Wasps vs Quins

[Banquo]

Marler was a dick and imo should also have been carded. I say this as someone who thinks Haskell is a dick.

Cards for both would have been about right, and we'll have to wait and see how impressed Eddie is with both of them. Haskell is a bigger tool though by dint of the scoreline, he's let his side down and done it for nothing.

Nothing! Nothing! He had water sprayed in his face. He could've died.

I've always been grumpy when retaliator gets punished and not originator; neither should be tolerated....and I meant Marler's original action to be clear,

[Spiffy]

Marler was a dick and imo should also have been carded. I say this as someone who thinks Haskell is a dick.

Cards for both would have been about right, and we'll have to wait and see how impressed Eddie is with both of them. Haskell is a bigger tool though by dint of the scoreline, he's let his side down and done it for nothing.

Never mind the stupid aggro, where they both behaved like twats, neither should be in the England squad on the basis of ability anyway.

[Adam_P]

Cards for both would have been about right, and we'll have to wait and see how impressed Eddie is with both of them. Haskell is a bigger tool though by dint of the scoreline, he's let his side down and done it for nothing.

Nothing! Nothing! He had water sprayed in his face. He could've died.

I'm reminded of the time Shaun Edwards spent 20 minutes after a training session at Wasps kicking a junior player around the training paddock screaming at him not to react after the youngster had given up a stupid pen the previous game that took place in the pouring rain and was visible to the other players who were greatly amused (that it wasn't them). Edwards might repeat that for a player like Haskell putting himself ahead of his team

Also if the rest of the Wasps squad don't turn up to training with water guns they want their heads knocked together

And lastly I do wonder if Danny Care took a dive today, maybe there was contact on the 9, but on initial viewing he did go backwards with something of a leap I assume to try and draw a pen

I noticed Care getting knocked back rather dramatically from the ruck, definite dive for me.

[Mikey Brown]

Cards for both would have been about right, and we'll have to wait and see how impressed Eddie is with both of them. Haskell is a bigger tool though by dint of the scoreline, he's let his side down and done it for nothing.

Nothing! Nothing! He had water sprayed in his face. He could've died.

I'm reminded of the time Shaun Edwards spent 20 minutes after a training session at Wasps kicking a junior player around the training paddock screaming at him not to react after the youngster had given up a stupid pen the previous game that took place in the pouring rain and was visible to the other players who were greatly amused (that it wasn't them). Edwards might repeat that for a player like Haskell putting himself ahead of his team

Also if the rest of the Wasps squad don't turn up to training with water guns they want their heads knocked together

And lastly I do wonder if Danny Care took a dive today, maybe there was contact on the 9, but on initial viewing he did go backwards with something of a leap I assume to try and draw a pen

Yeah I saw Care flailing around at some point late in the game but he didn't even seem to be near contact? I don't know that he was even trying to draw attention to it though did he? Did he just fall over? I'm really not sure as I only half saw it.

Smith had some great moments but Horwill MOTM for me.

[Mellsblue]

Cards for both would have been about right, and we'll have to wait and see how impressed Eddie is with both of them. Haskell is a bigger tool though by dint of the scoreline, he's let his side down and done it for nothing.

Nothing! Nothing! He had water sprayed in his face. He could've died.

I've always been grumpy when retaliator gets punished and not originator; neither should be tolerated....and I meant Marler's original action to be clear,

Agreed. I was just being flippant but Haskell's pleading to the ref was a bit pathetic.

[Banquo]

Nothing! Nothing! He had water sprayed in his face. He could've died.

I've always been grumpy when retaliator gets punished and not originator; neither should be tolerated....and I meant Marler's original action to be clear,

Agreed. I was just being flippant but Haskell's pleading to the ref was a bit pathetic.

...none of it was an utter surprise, frankly

[Beasties]

I liked Dai Young's comment:

"What you want from referees is consistency and I've got to be honest I thought he was consistent - he gave us nothing all game and that's all you can ask for really."

Did he say that? Didn't see the game but that's just class. Makes losing more acceptable.

[Oakboy]

Marler was a dick and imo should also have been carded. I say this as someone who thinks Haskell is a dick.

Cards for both would have been about right, and we'll have to wait and see how impressed Eddie is with both of them. Haskell is a bigger tool though by dint of the scoreline, he's let his side down and done it for nothing.

I think Hask is actually a touch lucky - there's a potential argument to be made that Marler gets a yellow for being a tw*t and Haskell gets a red for grabbing someone round the neck in a way that would've throttled someone with a normal neck. Don't think it's a 100% definite red, but if Marler's getting punished, then I think Haskell needs to get more for what is a pretty bad reaction.

