t it be great if we had the Willis brothers in the England team.
I though itoje looked quite quick when he made the brake 😂 I think he just looks slow due to his massive legs but when each step is 5m you don’t need it 😂
Tom Willis, Sam Underhill and Ted Hill please be the 6N back row
Underhill definitely hit high, not the initial tackle but the arm after.
Thoughts on Lawrence’s cheap shot on Hendy?
I missed that one, what do he do?
@ needs the full context of the prior 30 minutes to really understand, here is a quick rundown (I said quick sorry for the paragraph). As you mentioned Hendy was impeccable in attack and doing well in defence too. He somehow kept a Finn Russel kick infield that was going out in Saints 22 with a flick on the ball, then kicked it long. Just as he kicked it Russell put a knee into his side, nothing wrong with it, the kind of thing you want in a serious game, showed he was realising he needed to put some work in on Hendy, a sign of respect if anything. Later on, Hendy skewed a kick to touch and it went infield, he chased well and got out of Russels field of view before sprinting in and hitting him hard just as he kicked, definitely had some venom in it, again perfect level, fully legal and a good response in their
personal battle. In doing so, Fin jumped while he kicked so Hendy actually took the worse of it, and had to get some attention from medics regarding his left shoulder. This was 8 or so mins before half time, so they left him on, presumably to assess it at the break. A minute later, Hendy makes another darting run and passes to Ramm I believe. Lawrence had him lined up and hits him a good second after he releases the ball. No doubt it was a shot he chose to make late, it was easy to pull out of. He hit Hendy directly to the upper body on the side he had gotten treatment for, leading to Hendy having to go off, later seen in a sling. It was given as a penalty and nothing more. I’m in two minds, I get that it’s a professional sport and to be a winner you have to do whatever you can to get an advantage, but it was quite clearly a targeted shot. It seemed like a response to the hit from Hendy on Russell, but that was their separate battle and he didn’t need to be involved. He was then seen laughing and smiling after the penalty was given, which obviously left a bad taste in peoples mouths. This is the incident I believe he apologised for, the Mitchel head contact I can get people saying he should of been off for a HIA, but he absolutely did take a hit to the head so I have no issue with him going down, fans saying it was a dive need to read up on the serious danger of repetitive concussions.
My thoughts, should have been a yellow, and was definitely on purpose, but saints took the risk not taking Hendy off when he took the initial knock. If Hendy injury is more serious I think Lawrence should get a bollocking from Borthwick because that’s a real talent for our country, so stupid to do that
This opens up the whole debate about head injuries. Ok, so Mitchell got a yellow card, for what was a fairly innocuous head collision; no problem. Compare that impact with that of one of the Bath replacement props on a Northants player, whilst running a support line, earlier in the second half - the referee (and that idiot Flatman) called it a rugby incident; so penalty only. If the RFU is really concerned with player welfare, it shouldn’t matter how the head contact took place. Moreover, the whole purpose of these card sanctions for head contact was designed to change players (@nd coaches) attitudes to tackling - I don’t see much sign of that. In virtually every game, someone spend time in the bin for poor tackle technique; so the sanctions are clearly inadequate.
A few thoughts on this round which I'll try to keep brief 😛.
1) Its good to see Gloucester prove people wrong by being in the play off picture, I know you are a fan of their attacking style but I do recall you saying they'd end 9th above Newcastle before the season started but fair play for changing your mind now 😀.
2) Cameron Henderson will certainly be in the Scotland 6Ns squad I'd imagine. I actually think you'll be right regarding Warr, the SHs will be White, Horne and Dobie 👍.
3) My final point is in regards to Fergus Burke. I still don't think he'll be in either International squad just yet, England will have both Smith's and Ford and we'll have Finn Russell, Tom Jordan and possibly Dan Lancaster because there's reports that Gregor really wants him 😳.
Tom Willis has to make 6N squad. A legit Ball carrying option alone gets him in but he’s shown his skill set across the board is elite this season!
Rodd is quality , however it was the young tight head who took 4 or 5 inches to start the dominant scrum . He looked solid all game .!
Opoku-Fordjour is the real deal
Thanks for putting the star on the Exeter logo, helps us remember better times
Exeter built that championship team based on local players over a long period. Maybe they can do the same again eventually.
Another unpredictable round! Delighted and relieved as a saints fan, clinging on but still hanging on in the race. Hopefully will keep the momentum up through two rounds of Europe.. really daft scheduling this season though, one round back in the prem before the 6N and more rugby cup rounds. It’s so fragmented. No bad thing to build out more depth though for the end run.
Talking of Hendy what a player… surely a great option at full back for England, likes to attack and has pace. If Borthwicks conservative rugby brain manages to move through the gears 😂then he might see sense in moving Freeman to the centre to enable out & out speedsters can be picked on the wings like Gabriel itoyje and Adam Radwan and with Hendy at full back and Raffi Quirke on the bench you have serious speed threats.
Hendy is hard to ignore
I don’t understand the general opinion on the Coetzee incident. It’s a clear penalty for crossing at minimum. He is running at full speed and ends up in front of the ball carrier and between the ball carrier and tackler… what am I not understanding?
Also are we not mentioning Ollie Lawrence’s late no arms hit and then play acting to get Mitchel a yellow?
Yea I saw Lawrence fall down, I assumed he was properly hurt...but maybe not
Just read his apology. Pretty much admits he was diving. Not a good look!
Anyone putting their hand up for England’s 12?
I'm wondering, did you actually watch the Saints v Bath game?
sure did
@@rugbyanalyst Than your take on some of the major talking points is quite extraordinary. The two accidental head clashes for one, then the Hendy/Lawrence debacle. I wonder if Bath had won Lawrence would have apologised? I don't think so.
Hendy is one of the most dangerous attacking players in the Premiership, other teams cant handle him. If Lawrence has put him out of the game for a month or so just when he must have been looking at a national call-up then he has not only let himself down he has let his country down too.
Do you not think Seb Atkinson is a shout for England?
He's an option, but at international level Id still worry about size at 12
I think I'd cry if Willis isn't starting! Head and shoulders the best player in the league this year.
Right now, I'd probably start: Hill, Willis, Earl. I'm shifting Earl to 7 as he has credit in the bank with England and offers more than Underhill - who may be the best tackler in the world but that's all you're getting and i want a line break threat throughout the team where possible. Ben Curry has been the form 7 granted, but needs to wait for his shot, his last 6 Nations performance a couple of years ago was rubbish from memory, so should look to make an impact off the bench along with CCS.
Would Borthwick start 2 debutants though?? Somewhat doubtful! Who's in your England back 3 Rich?
Tom Willie's should get a start for England but Borthwick just won't pick any new players the same line up as always
Radwan - is he wasted at Newcastle or is his speed all he has to offer? He gets plaudits from All Blacks but I don’t know. A winger has to put himself about these days. If he’s that good why is he still at Newcastle. Only mention him because Newcastle fans are always going on about him…
He doesnt go hunting for the ball enough. Similar to Arundell....they both have the tendency to stand out on their wings waiting for the ball to come to them, rather than trying to make things happen.
If Tom Willis is not in the England squad there is something wrong with the selection process, Tom is as good as,s his brother Jack now. Wouldn’t it be great if we had the Willis brothers in the England team.