Winters coming;all inclusive rugby thread.

You get the occasional uncapped player selected as well.
Any suggestions?

erm cole a bit shy drifting over for the tackle, last week for scotland try then this week he waved obrian through anyone else notice? and although a goodish scrumager he’d be a lot better if he would try and win the hit. Jones for me as well.

Who was the last uncapped player? Only one i can think of was Robinson maybe.

Best I can find is andrew sheridan who only had 1 cap at the 2005 tour. I thought there were some in 2009. There were relatively inexperienced players but not uncapped

Greenwood?

Looking back through some Lions squads, can you believe that Simon Shaw is still playing in the second row for Toulon-he was on the 97 tour ffs!

Bentley? How about Simon Taylor,who would have been a test Lion if he had been born with ligaments (Quote from Dilly dally)

From wiki:

After being overlooked by England coach Jack Rowell, he was selected for the British and Irish Lions tour to South Africa still uncapped, and ahead of then England captain Phil de Glanville, in the summer of 1997. During the tour, he swallowed his tongue on the pitch after a collision and stopped breathing for several minutes, and did not play in any of the tests

Any later than greenwood then?

Don’t think greenwood played a test in 97 and was lucky to get one in 2005. What about John Bentley in 97?

Edit: too slow

Tom B – Shaw is a bit of a freak, but lets face it if you can still play well enough to get in the toulon pack with those legends, then most would sell their grannies for the chance

Played or not, he was selected which is what was asked.

On a side note away from lions speculation…

It really pees me off that a player can be clearly knocked unconscious yet allowed to continue. The consequences of a second knock could be massive

Anyone going, then?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2pqtaIVBH0&list=PLajBrt9lvgr4HcZsxyCwk-lyvXGddI53V

I agree DanW and I think Warburtons loss of form is due to one too many bangs to the head. The sight of him knocked out then getting up and being sick then playing on against aus this summer was appalling. Refs and doctors need to do more imo.

Apparently the Lions team wiill be the england team with Back and DillyDally on the bench.

all those Moriarty’s are thugs

I had a random thought- The midweek games are generally speaking the Lions trouncing a club side while the club side take lumps out of the Lions trying to reduce the number of players available for the tests.

So in response to that how about a specific mid week side to counter the skullduggery 🙂

Healey, Hartley, Julian White
What second and backrows like a scrap? Can Jamie Cudmore claim Welsh residency after his stint there in the early 2000’s 🙂 I think a welcome return for Powell is in order!
Martin Roberts at scrum half would wind anyone up
ROG at 10 just to see him try and catch a high ball after a few bumps on the head. Being a doormat would tire the opposition too.
Back 3- Stoddard, Ashton and Liam Williams. The 2 Welsh are always being niggly and Ashton can get the proof he needs that he isn’t a tough guy 🙂
Centres- Manu for sure as he could use Ashton as a punch bag in training to get ready for match day 🙂 Probabaly Manu by himself is enough.

It is a genius plan, I hope Gatland is reading 🙂

Could be an opportunity to blood that young welsh traveller lad in the front row. I understand he likes the odd “robust debate”. 😀
Grewcock?

Maybe Trevor ‘Jackie Chan’ Brennan could make a return

Grewcock is a liability. Not just with getting carded but to his own players.

Ausitn Healey remarked that he wasn’t a dirty player (!?!?!?!?!?) he’s just a bit clumsy!?!?!?!? He regailed a story about him treading on Kyran Braken’s head once during a match. They were on the same side. This was in his defence after he stepped over a ruck on the try line and kicked Dwayne Peel in the head.

Samson Lee Wrecker? No idea of his background but he has been getting under the skin skin of his opponents rather a lot this season 🙂

Grewcock is perfect for the mid week Lions side!

In fairness bigblackshed there are a lot of rugby players who aren’t too bright! An ex-Wales and Cardiff prop (amateur days) once told me of a team mate who would make a habit of punching himself in the face in rucks hard enough to draw blood and try and get opponents sent off!

