[Closed] STW 2014/15 Rugby Thread

AA good question re Atwood.........Atwood went for the ball North brave dive then collision with boot, end of based mainly on the speed involved there is some delay on POC offence and he could have forseen the consequences.

Fair point and I havent seen a replay of the Attwood one. POC got off with nowt by the way

For Wales though was it really 21 missed tackles and if so was that a record in the GAt years?

Doubt it wales tend to miss quite a lot actually due to the high pressure blitz they employ, as long as the guy missed doesnt get outside the blitz its ok. We have also been destroyed by bigger margins by NZ etc

Soporifique.Maladroit et sans idees

L'Equipe scathing about the performance (normally a headline England might warrant !). Aside from Basteraud and Dusautoir who got 6/10 rest of side was scored 5. Criticised for lack of ball retention / basic technique in crucial attacking situations.

Too late to comment much on England v Wales other than always difficult to win there. Plenty for England to work on in terms of finishing. Dire defence for the Welsh try with Youngs trotting along behind his man.

Youngs trotting along behind his man.

Yeah - good point. A mate of mine (who was a scrum half) pointed that out too.

So Haskell went too high on Faleteau, May came in off his wing and Youngs did naff all. If any one of them had done their job there would have been no try. Not ignoring the fact that it was a brilliant bit of play from the back of a retreating scrum.

L'Equipe scathing about the performance

It promises to be a vintage year for watchers of French rugby. The great thing about watching France is they could be brilliant or they could be awful but it's fascinating either way.

Changes for the next Wales game?

I like to see Liam Williams replace North (may be forced anyway), Tipuric replace Lydiate and maybe even Scott Williams (or someone with even half form) replace mini Jiffy. Or, alternatively give the big names a kick up the arse 😆

From the other point of view, what team would Scotland least like to face? As a Welsh fan, as it stands, I don't think it will take much for the Scottish backs to outsmart the red meat as the Aussies called them 😳

 like to see Liam Williams replace North (may be forced anyway), Tipuric replace Lydiate and maybe even Scott Williams (or someone with even half form) replace mini Jiffy. Or, alternatively give the big names a kick up the arse 

See, Wales get a thorough beating in the forwards and welsh fans want to replace the backs!

Hopefully Lee will be OK as Jarvis is a poor tighthead at Pro 12 level.
I'd bring in Charteris for Ball and maybe Tips to 7 with Warburton to 6. Hopefully Owens can get more game time for Llanelli and be in contention to replace Hibbard for later games. Other than that we have very few options.

Not sure what Samson Lee (Cole was very good) and Johnny May are doing here, rest seems fair, Talupe a bit of an odd one too
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Whose team is that A_A?
I agree with all of your points; Lee, May and Faletau don't merit being in that side.

I wonder how they come up with those teams. The recent Telegraph world xv had Robshaw as skipper and May in it as well.

The recent Telegraph world xv had Robshaw as skipper and May in it as well.

Its Gussets team.

May not sure, I hardly remember noticing he was playing. He scored a try against New Zealand recently, plus this weekend everyone else was worse ?

Wasn't a great weekend's rugby for wingers to be fair. Don't think May did enough to warrant making Guscotts home nations squad though, maybe Bowe instead?

15 Hogg...most metres made on the weekend
14 Watson
13 Joesph
12 Bastareaud
11 Terry Thomas
10 Finn Russell
9 Ben Youngs
8 ? Dusatoir ? no real standout No 8 performance of the weekend
7 Robshaw
6 Haskell
5 Atwood
4 Gray
3 Marler
2 Ford
1 Dan Cole

15 Spedding
14 Watson
13 Henshaw (wrong pos...but...)
12 Bastareaud
11 Ben Youngs
10 George Ford
9 Ben Youngs
8 Le Roux
7 Robshaw
6 Haskell
5 Attwood
4 Gray
3 Marler
2 Ghiraldini
1 Dan Cole

Ben Youngs so good you picked him twice! I didnt really see the scotland or ireland games. I thought LeRoux was a full back?

