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Yep, the margins by which Sarries have beaten Exeter in recent finals certainly suggests that with a couple fewer big name players at least one more title should be with you guys. And as for EJ's selections. Fuck knows. It's almost as if he picks his starting XV and then selects randomly beyond that. How you can have watched this season's rugby and not pick either of the Simmons or Alex Dombrandt baffles me.
owl-
Yes, think they would have beaten us in the first final whatever happens, as we were overawed by the situation (I was there, the overall feeling was one of disbelief that we were even there!), last season where they came back from so far behind shows the depth of their squad to come back from so far behind (I thankfully wasn't there! but was when we actually won...).
As for selections, I have no idea, I guess it means Earl is going to play number 8, but Eddie has said in the past that Simmonds is too lightweight, Earl is exactly the same weight and a whole 2cm taller...
Sam_w
Well as an lifelong Exeter fan who saw them struggle in the championship at the old county ground, scrape up through the playoffs against Bristol, work hard to establish ourselves in the premiership and then build a squad to challenge year in year out, I can say I am pretty bitter about it all. Feels like we could have won a couple more premiership titles.
On another note, what the hell have Exeter done to piss off Eddie Jones, top of the premiership, 2nd seeds in Europe (behind only Leinster), and still hardly any of our players get into the squad, Sam Simmonds has been playing out of his skin at number 8, another 2 tries this weekend. And god knows how Umanga (who I think has played 17 games in total?) is a better pick than Joe Simmonds who is the starting fly half, and probably the form fly half in the league (and his kicking is currently far superior to Farrell, hardly ever misses) yet can't even get into the squad?! I guess from a purely selfish point of view it should mean we can pull away a bit from the likes of the Saints during the six nations, but does worry me that players will think that they won't get international recognition whilst at the chiefs and therefore the team gets broken up.