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I'd agree mindmap!
Back row, I'd like to see Wilson Curry Vunipola. I think that it'll be Shields over Wilson though.
Also with mindmap on the Ireland front but in think a bit better than middling with the rest.
Id forgotten Wilson was picked, hmmm. A bit rangier and better in defence than shields?
quietly relived to only see a couple of Warriors in the pick, and neither Im too worried about losing either. Warriors need a strength squad to stay up this year and a big hole in the side through feb might have done for us. That's not to say warriors cant royally **** this up anyway, but it makes life easier not to lose too many to the international squad mid season.
https://twitter.com/IrishRugby/status/1085566627050123266
That looks like a nice squad to be choosing from.
@ Stoner agree about the two England call ups but won't they miss Adams on the wing?
Jones is ****ing mad isn't he? Now his telling everyone this is the strongest England squad he's ever had, and how Nowell could shake things up as great 7 with a view to the future being a Forward/Backs kind of crossover.
Can someone please give him a ring and tell him Rugby league is over there >>>>>?
I think he's determined to make us look like a bunch of ****s.
Kryton - he’s a gobshite! He literally has verbal diarrhoea and just spouts crap without engaging his brain first. Nowell is probably slow enough to be a flanker though....
Fair play Edinburgh. I thought they’d ballsed it up when they slipped behind.
Not sure that tea Saints game has much point with them scoring over 100!
Dragons were given a whooping tonight by Clermont.
#Paints myself blue and runs around screaming #
Ha ha. Thought you’d be a happy man TJ because doesntbthis mean that Glasgow are through now regardless too?
I’m just waiting for the next batch of disappointments from the English teams...
Yes
The mighty Edinburgh have done our little brothers along the m8 a big favour
Shit Hamish is broken.
not having Adams is a pretty normal affair though pete. And TBH Heem's had a good run of form, the other backs are keeping it together too. More relieved that in form Ryan Millzy wasnt pinched by Jones.
Sarries v Glasgow game is a belter.
Very different to the last time they met.
Farrell a potential worry for England with a thumb injury. Hopefully it’ll just be the 10 days max expected to recover. Could be an issue loosing both co-captains.
Note to Seymour - running straight into Mako V & Maro Itoje together is a bad plan! Ouch!
Good win for Sarries today.
And a bloody good comeback from Wuss who looked out of it at half time.
Fantastic out of the bag save by wuss.
Was thinking of going myself but currently at a crucial fixture for Ledbury vs Alcester in the North Mids South West division 3. Top flight rugby for sure...
Scarlets did well away at Racing. Cracking game. Scarlets lack of bench told in the end. Nice to see Parkes show a bit of form.
Blues played well too Tomos Williams seren y gem. Hope he can start in Six Nations.
I note Williams made a rare start at 15 for Saracens, did he look any good?
Tight Munster-Chiefs game. Not exactly a classic in skills terms or open rugby but so intense.
Gloucester managed to balls it up...scrum half came away with a turn over with the clock in the red and I stead of hoofing it out to seal victory it gets hacked downfield and Castress managed to hold onto the ball for ages, force a penalty, win and line out and bosh. Jesus. That was really inept game management from them but all part of the annual disappointment that is the English teams in Europe!
Exeter were a tad unlucky in a high end physical game but the one sided Munster love in commentary got irritating after a while. Still, Munster showed why they are true champions.
AA - from the bits I saw loopy liam was pretty good.
Ireland must be licking thier lips at the through of Ford moving to No 1. WTF is in Eddies head that Cips can’t be called up as cover? The response seems to be that Slade will cover 10 behind Ford, so as usual we’ll take on one of the best teams in the world with a Fly Half who can’t play defensively, cannot be relied upon to kick points and with a Centre covering the position.
Absolutely no one ever is quaking in thier boots at playing England and we are becoming the laughing stock of the world with the bullshit Jones is spouting at the moment, god knows what it does to the players heads.
