The Rugby Thread

[E17yid]

I suppose Navidi can play 8. I forgot about that.

 

[UncleBuck]

Well Jones never ceases to amaze, Brown, Te’o and Spencer?
Some serious head scratching on this call:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/49248300

 

[teok]

I have heard people arguing who is the best 10 faz vs ford vs cips. I have never heard any one ever argue that heinz is any where near even being 3/4th choice 9 let alone 2nd. Who is uncapped at 32.

Bizarre to say the least.

 

[mpickard2087]

I have heard people arguing who is the best 10 faz vs ford vs cips. I have never heard any one ever argue that heinz is any where near even being 3/4th choice 9 let alone 2nd. Who is uncapped at 32.

Bizarre to say the least.

I don't think it's an argument that could be had, he's a random poach.

To be fair to him he's a solid Prem level 9. That still doesn't make this what you want to see and Jones seems to be fixated on a lot of these (Hughes, Te'o, Shields etc), and it also doesn't say much for the standard of scrum halves coming through in this country.

 

[teok]

WC warm up game this sunday. Can you spot the difference in the line ups? I would have thought eddie and warren would have been on the phone and agreed on some thing?

England: Daly; McConnochie, Slade, Francis, Watson; Ford, Heinz; Genge, Cowan-Dickie, Cole, Launchbury, Ewels, Curry, Underhill, B Vunipola.
Replacements: Singleton, Marler, Williams, Kruis, Ludlam, Youngs, Marchant, Cokanasiga.

Wales: L Williams; North, J Davies, Parkes, Adams; Anscombe, G Davies; Smith, Owens, Francis, Beard, Wyn Jones, Wainwright, Tipuric, Moriarty.
Replacements: Dee, Jones, Lewis, Ball, Shingler, T Williams, Biggar, Watkin.

 

[E17yid]

I’ve heard fuck all about Navidi recently. Don’t need him getting injured.

Alun Wyn will become our most capped player of all time (when you include Lions caps). Bow and pay your respects to the GOAT

 

[Japhet]

I’ve heard fuck all about Navidi recently. Don’t need him getting injured.

Alun Wyn will become our most capped player of all time (when you include Lions caps). Bow and pay your respects to the GOAT

I'd say you've got the bowing bit pretty much covered.

 

[Arnoldtoo]

WC warm up game this sunday. Can you spot the difference in the line ups? I would have thought eddie and warren would have been on the phone and agreed on some thing?

England: Daly; McConnochie, Slade, Francis, Watson; Ford, Heinz; Genge, Cowan-Dickie, Cole, Launchbury, Ewels, Curry, Underhill, B Vunipola.
Replacements: Singleton, Marler, Williams, Kruis, Ludlam, Youngs, Marchant, Cokanasiga.

Wales: L Williams; North, J Davies, Parkes, Adams; Anscombe, G Davies; Smith, Owens, Francis, Beard, Wyn Jones, Wainwright, Tipuric, Moriarty.
Replacements: Dee, Jones, Lewis, Ball, Shingler, T Williams, Biggar, Watkin.

They probably were, and then Jones did something completely different!

 

[mpickard2087]

England team picked to play at tempo and keep the ball in play it looks like, much like how the squad is shaping up before the World Cup. Obviously feeling we'll be playing on some hard and fast tracks.

Obviously not many first choice and last chance to win a seat on the plane for a few of them. Could well struggle at the lineout with that side, and big question is whether Francis or Underhill will be the first carted off injured.....

 

['O Zio]

England team picked to play at tempo and keep the ball in play it looks like, much like how the squad is shaping up before the World Cup. Obviously feeling we'll be playing on some hard and fast tracks.

That's all well and good but is it realistic to expect English players to play like that in what I assume will be stifling humidity in Japan? I'm not so sure.

 

[mpickard2087]

That's all well and good but is it realistic to expect English players to play like that in what I assume will be stifling humidity in Japan? I'm not so sure.

Remains to be seen, they have been doing a lot of conditioning work in the last few weeks in humid conditions.

