1/2p is the soundest in defence. Hogg the best overall. V NZ we will need pace in the back 3 and mid field Hogg, North (if he shows some form) and Nowell would be my picks. North needs to get a few passes in space though..very little of that play for Scumhampton and Wales
Tennessee Tam* surely as one of the wingers. On his form now anyway
* Seymour
Hogg is calmed his git tendencies recently.
Why is it that Fullbacks seem to have overtaken Scrum halves as annoying gits tho? If you were given one punch to aim at Hogg, Williams and Brown how hard would it be to pick which one?
If you were given one punch to aim at Hogg, Williams and Brown how hard would it be to pick which one?
Not hard at all!!!
It'd be Ashton
🙂
a_a is right there!
a_a literally laugh out loud!
You are starting to sound like jamby and Danny Cipriani.
Ducky I don't think i have ever been so insulted 😆
London Welsh R.I.P 😥
Personally I think picking wings based on their defensive ablities is wrong.
Sure, you don't want a revolving door but if the offensive ablity far outweighs the defensive liability then you're in credit.
I always remember a Wigan coach being questioned about Martin Offiah's defensive frailties and he replied along the lines of -
"When Martin can score the tries that he does, you can pay the other twelve blokes to do the tackling."
Ha, I told you all about ellis genge last year (one to watch at that point).
He is a very angry man, but he doesn't spill over. Of all of the fights he appears to try and get into, he never actually gets into one. It's all about intimidation, and he's pretty good at it.
In other news; London Welsh cease to exist as a rugby club. Gawn.
Looks a bit nipply out in just a t-shirt
And is it just me who thinks Dullan has a wazzle pair of jugs?
Edit 37secs to slow - apparantly not!
Personally I think picking wings based on their defensive ablities is wrong.Sure, you don't want a revolving door but if the offensive ablity far outweighs the defensive liability then you're in credit.
I agree, but Ashton doesn't really do anything himself. He relies on others putting him into space or creating an opportunity to finish. And he's shit at tackling. The likes of Wade are a bit squiffy at tackling, but he makes yards or gets through gaps when there appears to be no space.
Did Dylan Gouge Jones?
Nah, it was a 'reckless tackle' when Jones said that he was giving the captaincy to someone else...
Ashton - he may do nothing but score tries but he is rather good at that.
Ashton - he may do nothing but score tries but he is rather good at that.
At international level, a lot of his tries have come against the likes of Italy. I don't want him anywhere near the Lions!
Lets put it this way, Aston couldn't make the England team. there's no way in the world he's lions calibre!
He is (was?) quick, that's not in doubt, look at his try against Aus in about 2010 but that's not enough. Rokoduguni (sp?) is far better as an attacker, just too idle to be quite international class. Ashton is not as good as him in all aspects of his game.
wrecker - MemberHa, I told you all about ellis genge last year (one to watch at that point).
He is a very angry man, but he doesn't spill over. Of all of the fights he appears to try and get into, he never actually gets into one. It's all about intimidation, and he's pretty good at it.
Piling into a ruck from the side in front of the ref to give somebody a cheap one in the ribs is NOT intelligent. Good in the loose, will make a good door hinge when he retires at scrum time. The mess Nel(if he plays again) or Furlong will make of him will be best watched from behind the sofa.
I think you'll be surprised. As long as he's got Jamie George in the middle, he'll do OK.
At 21 he's already doing pretty well in the AP, in 5 years he'll wipe the floor with most. Nel will be 36 then, Fulong 29 (so more comparable). He's had less than 20 AP games so far, so it's to be expected that there may still be some issues!
Piling into a ruck from the side in front of the ref to give somebody a cheap one in the ribs is NOT intelligent
Maybe not but if you read POC's book - it's pretty much all he seemed to do in HIS early years. 😆
I agree, but Ashton doesn't really do anything himself. He relies on others putting him into space or creating an opportunity to finish.
Couldn't disagree more - Ashton makes literally dozens of runs off the ball, always looking to get on to someone's shoulder for the scoring pass. You don't notice most of them because he never gets the pass and then when he does, it looks like an easy run in. But it wasn't, it was hard graft.
BOD absolutely loves him. He always talks him up on BT Sport and says he's never seen another player work so hard off the ball.
I am starting to feel rather happy about our chances in the 6N. Am I suffering from premature jock elation?
Scotland could well finish above Italy and Wales and maybe France but Ireland and England will be too strong imo.
I reckon the final table will look something like:
England
Ireland
Scotland
France
Wales
Italy
3 wins is the minimum acceptable IMO. Depends if Cotter can convince the scots players the opposition are rabbits that need skinning 😉
The mess Nel(if he plays again) or Furlong will make of him will be best watched from behind the sofa.