Curious moment before Racing’s first try.. Two Scarlets tacklers had hold of the R92 no.6. The ref shouted release, so they did immediately. The R92 stood up with no ball release - he’d been on his knees - and made a short break before passing the ball out. The try was scored a few passes later. The whole thing waved on by the ref, no mention by anyone that the no.6 should have been penalised.
so as usual we’ll take on one of the best teams in the world with a Fly Half who can’t play defensively
I thought Cippers wasnt picked...
I overtook Shaun Edwards on the M4 today, I always imagined he'd be a faster driver!!
Wasps look to be in for a ducking (not sure anyone expected anything else) and Bath have barely fried a shot against Tolouse. Exactly what we need heading into the 6N.
Kryton - Jones won’t pick Cipriani ever. That boat has long sailed. Slade surely can’t be in cover at 10. Exeter seem to have given up on him as a 10 with young Joe Simmonds going well. He’s not played there for ages.
Pretty sure it’s going to be a very poor 6N from us (again) leading into an equally dismal WC. Jones will then get the boot and the whole sorry cycle will start again. Joy.
Shields apparently a worry for the Ireland game too after pulling out of the game today with a side strain.
So whats gone wrong for England? I did read an interesting article that suggested that in the pro 14 the ball was in play a lot longer and the teams used more trick plays. Add to this the lack of emphasis on contesting the breakdown and is that enough to make a difference?
Certainly money is nothing to do with it. You could just about buy two Edinburghs for one sarries team
Circumstances and to some extent planning means that the Irish and Scots develop young players more than the english. Take Hastings as an example. Far from the finished product but now has a regular starting place. would he if he was English? Or would the club have bought an overseas player instead of risking a youngster?
Or take Carberry. He was not getting enough first team games so the IRFU moved him to Ulster so he does get that exposure - and he is developing nicely
To me until the RFU regain a bit of control of the english game they will continue to fall behind. Its not England have fallen back, its that the pro 14 teams have moved on due to the nature of the league.
Or take Carberry. He was not getting enough first team games so the IRFU moved him to Ulster so he does get that exposure – and he is developing nicely
Thing is, Ulster’s first choice No.10s are that good that he hasn’t had a single start for them. In fact, he hasn’t even come on as a sub. Furthermore, I reckon most Ulster fans probably don’t know he’s signed for them.
Doesnt Carbarry play for Munster?
shine a light - have I got that confused then? Reading too much guardian converage? Or too much nonsense on other forums?
DOPH!
dumbass I am before you say it!
I’m not sure it’s a single thing TJ, but probably the culmination of various issues...
The premiership is often pretty attritional.
No one seems to want to contest the breakdown the way the the Pro 14 and Top 14 do.
Relegation means that there’s no let up and a few poor results and you can easily find yourself scrapping at the foot of the table.
I’m not sure we have enough talent to support 12 teams which means the best players are spread thin (compare the way the IRFU have an input into who plays for who).
Sone of the coaches are shit.
The academy players don’t seem to be as trusted as say those from Leinster are.
Signing big names is often seen as a quick fix, some of whom haven’t lived up to the hype (e.g. Sopoaga, Shields etc).
Some of the rugby coached is shit and is very formulaic.
The best players often get flogged mercilessly (Itoje, Mako, Billy, Cole etc). The clubs don’t care about international rugby, they just want the most out of their signings.
The breakdown....again! It’s one of my biggest frustrations and always causes issues at European and international level.
TJ
You're not completely out.
Jordi Murphy made the move from Leinster to Ulster to make sure he got enough game time to fight for a WC squad place. Not a bad signing to get a seven who's beaten NZ twice on a "free".
Leinster kept leavy, sob, and Van Der flier as their 7 options (young lad Penney coming through will be international class too).
Marty Moore moved there too to fight for a place.
Munster had Carbery and Tagh Beirne as their Leinster rejects this season
and the teams used more trick plays.
Presumably, the Ospreys are trying to trick other teams into thinking the Os are a decent rugby team. 😁
Beirne as their Leinster rejects
Scarlets reject please!!!
Funny how England and even more so France have struggled at international level despite a glut of very good players who play in the strongest leagues week in week out.
