Match Thread

[westwaleswasp]

To be fair, Ben V was not special, but he was engaged, lively, and made the right decisions.
That is pretty special compared to last week's efforts and the first half today. Getting the basics right and adding a bit of zip is enough for me.
Miller too looked decent and solid, again enough for me.

[RBB]

Two things apparent for me in terms of personnel today, Vellacott was definitely an upgrade from Sam, and MLB brought energy and power at 12. The clannege for Lee is does he make wholesale change for a third game, difficult as it could be viewed as tinkering and experimentation. The fact we had a group of top performers away with England, who basically got splinters in the stands...has made me angry...

[Hymenoptera]

Two things apparent for me in terms of personnel today, Vellacott was definitely an upgrade from Sam, and MLB brought energy and power at 12. The clannege for Lee is does he make wholesale change for a third game, difficult as it could be viewed as tinkering and experimentation. The fact we had a group of top performers away with England, who basically got splinters in the stands...has made me angry...

Both came on against tired opposition..its relevant

[RBB]

Agree - timing was key, but, Vellacott has better craft at 9 IMO, and Jimmy looks tired and battle worn.

[Peej]

Think we need Booj's physicality to be honest

[Shugs]

The guy we need is Mills. A nice balance of physicality and craft. Gopperth still has a big part to play but we need a way to use him sparingly rather than a regular starter.

[HDAWG]

The guy we need is Mills. A nice balance of physicality and craft. Gopperth still has a big part to play but we need a way to use him sparingly rather than a regular starter.

+1

[Peej]

Agreed, but until he is fit I think we need Booj

[will311293]

I think Mills will transition in for Gops over coming season but so there is a nice contingency plan there and with Spink and Simmonds theres a long term strategy for our backs.

I think our front 5/overall pack needs a bit of work, as we clearly have J.Willis, T Willis, Shields, Young etc for the longer term view (maybe not Shields and Young but still very talented).

LHP - West is a cracking loosehead and more than happy with him & harris offers good support but is getting on. Sadly Chesty is just so beaten up and broken, i'm not sure he has much left in the tank. Either we need a good LHP who can challenge West or we need to go out and get one.

HK - Cruse is a cracking player and so is Taylor but let's get Alfie playing there as it's his position and it's clear that if we need anther hooker/utility back then Oghre can play. Reckon Taylor could be off but having seen him in recent advertisements makes me think it will be cruse whose off.

THP - Brookes seems like he might be off and despite his scrummaging which is at times great, he's lacking in other areas including discipline sometimes. JTA is a great player to bring on and Nearchou and Cordice will be cracking players when they come through but again i think we need a classy THP to get us through and give us a platform.

Second Row - Launch is obvs stand out and Gaskell is clearly a brilliant squad player. Think Cardall and Jailani will be very good and great prospects but with Stooke replacing Rowlands (apparently) i still think there's room for another strong second row. If we could tempt someone like slater from Glaws or maybe someone from a PRD 14 club whose in the same bracket that would be great.

N08. - Clearly backrow is well stocked and some brilliant operators but i still think we are an 8 short. T Willis will be long term player and obvsly shields can play there but im not convinced by Vailanu and feel a quality 8 might help us through, again maybe a seasoned prem player on the move.

Obvsly this all requires cash but with the outgoing and potentially Liam being freed up it might offer some financial muscle to rotate