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Team of the Tournament

A

An Tarbh

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Right then let's be having your teams of the tournament

15. Byrne
14. Clerc
13. Shanklin
12. Henson
11. Williams
10. Hook
9. Blair
1. Sherridan
2. Szarewski
3. Castrogiovanni
4. Wyn Jones
5. Nallet
6. Strokosh
7. Williams
8. Parisse
 
Not much different than yours...

15. Byrne
14. Clerc
13. Shanklin
12. Flood
11. Williams
10. Hook
9. Blair

1. Sheridan
2. Szarzewski
3. Castrogiovanni
4. Wyn Jones
5. Nallet
6. Bonnaire
7. Williams
8. Parisse

On the bench:
Jenkins, Bennett, Shaw, Lipman, Phillips, Sackey, Heymans.

0 Irish player... that's a bit harsh... maybe O'Gara/Reddan (untill today) could be on the bench.
 
Not much different than yours...

15. Byrne
14. Clerc
13. Shanklin
12. Flood
11. Williams
10. Hook
9. Blair

1. Sheridan
2. Szarzewski
3. Castrogiovanni
4. Wyn Jones
5. Nallet
6. Bonnaire
7. Williams
8. Parisse

On the bench:
Jenkins, Bennett, Shaw, Lipman, Phillips, Sackey, Heymans.

0 Irish player... that's a bit harsh... maybe O'Gara/Reddan (untill today) could be on the bench.
[/b]

O'Gara had a decent championship but Hook really made a significant contribution with his performance at Twickenham which started all the momentum for the grand slam.
 
Agree with yours, Tarbh. Ryan Jones has been immense for us, but Parisse is World-class, and would get into most teams in the World.
 
15. Byrne
14. Clerc
13. Shanklin
12. Henson
11. Williams
10. Hook
9. Blair

1. Jenkins
2. Ghiraldini / Ford
3. Castrogiovanni
4. Wyn Jones
5. Nallet
6. Strokosh
7. Williams
8. Parisse
 
i think everyone's got the teams pretty much fair.

15. Byrne (surprise)
14. Clerc
13. Shanklin
12. Henson
11. Williams
10. Hook (difficult to think of anyone else to pick here really...)
9. Blair (Phillips, Wigglesworth and any of the French 9s have had good tournaments)
8. Parisse
7. Williams
6. Jones
5. Borthwick (had to throw an Englishman in somewhere)
4. Gough
3. Castrogiovanni
2. Bennett (for want of a form 2 to pick..)
1. Jenkins

honourable mentions go to Wyn-Jones, Duncan Jones, Shane Horgan, Simon Taylor, Lo Cicero, Sackey, Lipman, Haskell, & Ouedraogo
 
1-jenkins
2-bennett
3-castrogiovanni
4-gough
5-wyn jones
6-j thomas
7-m williams
8-ryan jones

9-blair
10-hook
11-shane williams
12-henson
13-shanklin
14-clerc
15-byrne
 
I'd have O'Gara at 10 - debatable, but Hook/Jones is still up in the air, Patterson and Marcato weren't given a chance, Yawny/Cipri is only just beginning, and France have no idea who their outhalf should be.

No doubt about these three: Williams at 11, Williams at 7, and Parisse at 8.
 
15 Lee Bryne - Im an ospreys suporter and had no idea he could play so well!

14 Vincent Clerc - second highest try scorer in the torunament, Sackey deserves a mantion though, hes had a good tornament.

13 Tom Shanklin - England must be kicking themselves for letting this guy slip through their fingers. He had a terrible knee injury on the last Lions toru and looked like a shadow of his former self for the last 2 years but hes been back to his best in this campaign. I half expected Brian O'Driscoll to be here but bod hasnt got near shanks this year.

12 Gavin Henson - Really back to his best this year but he needs to sort his discpline out

11 Shane Williams - Wales covered up his defensive frailties amazingly, hes been on fire

10 Johnny Wilkinson - Hes had a fantastic tournament, hes done everything a Welshman could hope for!

10 James Hook - 2 man of the match awards and is keeping Jones out of the Side. All we need now is for the Welsh public to shoot his confidence to pieces and he can go on the list of nearly men with all the other Welsh fly halves since Jonathan Davies.

9 Mike Phillips - Displaced the First choice Lions scrum half to be Wales no1 choice, not easy to do. Mike blair has done well but Phillips impact overall far outshines him. Needs to decide is hes a flanker or a Scrumn half though he cant be both!

8 Ryan Jones - People will say this is Welsh bias, but hes been injured for 2 years, and has come back to lead Wales to a Grand Slam, has led from the front and carried the ball amazingly. Wales biggest problem has been having big strong forwards to bash us over the gain line and Wales wouldnt win without him doing this. Think back to the Scott johnson and Gareth Jenking eras, having the strength to get over the gain line has been our biggest problem.

7 Martyn Williams - been Man of the match for 3 of Wales 5 games, scored tries, steels ball, and cheats like hell, has wonderful skills, i wish he was a bit younger!

6 Parisse - I had to find a place for him somewhere hes an amazing player

5 Alun Wyn Jones - had another good year for Wales, a lot to come from him I hope.

4 Ian Gough - Has basically been credited by Gatland for working his butt off, has made massive
improvements as a player and is a big influance for wales. Spent his career as a bit part player but hes doing a great job for us now.

3 Adam Jones - no one mentions this guy hes been brilliant all year and no one takes any notice! Whats he gotta do for people to see all the hard workj he does for wales :wall:

2 Huw Bennett - Probably Welsh bias again but I have never seen a Welsh hooker who can throw a stright ball at a line out, and this guy has done it!

