England v New Zealand

[Sam Owen]

I think Hape shouldn't be included, he is too old and won't get us anywhere in the world cup. Any younger player would be better - especially Waldouk or Allen for the 12 Jersey.

I havent seen Hape play Rugby Union yet, I wasnt a big fan of his when he was playing League for the Warriors but he was just a youngster then. Definately would like to see the man now. He must be good though if he made the England side.


Flutey was going good when I saw him last in the Lions. He was promising when he was with the Hurricanes, I think he improved when he started playing in England.

In fact, SBW would be a safer option at emergency 10 than Dumbshit Donald...

LOL no SBW wouldnt...I know, sarcasim.

Wonder if the SRU/WRU/IRFU will be slipping the England plays a few quid to try and put Carter out of action for their tests

Well the ABs need to be able to play without him because Dan is not injury proof. They shouldnt rely heavily on one player. Even though Donald is not my favourite book in the shelf, I'd back my decision in bringing him to the squad and field him whenever possible.

If the ABs staple into their mentality 'Dan Carter only' its not good. Yes when Dan is playing the ABs run a bit smoother but it shouldnt mean Dan only.

Noticed Larksea hasn't made an appearance.

Cmon nick..

1/ Tony Woodcock vs Sheridan
2/ Keven Mealamu vs Thompson
3/ Owen Franks vs Cole
4/ Brad Thorn vs Lawes
5/ Tom Donnelly vs Palmer
6/ Jerome Kaino vs Croft
7/ Ritchie Macaw vs Moody
8/ Keiran Read vs Easter
9/ Jimmy Cowan vs Youngs
10/ Dan Carter vs Flood
11/ Jose Rokocoko vs Cueto
12/ Ma'a Nonu vs Hape
13/ Conrad Smith vs Tindall
14/ Cory Jane vs Ashton
15/ Mils Muliaina vs Foden

Some very good match ups, I cant wait.

Good analysis of the clashes also.

I gotta go lock my front gate now, its Halloween tonight LOL.

 

[nickdnz]

Good news for England, Cory Jane has picked up a small chest injury, and is unlikely to play in this match. The bad news is that means Hosea Gear is likely to start instead.

All Blacks wing Cory Jane is in doubt for the Grand Slam tour opener against England at Twickenham on Sunday (NZT) after suffering a chest injury during last night's Bledisloe Cup defeat to Australia.
Jane had to be replaced in the 52nd minute of the Wallabies 26-24 victory at Hong Kong Stadium after copping a heavy blow to the left side of his chest wall.
He underwent scans after the match that revealed the injury was soft tissue only though All Blacks medical staff suggested Jane was still unlikely to be available this weekend.
An automatic choice in the All Blacks line-up, team management will be relieved Jane's medical assessment did not find serious damage.
The All Blacks already have to deal with the unavailability of Sitiveni Sivivatu - the 43-cap veteran was ruled out of the tour with a knee injury.
When Sivivatu's withdrawal was confirmed, All Blacks head coach Graham Henry said a replacement would not initially be necessary because Jane, Joe Rokocoko, Hosea Gear and Isaia Toeava covered that position.
Auckland utility back Toeava replaced Jane last night with mixed success so Gear may be in the frame for his third test cap.

http://nz.sports.yahoo.com/rugby/news/article/-/8230812/jane-doubt-england-test

 

[Sam Owen]

The bad news is that means Hosea Gear is likely to start instead.

Mate thats great news.

As for Jane I hope he makes a full recovery.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Mate thats great news.

As for Jane I hope he makes a full recovery.

Think he means bad news for England
We all know how much nick wants to make Hosea Gear his wife!


That settles it, Cueto HAS to start, Gear made Strettle his ***** last time they met, it's only going to be more embarassing this time because more people will be watching!

 

[nickdnz]

Think he means bad news for England
We all know how much nick wants to make Hosea Gear his wife!


That settles it, Cueto HAS to start, Gear made Strettle his ***** last time they met, it's only going to be more embarassing this time because more people will be watching!

:lol:
Interestingly enough, I just found out my sister works with Hosea and Rico Gear's mother (Annie), and I got invited to a barbaque at the Gear house...We'll see if the restraining order has expired by then.

Yeah, I was meaning bad news for England. I just hope he performs like he can. I think a really good performance may see him become a more regular member of the AB's, and I think a combo of Rokocoko and Gear (while being a little bit too similar) could be lethal. Would love to see both wingers score. Hopefully Henry will realize, that as brillaint as Jane is on the wing, he is a better fullback.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Jane is too good to have on the bench though, and I don't think he'll ever take the 15 shirt off of Muliaina

 

[nickdnz]

Jane is too good to have on the bench though, and I don't think he'll ever take the 15 shirt off of Muliaina

Well, hopefully after the RWC, though it'll probably look like a very different side after then.

 

[Shaggy]

Jane is too good to have on the bench though, and I don't think he'll ever take the 15 shirt off of Muliaina

I agree that while Mils is available for the AB's, this won't happen ... Jane is also behind Israel Dagg (when fit), in the pecking order ... Jane could possibly start at 15 against Scotland

 

[alex]

i like Jane at wing, because as Shaggy said(kind of), Dagg is the f**king man.

 

[woodward]

Hope Gear can take his chance if he gets it, he's not going to get many.

