Always a Wasp

I think Elliott is one of the best ball distributors in the team and that skill would be wasted on the wing. His passing is often sublime and well timed even under pressure. England are trying to use him for that after turnovers.

I watched recordings of the full match back to back after both RWC matches. What struck me immediately was the abysmal standard of refereeing by JP compared to RWC.

It was the tackle and breakdown where this was most obvious. He was so slow calling tackle when a players knee went to ground and he allowed the breakdown to be a mess by not pinging players hanging on or interfering when not entitled to, which prevented quick or clean ball.

Jack Willis aside, Wasps were terrible at dealing with this. We lacked numbers to secure the ball when we had it. Our goal line attack also lacked penetration because we had 1 or 2 players going on their own with ineffective support. Once stopped they were easier to turn over.

Our defensive line speed was quite good and the touch judge called offside a few times early on when our timing may not have been spot on. As the game progressed this was policed less and Irish benefited.

JP should have referred to TMO for the deliberate knock on. On TV replay was obviously pen try and yellow card. Similarly the last Irish try may have been a forward pass but no review.

Saying all that, Watson butchered a try and Dobbie wasn't sharp at the breakdown despite his try.

The last Irish try summed it up. We had the ball and lost it at a breakdown. Then couldn't get in position to defend properly. Kibirige was on the left wing in that attack and the right wing was covered by a forward, Ogre I think. As the ball moved across the field Basset or Watson failed to fill in. Ogre then attacked the inside man leaving the wing exposed. Unfortunately, De Jongh should have looped him to provide more pace on the outside but stayed where he was leaving a run in for Irish. Completely preventable.

Basic conclusion is Irish were more savvy, Wasps decision making was poor and JP should be pensioned off as he is useless at this level.

Of course the other option is to insist that they carry a passport for the country (plus some weird additional rules for UK).  If the rule was that you had to have a passport for the country and not allow anyone to retain dual nationality then at least it forces you to change your life both on and off the pitch and you have to meet the national government rules for a passport. It always strikes me as odd that someone can play for England while not carrying a UK passport.

Quite right. To represent a country you must be committed to it by being or becoming a citizen or have some real heritage that entitles you to a passport.

It's too easy to get a contract for a team in another country while qualifying on residency rules, cashing in by playing for that country then going back to original country as a citizen of that country.

After watching Wasps on TV all season and being at the Quins game then watching Sarries and Exeter in cup finals it seems evident to me that Wasps need a huge step up in S&C and need to invest there.

The fitness and ability of the top teams to play at high intensity for long periods and not drop off at the end is an enormous contributing factor in their success.

When Gats was DOR he put a lot of work into that area and had innovative ideas thst paid dividends. Same with Wales. Maybe that's why the national side are successful but regions aren't.

So for me, a set of the fitest reasonably talented and determined players who play together in a well coached team (e.g. Exeter) will usually beat a team of superstars who cannot play at a high intensity for long (e.g. Wasps).

I was in Loughborough on Sunday too. Picking up my partner's son's stuff after he finished at the uni.

Didn't see any rugby players, but that was probably because we only went to his house and the pub 😀

Surprised there are no pictures of the texts in question. See these all the time in trashy articles like this.

Sting

Good spot. My girlfriend lives in Harpenden and I know where Owen the Rugby player lives.  It's not where that business is registered. However it is in the same road as the correspondence address if you click on the people link. That used to be his dad's house. Think he bought it September 2016. The registered address is a residential property that was bought in Dec 2015. Interestingly it's sale price was £50k lower than previous sale 7 years before! Must have a good estate agent! One has to assume he owns 2 properties worth over £2m