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Season 4- Episode 9- Built For What Exactly? (Premiership Round 7)
32 Plays4 years ago
It's your favorite American rugby knuckleheads, ready to have a jabber for your listening enjoyment. On this episode we get into the international scene once again, as we cover the Kiwi's first stops in their visits to the U.K. including the action both at Sandy Park and at the Principality. We also have a look at what the heck happened to the Eagles on Monday night, down to a few key positions unfortunately in our opinions. Yes, we then dive into the action from the Prem for the weekend including the big ones at the Gardens and the Stoop. Kick back, crack one and have a chuckle, on us!
*Apologies to those that listened to our little blip last night*
Patreon is here for TFRY https://www.patreon.com/TheFantasyRugbyYanks , subscribe and start getting a leg up on your friends.
Ask us questions via Twitter: Jarrod- jdyke8man & Ben- admrablsnackbar, and #AskTFRY.
Send us your thoughts for the show and questions for upcoming shows via e-mail fantasyrugbypodcast@gmail.com. Of course we welcome feedback via e-mail, twitter or by rating/reviewing the pod on Apple Podcast.
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Transcript
Introduction and Podcast Overview
00:00:08
Speaker
Hey, everybody. Welcome back. It is the Fancy Read Meings podcast. My name is Jared Dyke. I'm Ben Glauzer. Welcome in. Let's go.
Personal Life and Rugby Watching
00:00:16
Speaker
Big guy over here has moved house and you didn't kill each other. So that's a good, good start. No, kind of the opposite. It's just been a week. So I apologize for... The energy you swing at knives and stuff at each other. Yeah, but I just...
00:00:33
Speaker
Oh, we did. Yeah, we did have a little bit of a good thing. Good thing. Nothing sharp was around. Yeah. It's all packed in boxes. Right. But it went over and over again. It went OK. It's just my.
00:00:48
Speaker
my rugby watching suffered and really that's the ultimate problem with the move was I didn't get to watch all the rugby I wanted. Well so I got to watch the Saracens and Quinn's game on Sunday because the boss and my mom both went to
00:01:10
Speaker
like the French market, which I didn't have a whole lot of interest in doing. I had seen plenty of the city already. Yeah, but you saw Madame Robichaud's Academy, and that's what else do you need to see? I figured you would like that. I love that. That was great. But yeah, so when they were just like, yeah, we're going to go here, do you want to come? I'm like, do I have to? They're like, no. I was like, fuck yes. You're damn right. I don't want to go. And the wedding was that night, too. So they were like, yeah, all right, we'll give you a pass because tonight's going to be a long night anyway.
00:01:39
Speaker
Yeah, good. I was able to grab that in. I got it later that day. So yeah, that's all right. That's, that's
Listener Engagement and Promotions
00:01:45
Speaker
what counts. I'm drinking. Give me, give me. Obviously you want to check us out in your favorite posca podcast apps, download rate review, all that good stuff. Feedback is always welcome in any sort. We don't care if it's negative. It's okay. We appreciate when it's positive. So yeah, we're big boys. We can take a little negative if you have some for us, but positive is appreciated too. Yeah, definitely.
00:02:10
Speaker
Buy the fancy Ruby Geek and Coffee in our beer, however you want to put it, because if you're listening to us, you probably are listening to some of the same stuff that he's got, if not better. So definitely give him a shout and give him a little bit of support.
Rugby Player Welfare and Support
00:02:27
Speaker
Grab your TRM upgrades.
00:02:29
Speaker
Huge, huge supporter of restart rugby over here. And it's, you gotta have it. The RPA is a big thing and we gotta find ways to support these guys in life after rugby, whether that's, they call it early at 20 or they call it, you're an Allen wind and you go until you're basically gonna fall apart. Right, I mean, and it's not on the show agenda, but
00:03:00
Speaker
the, what was it? Carl Heyman and his diagnosis of early onset dementia. He's my age. So, and it, yeah. And I have thoughts about that, but we can maybe do that another time. But helping the players is huge. And it's for guys like him and that will need support. So, although obviously he's not, he's still in an atmosphere, but still same.
00:03:28
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, it doesn't matter. The players all still need support, whether they're here, there, or everywhere.
Political Changes and Social Advocacy
00:03:33
Speaker
Yeah. Um, yes. And your, your upgrades go towards that. And you also get to, you know, have the things going on in the league, especially around now when there's all kinds of replacements and even last weekend too. Um,
00:03:47
Speaker
Black Lives Matter as always on this podcast and there is no room for racism. On the positive side, here in our fair city of Boston, we have a new mayor that's breaking a few firsts. A couple, yeah. So not mad about it. No more white men mayors of Boston. Yeah, because we had so few of those. Good Lord.
00:04:15
Speaker
So yeah, it's good for Michelle Woo. I think it'll be good for the city. Same. Yeah. And it, you know, and there's so, there's a lot of the tone that is set in our state here because of Boston. So, you know, that's the, I mean, obviously, fucking thing in the state. Yeah, it really is. And when, you know, Western Mass is a little different, but some, some places you go, they're super, super conservative. Some places you go, they're super liberal.
00:04:43
Speaker
It's all a matter of where you land, but in overall the state, you know, the the Steve Austin kind of sets the tone a lot of times. So, you know, so it was Boston. They're still it's weird. So having moved about 20 miles outside the city.
00:05:00
Speaker
I was just in the supermarket today, and I was one of the only people wearing masks. There were people there who were, but a lot of no maskers. And it's just weird because in the city, it's mandatory. It's still mandatory. So it's like, OK, a little bit of a culture shock, a little adjustment. But most people are vaccinated. They're just like, I don't care. I'm vaccinated. And it's like, well, it matters. But, OK, fine. Yeah, it's better than not. Right. Rogers.
