Jeremy Guscott's World XV (approach with caution)

[Seaton]

:lol:

You do realize that your opinion of Beast contradicts that of most rugby pundits?





Oh, I see

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Beast wouldn't go amiss in an Ireland frontrow....lets put it that way

 

[Peat]

Beast wouldn't go amiss in an Ireland frontrow....lets put it that way

Harsh!

 

[lynam1104]

Our front row would be fine if Buckley was not kidneys secret son.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Harsh!

He shoots he scores!

 

[Aedaphon]

Never played front row in my life so my appreciation of the position is pretty poor/nonexistent...

But I do like calling "BEAST" :lol:

 

[Teh Mite]

Our front row would be fine if Buckley was not kidneys secret son.

And you had a hooker.

And a loosehead.

And a tighthead.

 

[lucky number 7]

Cian Healy is on the way to becoming a fantastic player
Cronin is decent
and Mike ross is a very good scrummager ..just needs to be picked

 

[Peat]

Cian Healy has yet to turn in a good scrummaging performance at international level.

Ireland do have some props who can scrummage. Declan Kidney however has an allergy to picking them. When he had to pick Tom Court to actually start some games he spent all day in bed thats how poorly it made him.

Which means he'd love the Beast, except the Beast probably scrummages a bit too much for Kidney's liking.

p.s. To be fair, Ireland has more good hookers than you can shake a stick at.

 

[Teh Mite]

Beast is the South African Sheridan. Hyped beyond all belief but actually a bit gash at set pieces against anyone of reasonable quality.

 

[coonor]

Based on form:

Healy- Not a great scrummager and who can do stupid things at international level. A great ball carrier and tackler and still young could be a great prop.
Court- Needs to pick tight or loose. Quite good at tackling and rucking pretty good in the scrum
Buckley- Awful in the scrum but can make a physical impact
Ross- Very good scrummager and improving ball carrier
Varley- Good at throwing the lineout, rucking and making the gainline
Cronin- very dynamic and quick could improve his darts though
Best- Poor thrower but good in the scrum
Flannery- best in the lineout but is quite dirty and not a athletic

Prospects-
props: Hagan, McAllister, Ryan, Maguire etc.
Hookers: Sherry, Harris-Wright etc.

We have props that offer different skills but none are a full package. I think Hooker isn't to bad with Varley and Cronin. Some good prospects though.

 

[gingergenius]

Cian Healy is on the way to becoming a fantastic player

:lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:

 

[Seaton]

Beast is the South African Sheridan. Hyped beyond all belief but actually a bit gash at set pieces against anyone of reasonable quality.

Now now, Beast's play in the loose is probably the reason he is over-hyped as a prop
I think simply because he is a prop, and has good loose play, the media automatically say "Hey look! A prop that can run! He can therfore do no wrong"


I would still have him over a host of better scrummagers, simply because of the atmosphere and lift it must give players when
BBBBEEEEEAAAAAAASSSSSTTTTTTT
Is shouted/groaned/chanted

 

[lucky number 7]

:lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:

Scrummaging has become solid .. I recall the leinster scrumm bossing clermont around quite a bit in their previous encounter .. that coupled with his ball carrying and tackling does suggest that yes he is seriously going to become a top notch prop.

 

[Shaggy]

Here's Will Greenwoods team of the year ... it's worth a look at the full article to see who else he considered, and to see what a big "Top Gun" fan he is

http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-union/union-news/four-wallabies-in-team-of-the-year-20110101-19cic.html

1 Soane Tonga'uiha
2 Bismarck du Plessis
3 Nicolas Mas
4 Brad Thorn
5 Victor Matfield
6 Tom Croft
7 Richie McCaw
8 Kieran Read
9 Will Genia
10 Quade Cooper
11 & 14 Australia's James O'Connor and England's Chris Ashton
12 Ma'a Nonu
13 Conrad Smith
15 Kurtley Beale

... Interesting article, I'm not sure that I could bring myself to leave out Dan Carter (who can tackle, kick ... and run as well ... seemed to have picked up a point scoring record as well this year )

... I've seen a couple of Northampton games that Tonga'uiha played in, and he's looked good, did this form carry through into his games for Tonga?

... If Quade Cooper is Maverick, and Kurtly beale is Goose, who is Ice ... is it Dan Carter?

 

[Shaggy]

Planet Rugby did collated there 2010 team below from there readers ... maybe we should do the same

http://www.planetrugby.com/story/0,25883,3551_6605729,00.html

Planet Rugby Readers' Team of 2010:

15 Mils Muliaina
There were only two candidates in this position, and gentlemen, Mils had a significant lead on Kurtley Beale in your votes. We agree that the young Aussie had a great year and he gets a place on the bench.

14 James O'Connor
Your votes were unanimous here. Chris Ashton and Tommy Bowe got quite a few too, but O'Connor's extra contribution with the boot no doubt gave him the edge.

13 Conrad Smith
There was nothing separating Smith and Adam Ashley-Cooper when your nominations came in, but when we put them head-to-head, Smith was a clear winner. It seems harsh on the Aussie, but it's tough to argue with the impact of the Hurricanes' midfield duo...

