MichaelRobartes

Teams named for England - Wales: England: Steward; Malins, Slade, Tuilagi, Nowell; Smith, Randall; Genge, Cowan-Dickie, Sinckler, Ewels, Itoje, Lawes (Capt), Curry, Dombrandt. Replacements: George, Marler, Stuart, Isiekwe, Simmonds, Youngs, Ford, Daly. Wales: L Williams; Cuthbert, Watkin, Tompkins, Adams; Biggar (capt), T Williams; W Jones, Elias, Francis, Rowlands, Beard, Moriarty, Basham, Faletau. Replacements: Lake, G Thomas, Brown, S Davies, Morgan, Hardy, Anscombe, J Davies.

Agreed. They won almost every collision on Saturday. We made a lot of errors and indiscipline in the first half cost us in the end but don't think we played particularly badly and did very well to hang in there and get a LBP in the end. Most teams would have probably lost that by some margin considering how well France played. The only part of their game which looked below par was the lineout which came as a bit of a surprise with Woki and others there but I suppose you can't have it all. Can't see past France for the Grand Slam now with Scotland and Wales away and England at home, but you never know. I wouldn't be dissatisfied with finishing second on the basis that we have to go to Twickenham.

To be fair I think Wales are in a bit of a transitional phase now. Of course everyone has to deal with injuries but missing the likes of AWJ, Owens, Tipuric, Navidi, Halfpenny and Faletau is a lot of experience left behind at the same time. Not ideal when you have Ireland in Dublin first up.

I thought Wales did well to drag us into a scrappy armwrestle for the second half of the first half. They'd have been made up with 10-0 at half time. It was a hockeying really though. Annoyingly we always peak a year before a World Cup but we've trips to Paris and London so will be hard work to win the championship. Always good to have a foot in both camps!

Hard to know where Ireland are after today. I don't think I've ever seen such a one-sided win over Wales. I know they're riddled with injuries but I expected them to put up a much better performance than that. England don't seem to make very good decisions. The penalty try was total stupidity and I didn't understand turning down 3 points to kick to the corner with a couple of minutes left. Obviously it's great if it comes off but felt like the wrong decision even before Ford didn't make the 22 with his kick.

To be honest I think it was probably the most straightforward penalty try decision I've seen in ages.

I remember him mostly being good for Norwich in the Championship but I watch quite a bit of Swiss Super League and he really didn't look great for Basel in most of the matches I saw. Admittedly not helped by the fact that they were an absolute shambles last season.

Apart from anything else, I don't understand how you can hope to aid development and increase your player pool by almost halving the amount of First Class sides. Makes no sense.

Next round is two-legged. I assume the top 4 get home advantage for the second leg. The top ranked sides from the pool stage get home advantage for the QF and SF which will be one-off matches. Bristol looking good for a home 2nd leg in the last 16 anyway.

Yes I'm sure Bristol will be through mathematically now. Can't imagine anyone coming 9th or worse with 12 points. Totally agree. There's a huge gulf in class here. Nice to see Stade back at this level but they're miles off the standard. Rarely seen a team get stripped in contact so much. He's forcing it a bit. Too good to not start putting it together again soon. Nice to see Sanchez and Sheedy sharing a smile at full time. Sanchez didn't have a great outing but he's one of the greats.

Haven't done the maths but you only need to finish in the top eight of the group this year. It's a dog's dinner of a format but Bristol will be on 12 points after this and looking good to qualify well. Entertaining game. Stade more spirited in defence this half than I anticipated.

I wouldn't say that. I think it has the potential to be a really good league and the addition of the South African sides is a welcome one from my point of view. If you consider a few factors like the smaller time difference, there's a case to be made that it's more practical for them than to play in Super Rugby as well. I see why they were really keen to get the South Africans in, especially after last year's failed Rainbow Cup, and it's not the URC's fault that Europe closed South Africa off when it did. It's bad luck that Munster, Scarlets, Ospreys and Zebre were there when it happened. There was some talk of the South Africans playing their matches in Italy, but nobody was really keen on that either. Maybe they should have waited for another season, but that's how it goes. Let's not forget that the South African sides have already played multiple matches in Europe without problems. As NR says, none of the URC sides are free that weekend. It's a rubbish situation and it's a pity to get walkovers but those are the rules. I know that it's going to be very difficult for Munster to go to Coventry and put one on Wasps with our mix of kids, internationals and guys who haven't played in over a month, but I'm pleased we'll get to play the match at least. If it was the other way round and Wasps were struggling, I would genuinely want to play the game and beat them on the pitch. I'm sure that Bristol probably feel the same way.

I've only seen Scarlets once this season when our kids went there and thrashed them. They then got hammered by Leinster and narrowly beat Benetton at home. Aside from the Covid disruption, they also haven't played a match since the end of October. If Bristol can't beat them now, they are really in trouble.

To fulfil league fixtures. The Pro14 has been expanded to include the former Super Rugby South African sides. Munster and Zebre were also due to play fixtures there. The former have also had problems after returning positive cases. Most of the squad will be back in Ireland tonight, but 14 have to complete their isolation period in Cape Town. We play Wasps in the Heineken Cup weekend after next. It looks like the intention is to play all European matches at this stage but I think it'll probably end up being a joke of a competition again this season with one thing and another.

Never seen that before. Bloody hell...

He could shout at them to stop trying to bounce tailenders in a florescent bib from the boundary.

Agree about Morgan. He's a very clever captain and as you say couldn't possibly be worse than some of the others with the bat. It's not the biggest issue, but I think Root is a poor captain and agree that there are no real alternatives in the squad now. Bringing Morgan in will solve a couple of problems at least.

Stade and Scarlets in the Heineken. Definitely doable for Bristol.

Rugby Union associations and clubs aren't working on anywhere near the same income as football. Playoffs are a way of holding several high profile matches which will sell tickets and generate decent TV income and viewing figures at the end of the season. Of course they could manage without them, but who is going to vote to decrease their revenue? I don't particularly like the idea of them either (for one thing Munster have finished top and lost in the playoffs before) but they've been around in some form in the English Premiership since 2003, the PRO14/URC since 2009 and the TOP14 since 2004 (as far as I can tell). They're here to stay.

@Stortz Mickey Vann threw the towel back out in Katsidis v Earl. I'll have to watch it back, I remember it being an absolutely mad fight.

That's top shithousing from Bristol. I don't think I'd like it any more than Leicester do but I somehow can't help but recall the hand of Back in the 2002 Heineken Cup final

I thought it was a really good interview from Sinckler. I would have probably taken him over Fagerson but I don't think there's that much in it. I expect Furlong and Porter to be the first choice tightheads but who knows. There will definitely be injuries between now and the end of the tour so he may end up going anyway.

Nothing better than a maul and scrum fest in the wind and rain that finishes 3-0. Proper rugby.

I wasn't just talking about this season (which I didn't make clear) but you're right, they couldn't really win this year. I do think that it should have been a straight draw though. I suppose that giving the teams who won both rounds home advantage is ok, but I don't think there was any need to keep clubs from the same leagues apart at this stage.