Your 30-man RWC squad

[The TRUTH]

Pick your teams 30-man squad you'd like to see for the RWC.

Also include your match day 22.


Wallaby RWC squad:

Props:

Holmes - Robinson - Blake - Sheperdson

Hookers:

Freier - Paul - Moore

Locks:

Sharpe - McMeniman - Vickerman - Chisolm

Back rowers:

Smith - Waugh - Elsom - Hoiles - Palu - (McMeniman and Chisolm can also play blindside)

Scrumhalf:

Gregan - Cordingley

Flyhalf:

Larkham - Norton-Knight

Centres:

Giteau - Mortlock - Staniforth - Cross

Wingers:

Tuqiri - Mitchell - Gerrard - Rathbone (maybe Ioane and C.Brown ??)

Fullback:

Latham - Shepherd


Unavailable due to injury = Heenan (out for the rest of the year) Kanaar (probably wont make it back in time).

I've picked a couple of guys who have been injured all year but are set to return in the next few weeks (Vickerman,Cordingley and maybe Caleb Brown)


Wallaby 22:

15.Latham
14.Shepherd
13.Mortlock
12.Giteau
11.Tuqiri
10.Larkham
9.Cordingley
8.Elsom
7.Smith
6.McMeniman
5.Vickerman
4.Sharpe
3.Shepherdson
2.Freier
1.Holmes

16.Paul
17.Blake
18.Chisolm
19.Waugh
20.Gregan
21.Norton-Knight (can cover 10,12,Fullback,Wing)
22.Staniforth (can cover 12,13,Wing)

 

[Ripper]

Props
Woodcock / Haymen / Somerville / Tialata

Hookers
Mealamu / Oliver / Hore

Locks
A. Williams / Jack / Eaton / Rawlinson

Backrowers
McCaw / Masoe / Collins / Rodney / Flavell

Halfbacks
Kellehar / Weepu / Cown

First-Five
Carter / Evans

Centres
McAlister / Mauger / Toeava / Smith

Wingers
Rocokoko / Sivivatu / Howlett / Gear (By Default)

Fullback
Mils /(Covered by Evans and Howlett)

Matchday 22

1. Woodcock
2. Mealamu
3. Haymen
4. A. Williams
5. Jack
6. Collins
7. McCaw
8. Rodney

9. Kellehar

10. Carter
11. Rocokoko
12. McAlister
13. Toeava
14. Howlett
15. Mils

16. Sommerville
17. Oliver
18. Flavell
19. Masoe
20. Cowan
21. Evans
22. Sivivatu/Gear

 

[O'Rothlain]

Jesus, Brian O'Driscoll & George Hook...that's all we need.

 

[PeeJay]

Props: Gethin Jenkins, Chris Horsman, Duncan Jones, Adam Jones
Hookers: Rhys Thomas, Matthew Rees, Mefin Davies
Locks: Alun Wyn Jones, Brent Cockbain, Ian Gough, Robert Sidoli
Back Rowers: Martyn Williams, Ryan Jones, Alix Popham, Gavin Thomas, Colin Charvis, Jonathan Thomas
Scrum Halves: Dwayne Peel, Michael Phillips
Fly Halves: Stephen Jones, James Hook
Centres: Gavin Henson, Tom Shanklin, Gavin Evans
Wings: Shane Williams, Mark Jones, Darren Daniel, Chris Czekaj
Full backs: Gareth Thomas, Kevin Morgan

15: Gareth Thomas
14: Mark Jones
13: Tom Shanklin
12: James Hook
11: Shane Williams
10: Stephen Jones
9: Dwayne Peel
1: Duncan Jones
2: Rhys Thomas
3: Chris Horsman
4: Brent Cockbain
5: Alun Wyn Jones
6: Ryan Jones
7: Martyn Williams
8: Alix Popham

16: Matthew Rees
17: Gethin Jenkins
18: Ian Gough
19: Jonathan Thomas
20: Michael Phillips
21: Gavin Henson
22: Kevin Morgan

 

[Rugby_Cymru]

With the form Dafydd James is on how could you exclude by him putting in the likes of Czekaj or Daniels?

 

[shtove]

Is Latham back? Thought he was out long term.

Nonu has to be in the AB squad - you can take him off and shoot him when he's conceded his quota of tries. Will Reagan King get a look-in at all?

Hook at 12, and no Henson in the starting 15? Lots of options for Wales in the midfield, but they're all difficult.

