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The Fantasy Rugby Yanks-Episode 4: Champions Cup Round 1 Review
27 Plays7 years ago
Week 1 of Europe is in the books! This was more of a review of the action than it was a ton of fantasy analysis this week. I'm still trying to figure out where the scoring is going to come from in the match action as I watch it, other than the obvious. It will be more clear come week 2. Want to discuss more, contact me via e-mail or twitter.
Rugby Magazine Premiership Team Name: Wyle-E Coyotes
Champions Cup Team Name: StrengthOfTheWolf
Use code YFN6VAYWPL to challenge me in Daily Champions Cup Fantasy
E-mail questions and comments to fantasyrugbypodcast@gmail.com
Music provided by Royalty Free Music: http://www.soundotcom.com
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Transcript
Introduction and Personal Reflections
00:00:08
Speaker
Hello, welcome back. This is the Fantasy Rugby Inc podcast. My name is Jared Dyke. I am recording from just outside Boston, Massachusetts. This is episode four. We are looking at the first round of the Heineken Champions Cup. And if you started three guys that didn't play like me, then welcome to the club. I did not pay attention to my lineups. I broke my own rule. Good job for me. I'm a dope.
00:00:35
Speaker
So if you did that or anything to that nature, you're in good company. Oh man, what a weekend. That is a lot more rugby than I've taken in the season so far, but it's totally worth it.
Fantasy Rugby Scoring Systems
00:00:54
Speaker
That was a great, great set of matches to watch. Lots of fun things to talk about today and a little bit of fantasy, a little bit of real,
00:01:05
Speaker
rugby to talk about we'll get to it right now to recap the the scoring format this is not like the rugby magazine site there you really have to do certain things in this differently because there's just not as many chances to score there's not as many ways to score you get points for appearances
00:01:33
Speaker
You know in the rugby met magazine it's You get a point for being named to the team and then you get an extra point if you play more than 60 I think this one It's named to the bench for one if you start it's two and if you play the whole thing, it's three Tries are a little bit of a premium
00:01:55
Speaker
forward tries are worth seven, back tries are worth five, conversions by your designated kicker as it usually is are two, drop goals are three, penalties are three. If you miss a penalty, if your kicker misses a penalty, it's minus one, tri-assists are three,
00:02:12
Speaker
If you get five tackles made, it's a point 50 meters carried. It's a point for each 50 meters carried. So if you carry 100 meters in a match, it's only two. So those go down significantly.
00:02:27
Speaker
uh... line up the own the only thing at the line up that's worth much is line up steals it's one per steel and then really you gotta avoid the cards minus three and minus six minus three for the yellow and minus six for the red card so my advice in this format would be to definitely put a premium on tries if you feel someone's in the tries james lowe being the first name on the off the top of my head
Player Strategy Tips
00:02:55
Speaker
You got to put them in your team. They they're going to be a huge, huge, huge advantage. So maybe overpay for tries and then start looking for good jumpers that steal line outs. Players that play the whole game on the reg and and good tacklers. Those are going to be the guys that make you points in this one daily. It'll be a little bit easier because you get to, you know, you get to feel out.
00:03:24
Speaker
the teams in the day separately and there's no salary cap limit.
00:03:32
Speaker
For the season long, for the competition long fantasy team, you're going to need to definitely pay for your tries. You're going to pay a premium unless you happen to get James Lowe early or somebody of that nature. That's the first one that comes to the top of my head. Why? Because it was the game I watched probably the most closely besides the Saracens match. We'll talk about that today.
00:03:58
Speaker
Yeah, so pay pay extra for guys, you know, we're gonna score or or have been scoring So let's talk about a little we'll touch a little bit on some of the big big things for the weekend poor Freddie Burns poor poor Freddie Burns and
Freddie Burns' Costly Mistake
00:04:20
Speaker
had the winner in his hands and all he had to do was fall down in the try zone and give Maxime Medar credit. He never quit on the play and he just got to Freddy and Freddy all of a sudden had to turn, had to realize, Oh no. And he, uh, he knocked it on. He knocked on the winning try in the last five minutes. Oof. Um, that'll haunt him forever, unfortunately. And
00:04:45
Speaker
So well, the missed penalty he had before, which was pretty much dead on. If it wasn't dead on, it was close. Just not, not his day, not his day. It was a great match. Um, we'll talk about that match more, more in depth, but, uh, Freddy, sorry, buddy. That's a, that's a rough one.
00:05:04
Speaker
That's one of those days, maybe you just erased from your memory in a few weeks' time. Unfortunately, it will probably take longer than that for him. Hopefully he can be a professional and just put it out of his brain and get on to the next match.
Newcastle Falcons' Unexpected Victory
00:05:18
Speaker
And take a bow, Newcastle Falcons. Oh my. We'll talk about this match more in depth.
00:05:25
Speaker
This is a team that's last in the Premiership, going against three-time defending champions, not three-time defending champions, but a team that's won this competition three times in a row, not that long ago. It was about three years ago, three or four years ago, they won their last one. So take about Newcastle, Dean Richards, Joel Hodgson, the whole crew, well done.
Injury Impact on Saracens
00:05:50
Speaker
Uh, big injury notes. Oh man. Billy from Napola out, broken arm, 12 weeks. Didn't look like a big deal, but it sounds like it's going to be a wee bit of a big deal. Um, 12 weeks, three months. So he's out of your November tests and he'll be out probably for the remainder of this, um, pool play around for, for Saracens as well. So they will have to deal without him. They do have a fairly deep squad. So.
