Team of the Tournament

[Teh Mite]

Wales [/thread]

 

[TRF_Olyy]

To the guy who chose O connell: You surely can't pick someone who only played a couple of games

Ironic considering who you've picked at 7

I think it's been said that Warburton only played four halves of rugby this 6N (can't remember if it was the commentary or on here that said that).

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

1. Jenkins (It would have been Healy until yesterday, neither were at their best for the championship)
2. Best (Great championship, I felt sorry for him yesterday when about 7 of his players decided not to play)
3. Jones (No other option)
4. Gray (Brilliant player)
5. Pape (O'Connell was good for his 3 games also)
6. Ferris (Consistently Irelands best)
7. Rennie (Player of the tournament, I can't imagine what he'd be like on a good side)
8. Denton (Class act)
9. Phillips/Blair/Dickson all about even, basically anyone who isn't Tomas O'Leary will do.
10. Farrell (Showed Sexton up big time yesterday)
11. North (Not great apart from the Ireland game but by far the best)
12. Fofana (Great player, great to watch)
13. Tuilagi
14. Bowe (Top try scorer, shameful yesterday though)
15. Kearney (Absolutely Brilliant)

 

[Mrs. Peter Quinn]

Ironic considering who you've picked at 7

I think it's been said that Warburton only played four halves of rugby this 6N (can't remember if it was the commentary or on here that said that).

I picked Rennie at 7?

 

[TRF_Olyy]

:lol: So you did, don't know what I'm on about.

 

[j'nuh]

1. Jenkins
2. Best
3. Cole
4. Gray
5. Evans
6. Lydiate (player of the tournament, no-one else came close)
7. Rennie
8. Morgan (can't fault Denton, but Morgan became the heartbeat of the England team - most of the good stuff England did came off the back of his running)
9. Dickson
10. Denton (since no-one who played 10 deserved to be in the team of the tournament, and I felt bad about leaving Denton out)
11. North
12. Fofana
13. Davies
14. Bowe
15. Kearney

 

[big ginger 8]

BG8: Please stop picking Irish players because you like them and believe in them: this is a team of the tourny!

I picked my team of the tournament not because I like players or "believe" in them. The Irish players I picked were:

Healy: apart from yesterday was very good, Jenkins missed the first match and was I felt a bit below par for a while was excellent vs France though.

Best: I've no idea why you picked Ford, most in case you haven't noticed picked Best he was excellent throughout even scoring 2 tries.

Ferris: Was consistently great don't know why you think otherwise. Again Lydiate missed the first match was good on return but I'd say many are being considerably influenced by his performance yesterday.

Bowe: was the top try scorer pretty hard to argue with. You have Malzieu who played well in one game and North on the wrong wing.

Kearney: Between him and Halfpenny and I think Kearney outplayed Halfpenny when they met. Some of his catches were jaw dropping and some runs unbelievable.

 

[SelimNiai]

Jenkins
Best
A. Jones
Gray
Evans
Lydiate
Dusatoir (c)
Denton

Phillips (NB: On the grounds was the only 9 to play most of every game)
Priestland

Cuthbert
Fofana
J Davies
Bowe
Halfpenny

Now, I went for Preistland at 10 because as I have Halfers at 15 and kicker then Sexton/Priestland get based on tactical kicking and general attacking play and on that front I think Rhys edges that. Also that means that Kearney gets omitted which is tough considering how superb he has been this 6N. Other than that its the 9 that poses the problem, I went for Phillips pureley for the reason that he was the most settled 9 in terms of selection, but I do hold my hands up and say that probably Dickson or even Blair could be considred.

 

[dullonien]

01 Gethin Jenkins. Can't look past this man. Once again showed that he's no push around in the scrum, and as a monster in the loose.
02 Rory Best. Probably Ireland's best player throughout the championship.
03 Adam Jones. Showed again that he's one of the best tightheads going. Wales had parity at least in the scrum in every single game.
04 Richie Gray. I was a little worried that he was experiencing second season syndrome after a rather ordinary WC, but was back to his best this 6 nations.
05 Ian Evans. Great in what was a shaky Wales lineout, and awesome in the tight. Chuffed for the bloke, after having so many years of injury hell.
06 Dan Lydiate. Don't understand how anyone can look past this bloke. He was a wrecking ball in pretty much every game he played.
07 Ross Rennie. Apart from one or two try scoring blunders, he was great this 6 nations.
08 Ben Morgan. Denton was great, but after being given the starting berth, Morgan was simply colossal.

09 Lee Dickson. No one really stood out here. Dickson was appalling v's Ireland yet still get's the nod.
10 Owen Farrell. An overall assured tournament from the youngster.
11 George North. Didn't feature all that much after the Ireland game. But that Ireland game was enough to showcase just how much talent this kid's got. Will only get better, hopefully.
12 Fofana (don't know his first name). A standout tournament. Great finisher.
13 Jon Davies. Didn't have a single bad game. Tuilagi made an impact v's Wales, but Davies had an impact throughout the tournament. Finally played up to his Scarlets best.
14 Tommy Bowe. For the sheer amount of tries he scored. Still not at his best though.
15 Leigh Halfpenny. Kearney was excellent as well, but I though Leigh was simply outstanding in everything he did. His undeserved yellow shouldn't be held against him.