1 Gethin Jenkins - Had a great year, when Duncan Jones displaced him I half expected him to drift off into the abyss like players like Peter rodgers, Andrew Lewis, Spencer John and Christian Loader did, but hes bounced back amazingly.
 
15 Lee Bryne - Im an ospreys suporter and had no idea he could play so well! [/b]

:lol:

As a fellow Ospreys supporter I too am in the same boat as you.
Seriously, the guy used to play really well for the Scarlets, but just hasn't done much for us. Then comes the 6 Nations...
 
Sometimes i think Byrne has ended up in the wrong sport, he dives like a footballer and looks like one but to be fair he does get stuck in and i cant remember him not taking a high ball in the championship.
 
3 Adam Jones - no one mentions this guy hes been brilliant all year and no one takes any notice! Whats he gotta do for people to see all the hard workj he does for wales :wall:
[/b]

Well if he'd had a better tournament than Castrogiovanni then yeah he'd be in there but he didn't.
 
1 Gethin Jenkins

2 Dimitri Szarzewski & Leonardo Ghiraldini & Huw Bennett

3 Martin Leandro Castrogiovanni

4 Carlo Antonio Del Fava

5 Steve Borthwick

6 Alasdair Strokosch

7 Martyn Williams

8 Ryan Jones & Sergio Parisse

9 Mike Blair & Mike Phillips & Wayne Peel

10 James Hook & Stephen Jones

11 Shane Williams

12 Gavin Henson

13 Tom Shanklin

14 Vincent Clerc & Aurelien Rougerie

15 Lee Bryne & Andrea Marcato & Cedric Heymans


Grand Slam & 6 Nations winners Wales give the backbone to my personal Team of the Championship.

Ryan Jones a great number 8 and a great captain who led Wales to a deserved achievement.

For the number 8 position another captain deserved it:

Sergio Parisse led Italy to a consolation victory against Calcutta Cup holders, but all championship long he showed to the rugby world what an outstanding player he is.

Hooker:

Leo Ghiraldini played well in his first 6N. Italian young hooker must improve throw accuracy in lineouts even though he showed good pace and dynamism in open spaces.

Szarzewski was the French front row leader, gave power to an inexperienced scrum.

Huw Bennett gave power in scrum and accuracy in lineouts and most of all great confidence to all his teammates.

Forwards/ Packs:

Welsh forwards were absolutely the best unit of the tournament.

Italian and Scottish front five men played an high level championship.

For England only Nick Easter played a performant 6 Nations.
 
9 Mike Blair & Mike Phillips & Wayne Peel
[/b]
Firstly, it's Dwayne Peel.
Secondly, he's only played about 63 minutes of the tournament. As much as I'd like to see him first choice and at his best, it didn't happen this year.
 
Agree with the general consensus here. Just like to mention the following.

- Hooker is still a problem, Bennett just edges it, but his throwing wasn't the best v France.
- I think a place must be found for Gough (even if it's instead of Alun-Wyn Jones), he has epitomized the hard work this Welsh team is built on, has been outstanding.
- Ryan Jones must be the no8. He's shown his leadership qualities, but on top of that he carried 51 times this championship, 16 more than anyone else. Parise deserves a spot though, he's been another class act.
- Stephen Jones and James Hook were both instrumental in the Welsh team, therefore the bench spot would also go to a Welshman.
- Scrum half is tricky, Blair and Reddan have played well throughout, Wigglesworth had a good game v France, but Phillips was probably the best throughout. He was instrumental v England and his try saving tackle on Horgan was outstanding!

01 Gethin Jenkins
02 Huw Bennet
03 Martin Castrogiovanni
04 Ian Gough
05 Nallet
06 Parise
07 Martyn Williams
08 Ryan Jones

09 Mike Phillips
10 James Hook
11 Shane Williams
12 Gavin Henson
13 Tom Shanklin
14 Vincent Clerk
15 Lee Burne

16 Sheridan
17 Szarewski
18 Alun-Wyn Jones
19 Strokosh
20 Mike Blair
21 Stephen Jones
22 Heymans
 
Im going to be a bit biased but what has Philips done thats so special, he barely made a break in the tournament and is a bit of a meathead with that sin binning. I think most of the Wales team should be in the team of th tournament but definetely not Philips.
 
Well, he's made a few breaks in fact. One - Three, at least. But I agree with that, he is an idiot but he breaks the gainline on a regular basis.
Blair is the best for me though, the fact that he is a better player than Phillips overall makes him edge it. :lol:
 
Yeah, wouldn't mind seeing Blair in there instead. I suppose that Phillips sin binning has to hold against him even though Wales didn't concede any points. He did have a good overall campaign though.
 
I've gotta say one of my favourite players of the tournament was Ian Gough. The guy is an utter workhorse and he's always in there making the big hits.
I love the guy.

What surprised me was to find out that Henson was one of the defensive captains on the field throughout the 6N. It's clearly obvious that Gatland and co. want to bring him out of his shell some more becuase he's far to quiet on the field and giving him this role of responsibility is maybe what's upped his game somewhat. Loads of the players were complimenting him on the example he set (bar the high tackle against France i presume.)
 
Im going to be a bit biased but what has Philips done thats so special, he barely made a break in the tournament and is a bit of a meathead with that sin binning. I think most of the Wales team should be in the team of th tournament but definetely not Philips. [/b]

I agree Phillips although scored the try against England and pulled off a remarkable tackle on Horgan I have to admit he was poor in his last two games of the 6 nations!

He made the wrong decisions at times in the France game when he chose to pass the ball blind instead of thrwoing the ball out wide when there were overlaps! He did this twice in the game! Against Ireland his stupidness could have cost Wales the game and again his passing was not the best against Ireland or France! I would rather see Blair take the 9 spot because he played well behind a pack that was getting dominated around the park!
 

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