6N 2018

Samurai Jack

@majorrage Well said Major.

MiketheSnow

Wales XV
L Williams, North, Watkin, Parkes, S Evans; Anscombe, G Davies
Smith, Dee, Francis, Hill, B Davies, Tipuric, J Davies, Faletau (capt)

Replacements:
Owens, R Evans, Lee, S Davies, Jenkins
A Davies, Patchell, Halfpenny

Wales team nnamed for Italy match in Cardiff this coming Sunday

Lots of changes.

Although Halfpenny has been great we now need to score tries
North on borrowed time. Shit against Italy and then Halfpenny / Williams on the wing for France match
Good to see Watkin in there. Owen Williams must be thinking wtf after a great Autumn
Parkes earns his place, so too Evans and Davies
Anscombe last chance saloon. Great to see Patchell on the bench not Biggar

Needed to test our reserve front row. No harder test than the Eyeties. Hopefully number one ball from our own scrum
Interesting backrow. Run them off the park

Great bench.

All to play for. High tempo, high scores.

I'm happy

Crucial

@majorrage said in 6N 2018:
I've been spat on in Australia, sneered at in Twickenham, punched by a bok in London, verbally abused in Wales, and treated with utter contempt in Scotland. I've also witnessed plenty of AB fans being dickheads too.

You must have a really unlikeable face.

Nepia

@crucial said in 6N 2018:

@majorrage said in 6N 2018:
I've been spat on in Australia, sneered at in Twickenham, punched by a bok in London, verbally abused in Wales, and treated with utter contempt in Scotland. I've also witnessed plenty of AB fans being dickheads too.

You must have a really unlikeable face.

Hahahaha, alternatively he's the AB fan being a dickhead he's referring to so has deserved all of that.

MN5

@majorrage said in 6N 2018:

Drunk fan has out of line behaviour .... gets filmed.

Social media picks it up ... goes viral.

Every man and his dog offers his opinion on it. Equally split amongst into 3 types ...

This doesn't happen in our game, disgraceful, not what rugby represents, not part of our values

As a (Scotland in this case, but insert country here), I'd like to say this isn't representative of the vast majority of us, please accept our apologies

Fuck him he deserved it, look at what he says/writes has to expect retribution etc ...

And then of course fans of soccer (in this country anyway) look at it and have a good old giggle, as the haughty taughty rugby fans have long looked down on football behaviour with contempt.

All countries can say what they want, they all have their fair share of dickhead fans, and despite what many will tell you, it's not usually a tiny minority. Fans are passionate, they make mistakes and go overboard. All countries, all places. I've been spat on in Australia, sneered at in Twickenham, punched by a bok in London, verbally abused in Wales, and treated with utter contempt in Scotland. I've also witnessed plenty of AB fans being dickheads too.

The SRU shouldn't apologise, not their doing. Apart from winning of course, but who the hell should apologise for that?

That's pretty feral from a bunch of Scottish Rugby fans who seem on the whole to be a bunch of very polite snowflakes.

Crucial

Unsteady Eddie has made changes for France.

Everyone's favourite Mike Brown dropped for Daly and finally Hartley is gone (injury reasons only though)

England team to play France:
1 Mako Vunipola
2 Jamie George
3 Dan Cole
4 Joe Launchbury
5 Maro Itoje
6 Courtney Lawes
7 Chris Robshaw
8 Nathan Hughes
9 Danny Care
10 George Ford,
11 Elliot Daly
12 Owen Farrell
13 Ben Te'o
14 Jonny May
15 Anthony Watson

Replacements: 16 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 17 Joe Marler, 18 Kyle Sinckler, 19 James Haskell, 20 Sam Simmonds, 21 Richard Wigglesworth, 22 Jonathan Joseph, 23 Mike Brown.

MajorPom

@crucial said in 6N 2018:

@majorrage said in 6N 2018:
I've been spat on in Australia, sneered at in Twickenham, punched by a bok in London, verbally abused in Wales, and treated with utter contempt in Scotland. I've also witnessed plenty of AB fans being dickheads too.

You must have a really unlikeable face.

[de cock mode] your wife liked it [\de cock mode]

Crucial

@majorrage said in 6N 2018:

@crucial said in 6N 2018:

@majorrage said in 6N 2018:
I've been spat on in Australia, sneered at in Twickenham, punched by a bok in London, verbally abused in Wales, and treated with utter contempt in Scotland. I've also witnessed plenty of AB fans being dickheads too.

You must have a really unlikeable face.

[de cock mode] your wife liked it [\de cock mode]

Damn, I don't have a dumb dumb mode button!

Catogrande

@crucial said in 6N 2018:

Unsteady Eddie has made changes for France.

Everyone's favourite Mike Brown dropped for Daly and finally Hartley is gone (injury reasons only though)

England team to play France:
1 Mako Vunipola
2 Jamie George
3 Dan Cole
4 Joe Launchbury
5 Maro Itoje
6 Courtney Lawes
7 Chris Robshaw
8 Nathan Hughes
9 Danny Care
10 George Ford,
11 Elliot Daly
12 Owen Farrell
13 Ben Te'o
14 Jonny May
15 Anthony Watson

Replacements: 16 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 17 Joe Marler, 18 Kyle Sinckler, 19 James Haskell, 20 Sam Simmonds, 21 Richard Wigglesworth, 22 Jonathan Joseph, 23 Mike Brown.

Hmm. Plodding back row issue not addressed. Might be ok against the French pack but will need to be looked at before The Ireland game.

Crucial

@catogrande said in 6N 2018:

Hmm. Plodding back row issue not addressed. Might be ok against the French pack but will need to be looked at before The Ireland game.