Thought the ref had a pretty good game all round. Shut down the niggle early after informing the captains that he was going to give a penalty for the next provocation, not reaction. Required a signed and witnessed letter before giving a turnover for holding on the floor, but dealt well with the game considering it was only his 7th AP match. Particularly liked the use of moving the penalty 10m for backchat - both sides shut up quickly after he did two of those.

Puja

Oh well, we see things differently. Up until he did the 10m bit and took control, I thought the ref was pretty useless. His inexperience provoked the players into taking liberties. It was like a new teacher letting kids get away with playing him up.

[Spiffy]

Nothing! Nothing! He had water sprayed in his face. He could've died.

I've always been grumpy when retaliator gets punished and not originator; neither should be tolerated....and I meant Marler's original action to be clear,

Agreed. I was just being flippant but Haskell's pleading to the ref was a bit pathetic.

Yes it was. On the other hand I hate the kind of sly, sneaky, provocation and wind up that Marler has been getting away with for years. He thinks he's a macho hard man but really he's just a slimy cheapshot merchant who reduces himself to that kind of shit because he's not that good without it. The kind of rugby player that should not be playing the game. I really don't care much for the pair of them, but on this occasion I was longing for Haskell to knock his thick block off his thick neck. Yes, I know - very politically incorrect these days.

[fivepointer]

Marler instigated the original spat by grabbing Haskell's headgear and then prolonged it by squirting water. You may say Haskell should have showed a bit more restraint but Marler was acting like a tool. Both should have gone to the bin.

[Digby]

Marler might simply have been trying to have a bit of fun in squirting the water, maybe anyway. And of course if Haskell wants to say someone being consistently annoying isn't acceptable then for someone who so loves his banter is he now poacher turned gamekeeper?

Most likely Haskell was simply too wound up and lost sight of what he's supposed to be doing. Marler, well I happen to think he's an excellent player, but really he too lost sight of what he's supposed to be doing given he could easily have seen yellow too.

[Oakboy]

Marler instigated the original spat by grabbing Haskell's headgear and then prolonged it by squirting water. You may say Haskell should have showed a bit more restraint but Marler was acting like a tool. Both should have gone to the bin.

Agreed. Marler will be delighted to have got Haskell carded. The referee condoned deliberate provocation.

[twitchy]

Yeah a few odd responses here honestly. It was a bit of handbags that boiled over, nobody got hurt. It was a great game all round.

[Digby]

Yeah a few odd responses here honestly. It was a bit of handbags that boiled over, nobody got hurt. It was a great game all round.

Wasps lost a home game giving up two yellows in the process. The Cips one is understandable, the Haskell one not so much. And really it should hurt, and both Hask and Wasps surely aspire to more than giving up a game for free (though I can't blame Hask for how Wasps tried to play out of their own half and/or screwed up exit plays). It's not critical at this point, and maybe it even serves a purpose in allowing them to refocus, but handbags I'd equate to childish and amateur, and it simply isn't good enough.

[Scrumhead]

Wasps have a tricky run of games. Their next three are Exeter (A), Bath (H) and Saracens (A). Combined with a growing injury list, that's a very tough run ... could easily be two defeats if not three ...

[Stom]

BTW, for anyone who's been watching more religiously than me, how is Charlie Walker coming on?

He's shown pretty impressive try scoring form over the past season and a half, he has tons of gas and a good step, plus a good rugby brain. Has his defense improved? Could he have a look in for England? Or not quite good enough?

[Mellsblue]

BTW, for anyone who's been watching more religiously than me, how is Charlie Walker coming on?

He's shown pretty impressive try scoring form over the past season and a half, he has tons of gas and a good step, plus a good rugby brain. Has his defense improved? Could he have a look in for England? Or not quite good enough?

I thought he out played Wade. He looked good. It think he's just short of international class.

[Mikey Brown]

I've always been grumpy when retaliator gets punished and not originator; neither should be tolerated....and I meant Marler's original action to be clear,

Agreed. I was just being flippant but Haskell's pleading to the ref was a bit pathetic.

Yes it was. On the other hand I hate the kind of sly, sneaky, provocation and wind up that Marler has been getting away with for years. He thinks he's a macho hard man but really he's just a slimy cheapshot merchant who reduces himself to that kind of shit because he's not that good without it. The kind of rugby player that should not be playing the game. I really don't care much for the pair of them, but on this occasion I was longing for Haskell to knock his thick block off his thick neck. Yes, I know - very politically incorrect these days.

