Rugby - Hands Off White!

[finbar]

Hm? No. Sorry.

[Havak]

Too busy catching the autumn Italian air eh?

Squad for the AIs is named today and Van Gisbergen is widely epxected to be named. Cannot say I am too impressed by this fact. He is a good enough player - but he is a Kiwi dammit!

Wales by the way have had a lot of players go under the knife recently who may not be back for the big autumn games - it has caused a bit of an argument between the Union and the provinces. The kiwis are timing it well - all the home unions are distracted by internal arguments right now.

[Havak]

One or two positive moves - and a raft of mistakes. It's hilarious to see the west country lads on the BBC message boards caliming that this shambles is 'spot on'.

The biggest positive is the young locks Palmer and Brown getting into the squad. That goes side by side with the mistake of not also replacing Grewcock with Deacon though. It is also a positive that Cozza is keeping the capataincy.

The biggest mistake - probably that diminutive Bath hooker Lee Mears who simply doesn't warrant a place at all. It's easy to tell at times that Andy Robinson was a Bath player and coach. Thompson picked as first choice hooker even though he now plays his club rugby at flanker and the equally Mears small Titterall in reserve - the only thing George Chuter is getting wrong with Robinson is that he plays for Tigers as he is by far the best English hooker in the top flight.

Finbars defensive train wreck Simpson-Daniel limps into the squad again as does the tried and failed Chris Jones.

There are enough good players in the selection to turn out a decent team in November - but Robinson will scupper that in the final selection no doubt.

Backs: I Balshaw (Leeds), J Lewsey (Wasps), M Van Gisbergen (Wasps), M Cueto (Sale Sharks), J Simpson-Daniel (Gloucester); S Abbott (Wasps), M Tindall (Gloucester), J Noon (Newcastle), O Smith (Leicester); A Goode (Leicester), C Hodgson (Sale Sharks); M Dawson (Wasps), H Ellis (Leicester), P Richards (Gloucester).

Forwards: P Freshwater (Perpignan), A Sheridan (Sale Sharks), M Stevens (Bath), P Vickery (Gloucester); L Mears (Bath), S Thompson (Northampton); A Brown (Gloucester), D Grewcock (Bath), T Palmer (Leeds), S Shaw (Wasps); M Corry (Leicester, capt), J Forrester (Gloucester), C Jones (Sale), L Moody (Leicester), P Sanderson (Worcester), J Worsley (Wasps).

Stand-by players: Graham Rowntree (Leicester Tigers), Andy Titterell (Sale Sharks), Julian White (Leicester Tigers), Louis Deacon (Leicester Tigers), Steve Borthwick (Bath), Andy Hazell (Gloucester), Olly Barkley (Bath), Mathew Tait (Newcastle Falcons), Tom Voyce (London Wasps), Dan Scarbrough (Saracens).

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And didn't I read something about the Great Saviour L***** Recruit - whatever his name is - missing out because of an ingrown toenail or something?

[ravagon]

Originally posted by Havak
Squad for the AIs is named today and Van Gisbergen is widely epxected to be named. Cannot say I am too impressed by this fact. He is a good enough player - he is a Kiwi dammit!

I fixed your 'obvious mistake' for you.


Still hideously busy at work so I'll have to catch up some other time. I did catch the news about Robinson #1 retiring though (is it the right one? )

Down at this end of the world - of great interest to everybody no doubt - a number of the All-Blacks that'd been considering retiring to northern climes have re-signed with their local clubs in anticipation of spots in the squad for the next WC. Howlett and Nonu being two of the most notables.

[Havak]

Jason 'everyone has worked me out so I'm retiring' Robinson is the one who has decided Sale deserve his full attention rather than England.

To be honest any AB player with a sniff of making the RWC would be foolish to move away after how badly it has worked out for Marshall and Spencer (Merhtens is doing fine down in the second flight so if the two young guns need a backup option he might make it). I like Dougy Howlett as a player so I hope he lasts the course. Nonu? Flashes of brilliance but not enough of them - will be lucky to make the squad.

I still can't shake the idea that with all this huge build up for the ABs something very bad might happen to them in France -perhaps a QF exit?

England have the youth in the squad to build on now - but when turnip trims to the 22 I expect to see all the old cart horses like Grewcock picked again. We have the wrong coach at the wrong time sadly for us. Lee B***** Mears? Robinson is mad as a hatter.

