Dein erstes Forum » Tomlinson has one year of experience

All the reaction from around the European Champions Cup Round 2 as Toulon got back to winning ways and Munster remembered Anthony Foley.Sale 5-15 ToulonSale Sharks director of rugby Steve Diamond:?Theyve got three sets of eyes on him (Magnus Lund who was sin-binned for Sale), so whether hes done for no hands or late or whichever, we cant give penalties away like that week in, week out because youre going to get yellow cards. When you go down to 14 men teams can punish you, certainly teams like Toulon.I suppose we could have kicked the penalty in front of the posts but if we could have gone over from one of those drives, it would have been an interesting last 10 minutes. That was our decision, to go for those corners, and probably the right thing to do.Toulon head coach Diego Dominguez:?The difference was our first 20 minutes, we were very strong. That was the difference, he said. Dominguez defended Vermeulen after the skipper saw yellow for tripping Sam James when the fly-half had kicked through. The yellow card (for Duane Vermeulen) was not voluntary. It was a reflex. Not on purpose. It was a yellow card but it wasnt on purpose.Munster 38-17 Glasgow WarriorsMunsters director of rugby Rassie Erasmus:?I feel relieved because of the unknown element about the week. The territory we got into this week and circumstances, different things, I did not know, myself, how we would react, how the players would react, even the referee or the opposition. It was such a weird week which you cant really prepare for. Even with the warm-up I wasnt even sure what we would get out of this.We had a good chat last night and this morning about what we were going to try and achieve, not even result-wise, but more the way we wanted to play. I was expecting that would come through, but not in such a mature way, for the players to do it so quickly after something tragic that happened to Axel (Anthony Foley), so I am relieved.?The tough things are the small things. You get into the bus to the field, Axels seat is there. You get into the changing room, all the little things that remind you. Then you get out to the field and the Munster people, the Irish people, do things that are very personal, with so much emotion and then I wasnt sure how that would impact on everyone, from the opposition to us, so I am relieved the guys handled it like that.Glasgow Warriors head coach Gregor Townsend: As coaches we obviously focus on the rugby, but we are also part of mentally preparing our players, getting them to believe in themselves and go out there and play. This was different and we were focusing on the rugby side of it. We talked about what we expected today, with the crowd noise, the whole atmosphere. Its the Champions Cup. We know every game is difficult. This was really difficult today. We have missed not picking up any points today and given one of our rivals five points. It will be tough from here.Castres 41-7 NorthamptonNorthampton director of rugby Jim Mallinder:?We got to half-time and, really, it was game over, already. It doesnt mean were out of the Champions Cup. It was a massive disappointment to come here and get nothing, but we won our home game so were still in with a chance. We didnt get on the front foot at all in the first half and the little ball we got, we didnt look after. We didnt get enough numbers to the breakdown; we tried silly offloads which were never on, and they punished us.?We show that against big, physical packs we can compete. Today, we just didnt at all. We were never on the front foot. We were chasing shadows, basically. You dont want to come out to France and give them as much as we did. Once a French team - and Castres are one of the best teams - gets on the front foot, and the suns shining on their backs and the band starts playing, theyre very difficult team to beat.Castres forwards coach Joe El-Abd:?Last week was difficult. We were taught a lesson in how to play European rugby - we werent quite ready for the intensity. But we learned our lessons and have worked hard all week on what we did wrong, and it all clicked this weekend. Last week we forgot that rugby starts with the basics - the maul, the scrum, defence.If you dont get that right, you cant put your game together. The boys put things right today, and they should be happy. But that doesnt mean they can rest on their laurels. Weve got a massive game coming up against Bordeaux. Weve played three away games that are probably the toughest games Ive been involved in, against Clermont, Montpellier and Leinster. Next weekend, were going to come out with all guns blazing.Ulster 18-16 Exeter ChiefsUlster captain Andrew Trimble: It was one of those finishes to a game that was entertaining and I think a lot of supporters got their moneys worth, but it was a little bit too entertaining at the end, we had to dig really deep. That is an Exeter side that is hurting a bit from last weeks result and they came out fighting. The first 15-20 minutes when it was dry we were able to take them through phases and move them about the pitch and keep the tempo up, then it just became a proper old school dog fight out there.Whenever it comes down to that its about who wants it more and who has more character and who is going to be brave enough to stand up and take the game by the scruff of neck, and we had to do that a couple of times. Whenever there is three or