Sports News and Controversies
00:05:28
Speaker
He's all messed up. Hey, Ron. Oh, God, he did he ever. Oh, fuck. Yeah. So it's good to throw some positive news out there. And that's always kind of negative no matter where you turn. But let's be honest, though. Boston is an incredibly racist city. Super. Tory Hunter had a no trade clause to Boston specifically because they were such a bunch of racist bricks in the sands. Right. Yes. So the fact that we have a non-white
00:05:56
Speaker
female mayor is pretty wild. So yeah, non male, I should say, but yeah, non white, non male. Yeah. Whoo. Holy shit. So yeah, pretty wild. But that's great. And she want to play a landslide when I understand so. Huzzah. Love it. Love it. Love it.
00:06:14
Speaker
Okay, also, and last but certainly not least, we have a Patreon. If you so desire, we will make sure that there was a comment that was left by one of our patrons, we'll fix that. Sorry. Yeah, haven't seen it. Sorry, have been busy. Yeah, right, right. Well, we'll get to it this week. Promise, promise, promise. Yeah, but
Fantasy Rugby Insights
00:06:35
Speaker
If you want some more information, you want some good stuff, you know, I've even slowly been creeping up the rankings because of the information we have. So yeah, I've been and I've been my my slide has been slow, but I've taken some 20 point hits and 40 point hits the other way. So you did that the other way. I did that to myself. So yeah, I'm sliding a little bit, but I'm yeah, still still around top 50. Right.
International Rugby Matches Analysis
00:07:01
Speaker
And I'm also preparing to add some more...
00:07:06
Speaker
some more stats to the tracking sheet. Ooh, sexy. Like a best score and worst score. Because sometimes you're like, oh, wow, this guy's got like, you know, he's averaging 30 points a start, but he has one like 70 pointer and the rest are like 10, 20s. It's like, oh, he did all he blew his wad against Worcester. That fucking makes sense. Well, that all happens sometimes. Yeah. Right. That definitely is also good information. Yeah. So you can kind of get like a little bit outliers.
00:07:33
Speaker
Yeah, always good. All right. The international scene has kicked back off. It's nice to see stadiums with some bums in the seats and some fans yelling really loudly. That's, that's hell of a switch from the last, you know, 1820 months that we had before beforehand. Sure is.
00:07:48
Speaker
So, and I can't say I'm mad about it. Wales in New Zealand, not a lot to pick through on this one. Wales fought like hell for a little while considering that they only could pick domestically based players. So, you know, we had ants. I mean, ants come in pre-slum aren't awful by any means. What's that awful?
00:08:07
Speaker
Right. They've been there one, two for the last year and a half. So. And part of that is because Anscombe's hurt, but at the same time, I would take I would take those two. So, yeah, we'll see. And now now she throws his name into this conversation that has been forever happening between Bigger or Anscombe. Bigger or Anscombe, obviously Bigger got the nod while Anscombe was out. And thank God he's recovered from that knee injury because that was pretty gruesome. He did that before the World Cup.
00:08:33
Speaker
And that was just like, oof, lots of setbacks. So I'm sure, yeah. So I'm sure it's been frustrating for him. No doubt. Uh, he had like three games for the Osprey's before he took the field here. He's still probably pooping himself when he goes out there too. So, so it, and there was some good stuff from Wales, you know, the, um, what, uh, Basham was actually very good. They're the guy that played open side for them. I thought it was excellent.
00:08:58
Speaker
Allen Wynn is out again. They're fearing he's going to miss the Six Nations as well. So it's pretty bad, which that really sucks. That sucks. God is fallible.
00:09:10
Speaker
Yeah, and more about because New Zealand of course played spectacularly because they do that sometimes. Well, Jordan is amazing why he's you can't drop that guy ever. I swear, you should not draw they should never drop him. He's right. Absolutely awesome. But more to the point of like,
00:09:29
Speaker
Here's the thing that really annoys the shit out of the rest of the world when it comes to English rugby and English rugby pundits. I'm sorry, you get lumped in with Stephen Jones, who's a complete fucking helmet, talking about how overrated Bowdoin Barrett is. And almost as much as Sonny Bill Williams, I was like, I'm sorry. Did you just say that? Yeah. Sonny Bill Williams and Bowdoin Barrett have more World Cup medals than every one of you that England players currently combine. Shut up. You know, I don't need to hear none of that. I really don't.
00:09:58
Speaker
So yeah, that's, that's bullshit. I don't need to hear that shit whatsoever. Fucking asshole. So that, that was just, yeah. And that's why, and that's why people are just annoyed with English rugby in, in general. So it's like, Oh, fuck that guy. So not doing them a whole lot of favors, uh, England and the black firms, black firms as expected, looked a little rusty.
00:10:23
Speaker
You know, over at Sandy Park, England have played international rugby at the very least in the last, you know, six, six months to a year. Black friends, not so much. And they also had what, eight, nine new new caps. So
00:10:36
Speaker
always going to be a struggle. No doubt. Brand new hooker. She struggled mildly. I hate to say that. That's how you do it. That's how you stay number one in the world. Maybe, you know, you sacrifice a little bit here and there for the greater good because now those players have experience and not just experience but against another one. Like how many times do you get when you're New Zealand? How many times do you get to play a great team that actually challenges you?
00:11:00
Speaker
Oh, absolutely. And, you know, they had no problem taking this, taking this into, you know, taking this on, they were just like, Yeah, let's do it.
00:11:11
Speaker
you know, cocksedge was probably was probably one of their better players, but also at the same time, she was sometimes the worst enemy. So that's not good for the for the black ferns. Yeah, I felt really bad for the hooker. I'm going to butcher her name, so I'm not going to try, but. Blount throws were just not good, but the one problem for.
00:11:33
Speaker
New Zealand is they kept going the same place that Abby Ward was. Don't fucking go where Abby Ward is. She is going to steal everything. She steals everything. I can tell you that as a Saracen person that was watching that final for Quinn's when she was destroying them in the lineup last year. Don't go near her. And eventually they got it fixed where they shorten the line out. They started don't basically figuring out, all right, where's Abby Ward? Let's not go there. Done. But like it took them too long to the point where, you know, they couldn't kick for touch on penalties.
