Cardiff Tig wrote: ↑Sun Feb 20, 2022 10:03 am
I'd argue Clare has always been clearly ahead of Dolly, and still is. Dolly is a good player but it was the injury crisis that resulted in his England cap, and as has been stated above, if they had both been fit then I suspect that Clare would have been called up ahead of Dolly.
I expect us to lose Dolly as I'm not convinced he is a 3rd choice hooker, and it will be a luxury if we can keep all 3.
Dolly was amongst the recent re-signings!
I know. But if the current trend continues of Montoya and Clare getting significantly more game time then I expect him to be off as I think he's definitely good enough to be in the top two hookers for another premiership club.
It's hard to judge as there may well be another reason for his lack of game time recently other than just selection choices. As RB says, there are other factors as well. I just think an up and coming 22 year old isn't going to want to hang around as 3rd choice for long if they are better than that. But then the club may well have explained that he'll get significant game time next year and the front row is generally a long game when it comes to their best years.
I would be surprised if he isn’t on a 3 year contract tbh.
Currently my guess would be as suggested before that with the weather and pitches being at it’s worse and with Genge not being here Clare is the current prefer option of the two.
I wouldn’t be surprised if come end of March he starts getting more game time again.
It may also depend on what Eddie has said to Dolly regarding his England future. He does seem to be on a similar trajectory to Thacker. I am not sure of their relative sizes. Dolly is more mobile than Clare but we need weight and experience when others in the front row have less of either so selection seems sensible. SB does seem to be taking the players along with him regarding selection / rotation. If you are in the wider mix (and KVW and Lancaster do not appear to be for different reasons) you will get game time when it fits the plan. It does seem to be working!
Offside wrote: ↑Sun Feb 20, 2022 10:49 am
It may also depend on what Eddie has said to Dolly regarding his England future. He does seem to be on a similar trajectory to Thacker. I am not sure of their relative sizes. Dolly is more mobile than Clare but we need weight and experience when others in the front row have less of either so selection seems sensible. SB does seem to be taking the players along with him regarding selection / rotation. If you are in the wider mix (and KVW and Lancaster do not appear to be for different reasons) you will get game time when it fits the plan. It does seem to be working!
Just watched the highlights of the Bristol match on YouTube. MVS did get his head and neck in an awful position and took a shoulder low down. Having watched it again it is no wonder he is having a lengthy break from the game
It really would be good to know how bad (or not) is the injury to Cole?
I watched Brendan Rogers interviewed last night and he was asked about City's long term injuries to Vardy and Fofana.
He gave a detailed answer, no issues. No he didn't say exactly when they would be back, but it was good to hear.
I know others disagree, but this is sport not life and death, it does no harm whatsoever to keep fans updated with injuries....not with specific details but just generally.
Soggypitch wrote: ↑Fri Feb 25, 2022 5:07 pm
It really would be good to know how bad (or not) is the injury to Cole?
I watched Brendan Rogers interviewed last night and he was asked about City's long term injuries to Vardy and Fofana.
He gave a detailed answer, no issues. No he didn't say exactly when they would be back, but it was good to hear.
I know others disagree, but this is sport not life and death, it does no harm whatsoever to keep fans updated with injuries....not with specific details but just generally.
The one thing I disagree with SB on!!
As you say this is sport not life and death so, equally, it does no harm not to tell us either
Scuttle wrote: ↑Thu Mar 03, 2022 5:35 pm
And Wiese packing down as flanker
I noticed that too but I wouldn’t read too much into it, just scrummaging practice I think. He is by far our best 8 can’t see anyone else playing there if he is on the team sheet.
Unless it’s defensive planning
Scuttle wrote: ↑Thu Mar 03, 2022 5:35 pm
And Wiese packing down as flanker
True, at the time Martin was packing at 8, so guessing it's a bit of practice for Wiese at flanker if on a defensive scrum we've lost a player to the bin and he's defending on the flank, at the same time giving Martin some practice at 8 too.
Used to run around with an 11, 14 or 15 on my back.