Team Lineup Decisions Post-Losses
00:06:19
Speaker
They will be OK, but that is just a huge, huge injury. His brother, Mako, also picked up a small injury along with a sequel in the same match. Might get him. It's going to leave them a little banged up this week. They'll probably be game time decisions come this Saturday. OK. Last thing before we get into the games.
00:06:49
Speaker
Note after this round, the teams that have taken two losses and especially if they've taken two losses with a thumping, they might start to mail it in because they no longer see this competition as something they can win. So they might start to put not their strongest lineup. They're not going to put out the complete, you know, be team, but they won't be putting in their best and they won't risk anybody that is even
00:07:20
Speaker
you know, even has half an injury. So just keep that in mind and we'll go through. Um, just keep that in mind as, as you go through, when you come up with choices between players, uh, for rounds three and four, which will be in, I think another month after this choose wisely, consider that.
00:07:46
Speaker
You know, some guys may be going against teams that have lost two games or even three, if they lose their third round game and then you need to pick new players for round four, consider that the opposition might be a little bit mailing it in. Who knows? They are professionals. I know, but still if the coach decides to not risk certain players because he knows the competition is unwinnable.
00:08:12
Speaker
then you could sit, that could also be bad news for players you have in your team, so keep that in mind as well. All right, two games.
Leinster vs Wasps Dominance
00:08:26
Speaker
First, the Friday night one, Lindster and Wasp. You have to feel a little sorry for Wasp in this one. They walked in without their starting scrum half, without their starting eight man.
00:08:38
Speaker
that's his fault, but you know, the starting scrum half, the starting eight man, um, their best second row, hands down a handful of front rowers that were unavailable as well. Haven't been available all season, but still it doesn't make it any easier. Um, and Lenster put out the strongest squad possible. Most of them have been capped by Ireland, you know, it was a little rough, rough of a go for them.
00:09:08
Speaker
So we'll we'll look at it to start. But man, this was this was pretty ugly. So we had. It was a good match up until halftime, and then Linster decided that they were just going to turn on the Jets and go full throttle. They got a card right at halftime. They got a try right at halftime after a Lima Superwaga yellow card.
00:09:37
Speaker
Was it, was it an intentional knock? I don't know. I feel like he got a little bit of the short straw on that one. The pass was actually forward and thrown basically into his chest. So I don't know what else silk walk is supposed to do. I try and pick that off and hope that I could run the other way with it. Not that I'd finished the damn thing, but you know, hang onto it and run, but he didn't hang onto it, but I,
00:10:06
Speaker
I don't think it was an intentional knock. I don't think it was worthy of the yellow card. Eventually, Luke McGrath capitalized on that. Sean Cornyn did get the try scoring going for Leinster pretty fast. Sopuaga replied with a penalty shortly afterwards. And unfortunately for Wasp, that's all there was. Luke McGrath got one at the end of the half, like I said. Jack McGrath came on for the halftime and he got one as well near the end of the game, actually.
00:10:35
Speaker
James Lowe gets a nice one on a counter and then he doubles that up later on. Luke McGrath gets his double and then Jordan Lommer and Robbie Henshaw get on the try scoring and then like I said, Jack McGrath gets in at the 7-9th minute just to cut that wound just a little deeper. So those are
00:11:05
Speaker
That's a good game to have guys in. If you picked mostly Leinster players in daily, you did the smart thing. I rolled with James Lowe both in fantasy and both in the competition long and in the daily. So that was good. I also put in
00:11:25
Speaker
What else did I have? I had, I think I had James Gaskell and, uh, Elliot daily. And that did not work well. I tried to keep it a little versatile and not be so married to one side, but maybe I should have done that. So, uh, unfortunate for was they walked in with a lot of guys missing. We'll see if they can come out of this. Um,
00:11:52
Speaker
They still had some guys that could have stepped up for them. So Paul Walker should, should have been able to step up a little bit. Joe Simpson's not a nobody on this team. He's played with this team for a while. Um, Roland's and, and Gaskell have basically been the number one lock pairing since launch brave and down.
Bath's Loss and Freddie Burns' Errors
00:12:08
Speaker
This should be fun. They should be, there shouldn't be a lot of excuse there. Um, Tommy Taylor and Tom Cruz,
00:12:16
Speaker
either one of them. You can make excuses for them, but at the end of the day, these are professional guys that should have really, really, I think, disappointed quite a bit, in my opinion. Thomas Young started this one for Wasp. In my opinion, Thomas Young is the best seven that they have.
00:12:42
Speaker
Anybody that's listened to this podcast for longer than an episode now, or maybe even just the episode that happened to hear me not, uh, not be too happy and express my non trustworthiness of Ashley Johnson. So I don't know why he's in there over Thomas young. I think die young is being a moron, not, I know it's his kid.
00:13:07
Speaker
And I appreciate that he wants to make him earn it. The kids earned it. Trust me. Die young. Start your damn son. Stop being stupid. All right. Toulouse and Bath. Toulouse make their Champions Cup return to the top competition in Europe. And Bath looked to get the first title in a long time at the Rec. They played this game at the Rec.
00:13:37
Speaker
It was a unfortunate ending but a very watchable game. Just poor Freddie Burns. He had a good day and then he had a bad day. So Maxime Medard got the scoring going for, the tri scoring going for Toulouse. Jamie Roberts responded with a nice run and a good hard run as Jamie Roberts does. Freddie Burns gets one over the line and then
00:14:07
Speaker
Sofian Gutiรกn, Gutiรกn gets over. Yellow card for Jerome Cano. Tom Ellis gets sent off as well. Gutiรกn gets another one at 61 after the break. And then we have the miss penalty, shortly followed by the completely blown try. There's no other way to describe it.
