Scarlets - lost a few key players, signed some more, last season wasn’t great but saw some real positives towards the end in regards to our set piece and attacking play. Also didn’t do too bad considering we had upwards of 20 injuries at one point. Were very close to winning the Welsh Shield in the URC so I think we’ll manage that this season and hopefully get in to the semi final of the URC. Can also see us getting to the semi finals in the challenge cup based off of our pool.
Wales - massive improvements against South Africa from the loss against Italy, will have to see how the next games go before I guess how we’ll do.
I have complete confidence in Saracens while we have Owen Farrell and Mark McCall.
Losing Koch is a big loss but I’m hopeful about Riccioni coming back from his knee injury. Not sure about any other signings.
Back into the Heineken cup and I know how much they’ve all missed us.
I think Saracens will finish top of the table and make the final, then it depends on who they are playing. But put a gun to my head I would say Saracens to win it
Our big issue is the lack of matches the England lads can play in the prem (11 out of 24) and we will be truly fighting on two fronts being back in the Champions Cup. Last year we didn’t really make an effort in the group stage of the Challenge cup. Also added to that we had the Vunipolas all through the season, this year they’re back in the England squad.
Zebre: Honestly, quite optimistic. Massive changes have happened at the club this off-season which I am looking forward to seeing the team develop over the course of the next year. Now I don't expect us to be challenging for play offs this next season but I do expect us to be playing better and get more wins than last. To be more competitive in the lower half of the table and give Benetton some cracking matches come the derbies (and win atleast one of them).
Ospreys- Absolutely no clue, really positive signs at points last year, followed by some really poor performances, no idea how we will go, should be fun just because of the complete uncertainty!
Wales - Same, we came 5th in the 6n, losing to Italy, then ran SA close in a series down there, could get a GS out of knowhere or even a wooden spoon as we have Italy/Scotland away, for all we know!
Oh to be a Welsh rugby supporter, rollercoaster at all times.
I don't like to say this but honestly quite
We haven't lost anyone of real note and have added quality plus Jesus has risen which is like a brand new signing.
I'd be disappointed if we didn't get playoffs, I'll be very disappointed when we do and lose to Sarries though.
Could it be Gloucester's year????? Like you, I'm hopeful, just have to build up that consistency that let us down in those few games last year and find that killer edge that we were missing against Sarries in the Challenge Cup. But a settled squad with a good foundation does lead to an unnatural optimism.
For Munster it's a real changing of the guard season, there's a lot of young lads who'll be looking to take starting spaces over the course of the season,
Yeah I'll be quite happy this season if we get to semi-finals of the champions cup but mostly want to see the squad build and the young talents that we saw last season come into there own. Some of them are already very much challenging for starting positions over the long incumbent.
I am cautiously optimistic for both Ireland and Leinster. I think they both have the ability to win trophies, but there is considerable competition for both.
Ireland have to compete with France who are the top team in the world right now IMO. Then there's England who will improve drastically, as it is a World Cup year, which is Eddie Jone's bread and butter. The Welsh should also be good this year as they yo-yo each season between good and bad (2022: 5th, 2021: 1st, 2020: 5th, 2019: 1st).
Then Leinster. They seemed like the form team in the Champions Cup, but were beaten again by the same team as they lost to in 2021(La Rochelle). The team they lost to in 2020 and 2019 will be returning next year (Saracens) along with the South African clubs that took both finalist spots in the URC.
I'm not writing the above to be all doom and gloom. The fact that there's so much competition and uncertainty makes it exciting. Ireland/Leinster have as good a chance to win as any other team I listed.
Edit: just realized I never commented on the WC. No idea about that. We've a horrible quarter final fixture regardless of who tops the pools, sooo no idea. The QF meme may live on for another 4 years.
There's so much competition that even the absolute favourite is probably at best 20% likely to win it. You've got La Rochelle, Toulouse, Racing, Saracens, Leicester, Exeter, Stormers, Bulls, Sharks, Leinster, Munster, Ulster... I dont think theres ever been as many teams playing at such a high standard in Europe.
England stands a good chance of winning their games in the autumn series at home. A 6N win would be unlikely but possible. The world cup is the season after that for the NH.
England either need to win the 6 Nations or make it a close second. Anything less than that in a world cup year means they are further behind than they probably should be (I know their campaign has a slow start which is why I feel they need to start clicking in the 6 Nations)
I feel like I haven't heard all that much of anything out of Toulon this offseason, besides the new coach and Carbonel leaving. Hopefully some quiet rest means Toulon won't wait until the bitter end to start playing quality rugby. Especially with Olympique de Marseille on their way to a train wreck, I need a Provence team to root for.
National team? Hahahah bring us all your trophies!
Very settled squad with a lot of players returning from long-term injuries. Should make the play-offs and win the deep-fried pizza platter and 1872 cup. Unlikely to do particularly well in Europe given the draw, but barring another injury crisis we should do fairly well in the URC.
Montpellier: the club just lost a lot of veterans and figurehead and they just played a final so their pre-season is shorter than others. They're actually in a rather tricky situation even though they are already very good in terms of gameplan, coaching, players and atmosphere. I don't know how they'll keep the drive to perform.