 

[DuncTheDoodle]

15. Leigh Halfpenny
14. Tommy Bowe
13. Jonathan Davies
12. Wesley Fofana
11. Alex Cuthbert
10. Owen Farrell
9. Mike Blair (The only scrum-half to have impressed me at any point.)

1. Gethin Jenkins
2. Rory Best
3. Adam Jones/Nicholas Mas
4. Richie Gray
5. Ian Evans
6. Stephen Ferris
7. Danny Lydiate
8. Dave Denton

Ross Rennie was the best 7 in the tournament, but Lydiate and Ferris were so good I couldn't leave one out, so selected them both. (Lydiate played 7 yesterday after Sam went off, so qualifies.)

 

[TRF_Cymro]

ESPN have named theirs:

http://www.espnscrum.com/six-nations-2012/rugby/story/161382.html

 

[Feicarsinn]

15) Rob Kearney
14) Tommy Bowe
13) Jonathan Davies
12) Wesley Fofana
11) George North
10) Owen Farrell
9) Lee Dickson
8) Ben Morgan
7) Alessandro Zanni
6) Stephen Ferris
5) Ian Evans
4) Richie Grey
3) Adam Jones
2) Rory Best
1) Gethin Jenkins

5 Welsh, 4 Irish, 3 English a Scot, and Italian and a Frenchman. Honourable mentions to Dan Cole, Jamie Roberts, Manu Tualagi, Dan Lydiate, Leigh Halfpenny, David Denton, Ross Rennie, Ben Foden, Thierry Dusautoir & Dylan Hartley.

 

[cyRil]

1. Gethin Jenkins (Wales)
Jenkins missed the opening round but returned to bolster Wales' ***le challenge with his usual exemplary work at scrum time and his constantly-amazing stamina and work-rate. A truly world-class player, he has now featured in three Grand Slam-winning sides. A modern great.

BG8, when Cian Healy has someone say that ^^^ about him then we'll start talking.

 

[Feicarsinn]

Aye, putting anyone ahead of Jenkins would be farcical. He's yet again show that he's the world's top loose head. He's the quintessential modern prop - good in the tight, a strong scrummager, a phenomenal work rate and strong with ball in hand.

 

[quins10595]

1. Corbisiero
2. Best
3. Jones
4. Gray
5. Parling/Evans
6. Dusautoir (Not his best tournement I know but he is the best 6 in the world without a doubt IMO)
7. Rennie
8. Denton

9. Phillips (Although he did have a bit of an armchair ride)
10. Farrell
11. North
12. Fofana
13. Davies
14. Bowe
15. Halfpenny

Other players that were unlucky, Hogg, ferris, croft, roberts, maestri..

 

[TRF_Cymro]

 

[Robert Prosser]

1. Gethin Jenkins
2. Rory Best
3. Adam Jones
4. Ian Evans
5. Richie Gray
6. Dan Lydiate
7. Stephen Ferris
8. Ben Morgan
9. Any of the scrum halves no one impressed
10. Owen Farrell
11. Tommy Bowe
12. Wesley Fofana
13. Jonathan Davies
14. Alex Cuthbert
15. Leigh Halfpenny

16. Dan Cole
17. George North
18. Rhys Priestland
19. Jamie Roberts
20. Ryan Jones
21. Tom Croft/Thierry Dusatoir
22. Rob Kearney

 

[jk54]

1. Gareth Jenkins - Genuinely one of the best props in the world on current form. Effective scrum technique, unbelievable engine and dangerous in the loose, both offensively and defensively.
2. Rory Best - Best 6N hooker in the loose, consistently breaks the gainline, effective with a weakened line out and a good leader in the front row. No-one else really stood out (Yes I have something against Ross Ford and Servat was no where near his best)
3. Martin Castrogiovanni - Moves well for his size, rock solid in the scrum, good in the loose (I just don't notice Adam Jones doing enough for the team)
4. Ritchie Gray -Beast of a second row - pace, power and rather young to boot. And they rate his brother higher that him.
5. Geoff Parling - Controversial choice, did everything that was asked of him and more. Jumped well in the line-out, carried effectively, laid the ball back extremely well when tackles but most importantly, cleared out rucks perfectly time and time again.
6. Dan Lydiate - Tackling machine. Pushing for player of the tournament, especially in the forwards. Slows down ball, perfect tackling technique (Head is always in the right place - Take note any kids watching)
7. Ross Rennie - In my eyes 7 of the tournament (Zanni was pushing for a place in this back row). Turn over machine, shows excellent pace in the loose.
8. Ben Morgan - Revelation at 8. Parisse was his class self but Morgan broke the gain line, blew past tacklers, made big hits. Did everything Lancaster could have asked for and more. Dowson must be gutted at this find.
9. Lee Dickson - Got the ball away quickly from the ruck, controlled the tempo and transferred this club form to country. No scrum half stood out but this 8-9-10 axis was so important to have leadership and control at the 9 position with such young players either side. (Disappointing last game though)
10. Owen Farrell - Mature, calm, effective. Needs to improve his speed of pass and his line breaks need to stop defenders drifting. But at 20 years old, to play as well as he did under pressure. Bit worrying that his natural position is a centre. Grew as the 6N progressed (unlike other fly halves).
11. George North - Beast of a player. Will only get better with experience, shrugged off tacklers, lovely offloads.
12. Wesley Fofana - Frances best player (along with Dusatoir) by a country mile. Great hands, effective tackler, good burst of pace, brilliant eye for a gap.
13. Jonathan Davies - Made great decisions (some of the charges out of the defensive line were unbelievable). Starting to play like his Scarlets fans know he can. Effective with ball in hand. (Manu Tuilangi would have had it if he'd played 5 games in my opinion though.)
14. Tommy Bowe - Leading try scorer. Does everything you want a winger to do. Despite his plaudits I don't feel Cuthbert is there quite yet and was very hot and cold.
15. Rob Kearney - Tie between him and Halfpenny, took Kearney because the goal kicking was covered by Farrell. Was immense in the air, countered well and carried effectively. (Now if Halfpenny was Kearney's size...)