00:14:36
Speaker
by Freddie Burns. You feel bad for the guy. He did have a good day. He missed, where was the penalty? He missed the penalty on 73rd minute and then he dropped it.
00:14:52
Speaker
at 75 did not get a chance to redeem himself because he got replaced shortly after by Tom Homer. Uh, you just felt bad for the guy. Um, I don't know. I can't, you can't get around this moment being the moment that bath lost the game. It was just after 75th minute when he did it and he knew we done gone goofed, but couldn't do anything to respond. Uh,
00:15:20
Speaker
But it wasn't all Bath by any means, believe me. Toulouse played really hard. Maxime Medard earned that team that victory by not giving up on the play once Freddie Burns got through. But it's definitely going to be a moment talked about for a long time, unfortunately, for Freddie. Other notes besides this thing go, the winger for Toulouse, Colby.
00:15:49
Speaker
feet on that boy. My goodness. He was sitting people down for fun. He was just
00:15:56
Speaker
If you tried to tackle him, he broke your ankles. I swear to God, there had to be, there had to have been probably four or five sets sitting on the field. Still, um, guy was just dancing around everybody. And anytime it looked like he was stuck in a tough spot to make any gain, he proved you wrong and got at least a few by making a couple of guys miss. Um, so keep an eye out on him. I don't know what his price is in the game. Um, like I said, this is not going to be a nearly as in depth.
00:16:25
Speaker
podcast about Europe because I can only put so much work into one of these things and the premiership goes for 20 some odd rounds this is gonna go for 10 maybe so premiership is gonna win out but it was a great game
00:16:44
Speaker
Don't know what else to really say about it other than pick yourself up Freddie. Your team's not dead yet. Just get back to it. They got a, they got a bonus point for losing by less than seven. That's about all that you can salvage of it for now.
Thrilling Match Highlights
00:17:01
Speaker
So as I said, it was a lot of rugby to digest this past weekend and take in. I did not get to watch every game yet. I've come close. I only missed out on two. One of them was the Montpellier Edinburgh match. The match report I've read and what I've heard talked about, it sounds like it was a thriller.
00:17:27
Speaker
you know, uh, South Africa does Montpelier. It sounds like there were a lot of, uh, former spring blocks in this team. Uh, I know that they're all over Europe and they're littered in teams that, especially the teams that have some money to throw around. Um, but still this sounds like it's got a lot to it, uh, along with some Scots and a couple of former Kiwis, but, um, yeah, it sounds like it was a great game.
00:17:55
Speaker
Ruin Pinar seems to just not be able to age. He sounds like he had a stormer. The Duplisi brothers were in there. It's a match for that. If you haven't watched it yet, I want you to watch it because I think this is probably one of the ones I should have watched instead of another one that I already did and am slightly regretting it.
00:18:23
Speaker
Just a I'll give a quick try recap Immelmann got it going for Montpelier and then McNally got it back. I got one back about Two minutes later Fall got one back and got another one and then Ingen Debe got got the third one for Montpelier About halfway through the first half and then after the break do you fight gets over for Edinburgh?
00:18:52
Speaker
And then there was a, I know there was a moment where it looked like somebody was clean through and he just fell short or no, wait.
00:19:03
Speaker
Yeah, no, so that was actually the moment I read about was actually pick them all for Montpellier looking for their bonus point try. But I did read that there was quite a quite a huff and a puff to try and get over the Montpellier line one more time. But get on Edinburgh for giving the these French Giants all they could handle. It'll be a game I watch and maybe I'll have a word, an extra word or two to say on next week when I've watched it.
00:19:34
Speaker
All right, Exeter and Munster. Non-Ruby note. Exeter, why are you wearing those blues? Wear blacks. You're known for the blacks. Those blues are not great on you. Wear the blacks. They look much better. I know people are excited to buy alternate jerseys and third jerseys and stuff like that. Helps your bottom line overall. Wear the blacks.
00:19:56
Speaker
As far as 10-10 draws go, this was not the most unlockable one by any means. The weather across the whole competition on Saturday was pretty gross. A lot of rain, a lot of sideways rain. It was just a slugfest, which is something that actually these two teams are pretty much perfect for. Neither team has a ton in the arsenal in the back line.
00:20:24
Speaker
So I would, uh, it was definitely a slugfest. So it was a forward, it was a forward game. It was built. Um, the weather was made for this game. 10 10 actually doesn't surprise me in the end. It was a, it was a lot of tri, it wasn't a lot of try scoring 10 10. It was a try each and two and a conversion each and a kick each. Uh, so it was good. Um,
00:20:48
Speaker
Munster did dominate quite a bit of this game, but good for less Exeter for not going away, not not conceding. You don't want to lose your home games in this competition. Draws aren't ideal, but you sure as hell don't want to lose them. So Exeter made sure they didn't. They had a try saving tackle at the end, if I remember right.
00:21:11
Speaker
but, um, or near the end. I don't remember who it was, but just, just, just got away with it.
Scarlets vs Racing 92 Controversy
00:21:17
Speaker
Um, they were there, there was a lot of tackles being made in this game. No, no surprise. Uh, like I said, it was a very forward, heavy game. Both these teams are built to be tanks and just slowly roll over you until you just submit basically just you're forced to quit and they get over the line. So two teams like that.