00:12:02
Speaker
And, you know, so and England had no problem kicking in the touch. You're like, fuck it. If it's not our ball, we'll take it back anyway. Right. So it really killed him in the end. And Abby Ward also anyway, they had Abby Ward getting a she got a she's got a brace or a hat trick on their bingo board. Cool. Well done. Wasn't me. They tell you that much right now. So I mean, you score one try against New Zealand. That's that's something to hang your head on. Right. Right. OK. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Very good. And then
00:12:32
Speaker
Acheson scored in her debut, the series girl. So that was awesome too. So yeah, New Zealand looked every bit the part rusty. They fought like hell for probably about 60 minutes and then the floodgates opened up. So to be expected sometimes, I would don't sit there and say that it's a great win for England in many ways.
00:12:56
Speaker
This is not the last year I see of the black burns. They are the defending World Cup champions. Don't forget. Yeah. So they'll be all right. Yeah. This is how they stand again. This is how they stay all right. Like this learning experience for a lot of new caps. And now next time they'll be ready. Well, they'll be readier. You know, it's not, you know, you're no longer shitting yourself because it's like, oh, shit, it's England. What's this like? It's like, no, OK, that was really tough, but I can do it.
00:13:21
Speaker
Yeah, no, I agree. I can actually live after through the match. Yeah, no, I totally I totally agree. I think they'll be just fine. In the end, be interested to see when the US go over to England, playing on speaking of
US vs. Canada Rugby Match Discussion
00:13:38
Speaker
US and Canada, the Pacific, the inaugural Pacific four series, even though it's not Pacific four, it will be, um, they're just starting it off now for the sake of getting it going and not letting, um, test matches go unplayed for silly reasons. So, uh, US and Canada, a little disappointed from the US. I have to say.
00:13:59
Speaker
Yeah, and I think it has a lot to do with your same estimation of New Zealand's line out. The American line out was dog shit. It was terrible. And it was like, there's been something that's been cracking around my head because I think it was Sam Larner said something about it. That the commentators sometimes like
00:14:22
Speaker
set a tone and usually when they're wrong, it's bad because everybody just buys into it. For me, an example was like the Steelers Seahawks Super Bowl where John Madden was like, oh, that's not holding. No, that was holding. Everybody's like,
00:14:39
Speaker
Oh, the refs really screwed Seattle. Same kind of thing. In this case, in this match, at one point, one of the comms was like, oh, the line out's been great. Like, you know, it's just a little something not going to run. It's like, no, no, no, no. When the player is, the jumper is sitting up there and the ball is not out of the hooker's hand. And she's just sitting there with her hands in the air.
00:15:00
Speaker
And then the ball was late and that helps the defense. Oh, OK, well, we'll just lift right here because we know where to go. Yeah. And then every time the throw was actually on target, the lift was off. And it was rare that the throw was on target. Let's put it that way. That killed him because the U.S. had so many opportunities deep in Canada territory with a line out and because their hooker could not do anything in the line out.
00:15:29
Speaker
Horrible. And, you know, consequently, to Canada's strengths, you know, every time they move the ball wide, they had success. You know, obviously, you don't want to move it wide for no reason, but every time they had the chance to get it wide and get, you know, get some damage done, they did it. And that's where two of their scores, I think both of their scores came from those types of things. Yeah. So it helps when you're running in a 15s match, when you're running at a sevens player.
00:15:55
Speaker
Kelter was not good, no. No, she was terrible. She was not good. She played like a sevens match. She defended like it was sevens, and it's just a different style. It is. You have to count for multiple people sometimes. And she would only be like, oh, I'm accounting for one, not the other. It's like, no, you got to be ready to switch off. Yeah.
00:16:19
Speaker
And I know this is like, you know, this is Rob King kind of throwing in some different combinations. I wasn't overly impressed with Megan Foster at 10. I thought Gabby Cantorno should have played 10. As soon as she went to 10, the things got better in the attack. I will say that. He took too long to make changes. Agreed. He shouldn't wait. Like, I think it was like the 60 minute mark when he took, when he, around there, when he took out the 10, he changed 10s and changed hookers. And it's like, well,
00:16:48
Speaker
What more do you need to see after halftime? If it wasn't getting better, then don't give them 20. You give them five. If they can't do it, then yank them. Maybe 10 if you're feeling generous. Yeah, you know, and to see, and I really, and I think they've already announced the lineup, but I think we'll see it. Carly Waters and Cantona work together will be so much better for this attack because Waters was on the money like 99% of the time. Her service was amazing. It was.
00:17:18
Speaker
But, yeah, just the rest of the team didn't do her justice, unfortunately. No, no. And actually, I there's a lot to like about the I'm sorry, I can't remember her name and I don't have my notes. I don't have any notes because, yeah, that's the week it's been. The U.S. Reserve 9 was Ortiz. Ortiz, yeah, debutante showed well in the sevens.
00:17:41
Speaker
I think she can. She's a player. She her service was rusty at first. And I wouldn't say it was she was geeked up. And so her passes were, you know, were like she fired it at one at one of the. Yeah, I was like, OK, no, no, no comment down. It's like something you see with the quarterback. They throw it really hard, really high and they get picked by a. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Time out there. Cool it down and bring it down. Hands are down here.
00:18:09
Speaker
and they don't even rock it. But yeah, I thought she showed a couple, she has talent and there's a lot there. So I'm glad, again, she got her debut in the 15s, because I think there's, I think Ortiz could be a player there.