You're not wrong there, Genge switched from the flank fairly late on; obviously scrummaging isn't his strong point yet but he has the strength and the coaching in place to make a fine operator. Only time will tell.
Piling into a ruck from the side in front of the ref to give somebody a cheap one in the ribs is NOT intelligent.
He's FAR from the only one guilty of that crime now is he?
Namaste is bang on about Ashton, he is a long way from just a poacher/lucky git. I know he's a weapons grade cockend but he's a very, very good rugby player, like it or not. I'd still far sooner have a beer with him than Hogg, who makes old chris look like a sound bloke.
Ashton is a good player but his defence is awful.
Indisputable, but the likes of wade and may aren't a lot better, if at all. I'm not championing a return to the england team for Ashton. Just saying that for all his faults, he is (annoyingly) rather good at rugby.
Ashton is a good player but his defence is awful.And he's likely to do something bloody stupid and get carded / banned. He looked very very good when he first got capped but he never seems to have kicked on and worked on his deficiencies. I think we'll have to agree to disagree...
Watson looks like he'll be struggling to make the 6N opener with a hamstring injury.
Indisputable, but the likes of wade and may aren't a lot better, if at all. I'm not championing a return to the england team for Ashton. Just saying that for all his faults, he is (annoyingly) rather good at rugby.
True enough although Norths defence is bad he's better than Ashton
Should we just pick a side full of all the annoying gits for the lions? Make NZ lose their collective minds and give up and go home or end up with 10 players carded?
And he's likely to do something bloody stupid and get carded
Unlike Brown/Liam/Hogg?
I think we'll have to agree to disagree...
That's what it's all about! It would be boring if we all agreed.
It would be a huge shame for Watson to miss the 6N, probably affect his Lions spot. The kid is pure class.
Jeez, sitting through Glaws/Barf in the AW was like a man-test. The highlights will be short! Been Obano continuing to fail to live up to expectations, Brew looked OK though.
Brew looked OK though.
😯
I just thought I'd leave a comment just voiced by Mrs Binners, a rugby league and ardent Wigan fan. We're in a pub having just watched the footy, and the Rugby has just come on. Whoever against whoever....
"Pfft... pansy rugby is on. Lifting each other up like bloody ballarinas. What that all about? All they're missing is bloody tutus!"
😆
I'd suggest mrs binners goes to see the size of some of the blokes that are lifted and tries to pick one up or run through them!
Ashton is a good player but his defence is awful.
Despite his awful defence Saracens seem to have been remarkably good at not conceding tries when he's been playing......
Despite his awful defence Saracens seem to have been remarkably good at not conceding tries when he's been playing......
Because there's 14 other well drilled players taking up the slack! His defence is poor; dragging players out by the hair, tackling too high and getting done for making contact with the eyes (a challenge that he didn't need to make).
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/38777496
Nice Jim Telfer article on BBC.
Decent Lions team but personally can't see a cat in hell's chance of that being the test side. Shame, really.
Bit about Eddie Jones as Donald Trump , too.
"Eddie Jones doesn't want to beat teams, he wants to demolish them, which I find a bit disappointing," says Telfer. "To me, he's building his whole team on set-piece and the building of the attack comes secondary. Having coached Australia and Japan you would have thought the opposite would be the case. The way he speaks, it's a bit like Donald Trump. He wants to be the big man, you know?"His goal is to win the World Cup in 2019 and so far it's gone well, but I think he could be a little more circumspect, show a bit more respect for the opposition. He doesn't seem to show much respect and it could come back to bite him.

Jim Telfer is as mad as a box of Frogs... Johnny ****ing May!
Also too many welsh.
Much as I enjoy Jim Telfer's musings I think he's a bit off the mark about EJ.
Jones has always stated he wants a dominant set piece and a strong defence FIRST and then he'll develop the attack.
His Lions XV isn't too bad but I'd have Liam Williams in there at 11 or 15.
Watson hasn't exactly been setting the world on fire either!
May as well pick Tuilagi....
Eddie trying to be the big man (successfully) and Telfer trying to be Campese (less so) 😉
Is there a championship around the corner?
[Twickies may be sterile but at least its not a cess-pit of whistling at kickers]
I don't see the issue with wanting to smash teams; the SH teams never give up playing when in th lead. The AB's are relentless and never defend a lead as such, they keep playing.
So the beeb are saying we will see Itoje at 6 this weekend. Should be worth a watch. England team seems unbalanced with that massive pack but a fast and creative backline.
Really looking forward to seeing if Ireland can match them upfront what else they have.