Finbar - quite right, Andy Farrell yet to play a second of competitive union after an operation on his toe. RFU money down the drain for at leats eight more weeks.

[finbar]

Originally posted by Havak
I expect to see all the old cart horses like Grewcock picked again.

Fear not, he'll bite someone's ear off or perform an on-field bowel re-section on someone between now and then.

[LDiCesare]

Here in France the biggest concern we have is our own chamionship of course. More and more, it's looking like there are very few top-level teams able to compete for the title: Both Stades (Francais and Toulousain), and Biarritz. Then Bourgoin or the USAP, maybe Montferrand. But most teams which have good players lose them to the big clubs (like Penaud leaving his ProD2 team to go the Paris, Nyanga leaving Beziers for Toulouse...). We now have a few teams which buy the good players, and the others which are pre-retirement teams (like Narbonne where Labit went back after leaving Toulouse).
As for me, I'm still alive and well after our seconf match of the season (a loss because we managed not to score against all odds 4 times - for example: 4 vs. 1 at ten meters of the line, our fly half kicks. Argllll....)

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Vote 1 - LDiCesares to play fly half!

[LDiCesare]

Now they would be sure that I'd never kick when it's not warranted. I wouldn't when I should, either, of course.

[finbar]

The advantage you would have over the incumbent is that you would do the wrong thing knowing you're doing the wrong thing. So no one could accuse you of not knowing what you're doing.

[Havak]

Nice avatar Finbar.

Well my fears about the new Powergen cup format proved well founded - Tigers lost in Newport on Friday night and by all accounts didn't make a great deal of effort not to do so. Can't see them having a full house for Worcester on Saturday as the Powergen games are not in the season ticket and few will pay for a game they will not take seriously.

Wales have half back problems ahead of the AIs after Stephen Jones got injured playing for Clermont on Saturday.

And Cardiff have signed Lomu for seven months?? Thats a bizarre choice IMO.

Even more Bizarre - Wilko made it through a game of rugby without fresh injury as Falcons beat Sale (who apparently also failed to take this Powegen game seriously). Mind you he did come off the bench on 54 minutes.

[finbar]

We take the dogs for their walks up to the only open, flat ground in the town which is at the very top of the town. Where the Etruscans probably first camped when they settled the place 2,500 years ago. Now it's an open area occupied only by the ruins of a fort built sometime between the 12th and 14th centuries. Anyway, there's a wonderful panoramic view of the surrounding valleys. We always stop to admire the view. One day Dermott decided to have a look for himself to see what all the fuss was about.

Odd that you say Leicester lost. I had a quick look at the results last night and I could have sworn I saw the result the other way around. Which is why I hadn't mentioned anything. Serves me right for not paying more attention.

I have no idea what the Lomu business is all about. He seems to see it as a stepping stone back into the ABs. He's dreaming. Still, if Cardiff get some tries out of him, and if they're not paying him a fortune, which I doubt they are, no harm done. It will also be interesting to see how he goes. I expect he will have lost his speed - which happens to most of us with age, as you will attest - so he'll be relying on strength. Or what's left of it. How long after you retired did your strength wane? Leaving your drinking elbow out of the equation, of course.

EDIT. Cough! Cough!

Just stumbled across this:

Captain Martin Corry gave his emphatic backing to coach Andy Robinson ahead of a new era for English rugby.

Robinson will put his 30-man training squad through their paces at Loughborough this week as England gear up for three Tests this autumn.

And Leicester forward Corry said: "Robbo is a great man for the job because he listens to the players.

"He is not afraid to move forward. He is not carrying any hangovers from the Clive Woodward era."

Now there's a man obviously desperate to hang onto the captaincy.

[Havak]

You may be right – it is however also typically Tigers in that you stick together no matter what. I guess I would expect a skipper to back his coach with the games we are facing next month. I still disagree with Cozza in detail on the issue of course.

One can only wonder what Dermott made of the view.

How long after you retired did your strength wane? Leaving your drinking elbow out of the equation, of course.

About 20 minutes I think.

The Lomu situation is interesting – there will be some pretty physical games for the Blues whilst he is with them. The Celtic league is not the English Premiership but you are still facing the likes of Munster and Llanelli – prisoners are not normally taken. I hope his body is up to it.

[finbar]

Originally posted by Havak

One can only wonder what Dermott made of the view.

Not much, presumably. He only ever did it that once. He much prefers the view of the bottom of his food bowl.