Edinburgh match

[Brandnewtorugby]

Well it looks like a shed load of injuries and no points, about as bad an outcome as it could have been.

To my eye, Carr is really playing well and at times the backs were flowing, it must be so frustrating for the players.

Twice in the second half the wing got sucked in to make space for a try when it didn't seem necessary to panic.

The ref seemed happy with JTA, maybe starting to get the hang of northern rugby.

[HDAWG]

How many injuries did we have?

[Shugs]

By my reckoning Shields, possibly Young and Zhvania.

[Heathen]

Dai post match : https://twitter.com/bobby_bridge/status/1203074185175666692

Click on the photo.

Brad is a foot injury. YY just a knock and he ran it off.

[Steve from Cov]

I thought we were awful. Miserable night.

Edinburgh wouldn’t have lived with the Wasps team of three seasons ago.

Robson looks to be injured, under powered up front, Theo looked to be out of his depth, the line out was poor, Bassett’s performance showed why he hasn’t been getting a game, it’s difficult to believe that Lima, Malakai and JTA have a shed load of All Black caps.

Huge credit goes to the waspies that made the journey. Derek must be worried. Dai doesn’t appear to know what to do to turn things around.

Rant over.

[Neils]

Well sitting in the stand last night was a very deflating experience ( I could swear a lot here but won't).
Yes there were a few bright moments.  It was summed up by a gabbling Edinburgh fan behind us who said you did a few sublime passes then always bugger it up.
Jack and Nizaam are bright lights. Thought we were underpowered at second row but we knew that. Brooke's seems to stumble about the pitch sometimes in the action and sometimes not. Dan needs a speed up injection - it was very noticeable when Will came on the it got quicker. Also Jimmy although rusty was directing things quite loudly. Josh had to go looking for work in the middle - we don't seem to be able to feed our wingers any more.
We should forget next week and concentrate on getting a team fit and up for Quins. If we don't the consensus last night is we are down!

[HDAWG]

I'm glad now people are appreciating the gravity of the situation that we're going to be in a relegation battle with Quins and Leicester. Comments about top 6 should be thrown out the window.

[BlackCountryWasp]

The morning after the night before. Whilst we had an enjoyable night with friends who follow Edinburgh at Murrayfield. The performance itself was dreadful, scrum got murdered again, line out was patchy at best, our general play was poor and we have mastered the art of butchering any promising move with a knock on.

For the first time as we waited for the tram after the game, I now believe that we are in serious danger of being relegated. With what we have available to us squad wise we should be at least mid table but last night and a number of other games of late suggest that the coaching is a mess. Players seem to be devoid of confidence and ideas, there is no plan A let alone plan B. A change is needed and quickly otherwise we will be staring the abyss in the face by the end of January.

[WickedWasp]

I thought some of our backs play off set piece was good and so was the defence for the most part.
Second row was a big issue. Too much movement at lineout time made things even harder for us and then at scrum time it was clear that Brooke's etc were missing that extra weight and experience behined them.
But once again it was individual errors that cost the team. Kilbrigie is outstanding in attack but you might aswel blindfold him in defence. Miller is nowhere near the player he was. Terible in the air, defence and also was unable to hold onto the ball when running in open field. His defence has never been good but last night he might aswel have been a turnstile. Josh Bassett has been left behined by the evolving role of a winger. Yes he can run but he is no good in an aerial battle.
Outside of these 3 players and a very in experienced second row and a bench held together by tape I dont think it was all that bad. For the first time we showed some structure in attack and defence and also plenty of team spirit and communication.
Also thought even Lima was much improved. Some nice kicks, runs and he got the backline going off set piece.
We need to cut out the individual errors and hope for some luck on injury front.
As for those comparing performances now to 3 years ago well just look at the budget difference. Same goes for the coaching team at a time wasps wanted to expand this after operating on a shoe string for years either the right candidate was not available or the funds werent. We need to work with what we have got and what we have is not so bad. I think we are showing much more cohesion and team spirit than last year we just need some luck and for a few to concentrate for the full 80.

