Rugby - Six Nations, S14, Lions, Can't Wait

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As I've said before, Dean Richards wouldn't fit the England set up because he'd likely tell Rob Andrew to fark off, something J**** obviously hasn't the courage to do. Shame, really. Richards' playing days slightly predate my introduciton to rugby, but I'm absolutely sure that he's proving he can coach players in ways other than his own style. Not always easy to do.

I saw Bristol earlier this season. They were terrible. And seem to have got worse. Worcester looked a class above them, which is saying something.

[Havak]

Richards was a Titan of his era - but some of what he excelled at is illegal today. He excelled at turning players in the tackle for example, and would no doubt be pinged for not releasing them all the time today.

Some of his strengths would be undiminished - his control from the back of the scrum for example

He always looked a shambling bear on the pitch but he had the skill of reading the game perfectly, he always seemed to be where he needed to be exactly when he needed to be.

And yes Quins certainly aren't modelled on his playing style.

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Jeez, Eddie is better off out of Saracens. The Bok mafia has taken over. Looks like it's going to be players rotating between Sarries, the Sharks and the Stormers. Not sure what the fan base will make of it all.

[Havak]

And the pointless tenure of Chris Jack at the club is terminated a year early. I bet he is delighted.

As am I. Jonno has solved all our problems by, um, swapping Flood and Goode, bringing the supremely self confident Care onto the bench along with Foden (poor against Italy). And thats it.

Strewth.

We have two of the most dynamic young back rows in England sat on the bench. I really don't get it. As I may have mentioned before.

[LDiCesare]

The French team for Friday has been announced (wtf playing matches on Friday evenings? I'm the one who plays matches on Firday evenings - luckily not this week).
Beauxis is wounded (again), having started a game last week with a small pain instead of being put to rest, resulting in a more serious wound which will last who knows how long... So, the French have decided to select Benoît Baby as fly half. Baby played center the previosu matches, and usually plays either center or full back at Clermont. Therefore he is fully qualified to play 10. Goal-kicking will be between Parra and Baby, knowing that neither kicks for his club (Baby sometimes tries long kicks but that's all).
I think the French team we will see on Friday (...) will have a hard time against Wales. A center who never played with any of the others of the back line and has had 4 days to prepare himself, a fly half who's not a fly half and no kicker. They're going to have a hard time.
French rugby will never manage to produce a good team if we continue this way. Too many matches leading to too many wounds (the props, fly half and center spots all have wounded contenders). Everybody has been talking about it for years but nothing changes. Less matches would require the clubs to accept either less French championship matches or less European Cup matches. Right now the HCup (and European Challenge) is made of matches sprinkled in holes in the calendar, with little continuity. This calendar is outright silly. At least the Welsh and Irish concentrate much more on the European competition than on domestic comps or the Celtic League. French rugby should probably try to think a bit more about its own organisation. I suspect the English rugby isn't in much better shape either.

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French rugby should probably try to think a bit more about its own organisation. I suspect the English rugby isn't in much better shape either.

They're in exactly the same bind with the same two problems - too many matches, too many foreign players in the premier club comp.

I've said it before. Lièvremont is an oie. That's Australian for Lièvremont is a complete and utter idiot. Shame for French rugby that they've had two complete and utter idiots in charge in a row.

Havak, not only will Chris Jack be delighted to escape, so will a lot of others. Sarries is going to be Gulag Afrikaan, a satellite of the two Bok S14 franchises.

England got away with the slowest back row in the history of the universe against Wales. They got away with Worsley because the Welsh centres were both crash-ball merchants and the Welsh back row doesn't exactly move on roller skates. Hopefully the very mobile Irish back row and that talented young #12 - along with BOD - will teach J**** a lesson.

Toby couldn't be more ineffective than Goode. My problem with Toby, and I've seen a lot of him this season, is that he plays for the moment immediately in front of him. There's no sense of any bigger picture. He will provide spark and go-forward, but next to nil strategy.

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Crusaders lost again this morning, this time at home. That's two in a row. I couldn't be fagged getting up to watch the match, but they were copping a hiding from the Hurricanes before they fought back late in the match. They were certainly poor in losing to the Brumbies last weekend.

In other SH news, it seems odds-on that Phil Waugh will head to the NH at the end of this S14 season. He's poised to slip down the openside ladder behind George Smith and the Western Farce's outstanding and very young #7 David Pocock. Despite his face looking like a torn sandshoe, he's still only 29. Presumably NH clubs in need of a quality #7 will be examining their bank balances.

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Last night wasn't shown live here because of the Friday night scheduling. I had to make do with a programmed midnight replay. Which started at 12.35am and turned out to be a crudely edited hour-long version of the match. So I ended up with little idea of the real flow of the match. From what I could tell: the French back row was monumental, especially He With The Unpronounceable Name; Wales couldn't cope with the sheer physicality - at speed - of the French; they stupidly kicked away possession to the French back three; Baby didn't disgrace himself at #10; the non-specialist kicking #9 didn't either; Shanklin (I think it was) should have been yellow-carded; Henson is a glory-seeker; and Wales shouldn't have been as close as they were towards the end.

Shame I didn't see the match in its entirety. I think I would have enjoyed the French performance in more detail.

[kittenOFchaos]

A good suggestion by Brian Moore, that they fine people for yellow cards.

About time England took the match fee of any player that gets a yellow.

I REALLY dislike Vickery as a player as he gives away so many penalties and demonstrates so little intelligence.