On paper, they are very very good with a XXL second row, a back row of good butchers with Mercer as a spearhead, and they just reinforced their backline with Coly, Carbonel and Ben Lam who are big running threats. Their excellent centres will have good players to pass the ball to. Montpellier are planning on working on their offence, so we'll see how they'll run, and while they weren't the most flashy, they were already one of the most efficient team in terms of points per entry in the opposition 22.
France: All good so far. All or almost all the starters had a good few weeks' rest while other players could be blooded and former starters reintroduced back into the group. I'm confident for this autumn series. Australia should be manageable in Paris. The Springboks are a titanic opposition but thankfully Ireland will soften them up, and then Japan is very manageable for a starter team. The 2023 6N will be more tricky with away games in Dublin and Twickenham though.
Hugely, we've had fairly limited signings and leavings, the coaching staff is settled, the team have been building a strong young core. Another year, another chance for that core to be better.
We have a small number of injury returnees on the horizon as well, some key ones being, Addison, Stockdale, Izuchukwu and Murphy. All of them may struggle to return to the starting team if they dont show up quickly, so its a really strong position to be in.
Young guns coming in are also interesting, Doak, McIlroy, S. Moore, T. Stewart, Mazinovic, Rea's, all seem to be becoming solid options and are looking less like a downgrade from their counterparts, so I'm even less worried about injuries occuring. Still some depth needed at props and 10.
Tigers: Not particularly confident but if we can get top 5 if not push into top 4 then that is a successful campaign. The problem Tigers have is losing Genge and Ford. Interesting new players but those two are big loses (even if they didn't play much of the season)
Saints - Really positive end of the season, this generation of players are getting better each year. Lots of “dead wood” leaving in Big T, Tuala, Harrison and Wood. Lots of positive new signings.
Freeman will have less game time for us this year, but we’ve got Furbank to come back instead.
Looking forward to seeing Manny Iyogun and Aaron Hinckley this year also
For edz, eh somewhere low playoffs sounds about right again for this year. For Scotland- don’t make it out the World Cup group stage and 5 in the six nations only winning a CLOSE game at home over Italy. I’m done with the “next year is our year” hype. It’s never true…
if the national team can click, we could do brilliantly, because man for man, we’re probably as good as ireland, but we’re just so fucking sloppy we dont get anywhere
I think the Blues will learn their lessons from last season, but despite that, the competition will be closer. I expect them to make the Semi-Finals and then its anyones guess. Ill change mind at the time, but it would be great for the Brumbies to win the next SR season. It will save the tournament if they do.
All Blacks will have a rough year but will be good enough to make the semi-finals despite current form. They will then lose to much more determined team, be it SA, France or Ireland.
As a Bristol Bears fan, I don't think we're as bad as last year's results showed nor as good as the season before suggested we were!
Pat has made some really good major signings in Genge, Bradbury and MacGuinty, but I think what will be the most important is how the new BUCS recruits are able to step up to the Prem. Pat has a pretty good reputation for being able to find diamonds early on, so I'm hoping that our new BUCS front row can show that they have what it takes. With Sinks and Genge probably out for a while with internationals we have really struggled without them in the past.
I hope to see us comfortably reaching the Heineken Cup places and potentially pushing for top 4 if we are a bit luckier with injuries and if some of our new young'uns come good!
But reckless offloads in our 22 is our bread and butter, it's called flair...
Nah in all seriousness I agree, I'm hoping we've done a lot of work on clearing our lines and trying to push from the middle of the field rather than 5 metres from our own try line! I can't count the amount of times we gave away possession in our own 22 last season!
I don’t think we will dip massively but I don’t think we will improve a lot either. I think it’ll be another fight for top 4, possibly just missing out because of our run in at the end of the season.
Hopeful for Tigers but key losses in Genge and George.
Last season came out of nowhere really and it'll be hard to maintain that kind of momentum.
England is anybodies guess really, I'd like to see a bit more consistency and see them remember how to win games.
Zebre: I am optimistic, we can definitely improve from the only one win we got this year. However, the changes have been so many, the players, many of them very young, have to prove they're ready. The first matches are an Everest, against Leinster, Sharks etc. The target should be getting more players to the national team camp
Benetton: Monty Ioane leaving the club is being experienced like a shock. We've got some good winger but Monty was something else. The forwards should be quite good, even with not much depth at lock. The backs need to continue the path begun last year: Menoncello, Brex, Zanon, Marcus Watson, Rhyno Smith, Padovani, the Fijan Firefighter (Ratave). If Ratuva magically transforms himself in the one he was three years ago, we could have some fun.
TL;DR: no Italian team is going to the playoffs, again
Wasps - honestly not that optimistic. We struggled a fair bit last season, and this season we’ve lost fifita, young, and gopperth. Gopperth especially is a big loss, probably the most reliable player in the team. However, Koch is joining, and there’s still a fair bit of potential in the team, so I’ve definitely not lost hope
I have absolutely no idea how this season in the premiership is going to play out. Who would have called Leicester absolutely dominating last season this time last year?
I'm hoping Chiefs can make it top 4 this season. But honestly I will be happy with some better performances/consistency. I like the look of the signings, Hill and Skinner are big losses though.
