Wales v England

[Mrs. Peter Quinn]

That England bench he's named gives me the shits. Hape aside the XV is okay, but I really don't like that bench.

Agreed. At least we can say that the talent is on the pitch. The bench is experience.

I think i'd feel alot better about the bench if the letters B A N A H A N didn't feature. Also C A R E has always been somewhat worrying.

 

[Teh Mite]

At least that arm-waving gumball Ellis will never don an England shirt again. Be thankful for small graces.

 

[Mrs. Peter Quinn]

Ellis' international career was fueled single-handedly by Stuart Barnes and the rugby club. A murdoch conspiracy.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

"Strong" rumour: Tom wood to debut

Care being involved is inevitable in this match, at least.
Wood is being debuted through injuries (I think he should've been given a go even if everyone was fit, but Johnson's hand has been forced on that one) - I think Simpson will get game/bench time against Italy, and go from there.
I'd love Youngs/Simpson to be our SHs though

Haskell at 6 is better than Worsley at 6, though Dowson should be on the bench ahead of him.
Skiving should be on the bench with Shaw starting though (Shaws been on fire recently at Wasps, from what I've seen)

 

[iWin]

Shhhh. Danny Care is a god amongst men. We can and WILL ignore any (nonexistant I might add) flaws in his game. I will hear none of this!
And don't you dare suggest I might not be being entirely objective!

I'm praying that Deacon isn't really in the squad and we'll somehow manage to sneak Kennedy or Gaskell or someone into the squad. Failing that, I'd settle for a Palmer and Skivington/ Shaw second row.

 

[Mrs. Peter Quinn]

I'm praying that Deacon isn't really in the squad and we'll somehow manage to sneak Kennedy or Gaskell or someone into the squad. Failing that, I'd settle for a Palmer and Skivington/ Shaw second row.

nah Deacon's not as bad as you think. If nothing else I think he's the right pick for this game. In the past we have complained about MJ going for the same old guys, usually from leicester, and ignoring form players. But Deacon himself IS on form, and we need his lineout work.

Also, Gaskell wasn't that great for the saxons. Think he's not ready yet.

 

[Teh Mite]

Gaskell's moulding himself into a 6. Which is crap for his international prospects when Croft, Haskelhoff & Dowson are well ahead of him in ability and preference.

Unless of course Steele poached Mallender after the World Cup, in which case the gloves will be off.

 

[gingergenius]

Gaskell should quietly **** off to being the lanky streak of 5 that he's supposed to be, and stop pretending he can crouch down a little further away from the props' backsides. Palmer's 30something, we've got no one else young and good to partner Lawes... Gaskell if you please. Whereas we have plenty of 6s.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

nah Deacon's not as bad as you think. If nothing else I think he's the right pick for this game. In the past we have complained about MJ going for the same old guys, usually from leicester, and ignoring form players. But Deacon himself IS on form, and we need his lineout work.

Shaw is on form as well though, as is Skivington, and neither of those have proven themself to be crap in an England shirt again and again

I hope Gaskell goes back to 4/5 too, and I think he will when David Seymour comes back from injury at Sale (so Carl Fearns can move back to 6 and there won't be a place on the back row for him )

 

[TRF_Olyy]

England: B Foden (Northampton Saints); C Ashton (Northampton Saints), M Tindall (Gloucester, capt), S Hape (Bath), M Cueto (Sale Sharks); T Flood (Leicester Tigers), B Youngs (Leicester Tigers); A Sheridan (Sale Sharks), D Hartley (Northampton Saints), D Cole (Leicester Tigers), L Deacon (Leicester Tigers), T Palmer (Stade Francais), T Wood (Northampton Saints), J Haskell (Stade Francais), N Easter (Harlequins).
Replacements: S Thompson (Leeds Carnegie), D Wilson (Bath), S Shaw (Wasps), J Worsley (Wasps), D Care (Harlequins), J Wilkinson (Toulon), M Banahan (Bath).


Haskell at 7 and Wood at 6?
What?!


Wales: James Hook; Morgan Stoddart, Jamie Roberts, Jonathan Davies, Shane Williams; Stephen Jones, Mike Phillips; Paul James, Matthew Rees (C), Craig Mitchell, Bradley Davies, Alun Wyn Jones, Dan Lydiate, Sam Warburton, Andy Powell

Replacements TBC: Richard Hibbard, John Yapp, Ryan Jones, Jonathan Thomas, Dwayne Peel, Rhys Priestland, Lee Byrne


Much stronger bench by Wales, than Englands

 

[Peat]

Louis Deacon is a sign of an empty cupboard.

