Post match thoughts

[Neils]

How much game time has Rob Miller had since his injury? And how much this season?

You need fringe players to stand up when called upon.
But they're bound to be rusty if they never getting on the pitch.


I wouldn't want to discount him yet... The same way I wouldn't discount Joe for having an off game.
If he does get another game or 2 and continues in the same vein, then fair enough

This +1

[Bloke in North Dorset]

How much game time has Rob Miller had since his injury? And how much this season?

You need fringe players to stand up when called upon.
But they're bound to be rusty if they never getting on the pitch.


I wouldn't want to discount him yet... The same way I wouldn't discount Joe for having an off game.
If he does get another game or 2 and continues in the same vein, then fair enough

This +1

Yep. The salary cap and club’s finances don’t allow us to have a squad of 40+ stars and as I’ve said elsewhere, there aren’t any other games than Prem games to keep players match fit, where match fit means more than just stamina, it means dealing with the speed of play. You can’t replicate it in training. 

[Covkid40]

Charlie played well but I just struggle with his game management, which I’m sure will get better

We need to remember Charlie is very young and only broke into the 1st teams recently and he’s spent a good chunk of that time injured. If we’re still having this conversation in 18 months then I’ll start to worry. While his game management needs improving which hopefully will come with experience I still feel more comfortable with him at 10 than Umaga.

[califauna]

Before the match, as the teams run out they tried the "smoke curtain" in the tunnel for the players to emerge from. At the same time the big screen was showing "This is a smoke free stadium"

[westwaleswasp]

Having watched the full match, I agree that Dan was off his game, and Miller was indeed, poor. The backs as a whole were imprecise, but the forwards were generally sound. Odogwu was excellent, but I notice that most weeks opposition wingers/fullbacks look better than ours as a unit.

Jacob will be back from suspension for next weekend's game. I wonder if Lee will try him at FB again? Will Ali Crossdale be fit?

I think Atkinson has done well and will be hard to dislodge as the man in posessession. You could make cases that Dan makes any ten better when he plays nine,  but he was off his game today,  I think Jacob may well get the nod at 15 when he returns, the headache will be when there is one ten shirt and someone like Crossdale secures the 15 as first choice.

[Covkid40]

Robs poor performance and Jacobs availability has dropped nicely for Jacob, but he worries me at fullback. While creatively he undoubtedly adds something to the team he’s never been sound defensively, he’s 50/50 under a high ball at best and everyone is well aware of his tackling frailties. If Ali is fit I don’t see a position not even on the bench for Jacob. Of the three backs on the bench on Saturday who would you drop for Jacob. Mills can’t  be dropped, you need a SH on the bench and if you drop Watson you have absolutely no pace to bring on. I have a feeling Lee will shoehorn him in somewhere

[Beasties]

Charlie played well but I just struggle with his game management, which I’m sure will get better

We need to remember Charlie is very young and only broke into the 1st teams recently and he’s spent a good chunk of that time injured. If we’re still having this conversation in 18 months then I’ll start to worry. While his game management needs improving which hopefully will come with experience I still feel more comfortable with him at 10 than Umaga.

Absolutely. He’s clearly been thrust back into action out of necessity before his injury’s been put behind him. I’m just glad he’s coming through games unscathed at the moment. He’s the better player for me ultimately. He’s still 20 though, give the lad a chance. I was really pleased how he went on Sat, he’s starting to move around a bit better, the speed is starting to return. Mills will be a big help, such a clever player.

[St Bruno]

NWW,
Sorry for my earlier post. I managed to conflate your post with another's.

On the subject of kicks going awry, it was very windy indeed at the CBS. My seat's up in row X right at the back of the East Stand and it was reaching all the way up there. No wonder Jimmy was having problems.

[baldpaul101]

Bit bemused by some of the comments on here.

Wasps are winning games against very good sides. Are they playing top quality rugby? No they're not, but I don't care. A win is a win.
Are they playing well enough to win the prem, no probably not, but theres plenty of games to go so I don't care.
As for "Wasps got lucky" well, they have been unlucky for at least a season & have lost plenty of games when the opposition got lucky, so I don't care about that either.

When Rob Miller wasn't playing he was a club stalwart who never let the side down & should be in the 23 every game. Now he starts & suddenly he's rubbish. In truth he's neither superb or terrible, he's somewhere in the middle, he's a useful guy to have in the squad. We saw similar with Billy Searle a few years ago, the less he played the better he got in many peoples eyes 

[Neils]

Rob had a superb period a few years ago after Kurtly got injured but since then has been blighted by injuries. He is a good team player and had a few sparks on Saturday. There seems to be the tendancy to cut players very little slack on their first or first few games back from a long layoff. I note on rewatching the match he passed slightly behind a couple of times but that is just a timing issue with the players concerned plus the bloody strong wind (Josh is deceptively fast). I really hope he stays in the 23 to get more game time.

[Ipswichwasp]

After Jimmy goes, who do you see as our kicker ? Jimmy has put over great kicks in the most pressurised moments ( OK less good lately ) So who can we trust in future ?

[Shugs]

Watched the game back and there are a couple of bits of clever play I missed live. Stooke basically keeping Odogwu in play for his first try. Morris’s quality offload for Stooke’s try. Very smart rugby.

[coddy]

After Jimmy goes, who do you see as our kicker ? Jimmy has put over great kicks in the most pressurised moments ( OK less good lately ) So who can we trust in future ?

I expect it will be whoever is in possession of the 10 shirt that day although I hope Umaga and Atkinson will spend some extra hours practising their kicks at goal.

[Westy68]

For me Charlie is our future 10, yes he is going to make mistake and not manage a game that experience 10's can do. I just hope when the mistake come it will not cost us too much. But how else is he going to learn.

[bournender2]

Bit bemused by some of the comments on here.

Wasps are winning games against very good sides. Are they playing top quality rugby? No they're not, but I don't care. A win is a win.
Are they playing well enough to win the prem, no probably not, but theres plenty of games to go so I don't care.
As for "Wasps got lucky" well, they have been unlucky for at least a season & have lost plenty of games when the opposition got lucky, so I don't care about that either.

When Rob Miller wasn't playing he was a club stalwart who never let the side down & should be in the 23 every game. Now he starts & suddenly he's rubbish. In truth he's neither superb or terrible, he's somewhere in the middle, he's a useful guy to have in the squad. We saw similar with Billy Searle a few years ago, the less he played the better he got in many peoples eyes 

Agree
Was reading the thread live and Coventry live. Fully disheartened by the perceived performance. But we got the result, just like Exeter, at the (almost) death.
Then watched the game a day later, without the worry of the result and thought we played ok, with a few errors no player likes to make.

The expression “…….til the fat lady sings” is apposite, if unallowable in today’s woke world, during the 80 :-)