Gosh this is a bit melodramatic for you, isn't it? Shouldn't be playing the game? Because he squirted water in someone's face? How is it a cheap shot? Winding people up around the fringes of the ruck is not on the same page as what I consider cheap shots or dirty play (sly punches, rogue knees on try scorers, gouging etc.) Big Paulie was a master of this sort of niggly, tight-forward bullshit. Marler likes a scrap but he's hardly the first, it's dumb but I wouldn't call it cheap.

Don't get me wrong, I'd have been really pissed off if I was Haskell, but that's kind of the point. He was lucky not to see yellow too, he was an idiot, but your response is utterly ludicrous.

It's always been part of the game and always will be.

[Timbo]

Yeah a few odd responses here honestly. It was a bit of handbags that boiled over, nobody got hurt. It was a great game all round.

Agreed.

I read that Wasps should have Gopperth, Robson, Symons and Thomas Young back for next weeks game, so by the looks of it they'll still be putting out a great 23. Should be another cracker at Sandy Park next week.

[Timbo]

BTW, for anyone who's been watching more religiously than me, how is Charlie Walker coming on?

He's shown pretty impressive try scoring form over the past season and a half, he has tons of gas and a good step, plus a good rugby brain. Has his defense improved? Could he have a look in for England? Or not quite good enough?

I thought he out played Wade. He looked good. It think he's just short of international class.

How do you think Walker compares to Tom Collins at Saints? Personally I think Collins has enough to make me think he could step up another level. I'd like to see him play a bit at fullback.

[Scrumhead]

Agreed. I was just being flippant but Haskell's pleading to the ref was a bit pathetic.

Yes it was. On the other hand I hate the kind of sly, sneaky, provocation and wind up that Marler has been getting away with for years. He thinks he's a macho hard man but really he's just a slimy cheapshot merchant who reduces himself to that kind of shit because he's not that good without it. The kind of rugby player that should not be playing the game. I really don't care much for the pair of them, but on this occasion I was longing for Haskell to knock his thick block off his thick neck. Yes, I know - very politically incorrect these days.

Gosh this is a bit melodramatic for you, isn't it? Shouldn't be playing the game? Because he squirted water in someone's face? How is it a cheap shot? Winding people up around the fringes of the ruck is not on the same page as what I consider cheap shots or dirty play (sly punches, rogue knees on try scorers, gouging etc.) Big Paulie was a master of this sort of niggly, tight-forward bullshit. Marler likes a scrap but he's hardly the first, it's dumb but I wouldn't call it cheap.

Don't get me wrong, I'd have been really pissed off if I was Haskell, but that's kind of the point. He was lucky not to see yellow too, he was an idiot, but your response is utterly ludicrous.

It's always been part of the game and always will be.

Agreed. Hysterical.

Surely Haskell knows Marler is a WUM?

He probably should have seen yellow too, but I thought Haskell's claim that he was choking him with his headgear was a little overblown. It looked to me as though he had a hold of the side of it while Haskell had his forearm across his throat. Handbags and no more from both.

[Mikey Brown]

I've been really impressed with Walker recently too, he's capable of things few others are, but have that same feeling that England might be a bit out of reach.

Saying that, I couldn't help but dig this up. That change of direction/acceleration is ridiculous.

[Banquo]

Marler instigated the original spat by grabbing Haskell's headgear and then prolonged it by squirting water. You may say Haskell should have showed a bit more restraint but Marler was acting like a tool. Both should have gone to the bin.

yep, my view exactly.

[Mellsblue]

BTW, for anyone who's been watching more religiously than me, how is Charlie Walker coming on?

He's shown pretty impressive try scoring form over the past season and a half, he has tons of gas and a good step, plus a good rugby brain. Has his defense improved? Could he have a look in for England? Or not quite good enough?

I thought he out played Wade. He looked good. It think he's just short of international class.

How do you think Walker compares to Tom Collins at Saints? Personally I think Collins has enough to make me think he could step up another level. I'd like to see him play a bit at fullback.

I rate Collins more than Walker. If I were Jones I'd be keeping an eye on him to challenge May as the speedster wing. Walker is a cracking little player, though. Leicester must be kicking themselves that they let him go.

[Adam_P]

I would be interested to see Collins vs May in a side by side foot race. Think Collins has better acceleration, but not sure about top speed. So hard to judge with May because he looks so relaxed even when he is absolutely flying.