 

[artiew28]

1. Gethin Jenkins - Cian Healy close but Jenkins just edges it, stood up big time when was appointed captain
2. Rory Best - All Welsh three who played (Rees, Bennett and Owens) played well, especially Owens when called upon, Ford played well but Best set the benchmark high after the first week and carried on that level of performance for the next games
3. Adam Jones - Overall consistency, Cole only other real contender, Castrogiovanni played well but didnt play enough to be considered
4. Richie Gray - Brilliant, would easily fit into probably every international team, Alun-Wyn and Pape both played well but Richie Gray is of different class
5. Ian Evans - Played extremely well each game, O'Connell or Ryan probably wouldve taken his place had they both played more, mention for Parling as ell who played well (didnt really rate Maestri to be honest)
6. Dan Lydiate - My player of the tournament, brilliant throughout winning 2 Man of the Match, brilliant player. Croft played brilliantly but only since the France game, Ferris played well throughout but not enough to beat Lydiate. Mention for Zanni also and Dusautoir who was his brilliant self as usual
7. Ross Rennie - Performed outstandingly throughout, with a better set of backs his efforts mightve been rewarded with a win or two, Warburton was great but didnt play enough, Robshaw stood up, mentions also for Barbieri and for Tipuric who is unlucky to be behind a world class 7
8. David Denton - Along with 7 probably the hardest choice, Ben Morgan did well and Faletau may not have been up to his World Cup standards but was consistent throughout, Picamloes was brilliant vs Italy, Imanol was also good and Parisse was his usual brilliance. Also have to mention Ryan Jones, one of the best players of the championship yet cant break into the Welsh back row, shows what quality hes up against, filled in brilliantly in the second row also
9. Mike Blair - worst position of the 6N, France had no clue, Italy the same, Reddan played well for Ireland, Dickson was pretty good for England, Phillips was great at anything but getting quick ball so Blair just pips it for his good displays, Scotland mightve won (doubt it) had he stayed on vs France
10. Rhys Priestland - Played poorly vs Italy and England, but was assuring for the rest of the games, Farrell unlucky but Priestland just managed to get the best out of his backs a bit more. Sexton also played well. Kris Burton did not.
11. George North - Outstanding vs Ireland, power mixed with deft handling skills, a real specimen. Malzieu deserved a mention for his great solo try vs Italy, but didnt produce much else
12. Wesley Fofana - Class, 4 tries in his first 4 games, lit up the French backline, really couldve used him in the center vs Wales, although Fritz did play well in his one game. Roberts and Barritt did well
13. Johnathan Davies - Maybe my nationality decides this, but he is a true class player, always a threat and great in defence. Manu was desperately close, amazing with momentum on his side, pretty damn good from a standing start also. Rougerie wasnt quite up to it and Earls did alright but isnt quite O'Driscoll
14. Tommy Bowe - Tough choice, Bowe being top try scorer just gets it, Cuthbert not too far behind mind, a very close call.
15. Rob Kearny - Brilliant under high ball, would be great too play on his team knowing you have someone at the back who will catch everything and will probably retrieve most of his own kicks forward as well. Halfpenny extremely unlucky, Hogg was also brilliant, a rose among thorns in the Scottish back division. Would probably choose both Hogg and Halfpenny over Bowe and North on the wing for there performances, but it would be difficult to replicate there form from the wing

Might be slightly biased in some positions due to being Welsh, but only fly half I would question due to patriotism.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

[...]

Agree with all of that, and put far more eloquently than I could hope too

My only change would be either Sexton or Farrell in at 10. I'm a huge Priestland fan, and was calling for him to be in an Wales shirt for ages before he finally was, but he hasn't had a great 6N. Showed glimpses of what he can do, and had a better game vs France than the others, but I think Farrell and/or Sexton performed consistently better.

Davies impressed me this 6N. Never normally that impressed by him in a Wales shirt, but he was great. Looked a lot faster/more agile than you come to expect of him, partnering Roberts, but that midfield has finally clicked.