Sale have the same spend as most of the Pro 14,

Is this an opinion or do you have info to back it up?

Its difficult to know exactly what the pro 14 spend is. Glasgow cost 7.5 million to run a year but that includes all backroom staff and pitch prep etc as well as coaches and IIRC travel. Welsh teams have 4 million for players but also some central contracts on top of that but that does not include backroom staff.

From plenty of discussions around this the best bet is the top pro 14 teams have around 5 million or a bit more to spend on players each year, the worst off around 3 million or a bit more.

I very much doubt sale are that cheap. Is the salary cap not 7 million?

Wasps giving ulster a bit of a doing and attacking every breakdown winning turnovers.

Its difficult to know exactly what the pro 14 spend is.

Leinster: €758m
Munster, Connaght, Ulster: €500m-ish
Glasgow,Edinburgh: £7500
Welsh Regions: £3 each plus whatever they raise in their club raffles.

From what I can make out, Champions Cup latest, unless Munster squander a 41-3 lead in the last ten minutes (in which Earls and Zebo have been both excellent).

Leinster v Saracens
Clermont v Racing
Munster v Toulon
Scarlets v La Rochelle

Semi-finals:
Leinster/Saracens v Scarlets/La Rochelle
Clermont/Racing v Munster/Toulon

My view is twofold. One that the game has moved on in the pro 14 and French leagues so that a more ” nothing venture nothing gain” / “attack from anywhere” style is doing better ie Scarlets, Exeter winning the leagues last season and also the breakdown changes

Hmm, not sure you can say that about the French teams other than La Rochelle. They still seem to be very size / power oriented.

I think the management of the players in England is nowhere as near as good as it is in Ireland. Mako looks knackered…Sarries looked shattered come the AP final last year. There are other things too, Scotland have a very good crop of players at the moment and they’re spread over two teams. The English internationals are spread over more teams and they’re inconsistent this year. Look at Saints; they’re having a bad season but are still above to get one over on a fancied team one week and then get dicked the week after. Wasps should have been through but they have a soft underbelly and lack leadership and blew a 21 poultry lead last week.

They could just be having a bad season with injuries, player butnout etc, whilst other teams are having a better season.

And the breakdown which is a huge source of frustration for me at the mo.

I do think attitudes to the breakdown have been a huge part of it. Wasps today attacked the breakdown hard and won the game handsomely. Other Enghlish teams I have watched have not attacked the breakdown at all. I think the AP teams seemed to have decided that it no longer was worth attacking the breakdown but when they play a team who does they got hammered as all their ball was poor and all the oppositions good.

Glasgow were well beaten in the euro cup tho this year despite running away with the league and good results last year. I can see no real reason for that.

Leinster V Sarries pick of 1/4 finals for the neutral, not sure I wanted Munster to get the bonus point yesterday – I think La Rochelle may have been the better option.

For those Scots worrying about a shortage of hookers if it gets really bad you should look at Ealing’s Alun Walker, top try scorer this season and last after a couple of seasons plagued by injury.

a_a Steve Diamond (Sale dor) suggested recently in an interview that they were about 2m under the Prem budget cap. They’re one of 3 teams that are under the budget cap. I can’t find the link to the interview now, but it was a few weeks ago….he was talking in relation to having the funds to bring in a 10 if needed as AJ McGinty is out for at least 3 months.

so as much money for players as the richest pro 14 teams then? Certainly as much as Glsagow and probably more than the welsh

They’re one of 3 teams that are under the budget cap

So more than the welsh regions then?

Anyway in good news Tandy has been sacked about **** time!!!

That’s my point though. Yeah Sale have a similar budget to the top Scots teams, but look at the size of our squad. We have to put out the strongest team possible every week in the Prem. Whilst finishing top 6 is always the target/an outside possiblity, we’re also only ever 2/3 bad results from getting relegated….how the hell can we hope to compete in Europe?! In the Pro 14 you’re guaranteed to be there next year. Even if you weren’t you’d basically have to be less shit than Zebre/Southern Kings to stay up!

I’m not saying other factors aren’t to blame, but the amount of rugby all players with English teams play, especially the top players is way more than with the other home nations.

Best finish of the weekend

El ensayo del fin de semana. O del año. Enisei-STM frente a Newcastle Falcons. pic.twitter.com/8dXWh9qh20

— Pedro Delgado (@oseznorugby) January 22, 2018

TomB – how big is the squad?

As predicted – English clubs doing badly in Europe gives rise to cries of foul. What do yo want to do to handicap the pro 14 teams more? the PRLs attemts to make it easier for their clubs has shown not to work.

the real issue is in the pro 14 the game is moving on and leaving England behind. We play a faster more attacking game and we look after our players better.

