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<blockquote data-quote="dullonien" data-source="post: 374107" data-attributes="member: 13739">I thought Byrne hit the line well on one or two occasions in the first 20mins, and after that how often did the ball get out wide? He&#039;s the only natural fullback we have. Halfpenny&#039;s very rarely impressed from fullback when he&#039;s played there for the Blues. Priestland seems to be the next best option imo, although if Halfpenny had more regional time there I do like the look of a Shane, George, Leigh back three.&nbsp;I&#039;m not saying that Byrne played amazingly atall, just better than he has done recently. It&#039;s a tough one, as we really do need to develop another option, wheather that be Halfpenny or Priestland, just not sure when to do so. I feel that Byrne is our best option for the Italy game, but it&#039;s also the only game this 6 nations that we can afford to try someone different. Problem is that Gatland&#039;s refusal to give someone else a chance and instead shift Hook to 15 is really costing us, as we&#039;re now running out of time to find a backup/replacement in time for the WC (Hook certainly isn&#039;t it). &nbsp;Personally I&#039;d start Byrne against Italy and depending on the score / how he&#039;s playing, bring on Priestland with a good 30mins to make an impression and have a propper look at him there. It&#039;s a little unfair on Priestland, as he&#039;s best as 10, but he&#039;ll have time to stake a propper claim for the 10 shirt after the WC.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="dullonien, post: 374107, member: 13739"] I thought Byrne hit the line well on one or two occasions in the first 20mins, and after that how often did the ball get out wide? He's the only natural fullback we have. Halfpenny's very rarely impressed from fullback when he's played there for the Blues. Priestland seems to be the next best option imo, although if Halfpenny had more regional time there I do like the look of a Shane, George, Leigh back three. I'm not saying that Byrne played amazingly atall, just better than he has done recently. It's a tough one, as we really do need to develop another option, wheather that be Halfpenny or Priestland, just not sure when to do so. I feel that Byrne is our best option for the Italy game, but it's also the only game this 6 nations that we can afford to try someone different. Problem is that Gatland's refusal to give someone else a chance and instead shift Hook to 15 is really costing us, as we're now running out of time to find a backup/replacement in time for the WC (Hook certainly isn't it). Personally I'd start Byrne against Italy and depending on the score / how he's playing, bring on Priestland with a good 30mins to make an impression and have a propper look at him there. It's a little unfair on Priestland, as he's best as 10, but he'll have time to stake a propper claim for the 10 shirt after the WC. [/QUOTE]

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