It is by far EJs biggest problem. He has tried to address it with no results and keeps falling back on size.

Given that France have reshaped to a big bullying pack and both France and Argentina are in England's RWC Pool he is painting himself into a corner and having to commit to one style. A style that even Scotland have shown can be stretched as long as you don't take them on in a grinding fight.

Catogrande

@crucial said in 6N 2018:

@catogrande said in 6N 2018:

Hmm. Plodding back row issue not addressed. Might be ok against the French pack but will need to be looked at before The Ireland game.

It is by far EJs biggest problem. He has tried to address it with no results and keeps falling back on size.

Given that France have reshaped to a big bullying pack and both France and Argentina are in England's RWC Pool he is painting himself into a corner and having to commit to one style. A style that even Scotland have shown can be stretched as long as you don't take them on in a grinding fight.

This is very much what concerns me. Eddie has said he could see Simmonds as a 7 and I think that might work too and he has invested some time in Tom Curry and Sam Underhill but they both keep getting broken.

It's certainly a problem.

Crucial

@catogrande said in 6N 2018:

@crucial said in 6N 2018:

@catogrande said in 6N 2018:

Hmm. Plodding back row issue not addressed. Might be ok against the French pack but will need to be looked at before The Ireland game.

It is by far EJs biggest problem. He has tried to address it with no results and keeps falling back on size.

Given that France have reshaped to a big bullying pack and both France and Argentina are in England's RWC Pool he is painting himself into a corner and having to commit to one style. A style that even Scotland have shown can be stretched as long as you don't take them on in a grinding fight.

This is very much what concerns me. Eddie has said he could see Simmonds as a 7 and I think that might work too and he has invested some time in Tom Curry and Sam Underhill but they both keep getting broken.

It's certainly a problem.

6 & 8 are as much a problem. Not that the players are not quality in their own right, just that they are not offering any difference. There is no versatility or balance. Pick one "must have" then pick the others around them. Fetchers aren't quite so important under the new laws but speed to the breakdown is super important especially when half the team has rushed up and possibly have to come backwards to get in line again.

booboo

@crucial said in 6N 2018:

@majorrage said in 6N 2018:

@crucial said in 6N 2018:

@majorrage said in 6N 2018:
I've been spat on in Australia, sneered at in Twickenham, punched by a bok in London, verbally abused in Wales, and treated with utter contempt in Scotland. I've also witnessed plenty of AB fans being dickheads too.

You must have a really unlikeable face.

[de cock mode] your wife liked it [\de cock mode]

Damn, I don't have a dumb dumb mode button!

[DDD]"Hold me back! Hold me back! ... Hold me back damn it! ... someone please hold me back?"[/DDD]

booboo

@crucial said in 6N 2018:

Unsteady Eddie has made changes for France.

Everyone's favourite Mike Brown dropped for Daly and finally Hartley is gone (injury reasons only though)

England team to play France:
1 Mako Vunipola
2 Jamie George
3 Dan Cole
4 Joe Launchbury
5 Maro Itoje
6 Courtney Lawes
7 Chris Robshaw
8 Nathan Hughes
9 Danny Care
10 George Ford,
11 Elliot Daly
12 Owen Farrell
13 Ben Te'o
14 Jonny May
15 Anthony Watson

Replacements: 16 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 17 Joe Marler, 18 Kyle Sinckler, 19 James Haskell, 20 Sam Simmonds, 21 Richard Wigglesworth, 22 Jonathan Joseph, 23 Mike Brown.

Lawes @ 6, Itoje @ 5

Thought Maro was the wunderkind?

Catogrande

@crucial said in 6N 2018:

@catogrande said in 6N 2018:

@crucial said in 6N 2018:

@catogrande said in 6N 2018:

Hmm. Plodding back row issue not addressed. Might be ok against the French pack but will need to be looked at before The Ireland game.

It is by far EJs biggest problem. He has tried to address it with no results and keeps falling back on size.

Given that France have reshaped to a big bullying pack and both France and Argentina are in England's RWC Pool he is painting himself into a corner and having to commit to one style. A style that even Scotland have shown can be stretched as long as you don't take them on in a grinding fight.

This is very much what concerns me. Eddie has said he could see Simmonds as a 7 and I think that might work too and he has invested some time in Tom Curry and Sam Underhill but they both keep getting broken.

It's certainly a problem.

6 & 8 are as much a problem. Not that the players are not quality in their own right, just that they are not offering any difference. There is no versatility or balance. Pick one "must have" then pick the others around them. Fetchers aren't quite so important under the new laws but speed to the breakdown is super important especially when half the team has rushed up and possibly have to come backwards to get in line again.

Yeah as you say balance is as much of a problem as anything. Having something of a genuine 7, not necessarily a fetcher, would help address that I feel. Even if we had Simmonds at 8, whilst he is quick, it is difficult to be first man at the breakdown when you are asked to be a main carrier as well. To be honest we've struggled to find balance in the back row for years now and successive coaches have failed to address it.

Derm McCrum

Joe is throwing out the same bunch of “well-drilled” second raters against the all-conquering Scots. Not sure why they’re even playing the match given Finn Russell has bought up all the Superman underpants in town.

Ringrose the latest infill for midfield to lynchpin Farrell’s narrow defence. Fat Furlo returns up front. And wunderkind Larmour has been given the 23 shirt so he can let in Hoggy’s last two tries personally. Sexytoes still making up his mind whether he’s going to kick or run this week and when during the match he’ll let his team-mates know. Free haggis with every pint on Saturday evening. 9-6 the final score though who knows if that’s penalties or tries.