Season 21 Predictions

Bluesman 11 - just a slight anomaly with your reckoning. 11 team league means 5 at home, 5 away for each team. When looking at the fixtures I think you may have included "Bye" as a team?!! 😂😂😂 Good effort though and difficult to disagree with your assessments

Ah right - forgotten there's been some 'switches'! I stand corrected

It's a massive ask for Pirates to beat Sarries in the first game having had zero pre-season games, while Sarries have had a few warm ups. This really makes the whole thing a bit of a fiasco IMO. With each team only playing the others once, and home advantage completely random, it's a lottery. No relegation from the Prem has been justified because of Covid, fair enough; but the Championship season has been decimated before it starts, so there should be no promotion. If a few games are not played because of Covid (quite likely) how will the powers that be justify it all?

Edited by Stalwart - 21 Feb 2021 at 11:59

Bluesman11 wrote: I’m assuming one of the reasons for the blank weekends is for any potential covid rearrangements, because we shouldn’t have any postponed for weather and in a 10 game season there is probably no need for 3 blanks for welfare. Add that to each team having a bye week and I wouldn’t be surprised if fixtures get shuffled at late notice sometimes (if the rfu are organised enough...)

Last season the RL managed to change fixtures at very little notice when coved forced them to.

Surely the 'superior games' RFU will be able to manage the same

Okay, I think I can follow the rules for this thread:

1. Sarries - I think that Sarries will take first. I honestly have been really unimpressed by their squad without the internationals. I think that they miss Richard Wigglesworth much more than they expected to. They'll field the internationals against the professional sides, but I would be in no way surprised if they put out a weak side and got surprise pipped by one of the 'weaker' teams or in a nasty weather game. I predict that they win 9 games and make the play off.

2. Ealing - With 9 preseason games against Premiership or Championship sides under their belts, I don't think that Ealing will come out underbaked like they did last year against a very creditable and well coached Pirates side. They might be a little vulnerable in the front row after losing a lot of quality players last year, and I've found their scrum to not be the dominant force this year in preseason that I might have hoped. The line out is working very well, and the 9/10 axis is looking good. An average performance form Ealing should beat an average performance from any other team bar Saracens, but I've seen them look past teams before, and Ben Ward tends to get too cute with selections sometimes. I predict that they win 8 games and make the play off.

3. Coventry - I was impressed by the way they pushed Sarries, and I think that they have kept together a good core of their squad, and have a decent squad size as well (I counted 35). Continuity will count for a lot this year, as there isn't time to 'find' form. I predict 6 wins.

4. Pirates - They laid good foundations last year, although losing some players as short term cover will hurt. They appear to have 32 players on the squad at the moment, not counting Captain Benbow. I worry that coaching turnover might stop them from achieving the highs that they did last year. I predict 6 wins here, but with less BPs than Coventry.

5. Donny - The 3 game pre-season will help them hit the ground running, so I think that they hoover up a win or two early on that they might not otherwise achieve. Sam Olver's kicking will help in that department as well - the tiny lad doesn't seem to miss. Sad not to see Colin on the squad anymore, his gray hair and beard always made me feel like maybe I could try a run out. I predict 6 wins.

6. Jersey - I think that the islanders will be impacted this year by having less home games, even if the squad on paper is looking relatively strong, especially up front (surprise). I wonder how they'll do at 10 after having a few good ones leave over the past couple of years. I predict 5 wins, with a couple of bonus point heartbreakers lost at the death.

7. Bedford - I don't like to put them this far down, but I really don't know much about this squad, and I worry that they'll have trouble gelling and forming a consistent identity. Also, I'm seeing from todays' roadmap that they are unlikely to have fans until May at the earliest, making Goldington Road and the slope less of a deterent than usual. I predict 5 wins, but less bonus points than Jersey.

8. Richmond - Loss of funding will hurt Richmond less than any other club, and I think that they've hoovered up a lot of quality players who want to have Rugby and a day job in the London area (Bluesman11 spot on here). They also can absorb a lot of injuries with a large squad, though the shortened season makes that less important. I predict 4 wins, with several BPs for tight losses.

9. Hartpury - No A league this year, so I think Gloucester will give them lots of loanees to get game time, which should help them win a few matches, though they won't be cohesive enough to come above the other teams higher on the list. I predict 3 wins, but with some BPs.

10. Nottingham - They've a very thin squad, and moving to semi-pro may hurt morale. We'll see how they do on the loanee front, but if they have to make up numbers with too many Nottingham Trent players, then we could see cricket scores. Lack of pre-season won't help. Ealing seem to trip up against them at Lady Bay, so I can perversely see them sneaking a win in that match, and still only getting 3 wins on the season. I predict 3 wins.

11. Ampthill - They seemed to play well with an extraman against Blue, but were getting battered before that. By the same logic as Richmond, they shouldn’t be as affected by lack of funding, but I just have a bad feeling about them this year, and I’m punishing them for having their squad list locked away behind a password for some reason. I predict 2 wins.

 

Fairly predictable for Cov.