No one seems to want to contest the breakdown the way the the Pro 14 and Top 14 do.
not sure Id generalise quite so much there. Munster stealing everything this weekend, Leinster committing no-one bar the tackler all game. V different approaches to the breakdown, each effective based on your oppo.
Injuries are biting for Scotland, including Watson who is withdrawn due to a suspected fracture of the hand. There worries about TJ’s man crush Gray too.
Pat Lambie has retired too at 28 due to post concussion issues. That’s a young age to have to call it a day.
not sure Id generalise quite so much there. Munster stealing everything this weekend, Leinster committing no-one bar the tackler all game. V different approaches to the breakdown, each effective based on your oppo.
Admittedly I’ve not watched that many of the matches from the weekend, but to date it’s been noticeable how much the English teams have struggled in this area (again). The English team struggled there in the 6N too. In the premiership this isn’t an area that team go out and attack that much, with most teams not committing numbers to the breakdown. I’m sure it’s one of the reasons that Thomas Young stands out so much because he’s so effective especially compared to many of the English back rowers.
Beirne out for the first two matches...
Big loss, he's something special.
Jiffy Jr might be borked as well. Eurgh.
That’s a big blow for Ireland because he was outstanding at the weekend.
Will Sexton be risked for 5he first game if he isn’t quite 100%?
Henderson out as well.
'Several weeks' apparently.
Whats Davies done?
Ryan and Toner first choice locks, and Henderson next in line, so was unlikely that Beirne would have made the 23 until the Italy game anyway.
Not ideal losing both third and fourth choice at the same time but Dillane is some player too and was edging ahead a couple of years ago before injury. Form's come back this year , so he'll be in the mix for Japan too now.
Will be some very good players left behind in September.
1/2p confirmed out of France match on 1st Feb. Still concussed from the "legal" tackle in November...World Rugby needs a ling hard look in the mirror. In related news Clermont found responsible for Cudmores concussion related issues due to failing to protect player and making him play on when concussed.
1/2p has a long history of concussion from poor tackling technique leading with his head .
He stayed on a few times when he looked a bit more than dazed, too.
It's a big assumption to be pinning it all on one incident in November.
It’s a big assumption to be pinning it all on one incident in November.
True, but it is a massive mistake to think the last bang on the head which has kept him out ever since has had nothing to do with it. Clearly it has and the ref and the rest of the officials dropped a massive bollock. They have a duty to protect players and they didnt. AWJ said it at the time of the incident and he was right.
I do feel for Halfpenny especially in light of Lambie retiring at 28 due to ongoing post concussion issues. The tackle in the Aussie game clearly had an impact no matter what the previous issues.
Nick Williams yellow carded for a late tackle. In the ref’s summing up he had two to three steps to pull out and hit with sufficient force to justify a yellow. Ffs! It wasn’t even vaguely high, nobody would deny it was late but really? Yellows for a slightly late, slightly hard tackle? I know an increasing number of people who just can’t be bothered watching the game anymore because it’s turning into a farce.
(Cardiff had a player already in the bin for collapsing a line-out maul. No complaints there other than the ref missing the fact that Connacht had formed on the player before the ball had even been thrown in. 🙄 )
Slightly late?
😂
Haha!!!
It was so late that in real time it looks like the ruck forms before he made the tackle!!!
And since when has a late tackle in mid-field been deemed a yellow? Since when has the force of the late tackle been taken into account?
How did TJ's team do this weekend?
AA - now now. don't kick a man when he is down you utter cad. this is rugby you know not soccer
Idlejohn - yellows can be given for it anywhere on the field if the ref deems it deliberate and amount of force as a principle guiding level of sanction is 3 years or so now IIRC
AA – now now. don’t kick a man when he is down you utter cad. this is rugby you know not soccer
😁
So... JJ in the England squad, will he get a run out?
Injury's are all looking good, and Woodward reckons England can beat Ireland which automatically makes them RWC winners... FFS why do we do this to ourselves!!
We will have strong team out though with a great bench, if EJ doesn't mess about and everyone gels...