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Add Danny Care to the list. He got away with what amounted to an attempted head butt against one of the Wallabies last autumn after the ball was in touch and out of play. Prize d*ckhead. Flutey's late high shot - no arms in the tackle - on BOD should have earned him a card as well. It happened right in front of the ref, the replay showed him watching it. Odd that not even a penalty came of it.

Let's call the score 25-13. O'Gara won't miss that many easy kicks again in a season of trying. I thought England had plumbed the depths before this. Not so. They found new depths. Ireland weren't all that flash in a scrappy game but they seemed to have a plan. England ran one-out, kicked away possession, fumbled. What happened when Matthew Tait came on? Broke the line straight away. Oh what a flattering scoreline.

Scotland are dreadful. Italy are worse. A better bounce and Italy would have had at least one try, a more skilful, quick-thinking #13 who can offload might have had them a second try. Scotland scored two, the first from a pass that went yards forward. I think they deserve joint wooden spoons. I saw Nick Mallet interviewed in Italian after the match. He's learned the language well and quickly. He was trying to explain that Italy lacks a game-breaker. First he realised the word didn't exist in Italian. Then he tried to explain what a game-breaker was. They finally got the message. He's right. Sergio Parese is already kicking drop goals and kicking for touch, he can't be expected to do everything.

[Havak]

Henson a glory seeker? Well he certainly isn't a rugby player so maybe so. Loved the munch that French 13 put in on the orange poser almost as soon as he took the field.

Parese stands head and shoulders above the rest of the team with Griffen, Bergamasco(s), Castro and Bortolami probably next in line. The rest are not international class - so much so that they could probably play for England.

The BBC blog by Ben Dirs is pretty spot on - our skipper is the least effective on field one since De Glanville IMO. He does not warrant selection as a player and he disappears when arse kickings are needed. I never liked De Glanville as a player but he was actually far more effective at 12 than the over rated turnover waiting to happen that is Flutey.

I'll cover discipline in a moment but do you think Jonno noticed how much more competitive we were at the breakdown once Crofty and Narraway made appearances?

Ah discipline - Haskell wants offenders punished apparently. Oh the irony. Was it five of our eighteen penalties he gave away?

Vickery and Care mnust be dropped. Repeated stupidity must not be rewarded with more caps.

In fact I'd drop 9 players totally:

1,2,3,4,6,8,12,13 and 14.

And I'd bench Worseley and recall Delon or Skinner.

Sackey is totally anonymous. He doesn't even have the finishing skill of a Varndell. It's mystifying he keeps getting selected.

Scotland next up and unless Jonno shows real courage and cuts the chaff above defeat beckons - and that might seal his fate even this early. England didn't need another conservative coach sticking with old failures and he has amazed me by doing exactly that.

The 6N has gone - there is no excuse to field the same old failures now.

It makes me so angry. I can see some of the problems and whilst I might not have all the answers I would at least shake things up and drop players - it would at least make them stop taking selection for granted. Certainly the Ostriche approach to selection policy ("problems, what problems?") is not working.

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You're not wrong. I find it incomprehensible - still, again - that the best talent in the 22 sits on the bench. And look at the difference between the respective skippers - BOD all class, despite being illegally battered; Borthwick ineffective. Having been told by the ref that the next ruck infringement will bring a yellow card regardless, did Borthwick utter a word to his team? I didn't see it. And if he did, Vickery's utter stupidity means he doesn't listen to his skipper. I despair. Danny Care had an excuse. He's a known psychopath.

There is a bottom line, though. There are very much better England 22s that could be selected. I don't think any of them would be great. For whatever reason - the cyclical nature of rugby, too many foreign players in the Premiership - there's a real shortage of class in English rugby at the moment.

Still, Worcester beat Wasps.

Now I'm off to the couch to see what Irish can do to Leicester.

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Great game. Unless you were a Leicester supporter in the last five minutes. Best I've seen them for a long time. They found some rhythm, and Aaron Mauger was strong in the midfield. Great defence when they needed it in the second half too. I still think the French #9 is ordinary. Paul Hodgson showed him how it can be done. Great effort from him. You have to like Irish for their sheer cheek and nerve and refusal to lie down.

[kittenOFchaos]

Finbar, as a Scot (in England since 1995), I have to say I am somewhat encouraged by the Scottish performance this 6 nations in that we've finally got some decent backs.

The Evans brothers are an excellent addition and Danielli seems to have learnt how to catch the ball. Once Rory Lamont returns we can ditch Southwell to the bench and things are looking far rosier.


The same is somewhat true of England, in that certain players have secured a spot in the team (at least in my mind). I think Cueto has secured his spot, and has linked up well in defense with Armitage. Armitage has been superb in the 15 slot, just a pity he has had so much to do. Sackey hasn't had much quality ball to work with, but he is a superb finisher and I'd keep him with JSD as a replacement.

Tindall is a good replacement for Noon and if England insist on playing little boys as their no.10 (Flood is soooooo weedy) then he is vital. Flutey, I'm not so sure about and would rather see Tait there...

In the forwards, Borthwick and Easter can depart. I think Worsley has earnt his place and protects the no.10 channel which is very vulnerable for England. Apart from that, ditch Vickery or do a brain transplant and then focus on some consistency in the team selection.

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I don't deny there's some good young talent amongst the Scotland backs. I think Scotland's biggest problem is Frank Hadden. He hasn't taken the team anywhere in his time in charge. They're really no better than they were last year. Yesterday, particularly in the second half, they were no better than Italy.