00:21:39
Speaker
It's going to be a bit of a stalemate and there's going to be a lot of tackles made. A lot of hard collisions in this game. Just go through the try scoring real quick. Luke Cowan Dickey got the try scoring started just before halftime for Exeter. A couple of penalties had already been traded at that point. And then CJ Stander got over the line very well for Munster about halfway through the half, the second half and then
00:22:08
Speaker
That was it. Threatened. There were plenty of threats both ways, but it was not a
00:22:15
Speaker
It was not a particularly open game by any means, especially with the weather that did not help at all. Neither team seemed super, super, super ready to just go at it. There was a lot of blood bins, a lot of blood bins. I specifically remember, I think it was Sam Skinner coming off with a pretty bloody face and still coming back on looking a little bloody, but they said it was okay. So beats me. Uh,
00:22:41
Speaker
Both teams get two points out of the deal and they move on to next week. I believe Bath, Exeter are traveling and Munster get to stay put. All right. Scarlet's and Rassing. Last year's finalist Rassing. Back in there with the new, with the new 10 and it was again, another wet, rainy game. This one was a little more, a little more open. Um,
00:23:10
Speaker
Some guys like Lee Halfpenny certainly want to get their hands on the ball in space so you can't put that, you can't really stifle that too much. Joe Rockacoco was in there, Johnny McNichol. Guys like that are certainly looking for plenty of space to run for and not going to be shy about it either. Finn Russell is definitely not a player that's going to try and keep it tight either. He is going to throw some
00:23:38
Speaker
Questionable passes, but it'll certainly open the game up Despite all that it was a 14 13 win to rousing it was a unfortunate and Dare I say harsh call on scarlets for the penalty try that eventually gave the Last year's finalists the win it was It he didn't has it the I'll give the referee credit
00:24:08
Speaker
he didn't hesitate. He made his decision right away, been the player immediately and Scarlett's in complaint. So I guess it was, you know, the right call, but you know, I've seen a lot of malls brought down illegally in the, uh, in the manner that Scarlett's brought this one down and kind of in the time timeframe that it was as well. So was it,
00:24:38
Speaker
The right call, I don't know. I'll let somebody else make that decision. I think a warning could have been issued, but maybe there was a warning and I didn't, and I didn't listen. I didn't hear it. There's a chance of that as well, but yeah, unfortunate.
Ulster's Victory and Controversial Calls
00:24:55
Speaker
Uh, let's go to the trash going. Uh, it was a lot. Yeah, it wasn't a, like I said, it wasn't a super exciting game. Uh,
00:25:05
Speaker
Schuziel gets over near the end of the first half. Russell converts that. Lee half-penny did get Scarlett's on the board early. Gareth Davies with a nice bit of footwork.
00:25:18
Speaker
pick the ball off the back of the scrum. Scarlet's were on the attacking five. They're on the rusting five meter line with the scrum and looked for all reasons like you was just going to pick the ball up and pass it out to his back line. Instead, he uses some pretty quick feet to get back around the blind side of the scrum. Nobody's really keen to it. And with a wet, really, really wet, slippery conditions. If you fall on the ground,
00:25:46
Speaker
And you have some momentum going forward. Doesn't matter what somebody else does. You're probably going to slide over the line. And he did just that. So very, very, very nice bit of footwork. And then Jonathan Davies set up Johnny McNichol with a nice looking chip through. It looked like it was on a penalty advantage, too. So he just said, heck with it. I'm going to have a shot. And it looked great.
00:26:10
Speaker
That was all that there was for Scarlett's, unfortunately. The misconversion by Lee Halfpenny was huge in the end because had he hit it, this game would have still been Scarlett's. I would say they would have probably been able to eat the clock.
00:26:26
Speaker
even after the penalty try. So kicking comes in handy big. I know I said that I will bring tries to a match all day long over kicks, but it doesn't mean kicks are completely unimportant. You need to hit your conversions, especially ones that are relatively easy, especially for a professional. Although, to be fair, those were not easy conditions. You know, sideways rain just
00:26:52
Speaker
Uh, it wasn't an, it wasn't a gimme kick by any means, certainly not to the level of Freddy's. Sorry, Freddy. I'm just going to harp on that man. I don't want to be one of those guys. I'll try not to get to, I'll try not to get on his case too much about that. Somebody else. I'm sure there's going to be 10 other people in the media and I'm not media, but I'm just saying there's going to be 10 people out there in the media and pundits that are going to ride Freddy burns hard for a while. So.
00:27:20
Speaker
Anyway, I digress back to, uh, so yeah, leave half pennies kick wasn't unmakeable. It was certainly one that I would expect a professional to make. Yes, it was awful conditions and no, I can't kick worth a damn. So I'm not one to talk, but I'm just saying from what I see, um, and from just, you know, general knowledge and, you know, all the rugby I've watched over the years.
00:27:46
Speaker
I'd say it was a penalty conversion that was hittable. Didn't hit it, cost him. So really, was it the penalty try that cost him? No, I'd say it was probably the missed conversion. And they were missed. I think he missed a penalty as well. He missed both his conversions, didn't he? Yes, he did. So he missed both conversions. That clearly was, if he hits one of those two kicks, it's doable. The other one was on the sideline, so that would have been much tougher. This one was less so.
00:28:19
Speaker
All right, Ulster and Leicester, great match up in Belfast. John Cooney was the man as he has been all year for Ulster. I don't necessarily keep track a ton of the pro 14, but I do know John Cooney has been tearing it up for Ulster and he just pretty much stepped up and did the same in this competition as well.
