Aviva Premiership - The Thread

We dont have a thread on this but its shaping up for an exciting finale.

Its looking like Harlequins may well come up short as Leicester are on some run of form with 5 of 6 try bonus point wins in a row which should see them play sarries at home in the semi.
Quins most likely to be at home to Saints in other semi which wont be a gimme by any means and Saints will fancy their chances of reaching the final.

I think it will be a Quins v Tigers final tho with tigers winning as they look unstoppable atm. They will be a force in HEC next season with no world cup to worry about.

Spare a thought for Exeter Chiefs who have gone from Relegation favourites to 5th in a season and semi of amlin too(i think). They have to be a source of inspiration to connaht next season as there are a lot of similarities there. Even Sandy Park looks similar, minus the track of course. Unfortunately the Blew it at weekend when they had chance of semi at home v saints. Still a great season for them tho.

im surprised how little we talk about this subject but what a finish to the first half of the final.
barnes said (4-5times) they couldnt kick the 22drop out, out on the full, they did, scrum to leicester, won penaty. dylan hartley called the ref a 'f**king cheat'. red card, 3points to tigers.
hartley been at the ref all game.

niall morris scored try

Barnes said (4-5times) they couldnt kick the 22drop out, out on the full, they did, scrum to leicester, won penaty. dylan hartley called the ref a 'f**king cheat'. red card, 3points to tigers.

And this is the genius going instead of Rory Best on the Lions tour??

Boom Baby!

England hooker Dylan Hartley became the first player to be sent off in an English Premiership final on Saturday and is likely to see his British and Irish Lions tour hopes disappear as a result.

Hartley, captaining Northampton in the Twickenham final against Leicester, had previously been warned by referee Wayne Barnes for speaking out of turn when he again voiced his frustration after another penalty decision went against his team late in the first half.

Barnes promptly produced a straight red card, telling other Northampton players that he had been called a "xxxxing cheat".

Hartley almost certainly faces a ban that seems certain to see him not taking his place when the Lions fly to Australia on Monday.

Ireland's Rory Best, considered by many to have been unlucky to have missed the initial selection, would be favourite to be called up as a replacement.

Leicester led the Premiership final 16-5 at halftime.

Didn't see this one and couldn't care less about the Hartley issue as he's a player I have no time for anyway but just have to state my admiration for Leicester. They haven't the quality they had a decade or so ago but they are still a formidable team who continue to grind their way into contention for trophies year after year. They still have lots of quality and are deserving Premiership winners with two comprehensive play off victories. If they get a reasonable draw in the Heineken I wouldn't write them off next year.

We care about the Hartley issue because if he gets banned for 3 weeks or more then he won't go on the Lions tour and Rory Best will.

The Tigers are a good team but they don't have the x-factor to break through the top level, there system will get them so far but won't get them to win silver-wear in the HEC.

Analysis
Alastair Eykyn
BBC Radio 5 live

"Dylan Hartley will now have to face an RFU disciplinary hearing. I do not think he will be able to board the plane to Hong Kong with the Lions on Monday. It will be Tuesday at the earliest before his case is heard and you would think a ban will come too. This story is far from over - his Lions place is in real jeopardy."
The minimum RFU ban for abusing an official is six weeks.

He's saying that he was talking to Young not the ref so will be interesting to see what happens. That said he was warned before about his language by the ref and with his disciplinary record he'll probably he facing the top part of the sentence if found guilty.

[img]Here is the incident about 4 mins in: http://www.espn.co.uk/scrum/rugby/video_audio/183377.html?genre=2

They are probably missing the X-Factor alright but if they got a favourable group which they haven't in recent years you'd give them a good shot against anyone at home. From there anything is possible. They are far more likely than Harlequins or Saracens to be the next English winners imo.

Best of luck to Rory Best if he does tour, he did quite well tonight but overall he's had an average season. Don't see him being near the test team if he does travel barring injuries.

