Viewing 40 posts - 841 through 880 (of 1,696 total)
  • Rugby 2019 – 2020 Season
  • tjagain
    Full Member

    Italy looked dangerous last week

    anagallis_arvensis
    Full Member

    Italy looked dangerous last week

    When France got well ahead and lost their shape/got tired. I’m hoping the later and that they will blow up v Wales, just hope Wales can hang in there for 60mins!!!

    loum
    Free Member

    Or niggle , work the ref, and hope one of their pack gets a bit elbowy

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    loum
    Free Member

    If Wales and England win, the competition will become super exciting!

    Maybe for Welsh and English. Or if you really like dominoes.
    No slams, and points difference v Italy to decide placings.

    If France and Ireland win it leaves the possibility of two teams going for the slam against each other in the last game of the tournament

    onehundredthidiot
    Full Member

    Harris has had some good club games making an impact. Jones might be carrying a tweak.

    Kryton57
    Full Member

    Although maybe Eddie is very clever i cant see it.  So now we have Joseph on the wing and persist with no specialist 8 vs Ireland.  Sigh.

    15 Elliot Daly (Saracens, 41 caps)
    14 Jonny May (Leicester Tigers, 54 caps)
    13 Manu Tuilagi (Leicester Tigers, 41 caps)
    12 Owen Farrell (Saracens, 81 caps) C
    11 Jonathan Joseph (Bath Rugby, 49 caps)
    10 George Ford (Leicester Tigers, 67 caps)
    9 Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers, 97 caps)
    1 Joe Marler (Harlequins, 69 caps)
    2 Jamie George (Saracens, 47 caps)
    3 Kyle Sinckler (Harlequins, 33 caps)
    4 Maro Itoje (Saracens, 36 caps)
    5 George Kruis (Saracens, 43 caps)
    6 Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints, 83 caps)
    7 Sam Underhill (Bath Rugby, 17 caps)
    8 Tom Curry (Sale Sharks, 21 caps)

    Finishers
    16 Luke Cowan-Dickie (Exeter Chiefs, 22 caps)
    17 Ellis Genge (Leicester Tigers, 16 caps)
    18 Will Stuart (Bath Rugby, 1 cap)
    19 Joe Launchbury (Wasps, 63 caps)
    20 Charlie Ewels (Bath Rugby, 13 caps)
    21 Ben Earl (Saracens, 1 cap)
    22 Willi Heinz (Gloucester Rugby, 11 caps)
    23 Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs, 27 caps)

    tjagain
    Full Member

    still farrell and ford as well!

    duckman
    Full Member

    Parisse moves about as quickly as an eBay auction for a Max Boyce CD. Unfortunately he isn’t playing.

    Kryton57
    Full Member

    I don’t get it.   I just read Eddies book, where he states his best 2019 defensive set is Farrell at 10, Manu, Slade.  Now, I appreciate Slade is coming back from injury but why not start that way vs Ireland who have some great carriers to go at Ford?

    Instead we have a weak defensive 10, Farrell-not-a-12 and Manu at 13.  I can only think we’ll see a repeat of the kick chase, but then with JJ at 11 it rather isolates May as the go-to man and therefore is easy to mark.

    This may be a close match, made more exciting by Irelands play but I am nervous for the loss.

    gauss1777
    Free Member

    I don’t get it.

    There’s quite a lot I don’t understand, particularly at the moment.
    Before the World Cup, I got the impression a large number of Ireland fans were optimistic they could beat any team on a good day, bar England. At that time they seemed very pessimistic about playing them, perhaps due to the convincing England win in last years 6 nations and that World Cup warm up game. What has happened to England that they appear so disjointed? Ireland fans must be optimistic if not confident.

    I don’t understand the different roles and skills required at 6, 7 and 8. Eddie Jones has said, if I understood correctly, that there is no need for a specialist no. 8 anymore. So, why is Curry needing to learn how to play at 8; if it’s taking that much time to learn (I guess he’s not really had long) then isn’t that an argument for a specialist 8?

    England supposedly has a huge player pool. Is EJ playing people out of position because they are so much better than anyone else, or because it takes too long to learn the ’England way’, that you cannot just bring new players in quickly?

    Kryton57
    Full Member

    Well, international rugby / sport is a step up from anything else, bear in mind you are playing the best of the best.  It takes time not only to learn the tactics and systems but the pace, guile, intensity and physicality of the game at that level.