four minutes left and you have to get down there we put Jackie in the pocket and he delivered. I am very proud of the performance and there are definitely things to work on.Exeter Head Coach Rob Baxter: We topped the pool last year that was won by a team with 16 points and there are four games left and we have a point. Well keep fighting to the death and the one thing we have learned if you fight to the death you always have an opportunity. Well keep going for it, wrapping up tonight the players are hurting for the right reasons. Last week they were hurting for the wrong reasons because we didnt give ourselves a chance to get into that game and tonight we did.To come to Ulster with such a good crowd and atmosphere and to stand and fight and refuse to get bowed, because there were moments when they got some momentum, and refuse to bend and to be within one or two feet of a drop goal going over and us winning what would have been a remarkable game... Im disappointed but for the right reasons and I think we learned a little bit about ourselves tonight.Saracens 44-26 ScarletsSaracens director of rugby Mark McCall: told the Saracens website?I think there were a lot of strong performances, a lot of strong individual performances across the team. Michael Rhodes had a really prominent game today carried really well for us, Mako, Owen Farrell was magnificent for us. Nick Tompkins came in at the eleventh hour...and did a really good job for us as well so some good performances across the team.Were pleased we got the win that we wanted, we got the bonus point that we wanted, did a lot of good things in the game, but also did some not so good things and obviously we dont like to concede 26 points at home. We made some errors along the way and a few more handling errors that we would have liked, but that would be a bit glass half empty because some of the rugby that we produced was really nice.Scarlets captain Ken Owens told the Scarlets website:?Against the best team in Europe I thought we found some space and looked pretty sharp attacking wise. Weve got to learn from this and front up the next couple of weeks. We saw massive character from the boys to keep going. We put them under pressure, we didnt fold at any point during the 80 minutes.Weve got to take heart, weve got a big challenge in those two back-to-back weeks in December (against Toulon). Itll be another huge challenge against a formidable side, if we play a high tempo game and move their big pack around Im sure well get some gains.Montpellier 22-16 LeinsterLeinster head coach Leo Cullen:?For the most part we handled things really well, but then we get a really good turnover and give the ball straight back to them when they score (through Martin). It felt like a really cheap seven points. A couple of minutes later we defend a maul quite well to the sideline, but we defended quite narrow because of some of the threats they have and then Nadolo - it was really strong finish from him, we know the threat he poses.Again the try in the second half (from Nadolo), we do really well to defend the maul, get a scrum from the turnover and we just cough up a cheap one. You have to be able to deal with things like that if you want to progress in this tournament. I thought the lads scrambled their way back into the game. Even after not getting over a couple of times, for Isa to get over at the end was pleasing and Isas smart enough to get a little closer to the posts to make the conversion a bit easier.Montpellier flanker Fulgence Ouedraogo:?The hard work paid off, it was very important for us to win today. The conditions were tough, but we scrummaged and mauled well and took our scoring chances when they came, particularly Nemani (Nadolo). It was frustrating at the end, though, to give away that try. Leinster didnt play well but they ended up leaving here with a losing bonus point. Thats the mark of great teams.Toulouse 20-20 WaspsWasps director of rugby Dai Young: We showed a lot of composure, even when we were under the pump - in the last 20 minutes, we still had our structure and still had our patterns. And we produced opportunities. We produced three or four try-scoring opportunities just by carrying on playing and not getting frustrated.As the game wore on, Toulouse got a bit more tired and a bit more space started to open up for us and we started to play the rugby that we know we can play. In tight games - and these are always going to be tight games - you need a kicker of quality and my moneys on Jimmy when it comes to those big kicks.Leicester 27-17 Racing 92Leicester director of rugby Richard Cockerill:?We know Freddie has got some stardust about him. You take the risk with the intercept, and if it comes off, you are okay. Freddie is a very good footballer and he read it very well. Everything went right for him tonight, and I am delighted for him. Freddie is up for the challenge. If he is in the limelight, he is happy!Those sorts of personalties play in those sorts of positions, and he would have relished having the opportunity to show what he could do. I am delighted with the performance and the result, and to deny them anything out of the game is important. We defended well, and our set-piece was probably the difference.?Zebre 7-52 ConnachtConnacht head coach Pat Lam:?It was a professional performance. We are top of the table now, but theres a long way to go. Obviously it shows how tough our pool is and