Match Thread

[Bloke in North Dorset]

Well that summed it up.

[JF]

Well, that was...er...wasn't it?

[NellyWellyWaspy]

Pretty much what I expected. Came down to the scrum, with Sale winning that battle.

Our backs were no worse than previous games.

[mike909]

Off to the drinks cabinet...(small cupboard in corner...)

[Westy68]

Well that’s season done, pretty good 1st half very disappointing 2nd. Maybe Stooke injury gave us a problem but we just make so many errors.

Glad this season is done, better be different next season

[Rossm]

To be quite frank, I lost interest in the game after poor Elliot's awful injury. Anybody who comes out and blames our players for losing that game is totally lacking in any empathy. Wishing you all the best, Elliot.

[Chunky24]

Sale's maul defence, scrum and close ruck defence too strong and powerful.

Some proper old school dark arts operators in that Sale team, frustrating but admirable!

[backdoc]

We simply pose no threats

[Shugs]

Playing against huge units. Let’s keep it tight. Brainless. Off to the bar.

[Westy68]

We are a team that lacks confidence with no direction. Very Predictable, the tigers game could get ugly

[DGP Wasp]

To be quite frank, I lost interest in the game after poor Elliot's awful injury. Anybody who comes out and blames our players for losing that game is totally lacking in any empathy. Wishing you all the best, Elliot.

No doubt at all that Stooke's 8njury affected the team. They were a bit all over the place after that. Not an excuse as we'll never know if they were going to lose focus anyway, and too easy to say they should put that out of their heads and concentrate on the job in hand.

[Wombles]

To be quite frank, I lost interest in the game after poor Elliot's awful injury. Anybody who comes out and blames our players for losing that game is totally lacking in any empathy. Wishing you all the best, Elliot.

I politely disagree Ross. Being empathic does not mean suddenly stopping caring about the thing that you and your team are trying their best to do because of an injury. I have played in teams where one of my team mates have had a horrendous injury, and I can remember in the huddle my captain going to us " look at our team-mate, look at the pain he is in. He is willing to be part of our team and risk going through that for us, we now need to pay him back and win this game for him".

Now obviously in the grand scheme of things a rugby result is insignificant. But to the team-mates of an injured player at that very moment you are desperate to get that win for them. It should inspire not inhibit.

[Rossm]

To be quite frank, I lost interest in the game after poor Elliot's awful injury. Anybody who comes out and blames our players for losing that game is totally lacking in any empathy. Wishing you all the best, Elliot.

I politely disagree Ross. Being empathic does not mean suddenly stopping caring about the thing that you and your team are trying their best to do because of an injury. I have played in teams where one of my team mates have had a horrendous injury, and I can remember in the huddle my captain going to us " look at our team-mate, look at the pain he is in. He is willing to be part of our team and risk going through that for us, we now need to pay him back and win this game for him".

Now obviously in the grand scheme of things a rugby result is insignificant. But to the team-mates of an injured player at that very moment you are desperate to get that win for them. It should inspire not inhibit.

I have my view and you're entitled to yours, Wombles. It was clear to me that the team were affected by Elliot's injury and, though we didn't give up, our heads were no longer in the right place. I myself did not see the injury in detail but one who did said "they were right not to re-show the replay live. It is a horrific looking injury to the knee/lower leg area. That is something to be very concerned about for him". Elliot had of course just been voted players' player of the season.

[Heathen]

To be quite frank, I lost interest in the game after poor Elliot's awful injury. Anybody who comes out and blames our players for losing that game is totally lacking in any empathy. Wishing you all the best, Elliot.

I politely disagree Ross. Being empathic does not mean suddenly stopping caring about the thing that you and your team are trying their best to do because of an injury. I have played in teams where one of my team mates have had a horrendous injury, and I can remember in the huddle my captain going to us " look at our team-mate, look at the pain he is in. He is willing to be part of our team and risk going through that for us, we now need to pay him back and win this game for him".

Now obviously in the grand scheme of things a rugby result is insignificant. But to the team-mates of an injured player at that very moment you are desperate to get that win for them. It should inspire not inhibit.

Chris - 100%. I skippered sides over the years and if adversity struck, there was an immediate huddle and the d'Artagnan effect kicked in. In my days there were no subs either.

Something is adrift with the squad .

We have all the 'supposed' big names back and they are playing worse than the teams we put out earlier in the season, when if you were fit, you started the game. Spirit seems lacking - compare yesterday to the Tigers game at the CBS, earlier in the season when we took their unbeaten record. Thre was limitless spirit and commitment to the cause that day.

Mediocrity once more this season.

No HC next.

Derek and Stephen really need to start asking some serious questions about the status quo.

[Neils]

Genuine question - how many times did Malakai bugger up passes (forward, incomplete etc). Nice guy but to me he seems to have been a liability most of the time.