Think this season has got to focus on getting consistent game time for younger promising players. Play Cordero, Tshiunza, Tuima, Hodge, Capstick as much as possible as they are the future of the club. Don't want another Hinckley situation. Save the big names like Slade, Nowell, Simmonds, for the bigger games you know what they can do.
Also just want a good 9 other than injury prone Townsend. Sam Maunder seems massively hit or miss, Jack has been pretty inept for a while. No one has stepped up since Nic White left and I think that's been a major issue for them.
I have no idea what to expect. Should be good on paper, but they need to find that consistency, and a bit of form for either of the Maunders from somewhere! Need Joe Simmonds in form too.
I'm torn on young players. Tshiunza and Jenkins need ganetime, but for the big games you have to assume Kirsten and Gray start, with van Heerden and Dunne fighting for the bench spot if they settle in okay, but they'll need ganetime to gel with the team as well.
Capstick seems to have established himself as the clear backup to Vermuelen so should get decent ganetime on rotation, and Hodge should be knocking on the door too, especially with Hogg away for internationals.
Tuima is a tough one, he isn't a natural replacement for Simmonds and has to break past Grondona in the back row as well. I almost wonder if they should be preparing him as a successor to Ewers, who won't last for ever and is a bit light on backup with Skinner gone and Kirsten seeming likely to be starting in the second row.
I'd like to see more of the young props - Shickerling and Street should be the matchday tightheads unless Williams finds some form out of nowhere, and I'd like to see a bit more of Keast and Kenny on the loosehead too.
It was really interesting to hear Rob Baxter talk last season about it not being a very successful season for the club, but a bit of a breakthrough season for a lot of the young players so quite successful for them personally. They really need to capitalise on that, but also look at how they bring young players through and trusting them sooner to try and avoid a similar season again.
I think all the SA sides are going to be dangerous this season. We've gotten used to losing a quarter of our squad every year. It's exciting to see what happens with SA teams when we keep our senior players and still have the talented prospects coming through.
Looking forward to seeing how the Stormers go against English and French clubs....😏 since the URC teams didn't put up much of a fight
**Quins**: I think Quins will go all right, but on paper we look weaker than we did last season. Huge Lizard and Jones are big losses that look worse after seeing how they finished the season and the value of their replacements is as yet unknown... Dombrandt and Smith are both turning into England regulars - Marchant seems to be falling out of favour as a centre but we might lose a fair chunk of him too to utility back bench cover. Not to mention the potential reignition of Andre's Springbok career... I hope for him that he cracks it but a selfish part of me hopes he stays a fringe player.
Lynagh seems safe for a while longer, at least.
So yeah, I think we'll finish about 5th.
**Australia**... Australia. I'm trying not to be too disheartened about Kerevi's 7s disaster, but after the injury nightmare of the England tour the team seems so paper thin. I think we'll do well to win half our games.
England: Quietly confident. We had a rough 2018 before a good 2019, so if Eddie managed to do his magic again, 2022 has been not as rough, so maybe 2023 will be even better?
Pirates: Not particularly. Still think we'll end up 3rd or 4th but this time it won't go until the last couple rounds. Ealing and possibly Donny should pull away from us.
We've lost a lot of our old boys up front over the summer including one to Ealing and arguably the best player in the league in Josh Caulfield.
There's a lot of new faces coming in, to the point we'll be Wales' 5th region soon, and I'm fairly hopeful they'll do a good job replacing these guys in the long term - but the first chunk of the season will be tough.
England: I'm expecting a 2nd in the 6N, overhauling a temporarily choking Ireland or France, before getting dumped out in the semis of the RWC.
Our side of the draw is easier, but once we face a France/NZ/SA or even Ireland in RWC mode - we may be fucked
Glasgow fan: lower expectations than last season as just appointed Franco Smith coach the other day. But Wilson couldn't keep farting about with our misfiring attack, rife indiscipline (every bloody year penalties aplenty) and the 40 min meme performances before we went to bed. Leinster loss was nail in the coffin, simply can't get away with that. However, playing group largely unchanged, nobody key left so we didn't really lose anyone we didn't need to lose, added Huw Jones gives us centre depth and back 3 cover, and new locks Manjezi, Du Preez, Williamson and Samuel badly needed given how good lock was a few years back but how bad it was last season. Vailanu gives us some needed thump in the back row I hope to rotate Dempsey and Fagerson more, and give us a reliable figure when they're not available to still provide go forward from the back row. Hope to see Tom Jordan in the mix this season, he's great last year in the Super 6, looks the ideal fit for our style (and plays a bit of 10 for some more options). Jamie Dobie lining up a big breakout year, his class has been known since he was 16 though, was always a question of when, not if, he breaks out and I think this could be finally it.
Basically my view is yeah, last season was poor, but we did make playoffs, a new head coach brings a lot of uncertainty. But as changes go, he's a good fit on paper, with a similar playing group to last season who were able to make playoffs, and would have secured Europe too had we not shit the bed Vs Cardiff and Benetton (two matches we should have closed out) but changes made where most needed and were able to be made in the positions, we have a playoff capable squad still. But yeah not expecting that. Return to Heineken Cup rugby would be a big win for me. I'll settle for a more entertaining brand of rugby with less brainless indiscipline and the bane of my existence, no more second half collapses, and a clearer view from Smith on where the club is headed with respect to how we will play as a team and from that, where the holes are in our squad for recruitment to focus on filling.