    George Furbank is a good recent example of that – someone who’s excelled at Premiership level but made to look very ordinary / new at International level recently.  Some players never adapt.  To bring them in too early exposes the loss of the game, but also the team and the players confidence – bear in mind public as well as sporting scrutiny – so I guess there’s a careful balance to be had.

    I think we always assume a player is most skilled at their day to day position, but some coaches and especially Eddie likes to see things differently.   E.G. I don’t think Joseph is there as a wing but to add bulk in the defence vs Stockdale & co and we’ll see Daly in there for attack.    I can only assume that with 6.7 & 8 he wants those players on the field at all cost, and not to remove one for a player thats never played at this level – Donbrandt – again despite his form,  We could potentially see Dombrant in the 2nds during Autumn or even vs Italy.

    I don’t know, perhaps a balance of good international players out of position vs good Premiership (uncapped) players in position is what this is, with Eddie favouring the former to keep the win ratio up a bit.

    gauss1777
    Free Member

    Thanks K.

    Kryton57
    Full Member

    Thanks K.

    Don’t thank me yet, I’m only posting what I’m assuming as I’m no expert because I was in the Backs at 13 and its well known that its the Forwards that play the proper Rugby  😉

    mindmap3
    Free Member

    EJ seems to have lost the plot since we were manshamed by SA in the final. In 2019 we seemed to have found a way to play that suited the squad and one they bought into. After it failed against SA, it looks like no matter who the opposition is that we will try and play that way. We don’t have monster towards like they do.

    Lawes again at flanker? FFS. Why? He’s a good lock but not a great flanker. Curry should be left to do what he does best. He’s not a number eight, doesn’t have the size or power to carry like an eight and offer sweet FA treat from the base of a scrum. The back row doesn’t look balanced.

    What we really need are some more locks in the squad. How is Ewels winning another cap? He’s shit. He offer nothing off the bench.

    Farrell hasn’t really played well this 6N. I’d have been tempted to bin him off. JJ isn’t a sodding winger and to top it off there’s only two backs on the bench.

    Looks like we’re going to try and out muscle Ireland. It won’t work. To be honest I’m starting to think that I want us to get humiliated on Sunday to try and shock Eddie back to his senses although he so pigheaded that he’s carry on (see the Curry example). It’s starting to feel more and more like he’s run his course and it’s time for a new coach but the RFU coffers are bit empty these days so I doubt they can afford to pay him off. Great.

    gauss1777
    Free Member

    England have quite a lot of players who to my eye (I’m basing this on playing against Wales mostly) burst onto the scene and seem unstoppable/unplayable. I dread us playing against that player, they were so good. And then once they become a regular, whilst they remain decent (and I presume that’s why they remain in the team) seldom maintain that wow factor.
    Ps I’d love for Gatland to go to England. Have them play some fantastic, creative rugby, since he’d have the players. And create ‘the greatest rugby team ever’.

    anagallis_arvensis
    Full Member

    England have quite a lot of players who to my eye (I’m basing this on playing against Wales mostly) burst onto the scene and seem unstoppable/unplayable. I dread us playing against that player, they were so good. And then once they become a regular, whilst they remain decent (and I presume that’s why they remain in the team) seldom maintain that wow factor.

    I always think England players are usually older and wiser when they first get capped whereas the Welsh players learn the game in the internationals. Take as example Adam Jones a really top class tighthead but it took him years of being out of his depth in internationals to get there and then all the braying tarquins take years to understand that he is now quite good, with Adam it was after he rescued the Lions.

    On the itherhand I can only really think of May as being an England player who has really improved under Eddie. He used to be a useless, fast headless chicken who would run lateral a lot into touch. Now he’s about the best winger in Britain and Ireland… still looks like a great athlete playing rugby rather than a rugby player but I will grudgingly admit he’s good.

    tjagain
    Full Member

    I agree AA

    Saw an interesting stat during the scotland 10 debates. at 27 russell has 50 caps, at 27 Sextons was really just making the starting spot his own

    Dunno how true that is but we certainly end up capping players much younger than other countries – certainly recently. Ickle Jonny, both Fagersons, Russell, G Horne, all capped as teenagers

    BruceWee
    Full Member

    The problem for Scotland is that if you aren’t on a pro contract by the time you’re 19 then you aren’t going anywhere. Until the Super 6 came along (and we’ve yet to see how that works out) there was almost no way to make the step from club game to pro.

