Very good that link Flashy.......I don't get the Rhys Patchel one though 😳
I thought that it was Mongo that got into a spot of bother on the M4?
Glasgow more like the team they were last year,Scarlets are as well!
Scarlets had massive injury problems. They were missing Rob Evans, Jake Ball, Ken Owens, James Davies, Shingler and Barclay from the forwards alone.
Jones has had a complete clear-out. I feel for Mike Catt but I cannot believe there was talk Farrel might stay for a year for "continuity" 😯 what continuity of lidicrous selection and protecting daddies boy ?
Corbisiero to take a sabbatical at the end of the season....shame, but given how much rugby he's played in the last few years he'll hardly notice the difference! Damn good prop when fully fit though.
TOUL v LEI is an odd match. TOL should be cruising here esp with LEI stupid yellow cards. Given the TOUL quality and home advantage, the should have put this beyond LEI reach. LEI doing well do stay in this!!
Sexton having a bit of a cuachmar!
Nathan Hughes is having great fun running Fords line. Poor old george is having a torrid time of it. Roko, Bananaman and Daly are playing well.
Rowntree, Catt & Farrell gone, Borthwick (Forwards/Line out) and Gustard (Defense) in.
I don't think Borthwick has been announced yet? As far as I'm aware, the deal hasn't been done with Bristol yet.
I'd like to see Greenwood in as backs/skills coach.
*shrug* The implication at least is there.
Without a doubt. England want him, but so do bris and he's under contract. The trouble is, Bristol don't need money so buying him out of contract is a bit tricky. Lot's of talk of him doing both part time for the rest of the season but he'll be away with the 6N at an important part of the season (for bris).
Nah, he'll go. All contracts have a break clause. One coach won't be tied up for more than the RFU can afford.
Eddie Jones is a decent backs coach, but a decent, proven attack coach would be a good idea. No idea where to get one though, Will Greenwood doesn't have any experience does he?
All contracts have a break clause.
Apparently not. I agree that he'll go, but it's been far from as straight forward as a break clause.
No idea where to get one though, Will Greenwood doesn't have any experience does he?
It'll be Alex King, of Saints.
Not sure Alex King is a better choice than Catt who is a world cup winner and has club coaching and international experience (and I have a bias as King is ex Britol Uni). From what I read Jone's speciality is attack so perhaps he wants to run that himself. Will Greenwood was a great player and is now a TV pundit, not a candidate IMHO.
Sadly Rob "Mr Teflon" Andrew is still raking in his £500k 😐
Will Greenwood has an understanding of the game that very few have as well as being articulate. He'd make an excellent coach.
Still, I'm pretty sure it'll be Alex King 😉
is a better choice than Catt who is a world cup winner
You mean he was part of a world cup winning team? My memories of Catt is of individualism that went slight awry - the "right" kicks that never quite worked, being steamrollered by Lomu and so on, never of individual brilliance that made scores for others or himself, such as the Conrad Smiths and Gitaeu's of this world bring to their teams. He never unequivocally brought that to the England setup IMO.
@Kryton, IMO he blossomed as a center, 10 was never his position, ditto fullback. I think its toigh on him he has been disgarded. He is the definitive world cup winner as he had our last touch 😀 Infamous moment where Greenwood is on all 4's in the middle of the field while Catt kicks it out.
I see @wrecker, nudge nudge wink wink
IMO he blossomed as a center
Quite. He had some ideas and took some risks. Like I said though, apart from an excellent period of kicking in a vs Wales game, a big break for England (cant remember the game) within which he didn't pass then fluffed the attempted release, what is there? Certainly he'd be in the "nearlyman" rather than "all star" crowd for me.
FWIW his fault or theirs, in the main the current/prior set England backs play just he did - slightly beyond thier ability to do anything with any stardom quality.
Patchell to Scarlets next year. Tasty backline if all fit. Just need some locks and an 8.
Davies
Patchel
Van Der Whatsit
Williams
Jiffy junior
?
Loopy Liam
From what I'd read Catt lost the players a bit over his tiff with Cipriani, which is saying something! Apparently the players defended Cips and I think it's game over from a coaches point of view if youve lost the players.
I'd also heard about Alex King but then heard conflicting stuff about Eddie wanting to be a bit more hands on with regards to attack. Saints attack isn't anything to write home about at the moment though but I imagine Eddie will have a very good idea of how he wants to do and if King is attack coach he'll have to finf a game to fit that.
Be interesting to see what Eddie does with regards to the squad, as far as I'm aware the EPS agreement means he can't have a wholesale clear out but we've not got many retirees to replace either. 12 still seems a bit of an issue with quite a few decent EQ players knocking about in the AP but not many actually demanding selection.
Agreed, 12 is still an issue and the England mid field should have been Slade and Tuilagi, so that's injured and injured.