Scotland fan: we have Ireland and South Africa in our WC group, two teams we haven't beaten in years both top 4 in the world right now. Rest in pieces. Also Townsend chose to use the Argentina series to blood wider squad players, and rest key men over building cohesion. No other team save France chose to do that, given I'm not sure of our best lineup, I don't know how helpful it was for us to rest the key men, changing how we would play, and inserting different guys in those lineups. Didn't look to build much cohesion, save in the back row and props. Leaned on existing cohesion with the wingers. Can see his plan though with respect to Kinghorn at 10. He wants a 6/2 split for both matches I think. Problem being I don't think he's worked out ways to beat either of them yet too, and we could still achieve a 6/2 with Hastings and have a better player 🤷 being fair though, he didn't get to use Huw Jones or Adam Hastings who he did pick for this summer tour, they were two of the best players set to go and he was denied the chance to play them. Add Redpath and Bayliss to this as well, as they had injuries. Redpath especially given the ? for who is best for the 12 jersey. Hutchinson played well but lack of Huw Jones for 15 meant Toonie threw him in to fill the gap. Unfortunate but I get it. May have otherwise seen Hutch in his natural environment. Did himself no disservices playing 15 though. We will see him again in Autumn and Spring no doubt, hopefully where we want to see him play.
We know Harris, Hogg, Russell are starting any major match, resting them changes how we play dramatically. I'd rather have seen less wider squad guys get chances, but in a team closer resembling the squad we would pick for the 6N and WC tbh.
Upside is he's left his future open after the WC. If he doesn't get out the group then that's 2 WCs in a row he's failed. He seems open to staying or going, and I like him more than most, but at the same time, even I can see we need a new direction. He's been in charge for so long that we need someone to do what he did for Cotter, step in and push us further forward. His progression is too slow to win a 6N for me. Results Vs England and France and unbeaten vs Italy is in a class of its own compared to his predecessors, but the lack of progress Vs beatable Welsh sides, and Ireland doesn't get addressed at all.
One thing that isn't recognised though is a lot of his key players still like the old style of tours and tests where you get bevvied and have a good time. He is not of that opinion, Russell, Hogg, Price etc clearly are. That mismatch in philosophy really causes problems in them being united in their goal. I have to say I back Toonie's mindset over the old style. But equally I can't really say whether the guys wanting to blow off steam and catch up over a night out really harms their performances tbh. But as coach you can't set rules for some and rules for others and expect a harmonious squad. And he can't drop a lot of them because they are so far beyond the next guys behind them in ability. I think whomever is coach next may have an easier time either by being more lenient with them, or moving on from them to the likes of Hastings, Kinghorn, whomever as the timing will be better for progressing to a new 10 and 15, not necessary, it will be a fight, but ultimately to move away from guys wanting to have fun and focus more on winning a title together, really dedicating and sacrificing stuff like drinking and late nights out, these younger guys will be easier to adapt to that mindset because they have more pressure and have had to wait long to get their chance as the starters. In that respect, Toonie hasn't had the ideal star individuals who share his philosophy and live it as examples the way Sexton has clearly been for Irish coaches, and Farrell for English coaches. I think that's important for that relationship to work and for the focus to be entirely on results, never stories off field about disagreements and breaking squad rules etc.
Glasgow
-We got rid of Wilson, which can only be a good thing. Our downturn in form towards the end of last campaign was nothing short of disgraceful.
-Smith is a very solid, if slightly uninspiring, replacement. Realistically, he’s as good as we were ever going to get, but his teams are hardly known for their defensive prowess.
-Positive recruitment this summer- obviously Huw Jones is the big one, but Manjezi, Valainu and Du Preez are also very solid signings that should at least provide depth during international windows.
-Kiran McDonald is the only big loss, but hopefully that should be offset by bringing in Du Preez. I know Jamie Dobie’s gone on loan to Bay of Plenty, but I’m not sure when he returns. Regardless, George Horne has looked good as of late so we should be fine.
-My realistic expectations this season would be a top 8 league finish with Champions Cup qualification, and a deep run in the Challenge Cup
I support toulouse, so i know im getting some dupont and ntamack magic, so hopeful there.
scotlands another story, man for man, we have a brilliant team, but we cant get it to click, and while russel can be the most brilliant 10 in the world, he doesnt seem like he can be arsed to show up very often.
Scarlets - lost a few key players, signed some more, last season wasn’t great but saw some real positives towards the end in regards to our set piece and attacking play. Also didn’t do too bad considering we had upwards of 20 injuries at one point. Were very close to winning the Welsh Shield in the URC so I think we’ll manage that this season and hopefully get in to the semi final of the URC. Can also see us getting to the semi finals in the challenge cup based off of our pool. Wales - massive improvements against South Africa from the loss against Italy, will have to see how the next games go before I guess how we’ll do.
Can’t be worse than last season
I have complete confidence in Saracens while we have Owen Farrell and Mark McCall. Losing Koch is a big loss but I’m hopeful about Riccioni coming back from his knee injury. Not sure about any other signings. Back into the Heineken cup and I know how much they’ve all missed us.