Wales have said that Moriarty, G Davies, Loopy Liam, Biggar and Beard all fit. Not sure when team announced, expecting
Liam
North
Davies
Parkes
Adams
Anscombe
Tomos Williams
Moriarty/Navidi
Tips
Wainwright/Navidi
Beard
AWJ
Samson
Owens
Evans
Could see Anscombe at 15 and Biggar 10, backrow is tough to call at 8 or 6. Moriarty could bench as lacks gametime. G Davies may well start at 9 too.
Wyn Jones
Dee
Francis
BIL cory hill
Navidi/Moriarty
G Davies
Biggar
ANOther back maybe Amos
Not bad, will struggle with French power.
So, Eddies attritional training is starting to impact England.
Goods news - all the games are on ITV and therefore free. Bad news - all the games are on ITV and will contain Adverts.
I am now rather worried about Scotland chances given our injury situation. We are already beyond the point at which injuries will have an serious impact and its not even started yet.
Oh wait.. No Bastereau? ^^
My gut instinct is that that French team looks pretty garbage!
Irish Times reporting Robbie Henshaw will play full back, Rob Kearney was very poor the other night for Leinster in his come back game for Leinster. Could be a curve ball but would be an interesting selection. He used to play there for Connacht occasionally before he moved to Leinster
Emile NTamacs kid instead, he's only 19.
Looks good to me
Wales: Liam Williams (Saracens); George North (Ospreys), Jonathan Davies (Scarlets), Hadleigh Parkes (Scarlets), Josh Adams (Worcester); Gareth Anscombe (Cardiff Blues), Tomos Williams (Cardiff Blues); Rob Evans (Scarlets), Ken Owens (Scarlets), Tomas Francis (Exeter), Adam Beard (Ospreys), Alun Wyn Jones (Ospreys, captain), Josh Navidi (Cardiff Blues), Justin Tipuric (Ospreys), Ross Moriarty (Dragons).
Replacements: Elliot Dee (Dragons), Wyn Jones (Scarlets), Samson Lee (Scarlets), Cory Hill (Dragons), Aaron Wainwright (Dragons), Gareth Davies (Scarlets), Dan Biggar (Northampton), Owen Watkin (Ospreys).
15. Robbie Henshaw
14. Keith Earls
13. Garry Ringrose
12. Bundee Aki
11. Jacob Stockdale
10. Johnny Sexton
9. Conor Murray
1. Cian Healy
2. Rory Best (captain)
3. Tadhg Furlong
4. Devin Toner
5. James Ryan
6. Peter O’Mahony
7. Josh van der Flier
8. CJ Stander
Reports I read had henshaw at FB too as above. He covered for Leinster couple of months back. Used to be a very good FB
Kearney did not look fully fit last week.
Conway, lamour, and Addison can all play 15 but this is a nice way to get Aki, henshaw, and ringrose on the same team.
Joe likes to experiment with positions in prep for WC so he knows who can cover what in a 23.
If it works out, it might just turn out to be the best 15.
French side looks like a proper French team.
Big forwards, fast backs.
Emile NTamacs kid instead, he’s only 19.
Why does he get all the attention but Alain Penaud's kid gets ignored?
I quite like the thought of Henshaw at 15.
Although I didn't expect anything less, thats a strong looking Irish team with "WIN" written all over it.
Why does he get all the attention but Alain Penaud’s kid gets ignored?
Because Penaud was shit and Ntamac was class..
Not seen Henshaw at 15 but I'd like to see Lamour start at 15. I guess he wouldnt be boring enough for Mitchell though!!
So whats your target for this 6N and how optimistic are you?
For Scotland 3 wins must be the minimum to consider it a successful 6N and on the optimistic scale I am about 6 right now or in laymans terms almost halfway to private frazer
I'd say the same for England really, we'll start clear favourites in our home games and second favourites in our away games..... it'll be a close affair in all games bar Italy imo.
So whats your target for this 6N and how optimistic are you?
For Scotland 3 wins must be the minimum to consider it a successful 6N and on the optimistic scale I am about 6 right now or in laymans terms almost halfway to private frazerI’m sorry, but I cannot see Scotland winning more than two games at most. More likely to win none than three!
Thats why I am at 6 on the optimistic scale and veering towards full private Frazer mode.