    I think that’s why we end up playing so many youngsters.

    tjagain
    Full Member

    That gets them into the clubs – I think for the national side its more that this is a good crop of players and if you are good enough you are old enough.

    mindmap3
    Free Member

    I think English coaches have traditionally been more conservative age wise when it comes to caps.

    I think having a large player base fuels this too. It seems hard for our U20’s for example to break into the main room team.

    In another note, Wasps are actually winning a game, humping Salarycens.

    tjagain
    Full Member

    Edinburgh with another comprehensive win. What is going on? 41:14 on a dreich night

    2 penalty tries and ends up 13 v 12 players!

    ads678
    Full Member

    Another good game for Tigers tonight!! 🙄😭

    tjagain
    Full Member

    Predictions for this weekend?

    Ireland, France, Italy all to win. Note my usual record!

    jca
    Full Member

    I don’t understand the different roles and skills required at 6, 7 and 8.

    6 and 7 generally have the job of being the first defensive positions up to make a tackle following a set piece, and also being first at a breakdown to try to win turnover ball from the tackle. The openside (6) binds on the side of the scrum with the largest area of the field, and tends to be quicker, while the blindside is often bigger and bulkier.

    8 has the job of controlling the ball at the base of the scrum and linking with the 9. They are typically big ball carriers so they can pick the ball from the scrum and make a break.

    Hopefully that is mostly correct…

    mindmap3
    Free Member

    Predictions for this weekend?

    Ireland, France, Italy all to win. Note my usual record!

    I think Scotland will win and will Wales (France have looked good at home but don’t travel well) and Ireland. I want Ireland to do a number on us just to bring some changes in mentality.

    anagallis_arvensis
    Full Member

    Tough calls this week, I’ll go with 3 home wins.

    gauss1777
    Free Member

    Way hey. Here we go. I’ll be happy whoever wins this first match, just hope we get some fast, open play, without loads of errors.
    Surely Scotland will be a tad more relaxed and won’t suffer ‘white line fever’.

    dantsw13
    Full Member

    Scotland looking poor in general, but what a try from Hogg!

    gauss1777
    Free Member

    The first 20+ minutes was a bit ‘headless chickens’ from both sides. But Scotland are settling down. It’s Hogg’s kicking that impresses me.

    tjagain
    Full Member

    Surely Scotland will be a tad more relaxed and won’t suffer ‘white line fever’.

    Quite the opposite. Looked absolutely desperate and trying too hard but Hoggs try settled them a bit

    Could captaincy be the making of Hogg? Turn him from a decent international to real world class?

    gauss1777
    Free Member

    Could captaincy be the making of Hogg? Turn him from a decent international to real world class?

    Gatland made him a Lion, what more needs to be said.

    anagallis_arvensis
    Full Member

    This is worse than watching paint dry!

    gauss1777
    Free Member

    This is worse than watching paint dry!

    Indeed, it’s got steadily worse and worse. Game over now though.

    Mind you, I wouldn’t be surprised now that Italy are down to 14 men, for Scotland to score a couple more tries. Then for years to come we’d hear about their 20+:0 win away to Italy 😂

    gordimhor
    Full Member

    Hastings poorest display of this year’s 6 nations.  We need to improve all round and rapidly or France could beat us by a barrow load

    bigblackshed
    Full Member

    To paraphrase TJ.

    “Scotland really are a steaming pile of mince”

    At 48 minutes Scotland had turned Italy over 12 times and had only managed to score twice.

    I gave up and went to wash the windows. Just turned up to see the third try. Things really haven’t improved.

    gauss1777
    Free Member

    Things really haven’t improved.

    What do you think Townsend will say?

    Let’s hope the next game is better than that!

    tjagain
    Full Member

    Townsend will talk up italy to make it sound like a great win. Will talk about endeavour and fighting to the end.

    Gaaaaa – its so frustrating 4 of our best players were uninjured and did not start. Russell, G Horne, Big Ritchie, Jones

    #With all that possession we should have walloped them Ended up flattered by the score.

    Only positives seeing Watson and Ritchie working so well in tandem.

    gauss1777
    Free Member

    McGeechan always comes across as a thoroughly nice bloke.

    gauss1777
    Free Member

    Poor George, he was looking lively. Hope he’s okay.

    anagallis_arvensis
    Full Member

    That could be him done, sad to see.
    Wales shite so far!

Viewing 40 posts - 841 through 880 (of 1,696 total)

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