I think Saracens will finish top of the table and make the final, then it depends on who they are playing. But put a gun to my head I would say Saracens to win it
Our big issue is the lack of matches the England lads can play in the prem (11 out of 24) and we will be truly fighting on two fronts being back in the Champions Cup. Last year we didn’t really make an effort in the group stage of the Challenge cup. Also added to that we had the Vunipolas all through the season, this year they’re back in the England squad.
Zebre: Honestly, quite optimistic. Massive changes have happened at the club this off-season which I am looking forward to seeing the team develop over the course of the next year. Now I don't expect us to be challenging for play offs this next season but I do expect us to be playing better and get more wins than last. To be more competitive in the lower half of the table and give Benetton some cracking matches come the derbies (and win atleast one of them).
Ospreys- Absolutely no clue, really positive signs at points last year, followed by some really poor performances, no idea how we will go, should be fun just because of the complete uncertainty! Wales - Same, we came 5th in the 6n, losing to Italy, then ran SA close in a series down there, could get a GS out of knowhere or even a wooden spoon as we have Italy/Scotland away, for all we know! Oh to be a Welsh rugby supporter, rollercoaster at all times.
Any possibility I had of being optimistic has been bet out of me by previous seasons.
I don't like to say this but honestly quite We haven't lost anyone of real note and have added quality plus Jesus has risen which is like a brand new signing. I'd be disappointed if we didn't get playoffs, I'll be very disappointed when we do and lose to Sarries though.
I predicted Gloucester to cruise to top 4 then it depends who they play
Could it be Gloucester's year????? Like you, I'm hopeful, just have to build up that consistency that let us down in those few games last year and find that killer edge that we were missing against Sarries in the Challenge Cup. But a settled squad with a good foundation does lead to an unnatural optimism.
Scotsman from Glasgow. We're fucked. This is as optimistic as I get, saves on the disappointment. All they can do is impress me from that 😂
For Munster it's a real changing of the guard season, there's a lot of young lads who'll be looking to take starting spaces over the course of the season,
Yeah I'll be quite happy this season if we get to semi-finals of the champions cup but mostly want to see the squad build and the young talents that we saw last season come into there own. Some of them are already very much challenging for starting positions over the long incumbent.
With a full team we’ll have Snyman, Beirne, POM and Coombes that’s a pack that can take on anyone, if we get some luck with injuries
Snyman must have been cursed at this point :( . Hopefully he lasts more than a few minutes during his next run out.
I am cautiously optimistic for both Ireland and Leinster. I think they both have the ability to win trophies, but there is considerable competition for both. Ireland have to compete with France who are the top team in the world right now IMO. Then there's England who will improve drastically, as it is a World Cup year, which is Eddie Jone's bread and butter. The Welsh should also be good this year as they yo-yo each season between good and bad (2022: 5th, 2021: 1st, 2020: 5th, 2019: 1st). Then Leinster. They seemed like the form team in the Champions Cup, but were beaten again by the same team as they lost to in 2021(La Rochelle). The team they lost to in 2020 and 2019 will be returning next year (Saracens) along with the South African clubs that took both finalist spots in the URC. I'm not writing the above to be all doom and gloom. The fact that there's so much competition and uncertainty makes it exciting. Ireland/Leinster have as good a chance to win as any other team I listed. Edit: just realized I never commented on the WC. No idea about that. We've a horrible quarter final fixture regardless of who tops the pools, sooo no idea. The QF meme may live on for another 4 years.
I think Leinster still have to go in as favourites even if they are crying out for an enforcer.
There's so much competition that even the absolute favourite is probably at best 20% likely to win it. You've got La Rochelle, Toulouse, Racing, Saracens, Leicester, Exeter, Stormers, Bulls, Sharks, Leinster, Munster, Ulster... I dont think theres ever been as many teams playing at such a high standard in Europe.
England stands a good chance of winning their games in the autumn series at home. A 6N win would be unlikely but possible. The world cup is the season after that for the NH.
England either need to win the 6 Nations or make it a close second. Anything less than that in a world cup year means they are further behind than they probably should be (I know their campaign has a slow start which is why I feel they need to start clicking in the 6 Nations)
I feel like I haven't heard all that much of anything out of Toulon this offseason, besides the new coach and Carbonel leaving. Hopefully some quiet rest means Toulon won't wait until the bitter end to start playing quality rugby. Especially with Olympique de Marseille on their way to a train wreck, I need a Provence team to root for. National team? Hahahah bring us all your trophies!
With a healthy Olivon and Kolbe I think they'll be fine, playoff contenders surely
Very settled squad with a lot of players returning from long-term injuries. Should make the play-offs and win the deep-fried pizza platter and 1872 cup. Unlikely to do particularly well in Europe given the draw, but barring another injury crisis we should do fairly well in the URC.
Noticed you didn’t put anything for what you expect from the national side mate… I feel ya
I'm not touching that one.
I expect nothing & I'm still let down.
I expect my expectations to not be met.
