Summer rugby thread

I guess it’s because Scotland have beaten a 2nd string Australian team and 2 teams from the 2nd tier of international rugby. Good on them for winning three games but I don’t think they should start celebrating a possible Grand Slam quite yet.

Piss taking aside, I’m actually pleased for the scots. They took such a pounding at the 6N I thought their heads might go down. It was quite sad to watch.
Nice to see them get a few wins now. Well done the scots!

Whats -that smell – ah yes – the sweet sent of victory

*inhales on the heady fumes*

I don’t think they should start celebrating a possible Grand Slam quite yet.

No, no, they should. They really should. I think this could be a turning point. A real quantum shift in the NH power-base. Definitely realistic GS contenders for 2013.

🙂

Here we go, lets hope its not another southern hemisphere thrashing… had enough of those today!

Lets see if I have this right NH teams have played 9 internationals won 3 lost 5 and drawn 1

Bravo Scothchland I guess the sais will turns todays draw into a victory of sorts and Wales can’t win even when they are the better team. All in all quite depressing.

Well fronted up and DRAWN by England. Farrell needs to be demoted IMO but otherwise a good team performance.

Well done england. Not sure why you think wales were the better team Aus had the edge in most areas except scrum and the ref wouldnt ref that aspect.

Lets see if I have this right NH teams have played 9 internationals won 3 lost 5 and drawn 1

Any different to what you expected then? I thought Wales had a chance to get a win, but expected the others to all lose.
England fought well to get a draw, but rather benefited from SA’s deficiencies than doing anything particularly good themselves. Better than last week though!

I love the fact that Berrick Barnes is always being touted as the 5th choice ten, who are these 5 better than him?

Duckman to the forum please:

Tips catches and is fairly tackled a maul forms and Yellow 18 joins what is a maul at that point, from the side and tries to bring it down/go off his feet so the welsh have to go round the bodies he’s bought down, pen adv to wales?If there’s no aussie trying to get the ball and no contact can it be a pen? So surely it should have been adv red then if it is an infringement come back to the pen and if it isnt play on. Seeing as how wales try to disengage could it have been a scrum to aussie for accidental offside? Its a bloody minefield. I’m sure Italy used to try this and disengaged then ran round and tackled the carrier, but wasnt the law changed since then?

That’s a pen, side entry Don’t think he drops it as he hits above the waist of the Welsh player(what you look at to help you decide if a player is trying to drop it)Just to muddy it,I think ref’s eye is caught by Welsh 16 crossing his field of vision from the left just as Aussie 18 hits. Wonder also if he missed the Aussie player already in contact as if it was just three Welsh players it isn’t a maul as it must contain players of both sides(still)

AA you are just a glass half empty kind of person 😉

Been another great rugby thread, thanks to all who contributed.

I ain’t heard no fat lady!

Let’s kick off some wild speculation on the Lions team on the basis of these tour ga,es!

My first pick – Dan Lydiate. He jus keeps doing the job of a specialist blind side so well. Hit after hit after hit.

Then?

Cole has really started to mature, and I want Mahler on the bus too, just for attitude! Starting props, Cole and Gethin.

Ryan Jones also continues to impress. A steady hand when the games going awry!

Fly half remains a problem, imho.

North has a ticket, but still needs to mature.

Gethin hasnt been his best in this series and I havent seen enough of the other teams to make any decisions, Ryan was excellent though and 1/2p was quite brilliant at times.

Aussie 18 hits. Wonder also if he missed the Aussie player already in contact as if it was just three Welsh players it isn’t a maul as it must contain players of both sides(still)

Don’t worry, they wouldn’t have scored anyway 😉

So, that try by Hosea Gear… I know there are folk who won’t like that he used the elbow a bit, but jeez it was awesome wasn’t it? At full sprint, he actually slowed down so he would meet the on-coming defender knowing he was going to smash through him… if only some of “our” players had that kind of confidence.

bump

glithcchchchy

Fly half remains a problem, imho.

Nah, Sexton by some margin.

Don’t worry, they wouldn’t have scored anyway 

didnt need too, they were in the lead.

Er they lost, but they didn’t need to score any more points? You sure? 😉

Of the england team, I’d put Hartley, Cole and Foden in the Lions, thats it. Jones and Heaslip at 8, Sexton and ROG at 10, Care and Phillips at 9, then North, Bod, 1/2p have got to go, probably the welsh centres with Earls at standby and I can’t decide about the rest as its time to go to the fridge for a beer.

ROG at 10

Getouttahere!!

Lions team on the showings so far;

1. Jenkins
2. Ford
3. Cole
4. Lawes ( I know he was injured but is an athlete and all round mean mofo!)
5. Gray
6. Lydiate
7. Warburton
8. Faletau/Heaslip
9. Youngs
10. Sexton
11. North
12. Tuilagi (Wildcard I just like him!)
13. O’Driscoll (no one standing out here)
14. Visser
15. Kearney

What are your picks?

ROG? You’re mental!!

Foden at 15. Never misses a tackle.