Obviously decided though that the emphasis needs to be on mobile players in what will be harder and faster conditions, which is why the likes of Hughes, Te'o etc have been cut, no way back for the likes of Robshaw or Brown, and people like Singleton, Ludlam, Marchant right in contention.

You'd hope Eddie Jones knows all about Japanese conditions and what will be needed......

 

['O Zio]

Remains to be seen, they have been doing a lot of conditioning work in the last few weeks in humid conditions.

Obviously decided though that the emphasis needs to be on mobile players in what will be harder and faster conditions, which is why the likes of Hughes, Te'o etc have been cut, no way back for the likes of Robshaw or Brown, and people like Singleton, Ludlam, Marchant right in contention.

You'd hope Eddie Jones knows all about Japanese conditions and what will be needed......

Very true. I've no doubt Jones knows the conditions. I just wonder whether the English lot will cope with it. That said I assume they'll be over there for a couple of weeks beforehand to aclimitise etc. So maybe it won't be such a factor.

 

[mpickard2087]

Very true. I've no doubt Jones knows the conditions. I just wonder whether the English lot will cope with it. That said I assume they'll be over there for a couple of weeks beforehand to aclimitise etc. So maybe it won't be such a factor.

They've done camps in Portugal and just come back from a camp in Italy designed to be as humid as possible in preparation. Some of the players were saying they were losing 3 or 4kg a training session it was that demanding and energy sapping. So the acclimatisation has started.

 

[E17yid]

If we lose any of these warm up games against England and Ireland I’m not counting them towards our 14 game winning run.

Obviously if we win I will.

 

[Arnoldtoo]

If we lose any of these warm up games against England and Ireland I’m not counting them towards our 14 game winning run.

Obviously if we win I will.

What about against England B ?

 

[E17yid]

What about against England B ?

Same rules.

Joking aside, you’re at home and all but we should be beating this England team.

Our training camps in Switzerland where they sleep at high altitude and train at low altitude has done us well since the build up to the 2011 WC so I fancy us to be a bit fitter too.

Having said that I’d expect both teams to utilise all of their bench early on in the 2nd half and you’ve got some very good players there. You’ve got a lot of talent full stop. One of the most talented set of individuals you’ve had, imo.

We did a WC warm up match at Twickenham in the build up to 2015 didn’t we? I seem to remember a narrow loss so maybe I’ll go for a narrow 3 point win this time.

Though, tbh, obviously I’d be lying if I said I don’t care about the result as it’s Wales/England, but really I just want to see a good performance and no injuries.

Looking forward to see if Shingler can get his form back prior to his long off, too.

Still gutted about Tobi.

 

[teok]

 

[SugarRay]

Same rules.

Joking aside, you’re at home and all but we should be beating this England team.

Our training camps in Switzerland where they sleep at high altitude and train at low altitude has done us well since the build up to the 2011 WC so I fancy us to be a bit fitter too.

Having said that I’d expect both teams to utilise all of their bench early on in the 2nd half and you’ve got some very good players there. You’ve got a lot of talent full stop. One of the most talented set of individuals you’ve had, imo.

We did a WC warm up match at Twickenham in the build up to 2015 didn’t we? I seem to remember a narrow loss so maybe I’ll go for a narrow 3 point win this time.

Though, tbh, obviously I’d be lying if I said I don’t care about the result as it’s Wales/England, but really I just want to see a good performance and no injuries.

Looking forward to see if Shingler can get his form back prior to his long off, too.

Still gutted about Tobi.

These games are nothing more than a phoney war. Purely for fitness, combinations and dare I say it, even at times, putting the opposition slightly off the scent!
I barely take an interest

 

[E17yid]

These games are nothing more than a phoney war. Purely for fitness, combinations and dare I say it, even at times, putting the opposition slightly off the scent!
I barely take an interest

I don’t think they’re phoney wars but then I don’t think they’re necessarily full blooded internationals either. The truth is somewhere in between.

Fringe players can’t afford to play with no intensity or they’ll get cut, likewise, starters can’t rest on their laurels. Unless you’re AWJ, obviously.

 

[E17yid]

The commentators called him an “International Rugby Superstar “

I could count on 1 hand how many international caps he’s had.