I agree with you about the tigers performance wise but attitude wise they epitomise everything that is bad in english rugby. The arrogance of their ceo, head coach and fans knows no bounds and they have nothing but contempt for the pro12, erc and irish teams. It is the tigers fans who have christened the erc the irish mafia and the pro12 the rabofriendlies lge. Its their ceo who leads the prl campaign to have the erc disbanded and coined the phrase the price of access to their money is the reforms that prl demand( BT deal). He and his allies are relentless in their use of this type of language as if the erc was defunct and a new organisation already formed and controlled by him.

In addition ive had the pleasure of sharing pints with quins, saints,sale, gloucester, sarries fans and found them all good company. Tigers fans are hard work as were wasps fans in their heyday

hartley got 11 weeks. great he's out of the lions and great that this was a big ban for disrepect to the ref.
i now wonder if it will be rory best, could be strauss or if sean croinin was 1st choice at leinster he'd have a real shot at this

Anyway it means JHW for Ireland right?

connachta wrote: Anyway it means JHW for Ireland right?

Good point, i had total forgotten that repercussion of this.

hartley got 11 weeks. great he's out of the lions and great that this was a big ban for disrepect to the ref.

Wow they were expecting 10 weeks at the most so that is a big ban.

i now wonder if it will be Rory best, could be strauss or if sean croinin was 1st choice at leinster he'd have a real shot at this

The money seems to be on Best. Strauss got injured at the wrong time of the season during the 6 nations to put his hand uo and I think he's to inexperienced internationally for him to be picked by Gatland. Cronin is no 2 at Leinster so you'd imagine again that he'd be behind Best as well.

From RTE

Ireland hooker Rory Best has been called into the British and Irish Lions squad for the tour of Hong Kong and Australia.

The Lions turned to Best after Dylan Hartley was banned for 11 weeks after being found guilty of verbally abusing referee Wayne Barnes in the Aviva Premiership final.

A final decision on Hartley's participation in the Lions tour will be dependent on the outcome of any potential appeal.

Best, who had been appointed Ireland captain for the summer tour of north America, will link up with the Lions tomorrow ahead of their flight to Hong Kong.

The Lions play their first match against the Barbarians next Saturday and tour manager Andy Irvine said: "With uncertainty over the availability of Dylan Hartley to tour, and with the first of 10 matches only days away, we had no option but to call up the additional player.

"Despite the circumstances we should congratulate Rory, who will join the squad tomorrow and fly with us to Hong Kong.

"A final decision on whether Dylan Hartley will take any part in the tour will depend on the outcome of any potential appeal."

Northampton are understood to be waiting until they receive the full written judgement from Judge Jeff Blackett, the RFU's chief disciplinary officer, before deciding whether or not to appeal.

what a scum of a club, imagine what they'll do when we roll into town.
isnt it illegal by teams and players to bet on games there involved in (and even the league)? isnt this betting?

SARACENS HAVE COME up with an ingenious marketing ploy to attract Bath fans to Sunday’s Premiership clash between the sides. If Gavin Henson scores a point, every single Bath supporter will be refunded the entire price of their ticket for the game.
Henson had a short spell with Saracens in the 2011/12 season, making just four appearances, before stints with the Cardiff Blues and London Welsh. Having joined Bath just a few short months ago, he is now ready to face his former employer.
Saracens have added another element of spice to the Welsh international’s return with their money-back offer. Henson simply has to contribute a score for Bath on Sunday afternoon. Clare Jackson of Saracens Supporters Services said:
It really is that simple – if Gavin gets on the score sheet, Bath fans can travel back home this Sunday with a full refund.
The versatile back has yet to score in two appearances this season. He came off the bench in Bath’s Premiership opener against Newcastle before starting at inside centre in the 27-20 win over Leicester last weekend.
Rumours are already circulating that the former Strictly Come Dancing contestant has been studiously practicing his place-kicking since Saracens announced their humorous offer.
It’s not the first time the Allianz Park-based club have come up with a ploy like this. Last weekend, they offered Gloucester fans a refund if they could correctly predict the winners of the game. Those who chose a Saracens victory got their money back after a 44-12 success for the home side.