1. Jenkins/corbs
2. Ford
3. Cole/Jones
4. Lawes ( I know he was injured but is an athlete and all round mean mofo!) Not deserved; he’s not played. Bradley Davies.
5. Gray
6. Lydiate. Nope. O’Brien.
7. Warburton. Not been in form, Robshaw.
8. Heaslip.
9. Youngs. No Chance. Care or Phillips.
10. Sexton. Not much choice here. marginal.
11. North
12. Tuilagi (Wildcard I just like him!) Nothing wildcard about that. Good call.
13. O’Driscoll (no one standing out here). I’ll be controversial here and say Hook.
14. Visser. I’d go 1/2p or Ashton.
15. Kearney/Foden. close call.

Just my opinion!

1. Jenkins…It will take millions of years of wind and rain erosion to move him, the Aussies have nae chance.
2. Ford…just…struggled in 2012
3. Cole;turning into Rowntree,which is a very good thing for England.
4. Davies(based on must have played rule)Otherwise PoC or Hamilton as I like a nasty old head in my engine room and both of them fill THAT selection criteria.
5. Gray hard grounds, big fast man.
6. O’Brien another rock,huge defensive workrate which will allow…
7. Rennie…to show how bloody fast and well he carries
8. Faletau..effective and pretty reliable/will need to watch out for Denton mind.
9. Phillips…horrible man, genius rugby player,fast game and hard grounds will suit.
10. Sexton..Best we have,people forget how inexperienced he is.
11. North.Rapidly improving big unit.
12. Roberts,Tuilangi is woeful this year.
13. O’Driscoll (last stand of the old gunslinger)and Robert’s conductor
14. Visser…I have been running touch beside him for 3 years, he has passed every test put in front of him…and he is a very positive guy, a real team player.
15. Kearney Poor series, but the man is a slippery fast genius.

5 man bench; Robshaw, Marler,h/p,Irish 9/Care,A.N.Other dep on injuries etc.

Er they lost, but they didn’t need to score any more points? You sure? 

yes.

If pressed to pick a lions team:

Jenkins
Best
Jones/Cole, Cole is the improving player
AW Jones (not lawes as he’s like Grey but not as good and not Davies as hes been shit would prefer a big ugly **** to go with
Grey
Lydiate
er…. Tipuric, excellent player
Ryan Jones is the form pick
Phillips despite his obvious weaknesses no one else comes close
Sexton
North
Roberts
Bod but Davies pushing hard
Bowe/Halfpenny with Cuthbert and maybe Visser in contention
Foden/Halfpenny (Kearney cannot/will not tackle and lacks pace)

shamefully welsh biased I know and some excellent players will miss out especially at 6 and props and locks. Nine and ten a weakness after the top two and a lack of creativity in midfield if bod doesnt make it.

1. Healy
14 others.

Anyone who still thinks Jenkins has been lying in bed for a couple of hours too long this summer 😉

Jenkins hasnt been at his best this summer but Healy does have a habit of getting bent double when he comes across a good tighthead. Jones has undone him quite a few times, i would accept that Jenkins and Jones are not going to get any better but Healy and Cole may well also aus dont have a good tighthead and the refs appear not to care either.

Still would not have Cole anywhere ahead of Adam Jones. Manu has gone backwards, and would not even tour for me.

I see the Englanders managed a draw, bravo well done. You must have played you hearts out to achieve it.

Seems to have gone very quiet on here, lols.

a-a,
you’ve made that point, or a very similar sounding one, before. But this summer, did you watch much of the Ireland games?
There’s only so long you can describe someone as having a habit of being bent double while watching them take the All Blacks scrum backwards.
The other big front row performance I saw this summer was the Scots. Euan Murray showed how an Ozzie front row should be demolished. (Have to admit though, I didn’t watch much of England so can’t really comment on Dan Coles tour).
A team based on this summer:

1 Healy
2 Ford
3 Murray
4 Ryan
5 Gray
6 O’Brien
7 Rennie
8 Jones
9 Phillips
10 Sexton
11 North
12 D’arcy (Best game for 5 years and no-one else stood up for the spot)
13 BOD
14 Visser
15 Foden

For me, inside centre now looks like our problem position for next summer. Good competition for all the rest but Roberts needs to stay fit.

As said havent seen ireland play, murray though ffs he was playing against the aussie second choice loosehead and the first choice are not good. I note the samoans reportedly did a number on the scottish scrum.Col e/Jones and Jenkins/Healey are the only sensible options and theres little to choose between them. Just noticed you picked Darcey!! Jesus he must have improved and I fail to see how Visser gets picked he may well end up picked but a couple of tries against a weak fiji team doesnt make you a lion. 7 players from a country just spanked 60 nil!!! Comedy genius.

A team based on this summer:

Maybe you missed that part 1st time^^^.
I’d be interested in who you reckon played better at 12 this summer?
Starts to sound a little like sour grapes by repeatedly dismissing the Scots success like that. Fact is they beat Fiji, Samoa and Australia, who did Wales 3-0. For me, they had the most successful tour by far and their players deserve more credit for the performances they gave.

Comedy genius is picking eleven players from a team that lost 3-0 to do it again next year. Except it wouldn’t be funny.

Still not sure how anyone could be picking the slow, geriatric, injury prone, past it BOD.

Am sure I now have an Irish fatwa against my name, though! 😉

Comedy genius is picking eleven players from a team that lost 3-0 to do it again next year. Except it wouldn’t be funny.

unless i’m doing it wrong your going to have to run that past me slowly.
Darcy was out of his depth on the last lions tour he was on and i’ve seen nothing since to suggest he deserves to go on another, he must have been fantastic against the all blacks.