[Rossm]

Second row was a big issue.

Very true, WickedWasp. We had to have our 6th and 7th choice locks playing. Cardell and Vukosinovic are 22 and 23 respectively. Ben Toolis is 27 and has 21 international caps. Grant Gilchrist is 29 and has 36 international caps. And some posters blame Kieran for crumbling!!! Do they know anything about scrummaging? Same issue at the line out. Didn't see the game but I'm surprised the score was as close as it was.

[mike909]

Rossm - you are right about propping - I could do little if my SR wasn't producing - I had the equivalent of 4 players pushing against me and I need my 4 to compete or I was toast

The glass half full/half empty conundrum makes it easy to fall 100% on side or the other. But, whilst we've been playing really well in patches - Bordeaux away for example and last night in parts - looking good in parts hasn't won us many points this season

But, if we can get to Quins with Launch +1 in the SR, we've got the front row and backrow to compete with anyone. BUT the 23 on the day have to be playing like a team - and its been rare that we've looked like a team this season. Even the good play vs Bordeaux looked a little too much (to me) like some great individual play papering over the team cracks

We really need two wins out of the next three. If fitness is even "just ok" we have the individuals - but will they be able to play as a team? I'm starting to have serious concerns(having now watched all of the televised games and full length highlights when not live) that as another posters said, we've not really got a plan A, let alone a plan B.

A win will be good for moral. That may make a difference, but is that enough?

[SilverShire]

My 2 cents about Miller's fumble. He was moving the ball from under one arm to his hands to get the pass away at speed, and the ball slipped in the process. I am not going to smite the lad for something that can happen very easily. It kind of summed up the night for me, a flash of good play then ruined by something that shouldn't have happened. Its not the individual mishaps that are hampering us but the fact they are cumulative.
 

[WickedWasp]

I was actually surprised how well our scrum held up early on as I was expecting a lot worse given the strength of Edinburgh pack and our second rows. That being said I dont think they disgraced themselves in anyway. Just at this stage these guys should be getting exposure with 20 to go and an experienced head next to them. Instead we are a mix match of youth and the walking wounded.

I don't want to repeat myself as I said above I think last night we showed some decent structure. Our ruck ball was more efficient and attack was good off set piece. If we are going to transition to make our forward pack our strength I do feel we need a different make up in the back 3. Playing territory and kicking for the corners also requires a good chase and players capable of taking a high ball. I thought the chase was much improved and the boys showed more hunger last night. We need someone more like Maitland than Wade.

I didnt expect a win hardly anyone did. But what I saw was encouraging. If you take away the odd individual error which could be as a result of certain players being rusty or even trying to hard. If we can cut this out I think we have the hunger and enough structure to win.

We need a break on the injury front as too many players playing with different combinations every other week or players carrying knocks being forced to play. It's a bit of a vicious circle.

Last year I fancied the team lacked effort and energy. This year I dont think that's the case and for me that will be enough for us to see improvement over time.

[Shugs]

I'm with you WickedWasp. To be honest I'm amazed that pre game we all seem to recognise that 2nd row will be a real issue and then fail to factor it in when analysing the game. Brookes has been rock solid in the scrum for a season and a bit but apparently suddenly can't scrummage even though it was patently obvious the issue for him was those behind. I agree I'm a lot more encouraged this season than last. But we do need to start winning a few ASAP.

[Hymenoptera]

My 2 cents about Miller's fumble. He was moving the ball from under one arm to his hands to get the pass away at speed, and the ball slipped in the process. I am not going to smite the lad for something that can happen very easily.

If a player is unable to transfer the ball from one position to another without dropping it, which as a professional should be a lower than basic ball skill, then god help us because I expect players for pub teams being able to do that. While its not worth singling him out for it in a game of utter dross, let's not make excuses either.
I checked this morning and its official, Robson was so static in his play he was captured on Google Maps.
There were positives to take from the game but they are so outweighed by the negatives it's not even worth highlighting them.