Exeter vs Munster Stalemate
00:28:46
Speaker
Talking Point, George Ford's yellow card near the midway point of the first half that stopped what was probably a try. They gave the yellow card and didn't give the penalty try. It baffled me a little bit. I basically thought one went with the other in that case. I'm not one to say for sure if that's the case, but it was
00:29:14
Speaker
It was questionable, let's put it that way. I think Ulster could have felt a little aggrieved, but they did get the... They got over the line in the end anyway. This was not a super watchable first half, but it was a very good second half. Go through the tri-score and we'll hit real quick.
00:29:34
Speaker
Eleanor Connor got over after the, after the break, no tries were scored in the first half, just a George Ford penalty with about 14 or 15 in. Will Addison, Will Addison get over the line. That was very, very well set up try. Good move and good movement out wide. Then Jacob Stockdale does what Jacob Stockdale does very well and got one over
00:30:00
Speaker
for Ulster, Manor to Alangi shows how good he can be when he decides he's going to run forward. He gets himself over that game line more often than not. But, you know, he does have the ability to finish as well. He's shown it before. It's good to see that he's showing it again. So he got over and slid himself into the try zone for for one more, giving Lester at least an outside shot at getting taking home a losing bonus point.
00:30:29
Speaker
This was another wet, rainy match. It was well contested. Will Addison getting a little bit of a revenge on the premiership by getting himself over the line. Like I said, you could probably bypass the first half of this match and just look at that second half and enjoy.
00:30:54
Speaker
All right, let's start with the let's get to the early matches for Sunday morning. Gloucester return to Europe. Actually, have they played in Europe? If they have, they haven't played in a darn darn long while. I'll say a damn long while. Gloucester return return to Europe with a nice victory. Cast the French champions come in and
00:31:22
Speaker
I was impressed with Gloucester. I was glad to see they were willing to do everything that they could to make sure this thing was a win. It's kind of the same message to Gloucester. Come on, guys. You're the cherry and whites. Wear your cherry and whites when you're at home.
00:31:40
Speaker
I don't think anybody, I'm not signing up for a paint Gloucester uniform at least. Let's put it that way. Even if I was a Gloucester fan, uh, but good for good for Gloucester for getting in there. Uh, Ben Morgan was a mad man for them named man of the match. It was, you know, so it was no surprise. Uh, and really good for him because he did it with Eddie Jones watching. So that was a good on him. Yeah. I hope, um, I hope Eddie Jones was paying attention because
00:32:11
Speaker
I am not a... I'm not going to be the biggest advocate for Danny Cipriani, but I'm also one of those guys that doesn't really... I'm not a big advocate for George Ford. So, you know, that is what it is. Let's look at the scores. So it seems Danny Cipriani has taken the tee away from 12 trees. I believe 12 trees played in this match and still didn't...
00:32:42
Speaker
and still didn't kick. So that's two matches in a row that Cipriani has been handed the tee and had it taken away from Taltries. I don't know if Taltries was doing that bad, but maybe he was. I can't tell you either way. Let's look. So a lot of three pointers were exchanged early. Drop goal, penalty, penalty, penalty. So those are your three. Those are your four scores.
00:33:07
Speaker
two penalties from Sips, a penalty from Damora, and a drop goal, which I guess made sense at the time.
00:33:17
Speaker
I'm not one to just take a shot at a drop goal just for sake of taking a drop goal and walk. I get it. You want to walk away with points when you enter a team's 22. And if you feel stifled, then that's not a terrible idea. I think Cass could have let it ride a little longer before doing that. Callen Braley got over the line with a nice, nice, nice bit of support from on what's his name? Marshall. A nice little, nice little cut through and made sure that
00:33:47
Speaker
The move got finished without hesitation, so good Scrum half-line from Braley. Let's call it that. That's pretty much what it was. Lavaio got over for
Saracens vs Glasgow Intensity
00:34:02
Speaker
cast about almost halfway through in the second half after the break.
00:34:08
Speaker
And that's all she wrote, really. There was a penalty from tomorrow, but that's all I needed. Sips hit another penalty right before the Lovato try.
00:34:23
Speaker
As did tomorrow, but it was not enough. So I think the French champions will not be a team to be shoved over. So this is a great win for Gloucester. They do have another tough, tough match coming up. They have to go to Tillman Park and play Munster. Munster have won this thing a couple of times. They know what it takes.
00:34:44
Speaker
Side note, cast have never beat an English side, so not in this competition at least. So they will continue to wait on that. All right, Leon and Cardiff, the other early kickoff on Sunday. I say 8 o'clock. If you were in the UK, it was probably lunchtime. It's earlier here. That's just how time zones work. So I'll be candid, this is another match I didn't watch, but honestly, I think I wish I had.
00:35:12
Speaker
maybe I could have parked a couple of the Saturday matches and put some of the Sunday matches in its place, but it was still, it sounds like it was another cracker. Leon, first count, I think this was their first time in the champions cup, like maybe ever in Europe. Those that don't know, it used to be called the Heineken cup. This was all of like four or five years ago. So if you're still somewhat new to rugby, there's your,
00:35:41
Speaker
And you're curious as to why I kind of hesitate on the Champions Cup part. It hasn't been called this forever. It's now called the Heineken Champions Cup, which kind of melds the two together. So people are, I guess, straight on what this competition is exactly. Doo, doo, doo. So yeah, sounds like Gareth Anscombe was causing problems for Cardiff with Cardiff for Leรณn all over. But it doesn't sound like Leรณn disappointed in their first match ever.
