The dilemmma continues...

[Vespula Vulgaris]

After Sale I thought Dan had finally put the discussion about who is our best 9 to bed, but Joe stepped up against Wuss and showed he is still a brilliant choice.

I don't envy Dai the decisions he has to make!

[NellyWellyWaspy]

... and now, with Elliot back, another choice.

He has two slots available for Gopperth, Lovobalavu and Daly. Jimmy got 11 points on Sunday. Would any of our other kickers (i.e. Cips) have got them in those conditions? How would the game have turned then?

And Lovobalavu has been sublime so far.

[Raggs]

Elliot had a very good day with the boot on the occassion last season or so where he took all the kicks.  I think however we'd definitely leave a few more points on the field without Gopps.  However, Gaby + Daly looks more defensively solid to me (Gopps isn't bad, but Gaby I feel would defence better at 12, and Daly is fairly good at 13), and I believe in attack Gaby and Daly is more likely to create tries, and therefore missed kicks matter less.  It's a tough one, but we can't keep playing both our 10s.

Simpson did look very good against Wuss, but he also knew he only had 15 minutes to play, I imagine for a scrum half they could likely do everything at double speed if they know they've got a small amount of time to play.  I think Dai's potential decision on who he prefers was more shown by Dan staying on for 65 minutes.  Maybe he plans to rotate them now though, and wanted Simpson relatively fresh for next week.

[NellyWellyWaspy]

With the report in the CET that Dai is thinking he may need to buy in another 10 (I think that is what it is saying), that must mean he intends to keep Jimmy at 12 for now.

http://www.coventrytelegraph.net/sport/rugby/wasps-boss-dai-young-acknowledges-13605260

[Raggs]

Think it's more about what he'd need to do if one of the 10s got injured, rather than Jimmy definitely staying at 12.

[Rifleman Harris]

I took it to mean that he felt exposed if one or other of Cips and Gopps were injured.  I don't think a 10 is imminent, just he is keeping abreast of who is suitable and available (or persuadable) should the need arise.

[wasps]

If you're coming on in the 2nd half as a scrum half, I suspect you're approach to the game is based on how the rest of the game has gone.

Simmo is often criticised for slowing our attack down when he comes in by ensuring forwards are all in the right place etc.
However, if we already have a 20 point cushion, his instructions may be to close the game out.

Against Worcester, the game was still in the balance, so he came on to keep the tempo as high as possible.

I think Simmo is harshly criticised by a lot of fans and in fact he is attempting to control the game based on the situation.

It could even be that it's something he's been told to work on from England camps. We know England have previously like Wigglesworth for his ability to control a game, so it could be England have previously wanted to see Simmo close games out, as well as do what comes naturally to him - play and run fast