Rugby

Wolfpack Lager

My understanding is that there is less of an issue with Wolfpack and some of the other businesses that came early on as they were proper investments made with joint investment between the players and Wray. Wolfpack was set up and invested in on the back of a solid business plan presented by some of the players who also put in their own money. There are other examples of this as well i.e Tika Tonga Coffee.

This however opened the door to other less scrupulous ways to circumvent the salary cap and wound up with multiple players essentially being given property companies.

For sure, this is pretty much what I've heard, was just making the point that these are not all shell-companies and therefore egregious flouting of the rules from the start...

The thing that I'm curious to find out is how far up knowledge of this went. Farrell snr. was coaching his son in the England set up when some of this was going on. He must have at least had an inkling, did he discuss it with any of the RFU blazers?

I know the RFU and prem rugby are separate corporate entities but they have a pretty close working relationship.

Can't imagine we'll ever find that out. Not sure it's entirely relevant either, as you say, they are different entities and their priorities are entirely unaligned.

Worth listening to the Brendan Venter interview on the latest edition of the BBC rugby pod. I mean, he's clearly a massive Sarries apologist and he can obfuscate better than anyone else in the game but he does present another 'visual' for this situation that provides an interest contrast. As with everything, the reality probably falls somewhere in the middle, but I think I probably fall on the side of largely well-meaning mismanagement and a very stubborn reluctance to see their homegrown players leave rather than a calculated and coordinated systematic cheating. But I may very well be wrong and would certainly feel differently if I were an Exeter fan. I'm not a Sarries fan either, btw, but I did enjoy their recent wins in Europe with the majority of the England team...

Not sure it's entirely relevant either

I did enjoy their recent wins in Europe with the majority of the England team...

And there's the relevance the RFU, potentially, willingly taking advantage of what you call.

largely well-meaning mismanagement

And what Ugo Monte calls "financial doping". To take advantage of the core of the England team playing and training together week in week out.

Which only brings them somewhere close to a level playing field with ireland/Japan/Argentina/Scotland etc! I don't really see that as a significant angle here.

The difference of perspective between Venter and Monye is clear - and pretty much the two extremes from which people will view this. I'm certainly not siding with Venter, and without more transparency it's impossible for anyone to take a clear-minded view, although from the perspective of the other clubs in the league Monye's is by far the more reasonable position...

Brendan Venter interview

Three cheers, etc....

;)

So good!

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.

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.

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...

Is Mark Wilson still injured? He did a pretty good job at 8 last year, making up for power of carries with volume and work-rate. I guess you could partner Curry and Underhill with a big 6/8 (Ted Hill, Lewis Ludlam, Itoje/Lawes etc) and hope to achieve similar balance. I'm not sure if a 6-7-8 of Curry, Underhill, Earl has quite enough bang but who knows with Eddie...

I think Wilson has been injured, just coming back from it now.

I hope he doesn't mess around with playing a lock in the back row, don't think it has ever been that successful, I did like the look of Ludlum in the brief glimpses at the WC.

Crocked knee for Wilson

I don't see him playing both Curry and Underhill - I think that's why Ted Hill is included, for more beef at 6, with Underhill or Curry to be benched. Any injury to whoever is the starting 8 (let's face it, it's going to be Earl) leaves this squad woefully exposed. Likewise, scrum half...

I quite like the 3/4 line though.

Maybe, although they worked so well together in tandem during the world cup and there's more than a little Pocock and Hooper about them - with a bigger 6 ("Pooper" flourished when Fardy came into the Ozzy team) it's still a viable backrow for me. Ludlam looks a good option at 6. Not watched much of Hill but hear good things. I'd also really like to see Dombrandt in the squad. I hope he's not another Don Armand...

Ludlam looks a good option at 6

I agree. But then he needs a bigger ball carrier at 8, in my inexpert opinion. I thought that would be Dombrandt. But he seems to be oddly out of favour at club level (left out of a couple of Quins fixtures until Saturday). So to be picked for international level might have been seen as a step too far?

(FWIW I'd have picked him and Ben Morgan as options at 8, instead of two of the multitude of locks - and had another scrum half, much as I hated them on the pitch, also)

I like the youth of the squad (and indeed the World Cup squad). But the media obsession with ripping everything up and starting again every 'World Cup cycle' is a strange one. Some experience and continuity must be there, surely? Picking players who will be over 30 by the next tournament seems to be interpreted as the work of the devil.

