rate the players...............taken from telegraph

[Shan]

I hate player ratings. You cannot accurately appraise a player's performance by use of such a narrow band.

[BPH]

Nope I disagree. I thought Pedrie had a great game, one silly inside pass excepted.

With the greatest respect, Jackie, you're absolutely, completely and utterly wrong. A "great" game? Have you been at the crack pipe? Again, I'm assuming it's the drink talking

I hate to say 'I told you so', but the Jackson experiment was always doomed to failure. A blind man on a flying horse could have seen that - despite the bizarre clamour amongst our fans to throw this kid in against the best backline in Europe. Now we have to rebuild his confidence slowly

[trewbear]

Not much wrong with ratings on the day - beaten by the best rugby team in Europe (maybe the world). I would add though that the ratings for the game don't reflect how I view these players over the season. They have achieved so much this year and laid a foundation that must be built on, proud of all of them.

One thing today proved was that PJ is not ready. If he is first choice next season we will go backwards (probably for at least a couple of seasons while PJ makes the grade) or he will find the pressure too much and he will never make the grade.

David H said before the game that we went backwards rapidly after 1999 and 2006 and he did not want to let that happen again.

The fly half role is critical to this. I do not want to watch another 6 seasons getting humped all over Wales etc and failing to get out of HC group stage.

I'm not having a go at PJ here, nor do I think IH starting would have won us the game - if god had played fly half for us today we would still have lost. Over to you DH sort out the fly half situation.

forum/posting.php?mode=reply&f=2&t=1471 ... 1b50c86523#

[Nightsoil]

One day very rarely proves anything in rugby, except for who gets to take a trophy home.

I backed Jackson to start the match and I'll back him to start next season as well. He has shown that he has everything needed in his locker at various times. What he needs now is practice executing them at top level match intensity time and time again, and that's what we should be giving him. Providing he has the mental strength to let yesterday spur him on but not scar him, he will be much the stronger for it.

[TriGav]

One day very rarely proves anything in rugby, except for who gets to take a trophy home.

I backed Jackson to start the match and I'll back him to start next season as well. He has shown that he has everything needed in his locker at various times. What he needs now is practice executing them at top level match intensity time and time again, and that's what we should be giving him. Providing he has the mental strength to let yesterday spur him on but not scar him, he will be much the stronger for it.

Excellent post +1

[OneMore]

... Now we have to rebuild his confidence slowly

I don't buy this at all. Why? Why slowly? The guy had an off day. Why will he not just process this and then the next opportunity that comes along he absolutely smashes it? In terms of learning experiences, they don't come much better than yesterday.

I think yesterday will be the making of Paddy Jackson.

[breakdown]

What was the score when PJ went off?

[trewbear]

I do hope you are all right and PJ is the star of our run to HC win next year.

If he's not, where does that leave us?

We need a better plan than hoping a almost untried fly half will come very good.

[Eggs]

I do hope you are all right and PJ is the star of our run to HC win next year.

If he's not, where does that leave us?

We need a better plan than hoping a almost untried fly half will come very good.

Agree wholeheartedly with this. PJ has shown that he is not (yet!) ready for the pressure to be on him. Let's not kid ourselves he was horrific yesterday. If IHumph played like that people would be crucifying him on here. He is not ready to be our first choice

[Nightsoil]

I do hope you are all right and PJ is the star of our run to HC win next year.

If he's not, where does that leave us?

We need a better plan than hoping a almost untried fly half will come very good.

He won't be the star, I can almost guarantee that, because 21 year old fly-halves are very rarely the star of the show. If he's playing his part as a cog in the engine while he learns, as he did against Embra, then I am fine with that. That'll all I'm expecting to begin with.

But I do definitely think it's the right course of option. He's not going to become tried unless we play him, after all. We can't buy in a fly-half, thanks to the way things are, so we have to develop one. Jackson's got a ton of potential, so let's give him a go. With Pienaar and Wallace besides him, you couldn't ask for better men to take the pressure off of him. I'm not saying it's definitely going to work mind - but I don't see any option other than to try. Bear in mind most of the games he'll play in next season will be a lot easier!

[mikkii6]

I think we don't really have a choice but to develop Jackson. He should learn from the experience and come back stronger for it. IH might have made a difference but Leinster still put about 20 points past us on his watch anyway. You'd hope Pienaar develops Jackson's game although I'd rather have another specialist on the squad anyway. It's such a key position that you can't afford not to be covered beyond covered.

[bigchiefally]

How on earth does Terblanche get a 7?

We were still in with an outside but still vaguely possible shot of the game, 2 tries needed in about 7 minutes, when he lost it and got sent to the bin for stupidity. 17 points later we were on the end of the biggest mauling in the history of the HC.

He made the biggest mistake of the whole game.

Stupid stupid stupid.

[Big-al]

Terblanche was crap, make no bones about it.

[BPH]

... Now we have to rebuild his confidence slowly

I don't buy this at all. Why? Why slowly? The guy had an off day. Why will he not just process this and then the next opportunity that comes along he absolutely smashes it? In terms of learning experiences, they don't come much better than yesterday.

I think yesterday will be the making of Paddy Jackson.

And I don't buy that at all. Maybe it will make him, maybe it will crush him How do you know how he'll react? Answer: you don't. Therefore, I think it's better to err on the side of caution with his development.

Hardly rocket science

[Snipe Watson]

If he is crushed by this, it will be the fault of the coaches and senior players who allow him to be and stay crushed. He may well hurt for a few weeks, but he will learn, grow and move on.