Which reminds me… where is Mungo nowadays 🙂

I didn’t realise that Julian White retired…he’s a farmer now!

Neil Best would be a good pick in the back row for the midweek side. He’s bat shit mental!!

Which reminds me… where is Mungo nowadays

Now, if we want to talk about stupid; this this the yardstick!
I watched the sale v exeter game and the commentators mentioned that although fit, mongo couldn’t get a start. They didn’t actually call him mongo.

Samson Lee Wrecker?

That’s the one!
Mark Regan?
POC?
Johnson?
BlindMelon is there a video of that incident?

Lawes. Hamilton. Delon Armitage. Who at 10 Quade Cooper is the only complete knobber that springs to mind at 10 and he’s the likely opposition!

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/rugbyunion/international/wales/9864325/George-Norths-father-was-Paris-pitch-invader-as-Wales-enjoyed-Six-Nations-win-over-France.html

Healy
Hartley
Lee
POC
Lawes
Powell
Clarke
O malley

That would be a suitably abrasive pack wouldn’t it?

Spike plus Gav would be a pretty annoying half back pairing.

BlindMelon is there a video of that incident?

No video that I can find but a bit more info here, I believe the Ulster fan was less than complimentary about Trevor’s mother

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/life-ban-for-punching-fan-too-harsh-says-rugby-player-28517857.html

A couple of bits in there made me laugh;

Brennan, who has 13 caps for Ireland, was banned by rugby authorities three years ago after he repeatedly smashed Ulster fan Patrick Bamford in the face

described his lifetime ban from the sport as “really harsh”.

😀

yeah he was a bit of a nutter tbh

Awesome mid week pack Wrecker

I’m not sure Lawes is cut out for the mid week side. Need some nastier and thicker chaps.

I wouldn’t waste Mikey P mid week either. It’s a shame we can’t call upon any of the tiny, cowardly eye gouging Frech scrum halves to keep the mid week clubs in check.

Delon is perfect at fullback 🙂

Given free reign I would probably send Gav out by himself 🙂

I’m not sure Lawes is cut out for the mid week side. Need some nastier and thicker chaps.

Yeah, I agree actually. He seems to have got a bad rep based on one incident.
I don’t see Gav as a “tough guy” either. More of a niggler.

Fair play to Brennan though,the spectator would have been mouthing off to a guy he wouldn’t dare abuse in the street. I hope he was given a lifetime ban from all Ulster games as he created the situation that got him a sore face. Was there not a similar fan/player interaction with a large South Sea Islander who had been subbed off in last years Hiney cup?

Cant have Stoddard as he has retired after never recovering fully from breaking his leg against england in the world cup warm up game. And Powell is brainless not abrasive.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/21430799

Howley has announced the same team that played france will start v Italy. Not sure why he needs to announce this to the press now or why AW Jones isnt starting. Coombes has done well but Alun-Wyn is a different class.

Thats very strange to announce so soon, whats the thinking there? I’d bring AWJ back as well, he was fantastic against Ulster last week. Totally dominated the breakdown.

And Powell is brainless not abrasive.

Agreed but he is a hard bastard.

Agreed re AWJ…is he in the squad then? I’ve not read the link.

4 years back mongo was one of my favourite players…what has gone wrong there? Aside from being a tool that is! He had been playing reasonably well for Sale from what I heard.

Wales have better players available than Powell who also doesnt really fit the Gatlandball model of a number 8 (pretty much another flanker). He is also too prone to brain explosions.
AWJ is in the squad, could also play for the Ospreys this week to get more gametime.

Really sad news about Stoddart, I hadn’t realised he’d retired. I would expect a fracture like his to still give pain year on so (and it is amazing he made it through a few games) so the pain isn’t a big surprise but retirement is a shock. I would imagine it was more a case of where he is in his career that forced the retirement.