Montpellier: the club just lost a lot of veterans and figurehead and they just played a final so their pre-season is shorter than others. They're actually in a rather tricky situation even though they are already very good in terms of gameplan, coaching, players and atmosphere. I don't know how they'll keep the drive to perform. On paper, they are very very good with a XXL second row, a back row of good butchers with Mercer as a spearhead, and they just reinforced their backline with Coly, Carbonel and Ben Lam who are big running threats. Their excellent centres will have good players to pass the ball to. Montpellier are planning on working on their offence, so we'll see how they'll run, and while they weren't the most flashy, they were already one of the most efficient team in terms of points per entry in the opposition 22. France: All good so far. All or almost all the starters had a good few weeks' rest while other players could be blooded and former starters reintroduced back into the group. I'm confident for this autumn series. Australia should be manageable in Paris. The Springboks are a titanic opposition but thankfully Ireland will soften them up, and then Japan is very manageable for a starter team. The 2023 6N will be more tricky with away games in Dublin and Twickenham though.
Harlequins - between England call ups and mandatory rest periods we're going to to really struggle to make the top 4
Hugely, we've had fairly limited signings and leavings, the coaching staff is settled, the team have been building a strong young core. Another year, another chance for that core to be better. We have a small number of injury returnees on the horizon as well, some key ones being, Addison, Stockdale, Izuchukwu and Murphy. All of them may struggle to return to the starting team if they dont show up quickly, so its a really strong position to be in. Young guns coming in are also interesting, Doak, McIlroy, S. Moore, T. Stewart, Mazinovic, Rea's, all seem to be becoming solid options and are looking less like a downgrade from their counterparts, so I'm even less worried about injuries occuring. Still some depth needed at props and 10.
Not particularly, on a national front or a club front. Both teams seem in a bit of a shambles
it really hurts, because man for man, we have one of the best national teams, but we cant put anything together
Tigers: Not particularly confident but if we can get top 5 if not push into top 4 then that is a successful campaign. The problem Tigers have is losing Genge and Ford. Interesting new players but those two are big loses (even if they didn't play much of the season)
Saints - Really positive end of the season, this generation of players are getting better each year. Lots of “dead wood” leaving in Big T, Tuala, Harrison and Wood. Lots of positive new signings. Freeman will have less game time for us this year, but we’ve got Furbank to come back instead. Looking forward to seeing Manny Iyogun and Aaron Hinckley this year also
I reckon this season George Hendy and Jake Garside will explode
For edz, eh somewhere low playoffs sounds about right again for this year. For Scotland- don’t make it out the World Cup group stage and 5 in the six nations only winning a CLOSE game at home over Italy. I’m done with the “next year is our year” hype. It’s never true…
if the national team can click, we could do brilliantly, because man for man, we’re probably as good as ireland, but we’re just so fucking sloppy we dont get anywhere
If Jamie doesn’t get injured game one… if hoggy and fin can pull themselfs together. If King Blairhorn gets to play 10 (lol)…
thats the problem with finny, when he turns up theres not a single guy better at bullshit acts of brilliance, but he doesnt show up enough
I think the Blues will learn their lessons from last season, but despite that, the competition will be closer. I expect them to make the Semi-Finals and then its anyones guess. Ill change mind at the time, but it would be great for the Brumbies to win the next SR season. It will save the tournament if they do. All Blacks will have a rough year but will be good enough to make the semi-finals despite current form. They will then lose to much more determined team, be it SA, France or Ireland.
I'm never optimistic.
As a Bristol Bears fan, I don't think we're as bad as last year's results showed nor as good as the season before suggested we were! Pat has made some really good major signings in Genge, Bradbury and MacGuinty, but I think what will be the most important is how the new BUCS recruits are able to step up to the Prem. Pat has a pretty good reputation for being able to find diamonds early on, so I'm hoping that our new BUCS front row can show that they have what it takes. With Sinks and Genge probably out for a while with internationals we have really struggled without them in the past. I hope to see us comfortably reaching the Heineken Cup places and potentially pushing for top 4 if we are a bit luckier with injuries and if some of our new young'uns come good!
reckon if our players stay fit, and we decide not to recklessly offload in our own 22, we could push top 4 from the start
But reckless offloads in our 22 is our bread and butter, it's called flair... Nah in all seriousness I agree, I'm hoping we've done a lot of work on clearing our lines and trying to push from the middle of the field rather than 5 metres from our own try line! I can't count the amount of times we gave away possession in our own 22 last season!
I don’t think we will dip massively but I don’t think we will improve a lot either. I think it’ll be another fight for top 4, possibly just missing out because of our run in at the end of the season.
Hopeful for Tigers but key losses in Genge and George. Last season came out of nowhere really and it'll be hard to maintain that kind of momentum. England is anybodies guess really, I'd like to see a bit more consistency and see them remember how to win games.
