S8N 666

Anyone see the Championship final last night?

Good to see the Falcons will be back in the Premiership 

Pretty tight game as well, Newcastle were in danger of throwing away their 9 point cushion several times.

Just sorry to see Jimmy Gopperth won't be playing for them next season.

Back down they go then 

They'll certainly start as favourites for the drop, but then so did Exeter when they first came up........

Exeter are a bit different tho. I mean there are people out there that are convinced that because Newcastle were an established prem team they'll be able to mimic what quins and saints did after their relations, problem there is they both had much better teams when they went down and managed to keep most if not all of their better players and then strengthened when they came back up. 
 
A team like Worcester imploding or a team like Bedford winning the championship will be the only things saving Newcastle. I can see them becoming a bit like Rotherham/Leeds of a a few years back where they yoyoed up and down, clearly too good for the league below but not quite good enough for the prem. 

I think Newcastles record this season has shown just how much disparity there is between the two leagues, they had a massive lead at the end of the season proper, but are going to struggle in the Premiership - can't see them going straight back down though, from what I've seen we still have some promising players.
 
Plus there's always a chance that Wasps will do a better job of propping us up this time round 

S8N 666

I think Newcastles record this season has shown just how much disparity there is between the two leagues, they had a massive lead at the end of the season proper, but are going to struggle in the Premiership - can't see them going straight back down though, from what I've seen we still have some promising players.

Plus there's always a chance that Wasps will do a better job of propping us up this time round 

 
As I said you wouldnt be the first team caught in a kind of limbo Rotherham and Leeds were like that in the past. Theres a part of me that thinks adding 3 teams (Leeds,Notts and Bristol) and scrapping relegation and the cup might be a good idea 
I won't bite but I do still have a massive apprehension about us, we seem to be masters at throwing games away
 

Well, this is an interesting start to the tour!
Very unsportsmanlike of Farrell to clap the yellow card.

Exactly what the Lions needed to open the tour.
Difficult conditions but some great play on show.

Bit of a stuttering performance by Wales this morning. Not surprising with such a young side, new-look coaching team for the tour, and so on, but at least they got the win. Japan were never going to be a pushover, and they looked the better side for much of the game. Wasn't convinced by the decision to leave Navidi out, or the decision to take Biggar off when they did, but in the end it was job done, and a couple of the youngsters looked like good prospects for the future - Emyr Phillips had a great game at hooker, I thought.
 
What's with the idea of not having a TMO for a full international, though?!!

Really enjoyed the Lions game today.
Much more of a test than they have previously had.

Cuthbert was awful, hopefuly that means Bowe and North are now nailed on to start the first test assuming Bowes injury doesn't prevent that. Back row were out done in every way by the Reds. Hogg was poor as well although Halfpenny is dead cert for test spot. Scrum and lineout were good, not sure how much of that was down to the Reds being poor in them areas. 
 
EDIT: just seen that Bowe is out of the tour, hope that means Cuthbert doesn't start.

Front five were well on top of the Reds, which is what really won the game for the Lions - Mako is having a storming tour so far but Stevens is just sh!t, I've no idea why he's there!  Back row did struggle at times for sure, but Sam Warburton does need a few games to get match fit.  Farrell played much better on Saturday, but I have to disagree with you about Cuthbert, I thought he had a good game.  Bowe & North were just outstanding, real shame Bowe is out of the tour.  Hogg is in the same category as Stevens & Hartley (before he got banned!) - no idea why he's on the tour as there are far better options (Foden & Brown for a start) left behind; although Halfpenny will clearly be the starting 15, Gatland needs stronger back up than Hogg in case of injury.

IMO Hogg played ok, Gray stood out in the forwards. The back row was poor. North was quality though.
 
Best game of this weekend I thought was Wigan vs Widness in terms of entertainment. 

rew37

Front five were well on top of the Reds, which is what really won the game for the Lions - Mako is having a storming tour so far but Stevens is just sh!t, I've no idea why he's there!  Back row did struggle at times for sure, but Sam Warburton does need a few games to get match fit.  Farrell played much better on Saturday, but I have to disagree with you about Cuthbert, I thought he had a good game.  Bowe & North were just outstanding, real shame Bowe is out of the tour.  Hogg is in the same category as Stevens & Hartley (before he got banned!) - no idea why he's on the tour as there are far better options (Foden & Brown for a start) left behind; although Halfpenny will clearly be the starting 15, Gatland needs stronger back up than Hogg in case of injury.

What did cuthbert do well? butchered a try scoring opotunitiy that you'd back any quality winger to score, was often out of position which made Hoggs job a hell of a lot harder (maybe I was a bit harsh on Hogg) and he missed how many tackles? He's simply not good enough. 

Good first half but the second's abit poor. Lack of consistency.

I dislike having all these walkover games, they really don't show anything. 

Wade called up by the lions as injury cover