 

[DC]

cowan is alright, im not to impressed by him, how about andrew ellis from canterbury for half back anyone?

 

[fcukernaut]

Well Ellis and Senio have been battling it out for the starting Canterbury job, and in a fair few cases Senio has outplayed Ellis. And because Senio won't be getting a look you can probably count out Ellis. However, I still think he's the second coming of Justin Marshall and has a very bright future, but he is not ready just yet.

Ripper's team is hard to argue with. Corey Flynn will be getting a serious look at selection by the way he's played this year same goes for Tuiali'i. Scott Hamilton deserves a place in the lineup, even over Leon MacDonald. I'm happy that Toeava has played so well, he's taken the All Black center spot by the balls and run with it. Casey Laulala was playing outstanding earlier this year but his form has really dipped since the return of the AB's. Also, when will Greg Sommerville be coming back, does anyone know?

As for Regan King, shtove, he is uneligible for selection as he currently is not playing in NZ. I don't think he'd have a shot anyway.

 

[Ripper]

As for Regan King, shtove, he is uneligible for selection as he currently is not playing in NZ and is ****. I don't think he'd have a shot anyway.
[/b]

Finished off your sentance for you, and i'm not really a Corey Flynn fan, he's always struck me as one of those players who are good at provincial level, but aren't cut out to survive in the International Arena, ditto with Scott Hamilton.

 

[PeeJay]

With the form Dafydd James is on how could you exclude by him putting in the likes of Czekaj or Daniels?
[/b]

Good point. I was struggling to think of wingers, and I overlooked the one who plays for my very own club

 

[Cymro]

Dafydd James instead of Czech!

Also on the matter of the New Zealand side - Who was the No 5 playing for the Blues today along side Williams, he looked a better look than Rawlinson

 

[SmokeyMonkey]

Troy Flavell? I think that's his name.

 

[Cymro]

Ye him he was immense today

 

[Riot]

Scott Hamilton is the new Caleb Ralph the most hated All Black, which he took from leon "bugger this im off to japan *****es, oh it didnt work out im comming back everything is cool guys right?" mcdonald

 

[Gay-Guy]

Sorry I don't have a 30 man squad or a 22 game day squad but I do know which players I think should run on to the field for the Springboks to win the RWC.

1. Gurthro Steenkamp
2. Jon Smit
3. BJ Botha
4. Bakkies Botha
5. Victor Matfield
6. Schalk Burger
7. Luke Watson
8. AJ Venter
9. Ruaan Pienaar
10. Andre Pretorius
11. Bryan Habana
12. Myer Bosman
13. Francois Steyn
14. JP Pietersen
15. Percy Montgomery

This team is full of powerful natural leaders up in the pack, experienced wise heads at 10 and 15, unpredictable real talent at 9, creative flair in the midfield, and wingers who will have actually have a go at their opposites. The forward pack is massive yet mobile especially in the loosies where all three don't shirk away from rucks. Players one to eight are all hard tacklers so there won't be any easy metres around the fringes. The scrum is strong and the lineouts have 3 proven jumpers. Feeding off this powerful pack is the creative Pienaar who will mix play up between power forward play and options from Pretorius. Andre is a good runner and passer himself but his main weapon at the world cup will be getting field position for his intimidating lineout jumpers to put pressure on the opposition throw. The defensive line around the rucks is led by the hard hitting locks and a few metres out the imposing Venter. Burger and Watson will clean up and rip the ball from smaller men running between the forwards and backs. The midfield of Bosman and Steyn may be less know for their defence but luckily they will be guided by the experienced Montgomery behind them. If the oppostion try and out kick the Springboks they will find the aerial battle against Montgomery to be a bit too much. Percy also has the options of letting Pietersen attack from deep or perhaps running himself to set Habana off into space.