I thought the Ben Youngs twins were outstanding, and they both thoroughly deserve their place in the northern hemisphere super-squad 😀

😳
Damn it. I was struggling with the other wing. Nobody left a lasting ipression. If I could have my pick it would be hogg but he was playing full back.

I thought LeRoux was a full back?

I agree about Hogg, he looked superb in attack, I reckon he could slot in on the wing no problem. Certainly a better option than Ben Youngs covering two positions 😉

I can also see a fair argument for Ashton coming back with a decent FH now playing.

Please no - of all the wingers pushing for a place, not him. He is still ripe for giving away silly penalties and his defence is woeful. His time on the international stage is done, it's time to move on.

Haskell was the big surprise for me, but then again his form has been good all season. Was surpised that Billy V lasted the full 80, but I guess having another carrier next to him reduced his workloard somewhat. Taking off Marler and Hartley when the scrum was so far on top seemed like an odd move.

I was quite surprised by England's performance but Wales were surprisingly bad. Their much vaunted centre combination was pretty quiet and North / Cuthbert may have well been sat in the stand watching the game. North has been good for the Saints though but is struggling for Wales. I wonder if it is the game plan / players around him,

The barnd of rugby played by the french these days is awful - it its based on nothing but power and big lumps. Their isn't much behind the fat lads in terms of trying to create things.

Their much vaunted centre combination was pretty quiet

To be fair, England neutrlised them by coming up very quickly all game. No head of speed for desparate dan and nowhere for Jiffy Jnr to run. Brown did a great job of fielding all the kicks over, which left Wales a bit clueless about what to do next.

England didnt so much neutralise Roberts et al but cut them off at source. Biggar, no doubt under orders kicked away all the shit ball and seeing as thats all they got Wales went nowhere. I still think they should have bought on Tipuric and tried to stretch the game. Billy V lasted the full 80 as he didnt have to run more than one pass out yo each ruck. Making Billy and Haskel run around a bit would help as with Tip on for Lydiate the backrow of Wales would have been much quicker. All round they played shit and as usual totally failed to adapt the game plan.

Please no - of all the wingers pushing for a place, not him.

I ****ing hate Ashton but he could indeed work well with Ford at ten.

Their much vaunted centre combination was pretty quiet

You have to remember mini Jiffy has sod all game time too which never helps. On the flip side, I thought Cole played very well returning back...

Ashton scored a lot of tries for England when Flood was at FH and virtually none when Farrell was.

Still, I'd put Watson at full back with Wade and Strettle on the wings.

But then, what do I know?

As you know I've always liked Ashton, so I would be happy to see his return. 😆

Good news for the Welsh, George North didn't undergo a concussion test for the second incident and could well play on Sat. Now I'm only a dumb teacher,not a neurosurgeon, but allow me to save the WRU a few quid in medical fees, Warren; he was sparko, don't play him.

No way to Ashton coming back. Wade's defence is a bit suspect, but he will create tries from nothing...Ashton creates sweet FA and relies on others to do it for him. Some of the tries Wafe has scored this season have been pretty impressive. Given his attitude, I'd be surprised if Lancaster will have him back. Nowell will be back soon too.

Ashton is still liable to giving away silly penalties. Can't remember who they were playing, but Sarries were doing pretty well and after a restart he went flying after the ball and clattered the receiver in the air. It was just dull...he had so much time to stop but carried on. His temperament / mindset isn't tight for high pressure games.

Watson looks like he could be a fine player. I quite like May...we just need to work out how yo get him into the game more because he's got proper gas.

JJ going well was great, but it just gives us another conundrum at centre. Manu will most likely be back when he's fit who gives us a bit of extra go forward. But who to partner him with? Slade looks like he could be class. Hopefully Barritt won't be back in a hurry.

I'm more worried about Lee not playing. As long as he is okay and has been properly assessed its fine to play him. Seems a bit strange O'Driscol getting so agitated about it. I seem to recall his nephew coming back on after much worse last season. North shouldnt have played on though. Reminds me of that flanker, the one who had the dreads, for Aus v the Lions its a disgrace.