00:18:21
Speaker
Yeah, like I look at four, five, seven and eight from the US this this weekend. Cornish, Washington, Johnson and Zachary all played very well. Just Alicia Washington was awesome. You know, the the grand scheme of things they were, you know, let down by a few key areas, unfortunately, and that is the sport, unfortunately, so
00:18:41
Speaker
Yeah, that's just how it lives. Well done to Canada. This is a team that's not to be messed with ever. So when you rock up and only hit three penalty kicks, you're going to lose. That's just how it is. Right. They needed to score a try. And if their lineup was functioning, they probably would have scored a try.
00:18:58
Speaker
So back to the drawing board at that. Give me a call. I'll help. Yeah. Right. Like you need, you need to line out help. We're available. We can do it. I'm down. Let's do it. Just put me a plane ticket to Glendale. That's all I care. That's all I need. Everything else can be, can be managed. All right. So they'll be, they'll play again on Friday night and then the U S one will head overseas to play a couple more test match.
Upcoming Rugby Matches Preview
00:19:25
Speaker
Good Lord. All right. So let's go to the Rutgers in the pram.
00:19:36
Speaker
Gloucester and Exeter, Friday night, I actually caught most of this, all the second half and just a wee bit of the first half on this one and I think you cut the other end of it, so. Yeah, I'm about 20 minutes to go. I like where it is now, it's 13-11. I'm going to just assume that that's the final score and be done. Well, you know, if Christophe Ridley wasn't referee, you might be right. Oh.
00:20:01
Speaker
Yeah, but you know, and I, this is not the reason that they lost up at the same time. It is one of those things that comes under the microscope because of when it was, it was right at the end of the game. Huge call on.
00:20:14
Speaker
what was Exeter's goal line where Don Armin changed his bind on a mall and then either killed the ball or brought it down. It doesn't matter. Clearly changed his bind and Ridley just whiffed. And I was like, Oh. And I can't remember from blending games. I can't remember from blending games, but didn't that happen in earlier in the match too, where the AR was like, I changed his bind and he was Ridley was like, no, no, that's fine.
00:20:35
Speaker
I don't remember hearing that. That might have been Tempest. That sounds more like Tempest actually. Yeah, that might be it. Yeah, no kidding. So yeah, really unfortunate that the referee has the microscope moment like that in what was a pretty good match from both teams. And it's Ridley too, which just does him no favors. No, I'm beyond done with him.
00:21:04
Speaker
No, thank you, sir. Interesting that we didn't see Mr. Sir Joe Simmons at all in this match. And I just found a way to get over the line. Yeah, yeah, I think. Well, yeah, I don't know what what Baxter is getting it because. I mean, are we seeing it wasn't wasn't anything special in this match either. No, let's just establish that. And he was not on the referee's good side either. He got marched back for being for being a dick twice, so.
00:21:33
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. Fucking chatty Cathy. Yeah. Yeah. Not great. And on the glosser side, he's and you love him. So I know you know all about him, but Freddie Clark.
00:21:51
Speaker
is an absolute monster. And I think people are figuring it out now, you know, not not in the attacking sense, but solid in the lineup, you know, good lineup target makes his doesn't miss tackles very often than just, you know, does the grunt work that doesn't always get noticed. But man, he is good. He and when Slater's healthy, he and Slater are their best lock combination. Oh, unquestionably.
00:22:14
Speaker
Wrong question. They were talking on the broadcast about Clark usually being a loose forward and that they're kind of featuring him here. And it's like, what? No, put him here. This is where he belongs with Ackermann Ludlow Morgan back there.
00:22:29
Speaker
Yeah. You got your, you already have your six, seven, eight, like he doesn't really fit there. He fits all. He can do so much at the lock position. Yeah. No, I, I totally agree. I totally agree. So we'll, we'll see a bye week for Gloucester, unfortunately. Um, so they don't, they got a lot of time to think about this one. So I wouldn't want to be on the other end of it when they have a bye weekend. Then we have prem cups. So.
00:22:52
Speaker
Yes. Shit. They got a little while to think about this one. They do. They got a chance to stew on this one. Yeah. Frustrating on that one. This is actually one I didn't get completely through at all.
Bristol vs. London Irish Match Review
00:23:03
Speaker
Lin and Irish and Bristol. I did watch the majority of the first half. And my goodness is Jack Bates Rapid. Wow. Quite fast.
00:23:13
Speaker
Um, yeah, you can kind of showed up and was like, Hey, I'm here. I'm another, are you like, this is the, you know, Pat Lamb has obviously given some Bristol guys. I did get through this entire match. Um, although I was distracted to be fair. I'm putting shit together. Um, so, um, yeah, like Bates put his hand up because Piers O'Connor, you know, again, I, I didn't notice him doing anything great, but I was again distracted, but.
00:23:41
Speaker
Yeah, apart from the try, I can't say I saw him do much. Yeah. So, yeah, there's guys who just aren't, you know, Peter, although, yeah, kind of, but that also could just be the match that they play. They didn't really, you know, the Irish don't kick to the full backs the way like a Saracens do. They don't try to put pressure on them. So Peter just didn't have a chance to feature really.
00:24:12
Speaker
Um, which kind of, you know, sucks for him. Yeah, I'm sure, I'm sure he'll tell you that. Uh, but Harry Thacker's back. He's, he, he, you know, well, at least as a sub he's, he's quite valuable. Um, he helped kind of open the floodgates towards the end. Um, with, with, uh, yeah, the pretty Harry Thacker try. Yeah. I mean, a good, a healthy Harry cat Thacker is only good for Bristol, right?
00:24:41
Speaker
So, um, and, and good for, um, for the Irish for, for fronting up towards the end. I mean, it would, the Bristol were running away with it pretty early. Um, Oh, and yeah, I mean, this, this looked a little bit like the last, one of the last matches at Bristol played where they started hot and then they let the.
00:25:00
Speaker
They let the opposition come back through the door there and, you know, a couple cards, three cards at one point. Geez, they weren't even a red wheelie team at one point. Good Lord. Although that was kind of bullshit. I thought Uren's card was weak. I thought he was on. I thought he was on top the whole time. Yeah, I do agree with that. Just a really bad call.