Steenkamp and BJ Botha are props who would be fitter and more mobile than the proven CJ van der Linde and the aging Os du Randt. This is vital because the Springboks need all 15 players to be mobile. They are also big men in the Hayman category so they won't be lacking with their primary job come scrum time.
Smit is the worlds best lineout thrower and an inspirational leader by example with his go forwrd type of approach. Bakkies and Victor are without doubt the best lineout jumpers in the world as well as putting real power behind the front row. Burger is never ending as a scavenger while Watson provides a bit of creativity in the loose when the Springboks do have the ball. Venter is the real hard rock at the back of the scrum and will give even the AB loosies a hard time. All this protection around Pienaar will give him time and space to be creative as only he can. In the backs Pretorius has one of the worlds best tactical field kicks as well as being an extremely good runner and distributor of the ball on the run. Outside him are the creative talents of Bosman and Steyn who are real talents particularly with their individual abilities and are beautiful passers of the ball for anyone running into space. Steyn also gives a kicking option at centre to mix it up for the pacy Habana to run after little grubbers and chips. Habana has out and out speed on the left wing but JP on the other wing adds another dimension with his elusiveness and alround ball skills and rangy support play. At the back is the experience of Montgomery who can kick the Springboks out of trouble into better field position for the powerful pack to take advantage of. Montgomery is the calming influence for the Springbok backs and he and Pretorius combined will guide the excitable Bosman and Steyn when needed.

All in all the Springboks have a team with players that are very specialised in their abilities as opposed to being alrounders, yet combined together they cover all the various aspects of any game plan. The can keep it close, play it wide, kick it long, mix it up in the middle with flair, have a strong close in defence, an organised wide out defence, etc etc.

 

[mimic]

nice team ripper.. Although I'd have two fullbacks, and remove one of the wingers..

Pretty tough to remove one of those wingers tho, good luck picking the best 3

As for the Springboks squad, Luke Watson is so out of favour its not funny.
They're most probably going to go with the Burger/Smith/Spies combo, with Venter on the bench. Who knows.
Their tight 5 is pretty much automatic. Those guys are awesome, and its because of them that they're so competitive.
Interesting to see you choose Steyn as your centre. I havn't seen him play there, so no comment. But he does have flair.
Fourie Du Preez is the #1 halfback for the boks though.. I'd have Pienaar on the bench..

 

[Ripper]

Who would be the 2nd Fullback though? MacDonald sucks balls despite what Woosah says (who thinks Panadol is a better Fly Half than Nick Evans anyway), and theres plenty of cover with the likes of Toeava and Evans who have both played there.

Picking a winger to drop wouldn't be so hard, even with his somewhat resurgent performances, Rico Gear would still be the weakest link - Howlett has been playing his arse off all year, while Sivivatu looked sharp and Rockoko is still Rocokoko.

 

[mimic]

Leon McDonald is not a 1st five. Sure he can cover it, but he's no specialist 1st five. Sure he's ****, but he's the only other proper fullback, and I'd rather have a specialist fullback as backup to start.

I'd hate to see Toeava, Evans, Sivivatu and Howlett start at fullback, I'm just not comfortable with them there. But I wouldn't mind them covering that spot if an injury occurred. But thats the only time!

Cory Jane might be an interesting choice though, but I doubt the 3 wise men would bring him in now for the RWC.

 

[BokMagic]

At this stage, my money on a Bok 30-man squad will be something like this:

Fullbacksercy Montgomery and Frans Steyn
Wingers: Brian Habana, Breyton Paulse, Akona Ndungane, JP Pietersen(who can also cover 15)
Centres: Jean De Villiers, Wynand Olivier, Jacques Fourie
Flyhalves: Andre Pretorius and either Butch James/Meyer Bosman(who can both cover 12 in a crisis)
Scrumhalves: Fourie Du Preez, Ricky January and Ruan Pienaar(who can also cover 10, and if necessary also 12)
Back row: Schalk Burger, Juan Smith, Pierre Spies, Kabamba Floors, AJ Venter.
Second row: Bakkies Botha, Vic Matfield, Danie Rossouw(who can cover back row also), and Barend Pieterse(currently injured Cheetah, virtual Matfield clone)
Front row: Os Du Randt, Guthro Steenkamp, BJ Botha, CJ VD Linde
Hookers: John Smit, Gary Botha, Chilliboy Ralepelle(provided he returns from injury)

I`ll go with the usual suspects in the backline- Monty, Pietersen, Fourie, De Villiers, Habana, Pretorius and Du Preez, with Steenkamp, Smit and Botha in the front row, Botha and Matfield in the 2nd, and Burger, Spies and Smith in the back row- that way, you get Spies` speed to the breakdowns, Burger`s work on the floor, while still getting 5 line-out jumpers also. The line-out is especially important to the SA style of play, esp. with Pretorius who`ll look to turn the opposition by kicking for the corners.

 

[Canadian_Rugby_Guy]

indeed I find it sucks being rico gear right now. He must have only an outside chance of making the team.