Final 3 rounds

[Bloke in North Dorset]

Don’t forget by time we play Tigers , they should have a guaranteed home semi final -and possibly been in a European final the week before ( though hopefully so have we!) They may choose to rest one or two key players?

And the squad players that replace them will have a point to prove and possibly a slot on the bench to be gained.

I think we have the ability to beat them on our day, but we think it might be easier with stars out is a recipe for complacency. 

[Shugs]

I’d love to think we could beat Irish and Sale. But my head tells me Irish are going really well at home and Sales power game makes them a bit of a bogey side against us although we do normally turn it on under the lights. I think even if we lose at Irish we’ll pick up a point or two. As for the Tigers game no-one gets much there in terms of results or decisions. If we need anything going in to that we have a problem. I think 8th is our best scenario.

[welsh wasp]

I think I will be very happy for us to be in 8th place so that we get into next season’s Champions Cup.

[DGP Wasp]

I’d love to think we could beat Irish and Sale. But my head tells me Irish are going really well at home.

Irish's last 2 Prem home games:

LI 14  Quins 41
LI 22  Saints 42

If that's going really well at home I'd hate to see what a dodgy spell looks like!

[Bloke in North Dorset]

We have to accept that Irish are going to score tries, so our attitude has to be one of “we don’t care, we’ll score more”, as it used to be. As a minimum we need 4 tries anyway. 

I have been wondering if a more defensive FB might be needed, but in the end I think we need Jacob’s play making and attacking skills more.

In a way I feel sorry for Feks because his USP as a hard hitting 13 has been somewhat negated by the new laws/interpretations of the old laws and he’s become a liability, for that reason I’d like Paulo to start at 13.

As we’ve got to at least slow their breakdown I’d have Tom at 8 and Alfie on the bench, with Brad and Jack on the flanks, Brad because of his role in the lineout. 

[Peej]

Jeremy Staunton

Much obliged!

[andermt]

Before tomorrows game though I'd look at what I got wrong and right.

Round 24
Saints vs Quin’s - good chance saints won’t get anything.  Ooops, got that one wrong, but it was close
Sale vs Falcons - 4pts for sale? ended up being 5 points but it's what I added in the table anyway
Glaws vs Bath - this should be a win for Glaws but Bath have been close on a few games recently Got the winner right, but wow, never saw how badly Bath would be following recent weeks
Irish vs Wasps - a must win for wasps

By the end of the weekend it could be bold confirmed

Saints - 68
———————
Glaws - 67
Exeter - 62
Wasps - 62
Sale - 61
———————
Irish - 58

Think the win against Quins has sealed the top 4 for Saints with their last match being against Falcons that should be 5 points for them. Even 3 5-pointers for Wasps can't overturn that.

[Laterontoday]

Do we really want to finish 8th. Yes it means champions cup but guarantees being drawn against Leinster and the winners of the French league. Surely 9th and to be top seed in the challenge cup would be better. We need some success, some silverware to breed confidence not a year of being under dogs and being knocked out at the early stages.

Look at warriors. Poor all year but now have a chance of silverware in the prem cup. Must boost players confidence, fans mood puts bums on seats.

[andermt]

Do we really want to finish 8th. Yes it means champions cup but guarantees being drawn against Leinster and the winners of the French league. Surely 9th and to be top seed in the challenge cup would be better. We need some success, some silverware to breed confidence not a year of being under dogs and being knocked out at the early stages.

Look at warriors. Poor all year but now have a chance of silverware in the prem cup. Must boost players confidence, fans mood puts bums on seats.

We may win the Challenge Cup this season....

[Heathen]

It's Catch 22.

We have a good squad that will certainly be strengthened by the new arrivals. Our younger players are maturing. Our pack should be as good as any in the league and will not be beaten up by anybody. Injuries have crippled us this time around.  If we had had the player availablity that we have now, for most of this season, we would be top 6 for sure. There would be more 'gel' in the squad.

I look back to 02/03.

The PP did us no harm at all. Roll forward 1 year and we were at the pinnacle of Europe and were a team to be feared - the rest is history, as they say.

Win tomorrow and top 8 becomes a more realistic possibilty.

Does winning the CC produce an automatic HC spot for next year?

Whatever happens, we need a very solid preseason and hit the ground running from Day 1 in 22/23. Top 4 has to be the target.

[andermt]

So we made a mess of the end of the match so top 4 now 100% gone, so what could it mean for the top 8.

Saints - 68
———————
Glaws - 67
Exeter - 62
Sale - 61
Irish - 61
———————
Wasps - 60

Round 25
Bristol vs Exeter - last home game for Bristol, and with how Exeter have been playing I can see a Bristol win
Wasps vs Sale - another must win for wasps
Bath vs Irish- Irish on a roll, Bath abysmal.
Quin’s vs Glaws - quins win
Falcons vs Tigers - doesn’t affect the mid table
Sarries vs Saints - can’t see anything other than Sarries win

By the end of the weekend it could be

Saints - 68
———————
Glaws - 68
Wasps - 65
Irish - 65
Exeter - 62
———————
Sale - 61

Final round
Exeter vs Quins - will depend on the team quins put out but can see an Exeter win
Glaws vs Sarries - as above but think Sarries
Tigers vs Wasps - can’t see wasps winning but will depend on tigers team
Saints vs Falcons - saints
Sale vs Bristol - sale
Worcester vs Bath - who cares

By the end of the weekend sticking to form

Saints - 73
———————
Glaws - 69
Wasps - 66
Exeter - 66
Sale - 66
———————
Irish - 65

[Shugs]

For me you’ve got to aim as high as you can. As soon as you start settling for second tier competitions that leaks in to the mindset and you risk not even making those.