I think it will be 20+

 

[eot345]

i think im gunna right an analysis on all of englands upcoming games

 

[eot345]

You make Floods defence sound much worse than it is!
I don't think he'll have much problem tackling Nonu (in that any professional player worth his salt should be able to tackle any other, not that Nonu is a wimp or Flood is a tackling machine)

I'd say that's a fair summary of the two squads, to be fair.
Don't know whether it was the playing surface, the ref, or what today but the ABs scrum didn't look good, which hopefully will carry over to next week, as that'll give us a strong platform/them a weak to attack from, same with their lineout (shame the same can't be said about their ruck - we don't/won't have a Pocock in there ruffling feathers)

One more advantage ABs have though is that they've had a lot longer to gel together over the Trinations/playing today.
Obviously they'll try out different combinations over the tour, but I have a feeling they'll put out their strongest team for England (lets face it, noone likes England, and they aren't going to take a chance of not beating us ) whereas this will be the first England match in a few months, and while (i hope) a lot of the partnerships (Lawes/Palmer, Youngs/Flood, Thompson/Cole, Foden/Ashton) will stick from the summer/the premiership, the whole team won't be as fluid as the ABs which is never good

I'm still holding out hop for Waldouck over Hape, but I really can't see it happening

If Strettle is picked over Cueto I expect a LOT of traffic down his channel, which means either he'll need to MTFU, or someone will have to help him out, leaving gaps elsewhere. I really think that Cueto is the best option for this match, as he's sound in defence, if a little slow in attack. Strettle is good at being put into gaps and zipping away, which i don't think will really happen against the ABs (i expect them to be a lot more clinical next weekend, after every mistake they made today was pounced on by the Aussies)

im not saying floo d couldnt tacke nonu but could he could probably tackle 3/4 time or 4/5 time but what happens when he gets through?

 

[eot345]

Hope Gear can take his chance if he gets it, he's not going to get many.

I think it will be 20+

you underestimate england

 

[eot345]

or mabye even dare i say in Bannhan !!!... cause rokocoko and gear are both hardrunning wingers who need a strong guy to knock em down IMO because of the likes of gear, Nonu, Rokocoko we need to beef up are back line a little Tindalls good but hape though quite large is **** and so i'd like to go by the philosophy of 'big guys to tackle big guys'

 

[gingergenius]

Corey Jane's a class act, he should move into the 15 jersey when Muliaina gets too old. Then you've still got wingers to choose from Rokocoko, Sivivatu, Savea, Gear and Dagg covers all, plus Toeava.

That's enough depth to pick good enough back 3s for the entire Tri-nations.

That said, we're not doing too badly. Foden and Ashton are class acts, and Cueto would be if he were quicker. I'd be tempted to put another class act, Delon Armitage, on the wing - but not yet cos Cuets has done nothing wrong.

What I'm worried about is the game plan. Australia have some wonderful creative talents in Beale and O'Connor in the back 3, like we have Ashton and Foden. Please, please can we use them to run in open field and counter-attack, because that's one of the reasons Australia are so dangerous. A procession of garryowens and gets us nowhere.

 

[veux]

I wish Wilko wasn't injured now - then we could play Flood/Wilko/Tindall in the centres (and I really rate wilko there).

 

[TRF_Olyy]

I really don't think it'll be 20+ to the ABs,
They only won by 13pts last year, and England were shocking then,
I think <10

 

[ranger]

or mabye even dare i say in Bannhan !!!... cause rokocoko and gear are both hardrunning wingers who need a strong guy to knock em down IMO because of the likes of gear, Nonu, Rokocoko we need to beef up are back line a little Tindalls good but hape though quite large is **** and so i'd like to go by the philosophy of 'big guys to tackle big guys'

Beef up the backline at your own peril. Banahan has feet made of concrete. If he gets matched up against Gear or Joe he will get turned inside out.
Its not a case of "big guys to tackle big guys" because if you look at the breaks those guys make and the tries they score, the majority of the time it is done with good footwork and raw pace, they rarely just run into players..
Nonu swaggers into half gaps and then uses his power to get through players after they have been put off balance. Hosea Gear and Roks are the two best exponents of the old "in and out" in the country. The way Gear lures guys into getting flatfooted and burns them on the outside is beautiful to watch.

England would be far better to field smaller players that have better balance and quicker feet. That way they can negate the agility of the attackers, then even if they get bunted over that slows the attacker right down and gives the English cover defense more time to slide over. If a guy like Banahan gets waxed and Hosea pins his ears back, then its pretty much a guaranteed 5 pointer.

 

[gingergenius]

or mabye even dare i say in Bannhan !!!... cause rokocoko and gear are both hardrunning wingers who need a strong guy to knock em down IMO because of the likes of gear, Nonu, Rokocoko we need to beef up are back line a little Tindalls good but hape though quite large is **** and so i'd like to go by the philosophy of 'big guys to tackle big guys'

eugh, there is no possible reason for anyone to even think about picking Banahan, ever.

He's big so can make big one-on-one hits. Fine, but all that's needed is to bring the guy down, and every professional rugby player in the world should be able to do this regardless of size (and yes I know there are the Murphys and Abendanons of this world but still).

His size is useless in attack because the All Blacks will have bigger guys running faster at them on better angles week in week out. Bringing Banahan down is no problem for them.

His kicking game, his positioning in defence, and his general slowness are not good enough for international level.

And England's midfield containing Hape and Tindall won't need to be any beefier. Who's big in the Aussie backline?

 

[nickdnz]

Out of interest, is either Topsey Ojo or James Simpson-Daniel, still in the mix? I really rate them both.

Aaannnyway, I would think England would be best off to have damage control in the backs. Rokocoko and Gear are very quick, and Gear can fend all day. England would do well to exploit and obvious weakness (not to say it's a big one), and have wingers who can kick and catch. Bannahan would be good if Gear or Rokocoko ran right at him (but who tries that against Bannahan?), they'll run around them. You'd really want to get a winger who's just reliable. Someone who has got very good tackling technique (don't think there is a line breaker in New Zealand, who'd often beat Conrad Smith one on one.