00:36:09
Speaker
It's unfortunate to lose at home, for sure. I have a note on referees in a minute. Gujian got over early for Leon, and then Buxice converted that. Ollie Robinson got over for Cardiff. Thomas Williams got over after that. Time to get over.
00:36:37
Speaker
31 so not too far from the half and that was the first time first half scoring a couple bucks these penalties and ants come penalty to reply and Then ants come got one of his own got a try of his own about halfway through the first the second half brassi brassi got one to bring it close and then ants come got a hit a penalty and
00:37:02
Speaker
So yeah, it sounds like it was also another very watchable match where the end result was almost, wasn't out pretty much right to the end. I mean, Anscombe's final penalty came in the 80th, man. I presume that was just to wind some clock down. All right. Saracens and Glasgow. As most of you know, I am a Saracens supporter. I watch this very intently.
00:37:29
Speaker
very, very intently. This was an intense match. There was a ton of physicality going on. Glasgow tried with their might to get through this Saracens wall. It really was a wall defense, never got it. The Warriors missed at least two or three penalties, so that obviously ended up costing them. As I spoke of earlier, there were a handful of injuries, I think on both sides, really. Like I said, it was a very physical game.
00:38:00
Speaker
A side note. I know the Saracens are a physical team, but if you're a fan of any team that plays the Saracens, just because they're physical doesn't mean everything's a penalty at tackle and ruck time. It's just not how it works. It's got feisty as well. A little chippings here and there. Maro Toge ends up with a bloody nose at some point.
00:38:27
Speaker
after some scuffles. Um, but like all good, uh, like in all good rugby matches, they shook hands and let bikons be bikons by the end. Um, I'll say a note on Maro, uh, everybody's kind of given him a little fleck. You know, uh, Glasgow went over the line after the panel, after our penalty had been called for way, way, way, way advanced. The guy that thought he got away with the penalty had to have known that it was on him to begin with.
00:38:57
Speaker
Um, but then, you know, Glasgow got over the line and start thought they had scored a try while the whistle had been had gone. I think the referee might've blown it even a second time. And, um, Mauro and Billy even a poll actually both went over there, went over to the T to the Glasgow warriors that thought they were celebrating a try and couldn't hear a whistle for whatever reasons. I understand sometimes the stadiums get loud.
00:39:23
Speaker
But, you know, when the referees blown the whistle and, you know, there's players calling you back, you'd need to pay attention. And Maro went over and pretended to celebrate with the team because, I mean, it was a heavy troll. Was it an unsportsmanlike? Whatever. Get over it.
00:39:40
Speaker
He did, listen, there are guys that are gonna get under your skin in every game. I've played against him, especially at a men's club level, but even at the professional game, you have guys that are what they call professional wind-up men. They just get you going, they get your blood boiling, and they're waiting for you to see that red mist, and for you to make a mistake, and you get red carded or yellow card at the very least. So, get over it. He didn't do anything.
00:40:09
Speaker
that I saw as you know super harsh or super unsportsmanlike I think the only people that have been really speaking out and saying it wasn't
00:40:22
Speaker
very sportsman-like and he shouldn't have done it, where people that either, one, don't like the Saracens, or two, people that were supporting Glasgow. That's it. Everybody else, I think, is more in the corner of, haha, that was a pretty funny joke you played on them. If they don't like it, then you know what? Don't commit penalties and beat them. There you go. End of story. Okay, enough of that.
00:40:47
Speaker
Again, hard fought match. A lot of injuries going around after this one. It wasn't just a freaking rock fight. It really was. You could see the bodies getting smashed into each other.
00:41:04
Speaker
There was some great great tackles made by both teams in desperate situations where they needed to make those plays People are making something about the I think it was Alex Lozowski pass off the deck that the TMO didn't see it and I presume he at least had a look at it and this eventually led to the Saracens try I think and Listen, it was he in touch. I don't know maybe
00:41:33
Speaker
It sounds like it took the camera crew for the network a long time to figure out whether or not he was in touch. So if you really wanna spend that frickin' long on that, be my guest. Naked Eye looked like he just got it away. And maybe if that was a Glasgow try, I might have kicked myself and said, damn it, that should have been,
00:42:02
Speaker
Uh, a lineup in touch, but you know, in the end you make your own luck sometimes and it happened. It was a good run. It was a good supporting run. You know, I think the answer in the end of that is again, don't let it don't let the runner break. I think it was Maitland that ended up getting the break after a nice, uh, bit of, uh, passing and moving around the back line for the series. So.
00:42:27
Speaker
One try to talk about Michael Rhodes. Michael Rhodes is not a player that does anything crazy or anything super special, but he does everything pretty darn well, just the same. He doesn't have a supreme specialty, but he's not bad at anything, really. So that's what I have to say on Michael Rhodes. And really, that's all I have to say about this game. It was a hard fought, you know, tough match. Again, can't say anything out. Can't say anything more than that.