its going to come down to two of us probably going through. That is the battle. We are sitting in a good place, but we have a tough job in December away to Wasps (who are two points behind) in Coventry.The good thing now is we have two from two, nine points, so we can now park this. We have two big games in the PRO12 starting with Leinster at the RDS before we head into a break. We are starting to get back to where we were at last year, but the maturity of the group is key regardless of their age.Zebre captain George Biagi:?This is the Champions Cup so teams play the best rugby, and today we started really badly. When you start badly, its hard to get some momentum and points on the board. I thought we did well in the first half to concede only two (tries). The red card made life tremulously hard for us, and Connacht have quality and today they showed it. We just did everything wrong today and played into their hands. College Jerseys . -- The proud fathers huddled near the Dallas Stars dressing room, smiling, laughing and telling stories while wearing replica green sweaters of their sons team. Wholesale College Jerseys . John Lucas, signed as a mentor for rookie Trey Burke, showed he can score if required, scoring 12 points of his 16 points in the second quarter as Utah built an 18-point lead. https://www.cheapncaajerseysjustwholesale.com/ . There was no hesitation from the 40th-ranked Pospisil, from Vernon, B.C., who admitted that he cut back on his training sessions over the last few days to conserve energy as the long ATP season finishes next week at the Paris Masters. Cheap NCAA Jerseys China . -- Anaheim Ducks defenceman Luca Sbisa will be out at least six weeks with a torn tendon in his right hand. Authentic NCAA Jerseys . Wall made the comment in a speech to a Regina business crowd that included Lesnar. The U.S. wrestler and retired mixed martial artist says he was visiting his brothers farm in Saskatchewan and decided he wanted to hear what the premier had to say. ALLEN PARK, Mich. -- Dan Orlovsky and Jake Rudock had very similar statistics in the preseason. Orlovsky will begin the season as the Detroit Lions backup quarterback, though, and theres one number that might have been the difference.Orlovsky has 12 years of NFL experience, and thats a dozen more than Rudock, a rookie out of Michigan.Hes certainly one of those guys thats been around, understands the league, understands what he sees from a defensive standpoint, Lions coach Jim Caldwell said. Hes played in games, has experience under his belt. Theres a number of different things. Hes an outstanding leader, just to name a few.Orlovsky got the nod over Rudock even though there was little difference in their preseason performance. Orlovsky was 33-of-56 passing for 338 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. Rudock was 30 of 51 for 333 yards, four touchdowns and one interception.We take everything into consideration, practice, games, meetings, Caldwell said. That evaluation is wide and broad, just not a couple different instances.Orlovskys experience was a leg up, but he has also seen enough to know his veteran status wouldnt guarantee the backup job.I dont ever take it for granted, Orlovsky said. I dont ever take it lightly. Its a big responsibility and it means a lot to me. I worked for it but it wasnt like a surprise or anything. It was my expectation level and like I said, getting ready for Week 1 and go about my business.Rudock, a sixth-round draft pick, was cut and then signed to the Lions practice squad, where he can practice without the pressure of having to enter the game if something happens to starter Matthew Stafford.Hell be fine, Orlovsky said of Rudock. What hes done is progress. Thats what you expect and hope him to do is progress. He just needs to continue to do that and take advantage of this year of learning how to do it.ddddddddddddThere is a big difference between preseason and regular season.Now the onus is on the Lions young offensive line to protect Stafford.First-round pick Taylor Decker is at left tackle; Travis Swanson is entering his third season, his second as starting center; left guard Laken Tomlinson has one year of experience; right guard Larry Warford is starting his fourth season; and right tackle Riley Reiff is the true veteran with four seasons under his belt.I feel like were getting good cohesion going, Warford said. Were getting comfortable playing next to each other and Im excited for it. Were still working out kinks, thats going to be an ongoing process. But I feel really good about this line.The five played as a unit during all of training camp and the preseason.They get accustomed to working with one another, Caldwell said. Get a good feel for one another. That takes time. It doesnt happen overnight, it takes time and then you couple that with the fact that some of those guys are going to be seeing some things for the first time.The Lions begin the season next Sunday at Indianapolis.Game notes TE Eric Ebron returned to practice for the first time since injuring his ankle during an intrasquad scrimmage Aug. 6 at Ford Field. C Graham Glasgow and T Corey Robinson also returned to practice. The only player not practicing was LB Jon Bostic (foot). ... The Lions announced the signings of WR Isaac Fruechte and LB Steve Longa to their practice squad. The team now has 10 players on the squad.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '