Should be Flood at 10 and JW at 1st centre if anything.

Glitchy **** bumpy.

Again?

Anyone know any really cheap tittybars restaurants in Sydney?

Not even compared to London prices – I’d pack your AmEx if I were you….

Wales: Leigh Halfpenny (Cardiff Blues); George North (Scarlets), Jonathan Davies (Scarlets), Jamie Roberts (Cardiff Blues), Shane Williams (Ospreys); Rhys Priestland (Scarlets), Mike Phillips (Bayonne); Gethin Jenkins (Cardiff Blues), Huw Bennett (Ospreys), Adam Jones (Ospreys), Luke Charteris (Dragons), Alun Wyn Jones (Ospreys), Dan Lydiate (Dragons) Sam Warburton (Cardiff Blues, capt), Toby Faletau (Dragons). Replacements: Lloyd Burns (Dragons), Paul James (Ospreys), Bradley Davies (Cardiff Blues), Ryan Jones (Ospreys), Lloyd Williams (Cardiff Blues), James Hook (Perpignan), Scott Williams (Scarlets).

Pleased with that, strong bench! God I’m getting nervous.

England team: B Foden (Northampton Saints); C Ashton (Northampton Saints), M Tuilagi (Leicester Tigers), T Flood (Leicester Tigers), M Cueto (Sale Sharks); J Wilkinson (Toulon), B Youngs (Leicester Tigers); M Stevens (Saracens), S Thompson (London Wasps), D Cole (Leicester Tigers), L Deacon (Leicester Tigers), T Palmer (Stade Francais), T Croft (Leicester Tigers), L Moody (Bath Rugby, capt), N Easter (Harlequins). Replacements: D Hartley (Northampton Saints), A Corbisiero (London Irish), C Lawes (Northampton Saints), S Shaw (Unattached), J Haskell (Ricoh Black Rams), R Wigglesworth (Saracens), M Banahan (Bath Rugby).

Lawes and Haskel dropped, that scrum could struggle again.

Both have picked best sides they could,Wales going out to try and even up the Irish tight five A-A?.
Dunno what England could have done apart from bring in Flood, Haype the other centre, couldn’t even make the bench. If France get their backs moving,and based on last weekend they should against that England pack,then there is a hole with Flood on the back. Mind you I have been catching up on the games I missed, France are dire, cannot see England losing to them.I had high hopes for Stevens before the WC,after the way he has done his time and come back, but he has struggled.

Or Lawes and Haskell (and Shaw) kept back as impact players for when we inevitably get in the shit..

edit: duckman – he only has hape left out of his backs wot with tindall in hiding and armitage banned.

I had high hopes for Stevens before the WC,after the way he has done his time and come back, but he has struggled

Thats because Stevens is a fine tight head prop who can cover loosehead but at loosehead he struggles against quality players like Murray, he’s also caught the penalty disease england have at the breakdown.

Wales have gambled on all three of the tough choices they had at 1, 6 and 15. Is Gethin match fit enough, has Lydiate recovered and will 1/2p cope with the irish airial attack? Heart says Wales but head is still favouring Ireland. That backline will do some damage though if they get enough ball.

The england team smacks of desperation, when was the last time they played Flood outside Wilkinson? I thought that experiment had been put to bed years ago, why bring it back now, when Hape has been picked so often for so long. The Hask has been one of Englands best performers recently despite being shunted around the back row. Moody has just been his usual headless chicken self and doesnt deserve a starting spot and Youngs doesnt seem to work with Wilkinson as Wilko doesnt intrest the opposition backrow enough to give youngs space to run.

Ok I cant post anything sensible about the weekend my heart is racing and getting far to excited/nervous. So I wont put anything up on here untill after the event. My old man wasnt allowed to watch Wales because of his heart condition, I seem to of inherited this trait pathetic but true.

Good luck to all your teams I hope Wales and France get through.

Mae hen wlad fy nhadau yn annwyl i mi
Gwlad beirdd a chantorion enwogion o fri
Ei gwrol ryfelwr, gwlad garwyr tra mad
Tros ryddid collasant eu gwaed.

Gwlad Gwlad,
Pleidiol wyf i’m gwlad,
Tra môr yn fur i’r bur hoff bau
O bydded i’r hen iaith barhau

😀

The england team smacks of desperation, when was the last time they played Flood outside Wilkinson? I thought that experiment had been put to bed years ago, why bring it back now, when Hape has been picked so often for so long

What are you on about? The last time Flood and Wilko started together we beat wales with three tries, it seemed like it worked very nicely.

i feel sick!

alarm clock set!

irish mates wound up already so expecting abuse eitherway!

CMYRU AM BYTH!

Tiocfaidh ár lá

Good news: Ioane is back in business

Tiocfaidh ár lá

Lets hope it’s in a couple of weeks time and not just saturday!

Cymru am byth indeed! That should be one hell of a match, unlike the one my own team will perhaps, maybe, even bother to turn up….

Just noticed the England lineup – is there any particular reason we’ve got TWO locks (or three if you count Bananamanohanahan)on the bench? Apart from to give away penalties when they come on or I suppose Lawes could play centre better than Tindall or Hape, in a pinch. 😕

Easter is a better No8 than Le Hasque but he should have replaced Moody at 7 from the start rather than subbing him when he gets concussed after running into (a) A Frenchie (b) a team mate (c) the posts (d) the referee or (e) the girlie singing the anthems.

when he gets concussed after running into (a) A Frenchie (b) a team mate (c) the posts (d) the referee or (e) the girlie singing the anthems.

LOL. Whilst I admire his commitment, I’m pretty sure he doesn’t know the rules of rugby.

I’m pretty sure he doesn’t know the rules of rugby.

I think this applies to most of the England team

Can’t argue with the penalty count I suppose.

Tiocfaidh ár lá

Not sure how the Ulster players would feel about that. Not that it has **** all to do with rugby anyway.

Yeah but the original meaning is lost in time, I know loads of paddys who say it casual like..

Not sure how the Ulster players would feel about that. Not that it has **** all to do with rugby anyway.

Now that would really depend whether they understood it or not wouldn’t it?

Not that it has **** all to do with rugby anyway

Agreed. Rugby is, as far as I know, not a divided sport in Ireland. Please correct me if I’m wrong, though!

Indeed, have you heard Irelands Call? The unified national anthem I think it was composed initially for rugby..

Indeed it was. Specifically a rugby anthem. I think it was fair not to expect players from the Unionist side to sing an anthem from the republic. There aren’t many people in Ulster that don’t know what “Tiocfaidh ár lá” means, whether they speak Gaeilge or not. I don’t expect you’d hear the phrase at a rugby game either. Unless it was the Military Councilesians versus RUC Old Boys. 🙂

Irelands Call is a cheesfest, but it did address an issue, hence the line containing “the four proud provinces of Ireland”.

Anyway, we digress…

Indeed we do! Back to the problem of a cheap restaurant in Sydney. I have the fear…..

You wanna be afraid..

O’Flashearty, I know you love these little nuggets about your number two country. 😆

Number two

*Sniggers*

A team is not just the sum of its constituent parts…
sometimes it’s less!
.
Come on England!

The last time Flood and Wilko started together we beat wales with three tries, it seemed like it worked very nicely.

When was that? no need to answer have looked it up. Why have they not been playing together in the warm up games or the pool games, why has it taken so long to work out that Hopless and HRH Tins are both crap at 12?

mind you look at the Wales lineup 😥

Byrne; T James, Hook, Roberts, S Williams; S Jones, Cooper; P James, G Williams, Rhys Jones, Alun-Wyn Jones, Charteris, Powell, M Williams, R Jones (captain).

When was that?

2010 6N Fairly sure they haven’t started together since.

Why have they not been playing together in the warm up games or the pool games, why has it taken so long to work out that Hopless and HRH Tins are both crap at 12?

I guess to give you ammo to lay into us? Otherwise I have no idea because me and millions of others have been screaming for it. (Fingers crossed it works, then I shall apply to the RFU for Johnsons job as I obviously know better than him..)

why has it taken so long to work out that Hopless and HRH Tins are both crap at 12

Talking of Hape, didn’t MJ once say he laughed inwardly at the reaction that people would give when they eventually realised how good he (Hape) was?

Well, we’re still waiting…..

If he’s so great than why has Johnno passed him over in favour of, firstly, an over-the-hill outside centre and next, a wimpy fly-half?

(I’m also still waiting to find out what a great centre Andy Farrell was gonna be but I’m starting to lose faith on that one 😕 )

What about Lesley Vainakolo wasnt he the next Lomu, or Henry Paul whatever happend to him?

I think Johnson should have his best options in mind by now, it seems odd you can go from Hape to a completely different player in Flood.

What about Lesley Vainakolo wasnt he the next Lomu, or Henry Paul whatever happend to him?

AAAAAAAAARRRGHHH!

Don’t – PLease!

I’ve tried to block those memories for years but they’re all flooding back!
😮

There will never be another Lomu as almost everyone else is just as ruddy enormous,powerful and quick, he was just the vanguard of modern players.

Henry Paul whatever happend to him?

Assistant coach of Russia at the RWC.

The best one was Steve Hanley (the white Lomu), especially when he tried to tackle Craig Quinnel at Wembley.

Still at least Banahan is on the bench for Englandshire

The best one was Steve Hanley (the white Lomu), especially when he tried to tackle Craig Quinnel at Wembley.

STOP IT! I’m going to have to go and lie down, the flashbacks are starting!

TJ will be along to mention Murrayfield 1990 and then I’ll be a gonner.