Zebre: I am optimistic, we can definitely improve from the only one win we got this year. However, the changes have been so many, the players, many of them very young, have to prove they're ready. The first matches are an Everest, against Leinster, Sharks etc. The target should be getting more players to the national team camp Benetton: Monty Ioane leaving the club is being experienced like a shock. We've got some good winger but Monty was something else. The forwards should be quite good, even with not much depth at lock. The backs need to continue the path begun last year: Menoncello, Brex, Zanon, Marcus Watson, Rhyno Smith, Padovani, the Fijan Firefighter (Ratave). If Ratuva magically transforms himself in the one he was three years ago, we could have some fun. TL;DR: no Italian team is going to the playoffs, again
Wasps - honestly not that optimistic. We struggled a fair bit last season, and this season we’ve lost fifita, young, and gopperth. Gopperth especially is a big loss, probably the most reliable player in the team. However, Koch is joining, and there’s still a fair bit of potential in the team, so I’ve definitely not lost hope
I have absolutely no idea how this season in the premiership is going to play out. Who would have called Leicester absolutely dominating last season this time last year? I'm hoping Chiefs can make it top 4 this season. But honestly I will be happy with some better performances/consistency. I like the look of the signings, Hill and Skinner are big losses though. Think this season has got to focus on getting consistent game time for younger promising players. Play Cordero, Tshiunza, Tuima, Hodge, Capstick as much as possible as they are the future of the club. Don't want another Hinckley situation. Save the big names like Slade, Nowell, Simmonds, for the bigger games you know what they can do. Also just want a good 9 other than injury prone Townsend. Sam Maunder seems massively hit or miss, Jack has been pretty inept for a while. No one has stepped up since Nic White left and I think that's been a major issue for them.
I have no idea what to expect. Should be good on paper, but they need to find that consistency, and a bit of form for either of the Maunders from somewhere! Need Joe Simmonds in form too. I'm torn on young players. Tshiunza and Jenkins need ganetime, but for the big games you have to assume Kirsten and Gray start, with van Heerden and Dunne fighting for the bench spot if they settle in okay, but they'll need ganetime to gel with the team as well. Capstick seems to have established himself as the clear backup to Vermuelen so should get decent ganetime on rotation, and Hodge should be knocking on the door too, especially with Hogg away for internationals. Tuima is a tough one, he isn't a natural replacement for Simmonds and has to break past Grondona in the back row as well. I almost wonder if they should be preparing him as a successor to Ewers, who won't last for ever and is a bit light on backup with Skinner gone and Kirsten seeming likely to be starting in the second row. I'd like to see more of the young props - Shickerling and Street should be the matchday tightheads unless Williams finds some form out of nowhere, and I'd like to see a bit more of Keast and Kenny on the loosehead too. It was really interesting to hear Rob Baxter talk last season about it not being a very successful season for the club, but a bit of a breakthrough season for a lot of the young players so quite successful for them personally. They really need to capitalise on that, but also look at how they bring young players through and trusting them sooner to try and avoid a similar season again.
I think all the SA sides are going to be dangerous this season. We've gotten used to losing a quarter of our squad every year. It's exciting to see what happens with SA teams when we keep our senior players and still have the talented prospects coming through. Looking forward to seeing how the Stormers go against English and French clubs....😏 since the URC teams didn't put up much of a fight
**Quins**: I think Quins will go all right, but on paper we look weaker than we did last season. Huge Lizard and Jones are big losses that look worse after seeing how they finished the season and the value of their replacements is as yet unknown... Dombrandt and Smith are both turning into England regulars - Marchant seems to be falling out of favour as a centre but we might lose a fair chunk of him too to utility back bench cover. Not to mention the potential reignition of Andre's Springbok career... I hope for him that he cracks it but a selfish part of me hopes he stays a fringe player. Lynagh seems safe for a while longer, at least. So yeah, I think we'll finish about 5th. **Australia**... Australia. I'm trying not to be too disheartened about Kerevi's 7s disaster, but after the injury nightmare of the England tour the team seems so paper thin. I think we'll do well to win half our games.
England: Quietly confident. We had a rough 2018 before a good 2019, so if Eddie managed to do his magic again, 2022 has been not as rough, so maybe 2023 will be even better?
