I think one thing that has helped us in the last year or so is the general level of fitness. We seem to be a level above other teams of fitness and endurance. Look at how our players are more often than not playing close to full speed at the end of the game, exploiting tired legs & brains of the oppositions. We've seen Marler in the Semi & Final going a full 80 (or even 90+!) minutes & still marmalizing an opposition scrum who have had replacements. That's not just skill, it's endurance & fitness, and he's far from being the only player in the squad that is still playing at the 80th minute as hard as the first.
I think our change in training, moving to a more unstructured style (according to an interview in the Times with Huw Hones) alongside the smart mouthguards/white bib no contact system has kept our players fresher & fitter. It could explain why we're scoring so often in the second half of games. We're just in a position to stay at 95% effort as other teams are tiring & dropping to 85-80% effort.
We won’t beat Sarries or Tigers
:P
Would you like to back up why you’re so insistent on this?
We might not beat Sarries or Tigers, but I truly hope that our coaching staff and players aren’t approaching those games with such a negative mindset.
Marler, Smith and Marchant are big losses for us, but while our weakness at loosehead worries me, I’m comfortable with Allan and Northmore coming in.
By my reckoning, Saracens are losing George, Koch, Mawi, Itoje, Farrell, Tompkins and Malins. Some of those are bigger losses than others, but we’re playing at home and on a run of 4 BP wins from 5 so I think there’s plenty of room for optimism.
Facing a full strength Tigers side at Welford Road in December will be a tougher proposition, particularly if the weather isn’t great. However, I’m not going to try to predict a game that’s 6wks away as a lot could happen in between now and then.
Importantly, Sarries will also lose Riccioni to Italy. He has been excellent for them at tighthead and would've made mincemeat out of SGB.
I also think Lawday and baby Chis worked well together yesterday and got to the breakdowns quite quickly. Add Kenningham to that and it's not too bad. We can't replace Dommers' brain and speed of thought but we can at the basics. If Lewies isn't back, I wonder who the captain will be?
I would have thought Care or Chisholm?
I’d assume Lawday will play at 8 with Chisholm and Kenningham or Wallace at 7.
If Lewies is back, I wouldn’t be totally surprised to see him or Lamb tried at 6 against some of the bigger packs.
I think Chis is the "next cab in the rank" in terms of captaincy. He's done the job recently before Dommers came through, and Danny didn't seem to enjoy his time as Captain when he had the role.
I would have thought Care or Chisholm?
I’d assume Lawday will play at 8 with Chisholm and Kenningham or Wallace at 7.
If Lewies is back, I wouldn’t be totally surprised to see him or Lamb tried at 6 against some of the bigger packs.
Agree that Lewies at 6 is a strong possibility against Sarries. It should make us more competitive at line-out and maul time. It also means Lamb keeps his place. Would be harsh to drop him at the first opportunity given the string of good performances he's put together.
Slightly off-topic but watching Worcester on Friday I couldn’t help think that Baldwin on bench watching them get tonked must wish he hadn’t left!
He truly didn't want to. He left for family reasons and possibly Gustard (although I am not sure if that is accurate).
We spoke to him after the final and the regret was tangible.
We have seen Lewies and Lamb at 6. I would be happy to see Lamb there if Steph is back. Lamb is a monster and has grown in confidence and involvement. I wonder if he could do a job at 8? That could work well with Kenners and Chis. Although, Lawday is good and does a job every time he is called on, which is often!
Importantly, Sarries will also lose Riccioni to Italy. He has been excellent for them at tighthead and would've made mincemeat out of SGB.
Will they lose him? Italy don’t have a game next weekend neither do SA do they could also have Koch available.
What do you know that I don’t?!!
For the backrow discussions, I'd have Lawday 6, Chisholm at 8 and Kenningham at 7.
Don't forget Archie White may be in the mix. I personally think he falls into the category of "probably not good enough" when hes compared to some of his peers, but he did have a few decent games last season.
Yes, I like the sound of Kenners 7, Lawday 6 and Chis 8. Wallace or White on the bench to do a job. Wallace was good in his limited game time yesterday.
Steph was around the ground yesterday. We said a quick hello to him. He said he would be back next week but very dryly added that he has been saying that every week!
As has been said, we need Garcia Botta to really step up to replace Marler. We know Allan is an effective fly half and Northmore is quality. Hopefully the team is able to function at its best over the next 2 league games.
Will they lose him? Italy don’t have a game next weekend neither do SA do they could also have Koch available.
What do you know that I don’t?!!
England’s 1st game is 6th November, but the squad is assembling tomorrow so I’m assuming other teams will be similar.
It might be COVID related, but IIRC, there was always a couple of weeks training prior to test matches wasn’t there?
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