RBS 6 Nations - England vs Ireland - 17/03/2012 - 17:00

[Teh Mite]

Apart from Sky being up his arse (just like Armitage before him), what exactly has Brown done to warrant a "chance" apart from being this generations Ian Balshaw to Fodens' Jason Robinson?

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Played very well for Harlequins.
Have to be pretty one eyed to say he hasn't been...

 

[Prestwick]

To be fair to Mike Brown he hasn't had the chance to do amazing Iain Balshaw-esque things like pass a ball 30 meters to the goal posts or pretend he's a tighthead prop when he should be acting like a full back...

 

[monkeypigeon]

I thought he was going to pick O'Mahony but it seems Kidney's ultra consistency beats his Munster bias.

I think the Kidney bias applies largely to players who played under him at Munster. He's probably disgusted that O'Mahony had the cheek to take a place from Leamy, Wallace or Quinlan (despite the injury status or retirement status of said players).

His loyalty is now switching to players he's stuck with at international level...i.e D'Arcy, Heaslip. Otherwise Coughlan would obv be starting ahead of Heaslip if there was a sensible head coach (Coughlan > Heaslip + Morgan + Fattytau + Ian Balshaw+ Pierre Spies + Brian O'Driscoll all added together).

 

[Teh Mite]

Played very well for Harlequins.
Have to be pretty one eyed to say he hasn't been...

Maybe so. But Foden has been considerably better.You have to be considerably 2 eyed to see that.

 

[Mrs. Peter Quinn]

Please please please IRU remove Kidney, we'll need your players to not be completely stagnant for the lions tour, if only so we can keep the welsh contingent as low as possible... But seriously, the choke tackle is effective but its irritating to watch an amazingly talented team confined to the same strategies such as the 'Loop' back move and choke tackle...it's like having an X brain yoyo and only knowing the Walk The Dog trick.

Oh and yeah, I think we all know Foden is all we'll ever need at fullback. If I hear anymore so-called rugby experts suggesting we stick foden on the wing and put brown on the wing, I will scream.(I am referring basically Austin Healey, but still..)

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Maybe so. But Foden has been considerably better.You have to be considerably 2 eyed to see that.

Indeed he has....I don't see your point?
It was said before the Six Nations that if Foden's kid was born mid-Six Nations (I think the due date was the day of the France match?) he might miss the following match, so Brown would be a capable replacement. That's all anyone's saying.

 

[TRF_Cymro]

Agreed with Olyy. Brown is a solid full back who is better / more reliable than Balshaw was.

 

[Peat]

Oh and yeah, I think we all know Foden is all we'll ever need at fullback. If I hear anymore so-called rugby experts suggesting we stick foden on the wing and put brown on the wing, I will scream.(I am referring basically Austin Healey, but still..)

If it would actually work, it would be awesome. Shame it almost definitely wouldn't.

Interesting random stat of the day: according to the torygraph, Ferris has made more passes and offloads than Barritt.

 

[big ginger 8]

If it would actually work, it would be awesome. Shame it almost definitely wouldn't.

Interesting random stat of the day: according to the torygraph, Ferris has made more passes and offloads than Barritt.

Not surprising he also set up two tries.

 

[Teh Mite]

Agreed with Olyy. Brown is a solid full back who is better / more reliable than Balshaw was.

To qualify, it was not an analogy on playing style (otherwise I could have said Tim Stimpson), rather a tangible merit comparison on overall quality and selection justification between Foden and Brown.

 

[TRF_Cymro]

To qualify, it was not an analogy on playing style (otherwise I could have said Tim Stimpson), rather a tangible merit comparison on overall quality and selection justification between Foden and Brown.

All I was saying that Brown is not a bad replacement for Foden if he was to get injured. That's all.

 

[Teh Mite]

All I was saying that Brown is not a bad replacement for Foden if he was to get injured. That's all.

I think he's benefited more from a decent settled club that's not been hit by international call-ups over the majority of the season, but is looking more and more tired/exposed as the season goes on.

Plus the fact he butchered (bottled) the late opportunity against Wales. 3:15 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVcQuBzluiQ

 

[gingergenius]

Foden: Very quick, strong, excellent tackler, good under the high ball, creative, versatile, decent kicking game, great attitude
Armitage: Very quick, strong, good tackler, excellent under the high ball, creative, versatile, good kicking game, knobhead
Brown: Kinda quick, strong, good tackler, good under the high ball, kinda creative, not too versatile, good kicking game, much improved attitude

If you're looking at England's best 3 fullbacks, Foden is head and shoulders above anyone else, and one of England's best 2/3 players to boot. Not having him play would be a real loss - hopefully in the next few years we can get into an AB style situation where anyone can come and fill in the team and look good, and it's in that period that I'd start displacing key players to give 'chances' (and not in important 6N games!).

That said, we're in a nice situation at 15 and Brown would be solid cover.

 

[welshglory]

Agreed with Olyy. Brown is a solid full back who is better / more reliable than Balshaw was.

Ooh i wouldn't say that. In his prime Balshaw was one of the best open field running backs in the world. He had more talent in his left pinky than Brown ever will, but as you say Brown is a much more reliable/solid player.

 

[Teh Mite]

Foden: Very quick, strong, excellent tackler, good under the high ball, creative, versatile, decent kicking game, great attitude
Armitage: Very quick, strong, good tackler, excellent under the high ball, creative, versatile, good kicking game, knobhead
Brown: Kinda quick, strong, good tackler, good under the high ball, kinda creative, not too versatile, good kicking game, much improved attitude

If you're looking at England's best 3 fullbacks, Foden is head and shoulders above anyone else, and one of England's best 2/3 players to boot. Not having him play would be a real loss - hopefully in the next few years we can get into an AB style situation where anyone can come and fill in the team and look good, and it's in that period that I'd start displacing key players to give 'chances' (and not in important 6N games!).

That said, we're in a nice situation at 15 and Brown would be solid cover.

I think you've go Fodens measure right, a tad generous to Brown and extremely generous to Armitage however.

 

[lynam1104]

Armitage: knobhead.

fixed that for you

 

[Prestwick]

Ooh i wouldn't say that. In his prime Balshaw was one of the best open field running backs in the world. He had more talent in his left pinky than Brown ever will, but as you say Brown is a much more reliable/solid player.

Such a pity Balshaw's "prime" lasted all of about 15 minutes during England vs Wales in 2001. It was all downhill from there...

 

[TRF_Olyy]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/17365063

Ferris wouldn't be out of place with some of the trolls/WUMs that crop up on here

 

[Gavin]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/17365063

Ferris wouldn't be out of place with some of the trolls/WUMs that crop up on here

"They're a good side and are full of winners, but when they lose they don't like it," said Ferris.

Who likes to lose anyway? Silly Ferris, you can tell he went to Friend's High School.