00:42:57
Speaker
I think a sequel I had to leave this game and they actually brought Telefua in to play flanker, which was for me a little bit of a scary sight, but it worked out okay. I think, I think Adam Hastings, in my opinion, let the
00:43:21
Speaker
I think Adam Hastings let the pressure get to him a little bit in my opinion, but, uh, that's just me. And we'll see what happens when, um, when Glasgow go back to, go to Ellions and see what's on the line for these teams when they both get in there. Um, I will say this one more note. Sorry. I know I said I was done talking about it, but I'm not actually, um, it's, there needs to be, in my opinion,
00:43:51
Speaker
better selection process for referees. One of the best referees in the world, Nigel Owens, did not have a game at all this weekend. And that to me is crazy. Now am I saying he's going to pick up the certain things I was looking at, like the, I think it was the Warriors tight head clearly boring in, you know, heads already right underneath Jamie George's chin. It's, it,
00:44:21
Speaker
It needs to be better. I know you want to be diverse and you don't want to put a referee from the same country or the same league in a game as often as you can, but we can get away with at least Nigel Owens as Welsh. He could have done this match. He could have done, there was one more match that I remember watching and being like, hmm, I feel like somebody else could have done a better job with this one.
00:44:46
Speaker
Let's not get cute with the referee selection. Pick the best ones that you can. Um, don't, don't dilly dally and don't, don't try and, you know, be nice to referees because you feel bad for them. Get off it. And that's all I have on that match now, I swear. All right. So last one, take a bow Newcastle. Well done. Well done.
00:45:15
Speaker
Okay, I need to lay this out for everybody that's might not be super familiar with the situation.
Newcastle's Triumph Over Toulon
00:45:20
Speaker
Newcastle have only just qualified for this competition for the first time in a while, if not ever. And right now they're actually sitting on the bottom of their domestic league, the English Premiership, the Gallagher Premiership, I believe is what it's called now. Um, and to be fair, they've played some tough teams on top of that, but that's not what we're talking about here.
00:45:45
Speaker
Toulon are a team that have spent a buttload of money. I am talking about major, major, major moolah and they have just lost to a team. Now give Dean Richards credit. Dean Richards is a good coach. He has been for a while. You know, he got this team to overachieve last year. I'd say this is a bit of an overachievement on their part, but you got to say Toulon just, I know they don't have the superstars they used to,
00:46:15
Speaker
You know, maybe that's a sign for too long. You can't rely on just buying all the superstars. I know that's what all the French clubs do. But, you know, take a page out of somebody else's book, because it ain't working for you. Yes, you have JP Peterson, you have Julian Sevilla, you have Thuria Sova, you have
00:46:38
Speaker
all these guys that are in the back line, Pekitoa, just all these guys that needed, that were in the back line. And then Trinduk, who I don't think is a good leader, in my opinion, Francois Trinduk, the fly half for Toulon, former French fly half, I don't think. If he plays with him still, then good for him. He's getting up there in age.
00:47:07
Speaker
Um, I don't, he's a good skilled player. Don't get me wrong. Is he a leader? Can he be that leadership guy that you need near the end of the game? Probably not. So, um, that's not, yeah, that's the, there's not a, uh, there's not that bite they had in the back line anymore. And they've still spent a lot of cash, not nearly as much as actually probably more than they used to. If I have to be honest, I don't know that for a fact, but if I had to guess.
00:47:37
Speaker
Also, their discipline is awful. There are missing two starters who just act like complete thugs in previous matches that were banned. Both will be back, I think both will be back next week. But still, be more disciplined.
00:47:53
Speaker
And you'll have your players. And to be fair to Newcastle, they're missing Niki Ghanova. And that's somebody I would be really disappointed to be without. Now, it was Joel Hodgson had a stormer of a match. Tate had a great game. It was good to see him back. But, you know, they're still missing some guys and they just nutted up and did it. We'll talk about a couple other of the big instances in the game.
00:48:23
Speaker
Um, but let's talk about, oh, let's talk about the first try. Jeez, I'm right off the bat though.
00:48:27
Speaker
They got it, too long, got it started fast. Mickey Young just didn't take a very good angle on his box kick, and Taf and Fanua just blocked it, and it was an easy scoop and score. He was all five meters away, and off we go. So he got the scoring going, no minutes technically gone, like it was within the first 30 seconds. Kyle Cooper got one halfway through the half for,
00:48:56
Speaker
Newcastle, it was, uh, you know, low little, I mean, it was just short little hooker try. What are you going to do? He's too damn short to be able to initially take out at the waist, but you know, if you go any lower, you're probably going to get knocked out by his knees. Uh,
00:49:18
Speaker
luck if you got got one for got got another one for. Too long near the end of the half. And then we had a series of yellow cards. Ben Whitehouse got a little yellow card happy. I think they were all by the book. And if you look at them individually, they were correct. And this match did get a little out of hand. The crowd was not helpful in that whatsoever.
00:49:45
Speaker
Gerardo got one for to lose, uh, to lose. They'd kill me too long at 55. And then a, uh, man, it was a huge penalty try. When was the penalty try? It was.
00:50:03
Speaker
Where was that? That had to be, that was at the 50th. All right. So that was, so they got a huge penalty try, um, awarded to new castle on for a tackle on sonati sonati, two parts of the play that were talked about. One was, was there obstruction when the, uh, when new castle started their backline move? I don't think so. The runner held his line. He did not try and bump into the Talon defender. I don't remember who it was on in either case, but
00:50:33
Speaker
It looked like the player just held his line and just kept running. Did he slow down in a somewhat opportune time? Probably, but that's okay. That's part of it. He didn't change his line. As long as he doesn't go left, go right and make it initiate the contact into the player. He's not blocking. He's just running a line and it's an option line, a dummy line, if you will. So Newcastle broke and then
00:51:01
Speaker
Sonati Sonati, and I totally agree with this Sonati Sonati, if you get him full steam ahead, you know, five, seven, eight meters out, whatever it was, he's in, especially in space. He's, he's already got a full steam ahead. The man's not going to get stopped. It was a high tackle and it was rightfully called, um, who was the new to long player.