I wish Danny Care would remember he can shovel the ball on quickly and its not a crime.

Thats forwards bench makes me cry except for Thommo.

Wood at 6 and Haskell at 7 is halfwitted.

Seeing JSD, Allen, Clarke, Robshaw, Narraway, Corbierso and PDJ in the Saxons now makes me angry. Particularly Allen and Clarke. RAGE!

 

[Teh Mite]

Looking at them: England take the lead and fade as the game goes on (especially when the replacements come to the fore). Wales "valiantly" fight back but to no avail when they miss out by 5 points in the end.

 

[Sixesandsevens]

Although I am surprised that Haskell and Wood are playing 7 and 6 respectively I dont think its as bizzare or stupid as you are making out. Haskell has been playing 7 very well for stade, and I remember Johnson saying something about seeing him at 7 as a potential long term replacement for Moodos, and Wood has played 6 plenty of times, the crucial thing is what he brings to the balance of the side, not the number on his back.

 

[Teh Mite]

Wales: 15 James Hook, 14 Morgan Stoddart, 13 Jamie Roberts, 12 Jonathan Davies, 11 Shane Williams, 10 Stephen Jones, 9 Mike Phillips, 8 Andy Powell, 7 Sam Warburton, 6 Dan Lydiate, 5 Alun Wyn Jones, 4 Bradley Davies,3 Craig Mitchell,2 Matthew Rees (c), 1 Paul James.
Replacements: 16 Richard Hibbard, 17 John Yapp, 18 Ryan Jones, 19 Jonathan Thomas, 20 Dwayne Peel, 21 Rhys Priestland, 22 Lee Byrne.


I can live with that. The backs are understrength and will never see the ball with that pack*


*prepares for humiliation when Englands pack don't bother turning up.

 

[TrueSlawter]

its not a bad backline hook should be 12 not 15.. as for wales being bad in the pack that aint much different from the normal pack apart from the props to be fair so i dont see how you can say they are bad..

 

[Teh Mite]

Losing the 1st choice props is a bit like a Mustang is when you replace the V6 for a 1.4 out of your mums Fiesta.

 

[veux]

Stupid selection by Johnson, Shaw, Worsely, Tindall and Hape shouldn't be there.

 

[Peat]

With any luck even should they win the ball Andy Powell will just give it back to us anyway.

 

[Mrs. Peter Quinn]

Stupid selection by Johnson, Shaw, Worsely, Tindall and Hape shouldn't be there.

Each one of those selections makes a modicum of sense though.

Shaw does deserve the spot, he's been playing well again from Wasps despite forgetting how to catch and hold onto the ball.

Tindall is a good player who actually has a brain which is more than I can say for some guys in our squad. I think he's exactly what we need, some solid dependable experience.

Worsely, I don't know, but he did a good job on Roberts the other year, and it makes sense to bring him on to help our defence if we want to close out a game. Be thankful he's not starting! Hape offers the crash ball that few others can bring and he does have good hands which make possible a decent connection between centres and our other backs.

 

[dullonien]

Losing the 1st choice props is a bit like a Mustang is when you replace the V6 for a 1.4 out of your mums Fiesta.

Prepare to be prooven wrong. Paul James will edge Cole scrum time and Mitchell will hold it steady against Sheridan. Scrums are very rarely a deciding factor in an international match unless it's against the Aussies, especially considering most refs don't know what the fu*k is going on. Wales' second and back-row have the edge imho. Bradley and Alun-Wyn have formed a great partnership recently. In the backrow, Warburton has been prooving himself against the best over the past year and come out favourably in every test, whilst Lydiate will tackle everything that moves. Powell is there in order to provide some go-forward ball, and if he can translate any of his club form into this game, he will be able to provide something Wales has been missing recently. Great balance in the backrow imo.

The backs look decent imo. Whilst I'd prefer Hook to be closer to the action, he should do a job at 15. Defense of the back three may be a slight concern, we'll have to wait and see. Defense in midfield will be rock solid though! Decent looking bench for Wales aswell if you put your finger over Yapps name!

I'm going for a Welsh win by a few points, because I think with Lydiate and Warburton we'll win the breakdown providing quick ball to our backs.