However, Slade next to Ford would be superb. Slades very, very good defensively, can kick well, passes superbly and can read a game well, not a particular bosh merchant. He'll also take the pressure from Ford as Catt did with JW. Give the bosh role to Tuilagi to drive it up and make the odd wonder break. It'll be a winner, and I think the summer will show it.
Out of current players? Possibly Eastmond (he'll do better than Burges!) the other Exeter centre, possibly the Wasps one (Daly?)
Jones stated early on that the gameplan will be selected to fit the players talents. It won't be a cookie cutter approach.
If Daly doesn't make the EPS it'll be a travesty. Maybe Eastmond, but why play a bath backline? It's no better than Saints at present, to borrow ekuls' logic. In fact, the most potent player in the bath backs at present is bananaman.
I reckon there will be some surprises, which will undoubtedly be met with howling derision until game time.
Tagithackenwhatsit
?
Exactly!
(see my post above I was talking to myself)
My good friend and ex-colleague went to school with and is very close to Doug and Mike Catt, there is another side of the Chippy story. As STWers know I think Cipriani is a waster of his talent with poor discipline so I'm always going to come down on the side that he should never have been in the squad so who cares if he gets the sharp end of a coaches temper when he's not cutting it in training. I'm no international sportsman but have been coached by people at that level and its not all smiles and "well done lads"
@Kryton I agree with your assessment I just feel Mike has something good to add to the setup and his area was one where we've seen a big improvement over the past few seasons (admittedly from a low base !)
England coaching setup has become a bit of a poisoned chalice really, better for folk to stay in club rugby longer IMHO.
Catt's playing career is an irrelvance when evaluating him as a coach, afterall the last three World Cup winning coaches don't have an international cap between them.
Slade is a very good player,nearest you have had to a centre with an attacking brain in years.
Since.....Greenwood in fact!
Oooh. Looks like it's getting juicy.
BBC;
Steve Borthwick named England forwards coach by Eddie Jones
Bristol rugby;
Bristol Rugby want to make it clear that we have not agreed that Steve Borthwick can leave our employment.Steve Borthwick is subject to a recently signed long term employment contract. Bristol Rugby did not give the RFU permission to speak with Steve Borthwick.
Bristol Rugby will take all reasonable actions as necessary to protect the Club’s position and, therefore, will not be making any further statement at this stage.
Indeed @wrecker, a right dogs breakfast particularly coming after the RWC debacle. You'd have thought they'd make sure they got the details right. I for one hope Bristol stand their ground and keep him under contract till the end of the season.
It's not even as if it's another club who have broken the rules; it's the ****ing RFU FFS!
I hope Mr Lansdowns legal team tears them a new arsehole.
Fair enough, Borthwick wants to go and they want him, but do it properly at least?
Pricks.
IMHO its just another demonstration of why the structure in England is wrong. In NZ/Aus/SA country comes first. Bristol should let him go with pride, and accept the compensation package - like the Stormers did with Jones.
Why should they?
They signed a coach in good faith. The least the RFU should do is follow their own rules. Bristol have been on the receiving end of a very unfair play off system for a long time, and had just signed a coach who looked like could help with promotion. I don't blame the club for saying **** 'em.
Because country comes first. The best chance of commercial success for any english club is a successful england team.
Plenty of english clubs are doing very nicely, despite the national team being pretty bloody poor for a good few years. Poaching staff is poaching staff no matter where it comes from. If the RFU want the clubs to behave they need to set an example, not trample over it's members.
So England should only employ crap coaches that aren't in a job?
I don't see Saracens making a hoohah over Gustard. Sort it out like adults. The Bristol owner comes over as a man used to getting his own way and throwing his toys out of the pram.
Bristols only word has been the press release so the bristol owners tone has not been established. Borthwick has been employed for a very short time at the start of a fairly long contract by a club desperate for promotion. It is a very different situation to saracens, as an AP club they will have no problems recruiting. A champ club has no such luxuries, no matter what the pay packet.
The RFU need to wind their necks in and treat clubs fairly. If they don't it will go legal and breach of contract doesn't get any more cut and dried than this appears to be.
That may be, but you can't stop someone leaving. Borthwick has announced he's off, so blocking the move isn't going to benefit Bristol in any way.
Bristol can't block the move. They can sue though, and given the time spent recruiting, equipping, training etc why shouldn't they?
It's been tough reading about Lomu's financial situation. I do womder whether he took the RWC work knowing it was a health risk but felt he had no choice. I've a mate with a kidney issue and he won't fly, gave up his rwc tickets on doctors advice as the long haul flight was regarded as a risk
I'll start the bidding at 8 weeks minus 3 for nice biccies and saying sorry plus two hours and 33 seconds for his previous
He's a scummy git int he?
He is a real cheapshot ****. I blame the roids
Dylan ****ing Hartley set to be New England captain. Unbelievable. I'm feeling the hatred there.