00:25:22
Speaker
But they, you know, they they powered through so good on, good on Bristol for for surviving the three man down situation. Yeah, he was out to didn't he get a card event near the end? Yes, near the end of that. What did the end of your ends? You're your end card? He got one. So
00:25:41
Speaker
Yeah, it's a little bit better from Lamb's crew and I'm sure they'll take that and run away with it right now after the previous performances they put in. I guarantee you that. Let's go over to the big one at the gardens.
Northampton vs. Leicester Tigers Game Analysis
00:25:56
Speaker
Northampton and Lester. Lester put 50 on the Saints, my word. And the sad part is that that doesn't do
00:26:04
Speaker
the Saints justice because they weren't far away from that. They were missing out on key spots that Lester just didn't. They just fucking stormed them. Quality match, but yeah. Saints are still that bubble team. They're not really solidly top four to six. They're on the question mark whether there can be a top 16.
00:26:35
Speaker
Lester, no questions. Oh, yeah, zero questions, geez. No doubt. Except for Avisa. Oh, man, what a fucking helmet. That freaking shoulder charge. What were you doing, you dumbass? I want to love Jasper Avisa. I really, really do. You can't be doing that. No. Because there's no need for it. There's no reason to do it. It's just he wants to be a dick and it pisses me off.
00:27:05
Speaker
Yeah, there's you don't really need to be doing that shit, man. I will say they have to. You're going to have to put more than one body on the mounting the dollar when he's out there, because I mean, he pulverizes people for fun, so. And you're going to have to put more than two, apparently, on Keeney. Yeah, Murray Murray. Good Lord. He was. This is that was his first outing, I think, this year, too. So he was obviously very excited to do it because he just let loose.
00:27:36
Speaker
Yeah, I'm just gonna use one guy, throw him into the other guy. All right. I was like, Oh, that's mean. That was super mean. Yeah. So, you know, as we suspected, and I wouldn't bank on Ben Portley getting two tries in the way he got them. But shit, right. That also speaks to being right place, right time sometimes.
00:27:59
Speaker
Um, but this is, this is not a lesser team to sleep on me. And we've talked about since probably week two, when they really just showed the good stuff that we've, we've been waiting for. And yeah, I, they're for real. There's no way that, yeah, they're, they're finishing top four this year. No question. Oh yeah. No doubt. I mean, you know, at this point, obviously exit, or there's, there's tons of question marks around them. There are many teams that don't have question marks. It's really like Lester Saracen's Harlequins.
00:28:28
Speaker
right everyone else you're kind of like you know i don't know those but that how much pressure does that put on the rest of the the prem then you know to have now three dominant teams um yeah three teams are gonna play that when they play they're gonna play some
00:28:45
Speaker
Test match style rugby, you know, to, to figure out who's going to come out the other side of it. Other than that. Yeah. Like, but still like, you know, that's, that's six matches that you need to look at your calendar and go, Oh, fuck, this is going to be hard. You know, so, and that's not really fun. Yeah. I mean, I, yeah, some players, yeah, once every four games or so, you're, you're playing one of them. You're in for a fucking doozy.
Sale vs. Worcester Game Critique
00:29:10
Speaker
No question.
00:29:10
Speaker
And then there's still the Exeter. Yeah. And there's still some teams that just have their days. Northampton. Yeah. And they just, they have their days as well. Bristol. We'll see if they've finally got themselves sorted out. So yeah, there's a lot, there's a lot to be, to be fearful for, for other teams. Let's go to six ways. I know you didn't get into this one.
00:29:33
Speaker
I did and I would be absolutely irate if I was a sale fan because let me just tell you how far 99% of their tech went.
00:29:44
Speaker
Rob Dupree, that was the furthest extent. It got to one to two passes at most. When it got wide, it worked, but other than that, it stopped. It was ridiculous. Even when A.J. came on, he threw a couple of good ones, but really, whatever the hell the game plan was for sale, it wasn't a good one because moving it less than one pass or less every time is stupid. I know you have this pack of huge forwards, but
00:30:14
Speaker
Holy shit, use your backs. And I understand that you don't have amazing backs, like of the centers, and when you watch it, tell me if I'm wrong, of the centers, like Venter and Lawrence outplayed Van Drensberg and James, hands down. No question in my mind. You kind of expect that because Venter and Lawrence are good and
00:30:32
Speaker
I don't know, but people people have got and I don't I don't get it with Ben Ransberg. I don't know. I don't see it at all. I don't. And I want to, but I don't. I really don't. And James was Sam James, the one that that Hillcock just fucking said sit down.
00:30:52
Speaker
Just sit down. Absolutely noped him. It was awesome. Oh, man. And speaking to him, oh, speaking to him, there's no way that the best back three for Worcester doesn't include Jamie Shellcock. He ignited this team in this match. It was absolutely amazing to watch him. So, you know, and he's been kind of a little bit in, a little bit in there. The last season and a half, I'd say he's kind of put the flag in and said, nope, mine. Like he needs a starting shirt every time this team's out there as long as he's healthy.
00:31:22
Speaker
you know, especially if they want to actually do something with this damn season, because the previous three, what, three games, four games, this much better. Yeah. And it looked like, again, I just saw the highlights and that, yeah, the shellcock sit down was, you know, certainly one of them. But then, yeah, him and Duhan seemed to be working well off of each other, at least at that. I think that was what he did. I think he offloaded to Duhan after that. Yes, he did.
00:31:51
Speaker
That's, that's what you need. You need that one broken tackle and then it's you get behind the defense and then the two, two of them. And then, um, keyword, I don't know what he did, but he, um, yeah, it doesn't look like he only had four meters or so. Yeah, that's not, no, he was lost, but, uh, I mean, that's the thing. He's kind of, he is one of those bubble players though. Yeah.
00:32:14
Speaker
You know, he still has the speed where if you break the line, if she'll break the line and dishes to him, it's just that he was on Duhon's side. So Duhon cut the ball. Yeah, no, I would. Yeah, but even still, I would put.
00:32:29
Speaker
Yeah, I put Chilcock in that team and just like, you know, and, and, um, as far as like, so I would, if I'm Jonathan Thomas and Solomon's I'm rolling Finsmith out there as long as I can until Owen Williams is healthy. I see nothing in Billy's trail that makes me want to play him honestly. And Finsmith at least has youth and, you know, a little bit of like naivete in his brain that he can, you know,
00:32:55
Speaker
you know, that you can count on and just let him kind of do his thing. Sometimes you do a good thing because you fuck up and the defense just isn't ready for it. They're like, oh, man, that was like brilliance in its stupidity. Yeah, that comes from an experience. But yeah, I agree, because Billy Searle is he's a jag if there ever was one. Definitely. And
00:33:21
Speaker
And you know what you're getting from him, and it's not enough. So yeah, roll out the kid. Because he's been showing well even when they haven't been having this kind of success. No. And I think, and AJ didn't play particularly well when he walked the step on the field for sale. I really see nothing that tells me that he's not their best 10 otherwise though.
00:33:48
Speaker
You know, Robert Prius showed absolutely nothing to me this match. Nothing. So only 10. I mean, from what we, you know, all the talk about sale being built for big games, you only have one 10. Like, I'm sorry, built for big games means you have depth. You know, you look at, you look at Quinn's, sorry, as we'll get to it, but, you know, without Marcus Smith,
00:34:13
Speaker
that that's a huge hole if they don't have, you know, a backup and Tommaso Allen has been pretty damn good as a 10, which you kind of expect because he's Tommaso Allen. But like sale, anything happens to their top 10 and that's it. And they don't have any fucking, you know, two laggies. They're only back outside their 10 who's worth anything. And with that being the case, he's not worth anything.
00:34:39
Speaker
Like, cause he's no, there's no other threat. Like, okay, we'll, we'll commit two to a tackle on two week. What else you got? It's like not much, not much really, not much else. Like I, there's nothing about that. Yeah. If your back line includes Sam James and you know, Marlon yard, I have nothing for you. I'm sorry. You're not serious. Right. It's not a serious back line. They need better outside backs, you know, shit.
00:35:04
Speaker
You know, the one guy that we've talked about that they shouldn't like, Oh, was Cameron Redpath. And I understand he's hurt right now, but still like that would be a beacon of hope later on in the season where it's like, Hey, we have a center coming back. That's going to be awesome. And then you pair him with two eat and all of a sudden you have a back line, you know, that's a solid back line. Then the other two, then the other outside backs, you know, how shitty they are. It doesn't become as relevant, you know? So.
00:35:27
Speaker
Yeah, no. And I'm sure I'm sure there's something in somebody in Sanderson's brain, but it ain't there yet. No, it's not happening yet. I'm kind of disappointed in him so far. But there's, there's still possibility. There is. There is. So yeah, if I was sale, I would not be booking any semi final tickets right now. No.
00:35:45
Speaker
You can't lose to Worcester. Cool, you beat Quinn's, you beat all these teams, you go toe to toe, you can't fucking lose to... Even if it's ugly, even if it's 10 to three, you have to get the job done if you want to be in a semifinal. That didn't happen. So, just plain simple. Easy as that. Right, let's go over the wreck.
Bath vs. Wasps Game Highlights
00:36:12
Speaker
bath and was again, a bit better from bath. Um, still making baby sets right now. And then Mike Williams kind of fucked that up. I, I, I do not like Mike Williams as a player. Nobody does. Yeah. That it's a shame that he had to start. I guess it was, you know, they got to rotate some guys around, but
00:36:34
Speaker
Yeah, well, Charlie Ewell's Charlie Ewell's is the way they lost Elliot Stuke. Yeah, they they kind of had no choice, unfortunately. There's this big kid stat and I think he's hurt. That might be the next guy that we see get thrown into the second row there for Bath. Yeah. And the bath just had three or two guys in their forwards who just are not ready to play at this level. That's Williams and Descartes was awful. Yeah. Well, he's a sevens guy, so he's still adapting. I suppose you could throw him that bone.
00:37:04
Speaker
Um, but yeah, so other than that, uh, you know, uh, he didn't, he didn't show up on the scorecard or, or any of the statutes super well, but Ollie Fox has a look of a premiership nine. Yes, he does. I will say that, you know, that's, that's a lot to say. That's a good, that's a good combo with, with, well, when, when Spencer's back, um, that'll, that'll be a good combo him and Fox.
00:37:29
Speaker
I liked that a lot, and Cipriani. I thought he played well once he came on. Yeah, and you know, that might be DC's role, honestly, coming in as the relieving 10. As a finisher. Yep, and that might be his best spot. Because Bailey wasn't terrible. Bailey wasn't terrible, but yeah, DC chain, you know, got them, DC and Jonathan Joseph bringing them on. So I did, I really liked the way,
00:37:56
Speaker
that that changes up. I like Jonathan Joseph better as a close, same thing as you're saying with Cipriani. Clark really softened up the wasps, certainly their midfield, just hammering away. He's so physical. And then all of a sudden they bring in Jonathan Joseph and
00:38:16
Speaker
And they're like, Oh shit. Okay. It's going out to 13. Okay. This is what the 13 has been showing all match. And then you just chips it through for, um, was it a rocket? Do you score in that one? Good. Was that finished too? Yeah. Oh man. Like that, that doesn't, that doesn't happen if you've had Jonathan Joseph there the whole match. So it's good. You know, if you're going to have him do shit like that, it's going to, you know, him and Clark, I think have a, have like, if you start one and finish the other, I think that's a really good combination of 13.
00:38:47
Speaker
still pretty damn good at 12 too. Yeah. I like the kid. And then I didn't think he'd be healthy. Tom Glanville. Yeah. Another fullback in England. That's really good. Tight lines. He was running. We're just gorgeous carving him up with it.
00:39:05
Speaker
Cause it allows that, that we saw it a couple of times, the, um, the delay pass, like the, the kind of a little bit of a dummy. And so they think you're going wide and then they just little, little pop off the right off the runner and hitting that inside gap.
00:39:20
Speaker
Yeah. The Glanville is very good at that. Apparently. Right. Yeah. Very. He's quite good. Quite good. Yeah. I mean, geez, he's been good since last year. You know, you know, last year was kind of was coming out party. Like here I am guys. I mean, going nowhere. And I think he just kind of laid that marker down once again. Yeah. Speaking of guys in that same situation, Tom Willis. Oh man. This guy's good.
00:39:48
Speaker
Another another another eight in England. Right. Who could probably he will also play set like I mean, Tommy, Tommy Young will leave this year after this year. And now you're going to have Shields and the Willis Brothers as your as your best. Yeah. Okay. Twist my arm. No, I have to know it.
00:40:11
Speaker
And the, I was so mad. Okay. I was also, I have to call out. This was so bad that my wife, who was a wing, has props and wings. Can I share some love? But,
00:40:28
Speaker
She even, she agreed that Zach Kiberige had no business, no business cutting off. Yeah. People said that Tuamaga Allen cut him off. I'm like, no, I think it was the only way around. Like, no, he's in space with, with Fafita. They're like, they're, they're, they have their relationship and Fafita threw it to him. And no, you could see on the replay, Kiberige came from way wide and cut off the space. It's like he ran like this really hard under his line and it's,
00:40:56
Speaker
The guy's already there. That's their try. Don't get in the way. Just take the props. Try away. Damn it. This is a lock and a prop on the wing. Yes. Maybe it's not what you would expect from them, but they know how to operate. It doesn't matter where they are on the field. If they're.
00:41:13
Speaker
They can just pass. It's a one pass. That's all it is. And yeah. And Kibergi inserted himself where he just absolutely was not needed. Right. It's just like, what the fuck? Yeah. Yeah. JTA can score. He can catch. You would have got that. Yeah. Right. You would have got it if it wasn't for the back fucking things up. Stupid backs. Yeah. And Vyvafita is just a monster in his own right. Yeah. I hope he's okay.
00:41:39
Speaker
I read something that the highest likelihood is it was a cramp. That's it. I think he's going to be good to roll this weekend.
00:41:49
Speaker
So if they rest them cautiously, I get it. You know, you got you got a few weeks off coming up, but then again, you have a few weeks off coming up. So, you know, you might be able to. Then go for it. Right. So we'll we'll see what that looks like. So now they're going to rock up. They're probably going to roll it out. Then Robson's going to be out for a little bit. A little bit, though. This is growing again. So that really that hurt them. So that was another thing.
00:42:17
Speaker
with Willis had a sure try. If if Will Porter was a little bit more seasoned, he did a little bit of a he went on that that little taxi line, the poor did down the side, but he passed it before he he really engaged the defender. And it was a two on one down this down the line side. And
00:42:40
Speaker
he passed the ball to Willis and the defender's like, yeah, I'm good. I'm tackling the whole time he was committed to Willis. So didn't see that. Yeah. If that's, if he gets that pass off to put Willis behind the defense, he's gone. Just see, as we saw late in the game, when he tracked, who did he track down? Was it, was it Muir on the sideline? Yeah, I think so. Yeah. Willis can run. So yeah. Yeah. Yeah. He's not bad. Then yeah. Yeah. Well, let me go. Let me go.
00:43:11
Speaker
and then to the stoop.
Saracens vs. Harlequins Epic Match
00:43:14
Speaker
And this was just an epic match in so many ways and just back and forth tussle and series stayed just within touching distance for the just the right amount of time. And then they were able to bang the bang the frigging door over finally and get Jackson Ray a try. Yeah. Well, Lewington goes from absolute goat to Oh, you fucking idiot. Like still awful for like 90% of the match. Like if you can be
00:43:43
Speaker
It was all about his decision making. He made really bad decisions when the ball was on his side and then it was either, they're all kind of selfish decisions.
00:43:56
Speaker
except for the this inexplicable cut back inside when he had the the outside. Yeah, I didn't understand that. But yeah, just a bit where he you know, he had was a Don Morris on his outside and just took it into contact. Morris was probably living. He's he's walking in into the tri zone. Yes, he is.
00:44:15
Speaker
But instead it went to Jackson Wright at the end. And so it's like you can make three horrible decisions in the first 70 minutes and then, you know, make one good one and that's all that matters. Yeah. Yeah. And Quinn's fans will probably be yelling a little bit at Cade and Marley for getting skinned by Livingston at the end there as well.
00:44:36
Speaker
Yeah. So, I mean, in this was for all money, this was Quinn's match to win as well. Like really no reason to say, think otherwise until those last, you know, probably 10, 15 minutes where the series took a hold of the damn game. I do wonder. Who was playing in the eight shirt for Quinn's?
00:44:56
Speaker
Laudé. No, no, no, no, no. Who was in the I realized that Laudé, his name was on the back of that jersey and that it was a bald person. No. Who was that? It wasn't it wasn't the guy that normally is there. Yeah, I was like, did they give Dom Dom right in a haircut and the card out there? Like, yeah, because, damn, Laudé showed that wasn't stuff that we hadn't seen from him ever, at least in my experience. So I haven't seen him do that since with Rexner.
00:45:27
Speaker
Well, there you go. That's been a bit. That's been a while. Yeah. So, you know, and we, here's a guy that we talked about a ton last week in the last, and over the last few weeks, Tom Wilson crop is an absolute savior and a saint and all the great things that you can possibly say out of person because he was great, great on the weekend.