I think England do have enough heavy-traffic carriers in Mako, George, Sinclair and Maro, they can make do with a workrate/turnover-heavy backrow so I'm not sure I'd bring Morgan back, who whilst he has had some great games often looks pretty ponderous and probably isn't the future of the increasingly fast-paced international game. I'd definitely have had Dombrandt in, but not unhappy with a backrow picked from Curry, Underhill, Ludlam, Hill, Earl etc... We also have such a glut of locks I don't mind seeing Lawes/Maro at 6 if it means Launchbury gets in, who has been so unlucky and would walk into any other international team...

No idea what Ben Spencer has/hasn't done to miss out.

No idea what Ben Spencer has/hasn't done to miss out

This is a very good point to which I have no answer other than to nod accordingly.

Controversially, I am not sure of all those ball carriers are up there - Itoje is always brought up as one people rate. A fantastic athlete sure, second to none, but he does get knocked back quite a lot, even for Sarries - he is very upright into contact. Lawes has improved since the Scott Williams incident (aaaargh!), but is still more about lung-busting work-rate. And Ludlam seemed a bit underpowered to me at the RWC. I hope I am wrong. The props are definitely good in this respect though (with Genge to come in and do his thing).

George/LCD is a nice quandary to have.

About my reasons for Morgan - yes, I agree he is not the future, definitely more a stepping stone option. But he seems to have an intelligent rugby brain (moreso than, say, Nathan Hughes, whom I love watching as a Bris supporter. But he doesn't half give away some dopey pens and yellow cards!) - and he looks to hit gaps, rather than the man. I think he offers some of the beef required, along with some soft hands, and has been back to form with the pacey game Ackermann is looking for at Glos - akin to the expansive game Jones applied at RWC. If he can help the other back row develop their game, then I'm for it. There are lots more fixtures before the next WC to develop the full package and find another 8 / get Billy back fit and to form. Simmonds, the other form option for me, is sadly too small when put together with the other options, which is a terrible shame, as he is a class act - and that pace (!!!).

Scrum half is an awkward position, feels like we haven't had a truly world class scrum half for ages, current scrum halfs seem to fit into three groups

1. Current favourites, but unlikely to see next WC: Youngs, Heinze
   
2. Done something to annoy Eddie: Spencer, Robson
   
3. Too young but potential: Maunder, Townsend, Mitchell
   
   

I always think Ben Morgan is older than he is, only 30, but still can't see Eddie going backwards. I think he will do bits and pieces, but he really does need a plan for when Billy is injured, he will be 31 at the next world cup, and given his record there is no guarantee he will be there, and he does make so many of our hard yards. I agree that Simmonds is too small to line up with the current pack, but he is tougher than he looks, and does make hard yards, not just breaks. I would love to see him on the bench, he could cause havoc from the 60th minute onwards.
LCD has been playing brilliantly, I think he is currently playing better than George, he has worked hard at his set piece, and given how potent a weapon it is for chiefs it is obviously working!

BTW, I was down at Sandy Park on Saturday. Very impressive second half (from what I remember through the beer). F**king freezing though!

Hey that was a warm day down here! What you need is that level of chill with heavy winds and driving rain, that's when it really starts to hurt...

I think your critique of Maro was spot on 12 months ago, but I feel like this is something he's really stepped up on, he's clearly not Billy but he seems to take contact more powerfully now, making decent breaks and rarely going backwards. I haven't watched an enormous amount of Ludlam but I don't remember thinking he looked underpowered but I may well be wrong on that...

Agree re Morgan's intelligence, and he's a very good domestic player, but I haven't seen anything from him this season (intermittent Glaws attendee) to particular suggest he's got a huge amount to offer at international level.

Jack Willis and Zach Mercer are two big talents that will hopefully step-up over the next year or two...

Are you going to the Bris - Glaws game on saturday? I'm very much looking forward to it, albeit not as much as when I misread the Semi Radrada transfer story and thought he'd be playing by now...

Happy to be corrected on Itoje - will pay attention in the next few games.

Jack Willis and Zach Mercer are two big talents that will hopefully step-up over the next year or two...

Definitely - Willis probably would have gone to the RWC without his injury.

Sadly BT Sport only for me on Sat. But at least it's on.

Cmon Bris!

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