00:51:30
Speaker
I will probably butcher the hell out of this name. So the Talon player was Ikpofan, something like that. Ikpofan, something to that nature. Either way, he was the Talon fullback and definitely, definitely stopped a try scoring opportunity. And it was going to be a try, no doubt. So that was the right decision. At the end of the game, this is why I don't think Trenduke is the leadership type. They went for the corner.
00:51:58
Speaker
instead of the post, they were down one. And it turned out that they would decide to knock the ball on at some point, and Newcastle
00:52:17
Speaker
cleared it, ended up getting a penalty of their own, put it back on their own end, and managed to find a way to defend and run out the clock. I think they ended up losing the line out, but the initial line out after they were awarded the penalty and kicked it further downfield, but Talon just didn't have the bite, and I think they went for a cross kick, which baffled me a little bit. It was well taken, and that was the end.
00:52:45
Speaker
And one more thing on Talon, for all the money that they have, and I don't remember the owner's name, I know he made his money in like cartoons or comics or whatever it was, whatever they said on the broadcast. And for all the money they have, I know they have a load of cash. That's not something that's a mystery to most rugby fans. Their surface is atrocious. Like I get sometimes when it's wet and gross,
00:53:13
Speaker
the surface is going to get torn up, but their surface is awful. They, they should be ashamed of that surface really. And I know that that's not something that's necessarily valued highly and they feel like it, but I feel like with the backline they have, you should have a good surface. It shouldn't, there was a point where
00:53:32
Speaker
ball was rolled into the scrum and it was hooked back but it couldn't roll back because it was stuck in a patch of dirt that had been kicked up and basically the turf was blocking it it was big enough mound of turf that it was blocking it from getting to the back of the scrum that's polar Talon do better do better please all right so that'll be it for the for the show it was
00:54:00
Speaker
Not super analytical, but it's a, um, it's not a competition that I wish to get too deep into the fantasy. Um, we can talk about, you know, guys that are coming into form next week, a little bit more, and that'll give me a better insight of what's going on. Uh, I also don't know, I'll be candid, candid. I don't know all these teams. I know obviously the English teams cause I've been talking about them for the last three, four weeks, but.
00:54:31
Speaker
It's hard to figure out what guys are really getting into it and what guys aren't, especially when the stats aren't all necessarily something that's compiled right in front of me. I've compiled stats for the partnership like that very easily. But I can tell you this, if you're looking for certain teams to change out players for, look for the guys from Leinster, for sure.
00:55:00
Speaker
I think Bath are playing loss. I would consider somebody from bath. The, um, I don't remember the, the South African wingers name. Um, so Colby Colby from, uh, to lose, I hope I'm saying his name right. I'm pretty sure that's what they were saying on the broadcast. I'll, like I said, I don't watch all these teams super closely. Like I do the premiership, but, um,
00:55:28
Speaker
I try not to completely butcher team players names because I'm not that much of a jerk. At least I try not to be. So go by 6 million and when you're talking about other wingers that are
00:55:40
Speaker
you know upward near 10, 6 million is pretty good and it looks like he's going to find a way to get through especially when guys like Joe Rock or Coco and Samisa Rock and the Uni cost 8. You want to and need somebody a little cheaper that's a good one to consider.
00:55:59
Speaker
Good good goal kickers are obviously somebody else something else you want to look at Johnny Sexton was definitely in the in the kicks on Friday night, so I'd say he's gonna be looking at that check whether the weather reports to
00:56:13
Speaker
Lee Halfpenny is a great kicker normally, but it was such garbage weather. Didn't do him any favors. If you know teams and or players are super ill disciplined, don't be going after them because they're going to cost you points and it seems like points are very precious.
00:56:32
Speaker
I can tell you the average point I was scoring, it looked like somewhere around 5. So if you get a 3, a minus 3 and or a minus what, 8? Yeah, or a minus 6. Whatever I said the red cards are in the beginning. Yeah, not good. I think it's minus 6, the red cards. Yeah, so.
00:56:53
Speaker
If you're averaging between five and seven points for most of your players and you have to eat a minus six, bad news bears, don't get a, don't, or even minus three it hurts. So that, um, like I said, check your lineups, make sure that people are playing. Don't be an idiot like me and ignore the lineups that were right in front of your face and still start players anyway. Um, so that's all we're going to do for today. I will be back next week for one more and then we're going to take a, we'll take a small break.
Conclusion and Listener Engagement
00:57:23
Speaker
Hopefully after that break, we'll have some other voices to have a conversation with other than me just continuously talking into a mic into and maybe something more entertaining. So if you have, if you're listening to this and you want to, you have corrections, you have another topic you want to talk about, you have another
00:57:47
Speaker
subject I missed entirely. You think I'm wrong about something. You think this show is terrible. Doesn't matter. I'm just here to talk about rugby and be an average person. Uh, but if you're looking for an email, just to have a conversation with, uh, email fantasy rugby podcast at gmail.com. Well, I'm also on Twitter at J dike D Y K E eight man, the letter eight M A N on Twitter. So you can find me there.
00:58:13
Speaker
And eventually, there'll be a Twitter for this show if we decide to keep it going for longer than this season. But for now, that's where you can find me. Thank you so much for listening. Thank you so much for taking the time out of your day to listen to me dribble on about rugby and pretend to know what I'm talking about. Everybody have a good day. Enjoy a round two of Europe, and I will see you all next week. Cheers.