00:45:50
Speaker
He's he is I don't think he's very underappreciated because the stuff he does is at the level of like, I mean, he he is kind of like a Harry Thacker type. And if it wasn't for Jamie George, you know, and if Willie was playing a lot more, he would get a lot more credit. Right. Yeah. Be civil player. Absolutely. And then on the other side, I mean, you know,
00:46:17
Speaker
Mike Brown went out last year with the red card for Quinn's and everybody's got this headache going, oh my God, what are the Quinn's going to do at 15? I think people forget that conversation. They probably forgot like a week or two later because Tyrone Green has just been absolutely balls out amazing for the Quinn's at 15.
00:46:38
Speaker
And you were one of his biggest that you thought. I remember when they when they signed him and you said that this was a huge deal and it was going to pay off in spades for for them. And it totally has. So it took him a little bit. And I think, yeah, he he had to understand how to play at the prem and how it's wrapped, because, you know, coming from some of the numbers here where high tackles aren't a big deal. Either our forward passes like it's it's a big transition to a
00:47:08
Speaker
you know, a place that cares about, you know, proper play and the laws and safety. And he's made that transition really, really well. Now that he's put away some of the stupid stuff. No cards yet this year. Yeah, good, great stuff. He's pretty good. I mean, you know, tries, tries for fun. You know, the guy's got it in him. And then the last guy I want to just pull up is
00:47:36
Speaker
The man with the big clangers, Alex, my God, he's, you know, you know, at 13, he's not, he's kind of a ghost, but you know, obviously that's only when Owen trails in town. Yeah. You know, so he steps into this tension shirt. And if this was two years ago, I would be absolutely worried if he's our 10.
00:47:57
Speaker
The last, like this match and the first match against Bristol have given me every bit of the confidence in the world to say, I have no problem with him playing 10. And this is, you know, he, he spent the season at Montpellier last year and they won the challenge cup and he was a big part of that.
00:48:12
Speaker
And that just obviously something over there developed. And I can't, I didn't watch enough of them to say whether or not I know what it was, but shit, something happened over there. So thank you for sending them back into the fashion that you have. Because now this is, you know, one of the most arguably one of the most valuable backs that we have.
00:48:31
Speaker
You know, you know, that's not an England play. Let's put it that way. You know, right? Yeah. Or yeah. So, yeah, he has been fantastic at 10. Certainly worthy of the jersey. And that's, again, the same thing we were just talking about with like a sale before laws was kind of like a poor a rich man's Rob Dupree. But now he's like,
00:48:57
Speaker
The poor man's Tommaso Allen, so. Right. Which I'll take. Yeah. And, you know, and unfortunately, I guess we got to talk about that, too. We got to talk about that incident. It didn't. And all the. Yeah. So here's the thing with it. If Clark got a card, I wouldn't have been shocked.
00:49:18
Speaker
you know, just the way, and it wasn't super, he didn't do it super, you know, aggressively or maliciously by any means whatsoever. But I've seen cards given for that. So if he had gotten one, wouldn't have shocked me.
00:49:33
Speaker
And the unfortunate thing about it was that, yes, Tommy Allen had to come off for an HIA and he failed to set HIA. And that sucks. And I totally agree. So, you know, from then on, as a for Saracens fan, I'm thinking we might have got away with one. So most of the 50 50s, I was like, fuck it, whatever. You probably we might be playing with house money right now anyway. So and absolutely work because that that was that was the game.
00:49:57
Speaker
Um, the backs for, uh, for the Quinn's didn't do much after, after Allen went out, they did all their damage in the first, you know, 20 or so minutes. And then it kind of petered out. Right.
00:50:11
Speaker
So, um, I mean, Esther Hazen sitting down, Billy was a fucking impressive too. I mean, yeah. But again, you know, first little bit of the match. I mean, it even got tizzard over. So like, yeah. What else?
00:50:30
Speaker
I was surprised that that wasn't their entry for try of the week because that was, that was a fun try. Um, just absolute physicality from Esther Hayes and just soften them up and Tizard's like, thank you. Yeah, no problem. Yeah, not, not a problem at all. So that, that leaves this Harrison second who, which I don't think a lot of people had that on their bingo board.
00:50:57
Speaker
You know, are they sitting in the second or the third? Is that their second? Hold on. I don't know. Hold on. I'm looking at.
00:51:05
Speaker
I'm checking things right now. We're second. Okay. Second. Yeah. Yep. Second by two. So yeah, I'm tables off. So I was like, I knew that. I know their tables usually off. I love it. I love it and everything, but I almost nine, almost 99 times out of a hundred, no, the tables off. So I don't trust them. Cause they're in fourth in his. Oh yeah. No. Um, yeah, that's wrong. Yeah. Nobody had that on their bingo board by any means whatsoever. Um, and I mean, Sarah's trans probably would have told you otherwise, but
00:51:34
Speaker
Yeah. The Lester series. I don't think anybody had Lester at number one either. No, I don't think so. That's there. I think we knew they'd be they'd be competitive at the least. But shit. Number one undefeated. Yeah. So, yeah. Nobody saw that. Yeah. No, definitely not. So we'll see how it plays out the rest of the way. But yeah, certainly that sets up things to go forward as a very fun middle of the season that we're going to hit once we get beyond the prime cup. Yeah. And a little bit here.
00:52:05
Speaker
but we do have another week to go. So until, if you are joining us for Fancy Corner.
00:52:13
Speaker
We will catch you over there. If not, we will catch you next week for the last week of the Prem for error for a few weeks. And then Prem's taking a break. We won't do fantasy corner next week. We'll do it this week, obviously, but next week you won't have anything to do. So, although yeah, there's plenty of more to talk about, but we just want to do the fantasy corner because we'll just cover the international stuff. Exactly.
00:52:39
Speaker
Until then, like I said, if you're joining us on the fancy corner, we'll see you over there. If not, we'll catch you guys next week. Thanks a lot for coming along and we appreciate y'all. Later.