Looking on the bright side - Tom Varndell

Tigris · Post by **Tigris** » Tue May 06, 2008 3:36 pm

Anyone noticed that he is currently top try scorer in the Premiership?

Good on him, and makes you wonder what he could be doing if:

a) he gets better service; and
b) he comes in off his wing a bit more

But in the meantime, and keeping the drive for positivity, however painful that may currently be, well done Tom!!

westy154 · Post by **westy154** » Tue May 06, 2008 3:59 pm

No matter the questions of his defence or his workrate or any of those other things, give him a chance to finish and he'll more often than not finish it off.

Interestingly, he might be complaining about lack of ball, and others might be complaining about Loffreda getting the backs moving, but this must be his most prolific season for a while (ever?). He has been a whole lot better this year than he was last under Pat Howard.

Keep up the good work.

Bill W · Post by **Bill W** » Tue May 06, 2008 4:02 pm

Good gracious!!! Surely not a ray of sunshine!!!

Did I not hear that he was joining Wasps?

adamv6 · Post by **adamv6** » Tue May 06, 2008 4:06 pm

Did I not hear that he was joining Wasps?

He better not be!

Seems that Ollie Smith is off to Montpelier.

Luke Abraham, Ian Humphreys, Jim Hamilton and Scott Bemand are all confirmed departee's, so if any more leave we will be in serious bother.

Tigris · Post by **Tigris** » Tue May 06, 2008 4:13 pm

Bill W wrote:Good gracious!!! Surely not a ray of sunshine!!!

Did I not hear that he was joining Wasps?

Worth a go Mr W...

To be honest it seems surprising how little speculation there tends to be around him - he would be a massive asset to any club.

We are lucky to have him and it is great to see him developing as a player - some areas of his game could be improved I'm sure, but then again, life would be boring if everything was perfect.

Bill W · Post by **Bill W** » Tue May 06, 2008 4:22 pm

Indeed Tigris. And if there were no room for improvement what could we complain about?

tiger7 · Post by **tiger7** » Tue May 06, 2008 4:25 pm

from what ive seen of varndell his game has massively improved this season! his kicking out of hand is much better! his tackling although hes not likely to make the opposition shake in their boots is much better! He doesnt seem to be missing as many now! He is the type of player who only needs a few yards of space and can try nothing into 5 points!

kevf · Post by **kevf** » Tue May 06, 2008 5:07 pm

adamv6 wrote:
Did I not hear that he was joining Wasps?
He better not be!

Seems that Ollie Smith is off to Montpelier.

Luke Abraham, Ian Humphreys, Jim Hamilton and Scott Bemand are all confirmed departee's, so if any more leave we will be in serious bother.

only if we don't purchase wisely...

mightymouse · Post by **mightymouse** » Tue May 06, 2008 5:12 pm

I've said it all season - he and Johne M are the most improved players - it's Alex I'm worried about - he looks unfit and seriously off form - get that op done and short himout for next year

drc_007 · Post by **drc_007** » Tue May 06, 2008 5:20 pm

Varndell's scoring record

2005/6 14 tries from 18 starts + 5 tries in HC + 2 tries in Powergen
2006/7 9 tries from 15 starts + 4 tries in HC + 2 tries in EDF
2007/8 11 tries from 17 starts + 2 tries in HC + 2 tries EDF

In all he has scored 60 tries in 79 starts (also 15 matches as replacement), must be one of the most prolific scorers in the game today.

So why was he not on the pitch for the EDF final?

crateman · Post by **crateman** » Tue May 06, 2008 5:22 pm

TV's game has come on a lot, he may not be the best defender in the world, but this season he's better than he was. Ditto for his kicking. He is what he is, a pure winger, with bags of gas and a never-ending thirst for tries. If the rest of the side can put him into a yard of space, he can pretty much leave anyone for dead.

On the down side there do seem to be days when he switches off for periods, but these are generally when he hasn't seen the ball for an hour - not really surprising.

All in all, I'll take a try scoring machine with a few faults anyday.

Tigris · Post by **Tigris** » Tue May 06, 2008 5:29 pm

With luck, Alex will get fit, and get back to his best.

That leaves us with Tom, Johne and Alex in the winger pot, which gives real options in terms of style - pace, creativity, and brute force.

Could perhaps do with another out and out speed merchant; be interesting to see if the rumour about the Pumas wing (can't remember his name) turn out to be true, though to be fair I haven't seen anything of him other than the World Cup.

I know Johne has said he would pefer to play full-back, but while the other Murphy is fit he seems destined in the short term to play second fiddle.

Hot_Charlie · Post by **Hot_Charlie** » Wed May 07, 2008 10:09 am

adamv6 wrote:
Did I not hear that he was joining Wasps?
He better not be!

Relax... look at the frontpage.

Good news.

Cliffeclimber · Post by **Cliffeclimber** » Wed May 07, 2008 10:14 am

Such good news that he's decided to stay with us. From the frustration he showed at the EDF final, I thought that he might have considered other offers.

It's all very well having one of the fastest players in Europe, but we have to use him intelligently. Getting the ball out to him when he's in space and can use his pace would be a good start.

MurphysLaw · Post by **MurphysLaw** » Wed May 07, 2008 10:18 am

Not so long ago he was clearly fustrated with the style of rugby we were playing, and he looked very unhappy. So for him to have re-signed is very good news

Very constructive comments about him from ML in the press release.