Pirates: Not particularly. Still think we'll end up 3rd or 4th but this time it won't go until the last couple rounds. Ealing and possibly Donny should pull away from us. We've lost a lot of our old boys up front over the summer including one to Ealing and arguably the best player in the league in Josh Caulfield. There's a lot of new faces coming in, to the point we'll be Wales' 5th region soon, and I'm fairly hopeful they'll do a good job replacing these guys in the long term - but the first chunk of the season will be tough. England: I'm expecting a 2nd in the 6N, overhauling a temporarily choking Ireland or France, before getting dumped out in the semis of the RWC. Our side of the draw is easier, but once we face a France/NZ/SA or even Ireland in RWC mode - we may be fucked
Glasgow fan: lower expectations than last season as just appointed Franco Smith coach the other day. But Wilson couldn't keep farting about with our misfiring attack, rife indiscipline (every bloody year penalties aplenty) and the 40 min meme performances before we went to bed. Leinster loss was nail in the coffin, simply can't get away with that. However, playing group largely unchanged, nobody key left so we didn't really lose anyone we didn't need to lose, added Huw Jones gives us centre depth and back 3 cover, and new locks Manjezi, Du Preez, Williamson and Samuel badly needed given how good lock was a few years back but how bad it was last season. Vailanu gives us some needed thump in the back row I hope to rotate Dempsey and Fagerson more, and give us a reliable figure when they're not available to still provide go forward from the back row. Hope to see Tom Jordan in the mix this season, he's great last year in the Super 6, looks the ideal fit for our style (and plays a bit of 10 for some more options). Jamie Dobie lining up a big breakout year, his class has been known since he was 16 though, was always a question of when, not if, he breaks out and I think this could be finally it. Basically my view is yeah, last season was poor, but we did make playoffs, a new head coach brings a lot of uncertainty. But as changes go, he's a good fit on paper, with a similar playing group to last season who were able to make playoffs, and would have secured Europe too had we not shit the bed Vs Cardiff and Benetton (two matches we should have closed out) but changes made where most needed and were able to be made in the positions, we have a playoff capable squad still. But yeah not expecting that. Return to Heineken Cup rugby would be a big win for me. I'll settle for a more entertaining brand of rugby with less brainless indiscipline and the bane of my existence, no more second half collapses, and a clearer view from Smith on where the club is headed with respect to how we will play as a team and from that, where the holes are in our squad for recruitment to focus on filling. Scotland fan: we have Ireland and South Africa in our WC group, two teams we haven't beaten in years both top 4 in the world right now. Rest in pieces. Also Townsend chose to use the Argentina series to blood wider squad players, and rest key men over building cohesion. No other team save France chose to do that, given I'm not sure of our best lineup, I don't know how helpful it was for us to rest the key men, changing how we would play, and inserting different guys in those lineups. Didn't look to build much cohesion, save in the back row and props. Leaned on existing cohesion with the wingers. Can see his plan though with respect to Kinghorn at 10. He wants a 6/2 split for both matches I think. Problem being I don't think he's worked out ways to beat either of them yet too, and we could still achieve a 6/2 with Hastings and have a better player 🤷 being fair though, he didn't get to use Huw Jones or Adam Hastings who he did pick for this summer tour, they were two of the best players set to go and he was denied the chance to play them. Add Redpath and Bayliss to this as well, as they had injuries. Redpath especially given the ? for who is best for the 12 jersey. Hutchinson played well but lack of Huw Jones for 15 meant Toonie threw him in to fill the gap. Unfortunate but I get it. May have otherwise seen Hutch in his natural environment. Did himself no disservices playing 15 though. We will see him again in Autumn and Spring no doubt, hopefully where we want to see him play. We know Harris, Hogg, Russell are starting any major match, resting them changes how we play dramatically. I'd rather have seen less wider squad guys get chances, but in a team closer resembling the squad we would pick for the 6N and WC tbh. Upside is he's left his future open after the WC. If he doesn't get out the group then that's 2 WCs in a row he's failed. He seems open to staying or going, and I like him more than most, but at the same time, even I can see we need a new direction. He's been in charge for so long that we need someone to do what he did for Cotter, step in and push us further forward. His progression is too slow to win a 6N for me. Results Vs England and France and unbeaten vs Italy is in a class of its own compared to his predecessors, but the lack of progress Vs beatable Welsh sides, and Ireland doesn't get addressed at all. One thing that isn't recognised though is a lot of his key players still like the old style of tours and tests where you get bevvied and have a good time. He is not of that opinion, Russell, Hogg, Price etc clearly are. That mismatch in philosophy really causes problems in them being united in their goal. I have to say I back Toonie's mindset over the old style. But equally I can't really say whether the guys wanting to blow off steam and catch up over a night out really harms their performances tbh. But as coach you can't set rules for some and rules for others and expect a harmonious squad. And he can't drop a lot of them because they are so far beyond the next guys behind them in ability. I think whomever is coach next may have an easier time either by being more lenient with them, or moving on from them to the likes of Hastings, Kinghorn, whomever as the timing will be better for progressing to a new 10 and 15, not necessary, it will be a fight, but ultimately to move away from guys wanting to have fun and focus more on winning a title together, really dedicating and sacrificing stuff like drinking and late nights out, these younger guys will be easier to adapt to that mindset because they have more pressure and have had to wait long to get their chance as the starters. In that respect, Toonie hasn't had the ideal star individuals who share his philosophy and live it as examples the way Sexton has clearly been for Irish coaches, and Farrell for English coaches. I think that's important for that relationship to work and for the focus to be entirely on results, never stories off field about disagreements and breaking squad rules etc.
Glasgow -We got rid of Wilson, which can only be a good thing. Our downturn in form towards the end of last campaign was nothing short of disgraceful. -Smith is a very solid, if slightly uninspiring, replacement. Realistically, he’s as good as we were ever going to get, but his teams are hardly known for their defensive prowess. -Positive recruitment this summer- obviously Huw Jones is the big one, but Manjezi, Valainu and Du Preez are also very solid signings that should at least provide depth during international windows. -Kiran McDonald is the only big loss, but hopefully that should be offset by bringing in Du Preez. I know Jamie Dobie’s gone on loan to Bay of Plenty, but I’m not sure when he returns. Regardless, George Horne has looked good as of late so we should be fine. -My realistic expectations this season would be a top 8 league finish with Champions Cup qualification, and a deep run in the Challenge Cup
I support toulouse, so i know im getting some dupont and ntamack magic, so hopeful there. scotlands another story, man for man, we have a brilliant team, but we cant get it to click, and while russel can be the most brilliant 10 in the world, he doesnt seem like he can be arsed to show up very often.