12 Ma'a Nonu
Another clear choice from you. Perhaps the real story here is the guy who came in second - Sonny Bill Williams. The All Blacks' cup runneth over! Yannick Jauzion was next up and we feel he should have gotten a lot more votes.

11 Hosea Gear
Another tiebreaker was needed here between Gear and Drew Mitchell, who might feel a little hard done by considering he was the top try-scorer in the Super 14. But Gear's sensational November seems to have been enough to sway your opinion.

10 Dan Carter
The clearest vote of them all. Quade Cooper was the only other player to get any votes worth counting thanks to his great Super 14, but it's at international level where true greatness shines. They don't call it 'Test' rugby for nothing and Carter showed why he is considered by many to be the best 10 ....ever.

9 Will Genia
Most of you picked either Genia or Ben Youngs while Morgan Parra was the only other scrum-half to get more than a handful of nominations. Thanks to an outstanding season with the Reds, Genia edged out the English number nine in the tiebreaker.

8 Kieran Read
Again it was a two-horse race which Read won fairly comfortably with just over 50 per cent of the votes. Imanol Harinordoquy managed one third. It's an all-Kiwi back row, a sign perhaps that the new law interpretations suit the All Blacks down to a tee.

7 Richie McCaw
Over 70 per cent of you picked the IRB Player of the Year in the openside berth. Most of the rest went with David Pocock, who many felt had the better of the All Blacks captain when they faced each other in the Super 14 and Tri-Nations. But can you argue with New Zealand's record this year under their undisputed leader? (Yes, we expect the comments section to catch fire...Please avoid insults and stick to rugby!)

6 Jerome Kaino
Plenty of names were thrown into the hat for the blindside spot. Although Kaino was a clear winner, he was the choice of only 37 per cent of readers. Juan Smith got 20 per cent with the rest shared by Rocky Elsom, Stephen Ferris and Tom Croft.

5 Victor Matfield
No arguments here, Matfield didn't have his best Tri-Nations but he led the Bulls to the Super 14 crown and was a stand-out (literally!) in the November Tests. Over 80 per cent of you chose him as your number five.

4 Brad Thorn
We were surprised by how easy Thorn won the 'enforcer' position. One of the Planet Rugby journos summed it up perfectly though: "He's simply a warrior." Young England talent Courtney Lawes was your second choice, but that could change in years to come.

3 Owen Franks
The nominations process left one half of the Franks brothers and Adam Jones separated by a single vote! In the head-to-head tiebreaker Franks scraped into the starting line up by just six per cent.

2 William Servat
There were a few names in contention for the number two jersey but William Servat was the outstanding hooker of the year. Bismarck du Plessis missed a lot of the season due to injury but was so good in November that he impressed you enough to get a place on the bench.

1 Tony Woodcock
Loosehead was by far the most contested position. There was nothing to choose between Woodcock, Thomas Domingo, Gurthrö Steenkamp and Tendai Mtawarira. We don't agree with you on this one at all. Look out for our Team of Year next week!

Replacements: 16 Bismarck du Plessis, 17 Adam Jones, 18 Courtney Lawes, 19 Imanol Harinordoquy, 20 Ben Youngs, 21 Quade Cooper, 22 Kurtley Beale, 23 Thomas Domingo

 

[Curls]

It's funny I remember after the Ireland v Scotland game in 2009, looking down the barrell of an Irish Grand Slam Guscott acting like a baby throwing his toys out of the pram and saying they would choke..the reason? BOD beat to 6N team of the decade lol.

I hate Guscott cos as he would say himself...if it isnt England...it isnt for me(him)

Also on Greenwood's selection alright apart from the fact he suggests that Croft is at 6...i mean c'mon....

 

[Teh Mite]

Also on Greenwood's selection alright apart from the fact he suggests that Croft is at 6...i mean c'mon....

I think he's a ******* too for proving the entire Irish media wrong in 2009.

Planet Rugby did collated there 2010 team below from there readers ... maybe we should do the same

Planet rugby is also frequented by 80% Kiwi and South Africans. All of whom, judging by their forums, are entirely one eyed pricks who only watch their own team and pick based on names rather then form.

 

[TRF_Cymro]

Planet Rugby did collated there 2010 team below from there readers ... maybe we should do the same

http://www.planetrugby.com/story/0,25883,3551_6605729,00.html

Planet Rugby Readers' Team of 2010:


3 Owen Franks
The nominations process left one half of the Franks brothers and Adam Jones separated by a single vote! In the head-to-head tiebreaker Franks scraped into the starting line up by just six per cent.

1 Tony Woodcock
Loosehead was by far the most contested position. There was nothing to choose between Woodcock, Thomas Domingo, Gurthrö Steenkamp and Tendai Mtawarira. We don't agree with you on this one at all. Look out for our Team of Year next week!

I :lol: so hard that milk came running out of my nose ... how Gethin Jenkins failed to be mentioned is amazing. Out scrummaged and out preformed.

Dan Cole and Adam Jones were simply the best tight heads ... a joke really to consider Franks and shows as Bullitt said the one eyedness on those boards.

The suggestion of a TRF Team of the Year is not a bad shout either!

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Afoa was better than Woodcock anyhow
All Blacks scrum improved considerably when he came on (/Woodock left the pitch with his tail between his legs) against Dan Cole/England