You boys took a hell of a beating 😆

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/31319836

Had it been Ashton on Fords shoulder here not Haskel this would have been a try.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/31250806 [b]

Probably. But then again, he'd probably have tried to tackle Hibbard by the hair and get carded.

Wade would have scored that too.

Interesting to see that the WRFU have admitted that North should have been taken off. Given the focus on concussion at the moment, will there be any fall out?

I can see a valid argument for wade. He likely would score a few tries, but lets be honest, he'd be targetted in defence and it's not just his tackling. He's about 4ft2 and he'd have cross field kicks rammed down his throat. As for Ashton? Maybe we'll see him again, maybe not. He started for the Saxons ahead of Wade so he obviously has some credit.
Watson is already a very good player. May needs to start coming into the line and looking for a bit more ball (as Ashton does). If that happens, he could be very potent.
Oh, and I hope Gatland listens to Duckman. George needs a little rest.

I hope Gatland listens to Duckman. George needs a little rest

I hope he listens to medical experts.

Ashton should not be allowed an England shirt purely for his effing ridiculous swallow dives. One day he's going to drop the ball mid-flight and won't he look like an even bigger bellend then. I hate arrogance and showmanship in rugby. Get over the line, get the effing ball on the ground as quickly as possible and get on with the game. Hmmph!

Wade's given a pretty good account of himself in Europe this year. The try he scored in Dublin was fantastic. If he doesn't get a shot, we'll never know. However Nowell and Roko are both ahead of him. Watson is playing well and May has credit after the autumn.

I think Wales need to add some variety to their game...you kind of know what they'll try and do. Guys like Liam Williams seems to offer something different to North and Curthbert. This weekends game against Scotland is a biggie. They'll be a pan at the breakdown and will look to play fast which could cause Wales problems if they're flatfooted and lacklustre again.

Wade's given a pretty good account of himself in Europe this year.

Ashton's no wonder winger, but appears to be able to read a game wel and pop up in the right places to score. If May could do that, there'd be no doubt about continuing with who's there. However, it appears he just can't.
Mind you, Ashton is a hateful little thug who needs a good shoeing a lot of the time so I'm in no hurry to see him return for England, I'd rather have Vanrdel!

So has Ashton! He's scored more tries than Wade in the euro cup.
I know he's a difficult bloke to like, but I don't care. I want tries and wins!

He just won't bring that form to the international stage - his last few caps whilst in supposed good form for Sarries have been dire. I really do think that his international career is over. Thank God.

@ashton has no discipline, he's not a team player. He was repeatedly asked not to swallow dive but insisted on doing so and disrespected the coaching staff. We don't need him in he squad thank you very much.

Meh Ashton...
lost all interest in seeing him play when he dragged Alesana Tuilagi off by his hair.

I know he's a difficult bloke to like,

I hate arrogance and showmanship in rugby. Get over the line, get the effing ball on the ground as quickly as possible and get on with the game. Hmmph!

http://theeastterrace.com/pyke.shtml

Well unless May does a bit more (as tinybits correctly says), I don't think we have seen the last of Ashton.
You all love him really. 😀
[img] [/img]
I mean, come on....look at that not at all punchable face....
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Wade is not only the best finisher in the Premiership but he has the nous to create things for others too. He's not the worst defender despite his size and the odd bouncing ball blooper this season.

Anyway I once heard an answer to a question about Martin Offiah's poor defence which was along the lines of:

"When you got a bloke that scores tries like he does, you can pay the other twelve blokes to do the tackling."

He was brilliant in his one international start (1st Test in Argentina 2012) but missed his second cap because he got called up to the Lions. Injury has since kept him out.

SL is big on "credit in the bank" but, for me, Johnny May's only credit has been his exceptional try against the ABs. A mediocre 6N last year plus several other average performances should have him deep into the red.

I don't think Nowell has quite enough gas to be an international winger.

I bet you if they polled other wings in the 6N as to which Englishman they'd least like to face - Wade would be the most comon answer. May's pace would frighten people too but his ability to run sideways wouldn't.

I mean, come on....look at that not at all punchable face....

Love him or loathe him, I did admire the way he took all those punches in the face from Manu Tuilagi without going down "in the manner of an association footballer."