Sarries have at least twice the funds of any Pro12 team

how the hell can we hope to compete in Europe

You cant but then you dont really sit at the top table in your country whereas Edinburgh and Glasgow are at the top in their country and thats kind of how the euro competitions work

Well it’s not hard for Edinburgh or Glasgow to sit at the top of Scottish rugby is it?! 😆

Exactly! But the point stands. If Sale struggle in the aviva they are going to certainly struggle in the euro comps. It would be like me getting upset that the Dregs are shit in europe

Probable Scotland team for the 6N

1) Shrek
2) Rambo
3) Angela
4) Toolbox
5) Ickle jonny
6) Batman
7) Hamish Frae The Glens
8 ) Barcs
9) Frodo
10) Dancer
11) Tennessee Tam
12) Taylor
13) Who Jones?
14) Kinghorn / the selkirk pixie
15) Didier Hoggba

Tom B – Member

Well it’s not hard for Edinburgh or Glasgow to sit at the top of Scottish rugby is it?!

NOpe – but its ruddy hard to sit at the top of the pro 12

Can we have them with real names. Especially the front five as I reckon that Wales best/only hope of winning is to smash the scrums.

Aye tricky that Pro 12, sometimes seems like there’s a couple of extra teams in it. 😀

That is their names! Or do you mean the names their mothers call them?

Gordon Reid
Stuart McInally
Jon Welsh

Ben Toolis
Jonny Gray

Ryan Wilson
Hamish Watson
John Barclay

Laidlaw / Price
Russell

Seymour
Duncan Taylor
Huw Jones
Blair Kinghorn / Lee Jones
Stuart Hogg

Its a guess at the team. No one can really outguess Townsend tho – always a surprise somewhere. Does he play Laidlaw for his experience and fantastic pass or Price for his speed around the breakdown? Can he find a place for Kinghorn and Hogg?

Considering the injuries / suspensions thats not a bad front row but its the subs that is the real issue. Back row is really anyones guess. does he go for someone a bit bulkier? Du Preez or Denton? Got to be Barclay and Watson tho and Wilson appears to be a toonie favourite. Centres Nick Gregg looks a very handy player and Bennet is back laying and looking sharp

AA

I think if Scotland can gain parity or near to it in the scrums then Wales will struggle – especially if they kick away every ball they get in their own half as Scotland will look to counter attack off every kick reception. Wales will need a very good kick chase and a well organised defence to stop the scots attack. The scots backs are looking very sharp indeed.

That Scots front row is not bad given the injuries / suspensions but the subs are distinctly below par. Big Ritchie appears to have a minor calf issue so not available for the first match

I think if Scotland can gain parity or near to it in the scrums then Wales will struggle –

I agree our only hope is that the Scarlets front row have held their own or been better than all comers this season

I agree our only hope

Are you a real welsh fan? 😉 You sound more like a scot with your pessimism. Most Welsh fans seem to think they will marmalise us

Most of the scots fans seem to think our chances have gone with the disappearing front row

I’m concerned that all the England players seem knackered or crocked. My only saving grace is that everyone else seems the same way! Except our nemesis Ireland 😥

Are you a real welsh fan? You sound more like a scot with your pessimism. Most Welsh fans seem to think they will marmalise us

Without

Faletau
Warburton
Davies

Only just back fit and no form for Moriarty, Loopy Liam, North, Ellis Jenkins and Stef Evans has been banned

Biggar looks crocked too.
Scotland are improving and Wales are going backwards.

Ireland will be the team to beat really won’t they. All there top players are playing well.

Traditionally post Lions year, France always do well….if their national structure wasn’t such a shambles then you’d say they’d be up there. As it is god knows how they’ll play, I’m not expecting them to be in the top 3 though.

TomB – the upside of the scots being ignored for the lions is the france effect might help them. I ruddy well hope so. Be very nice to poke a finger in old cement heads eye

I’d like to see Scotland do well, England would be absolutely on our arses if we had the front row injuries that you do, so god knows how that will pan out for you?! Pray for good playing conditions and zero handling errors anywhere near your own half I guess!

Think you’ve lost Dunbar and Huw Jones now too haven’t you?

Jones is OK I think. Dunbar probably out

I am reasonably OK with our starting front row given the injuries. Welsh, McInally and Reid are decent international standard and the two props have experience but the subs are a real step down
We should get a couple of props back for the second game but no Nel 🙁

Nel’s been out for a while hasn’t he? Didn’t he miss the last 6n’s too?

Yes – different injury. He just came back from a back injury and was playing nicely into form and broke his arm. fagerson dropped a bench on his foot and put himself out for 8 weeks,

Slade has pulled out of the training cap in Portugal after his injury at the weekend. Hopefully it’s not too bad because the cupboard is looking a bit bare at 13.

Feeling more and more pessimistic as the tournament approaches.

We’re back to having real issues at centre again aren’t we! If Farrell wasn’t at 12 who’d be there? I’m guessing we’ll be starting with JJ at 13…..he hasn’t had much form for a while.

Thank goodness for that tom – after the hammering you gave us thru the centres last year 🙂 Masterpiece of analysis by Jones that was allied to adopting great tactics to exploit the flaw he spotted in the Scots defense

That was JJ’s only real stellar performance in the last two seasons really…..he really did make you guys look crap 😆

I’m expecting a hell of a game at Murrayfield this time though!

Slade has pulled out

He never really lit my fire internationally anyway. We do have Daly, Mallinder and Lesowski to sit outside Farrell, and an experienced back 3.

Of course there’s always Manu…

Daly out for the tournament