England v France,23/02/13

[martinspoonboy1]

Are we sure we want to start Halfpenny vs. Foden again? Because I will fight Leigh's corner to the death

But in all seriousness, my starting Lions fullback would, without a doubt, be a certain Gavin Henson. What a player.




Hmmm... I wouldn't be so adamant of that. I haven't seen Halfpenny's form falter once since he debuted for Wales, he has only grown as a player. I've seen it happen to Foden a couple of times now. He is the one Welsh player I really believe could stake a claim for best in his position in the world at the minute. He is also one of the most committed and passionate players I think I've ever seen on an international field. He reminds me of the likes of Jason Robinson or Brian O'Driscoll in terms of his reliability and steady mind, and I easily forget he is still only 24 years old.

I would agree if it werent for Israel Dagg. Halfpenny is superb and ofcourse an amazing kicker, but if you have a 10 who can kick, id favour Dagg I think.

 

[psychic duck]

Brad Barritt 8
What a performance, he had to close down basteruea (sp?) quick and tackle and kept him quiet. His tackling anyone dare to go down his channel is fantastic. I was looking at his contribution and you can see particularly in the first half how crucial he is to Lancaster. He runs the show in defense he commands the side well, and you can see he is respected as when he shouts for the formation others listen and move into position. VERY underrated and I REALLY cannot see how 12T can dislodge Barrit in the side. What I like about Barrit (other then his excellent rugby brain and technical ability) is his consistency and commitment; I will not be surprised he is in the Lions squad.

What people forget when talking about Barritt is his passing abilities aren't as good as others. I saw a few times when England were trying backs moves against France, that they were ruined by the ball not being accurately enough passed down the line.

Barritt may be great at closing down one dimensional lumps like Bastareaud and Jamie Roberts, and given that job he does that very effectively indeed. However he is limited somewhat in attack, and if England going forward I strongly think should select Twelvetrees ahead of Barritt for his passing abilities.

 

[mstar]

DO you watch Sarries play psychic duck? Barrit is sometimes a different player he can play an attacking game when called upon. His handling is fine. He is also underrated speed which we saw a glimse of vs New Zealand when we had a manu and barrit line break.

In england lancaster has a specific role and he keeps to it -The defensive organiser/captain. And he does it very well. Problem is since he been in the England squad that role has "stuck" and he plays that role for sarries more and more.

 

[psychic duck]

DO you watch Sarries play psychic duck? Barrit is sometimes a different player he can play an attacking game when called upon. His handling is fine. He is also underrated speed which we saw a glimse of vs New Zealand when we had a manu and barrit line break.

In england lancaster has a specific role and he keeps to it -The defensive organiser/captain. And he does it very well. Problem is since he been in the England squad that role has "stuck" and he plays that role for sarries more and more.

His handling is fine. But his passing isn't as good as Twelvetrees. I also don't rate his attack that highly, true he made a break against New Zealand but for most of his international career he hasn't troubled defences much.

He's very good at his defensive role, but I think he has his limitations and England can do better than him if they want to progress.

 

[racingmetrofan]

Barritt, whatever role he plays, would be fine if we played two wings and an attacking FB. Personally I think another wing or two and Brown to fullback would make a bigger difference to our attack than Twelvetrees in the centre.

 

[Saint Matt]

Barritt is a solid player - dependable, makes his tackles, and is strong in contact, but his overall attacking game isn't quite strong enough for me. Defensively, he does a great job and his communication skills in a defensive sense are excellent, but if England are looking to move forward, Twelvetrees at 12 would be the greater option in my view, and his combination with Tuilagi in the centres could be a sight to behold in the long run.