Six Nations 2017
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@Margin_Walker @profitius
I suppose it's that you just don't like having your (good) name besmirched. If some idiot is spreading shit about you (and usually he lumps NZ rugby, public, fans, team into one so he can have a single target to throw shit at) some idiot out there is believing it.How many Pomgolians "know" for a fact that NZers are dirty, unethical, precious, manipulative, poaching thugs because they read it in 'The Times'?
If we only reach you guys to give the counter to the poaching argument (the rest of it is pretty accurate
) by reacting on here we've done what we can to defend our reputation. -
@TeWaio said in Six Nations 2017:
FWIW I hope, if England win against Ireland, they kick on to knock Cyprus off the top spot so its at least held by a proper rugby nation (no offence Mouflons).
And considering they've got Argentina, Australia, Samoa in Autumn, then the 6N with Wales & Ireland at Twickenham... the odds look pretty good.
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@Kruse A Lions depleted England playing in Argentina is a stern task IMO.
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@antipodean Ah, yes, I'd forgotten the "mid-year" tours... yeah, that could be tricky.
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Ah, Fergus McFadden back for Ireland. Great to see in-form, up and coming players given a chance.
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@profitius said in Six Nations 2017:
Forget the win against NZ. That was truly a one off.
The way they played in the return match in Ireland would suggest it wasn't. THey played really well that day - well enough to beat damn near anyone except a motivated NZ team. Great test to watch.
What's truly remarkable is that the English have this winning streak that started in their last pool match in their home world cup where they couldn't get out of their pool! No suggesting that the team back then was crap. Well done to them, and particularly well done Eddie Jones.
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@nzzp said in Six Nations 2017:
@profitius said in Six Nations 2017:
Forget the win against NZ. That was truly a one off.
The way they played in the return match in Ireland would suggest it wasn't. THey played really well that day - well enough to beat damn near anyone except a motivated NZ team. Great test to watch.
What's truly remarkable is that the English have this winning streak that started in their last pool match in their home world cup where they couldn't get out of their pool! No suggesting that the team back then was crap. Well done to them, and particularly well done Eddie Jones.
Scored 0 tries in that second game. 0 tries against Wales. 1 try against France. That's the problem. The game plan is to use the forwards as battering rams and inch their way up the pitch.
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@profitius said in Six Nations 2017:
@nzzp said in Six Nations 2017:
@profitius said in Six Nations 2017:
Forget the win against NZ. That was truly a one off.
The way they played in the return match in Ireland would suggest it wasn't. THey played really well that day - well enough to beat damn near anyone except a motivated NZ team. Great test to watch.
What's truly remarkable is that the English have this winning streak that started in their last pool match in their home world cup where they couldn't get out of their pool! No suggesting that the team back then was crap. Well done to them, and particularly well done Eddie Jones.
Scored 0 tries in that second game. 0 tries against Wales. 1 try against France. That's the problem. The game plan is to use the forwards as battering rams and inch their way up the pitch.
They got 5 against New Zealand, and 9 against Italy, but I know those ones don't really count.....
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I was just reading that this weekend's games also have a big impact on the seedings for RWC 2019.
If Ireland win they retain the no.4 ranking and would join NZ, England and Australia in Pot 1 (top seeds for the groups) when the draw is made on May 10. But if Ireland lose to England and Wales beat France in Paris then Wales takes that 4th seeding.
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@Bovidae said in Six Nations 2017:
I was just reading that this weekend's games also have a big impact on the seedings for RWC 2019.
If Ireland win they retain the no.4 ranking and would join NZ, England and Australia in Pot 1 (top seeds for the groups) when the draw is made on May 10. But if Ireland lose to England and Wales beat France in Paris then Wales takes that 4th seeding.
France can drop out of the top 8 with a loss too - with Argentina sneaking back in. So you could theoretically get a NZ, RSA, France, Samoa, USA pool if the cookie crumbles that way.
The way Wales, France, Ireland and the Boks fortunes can fluctuate there doesn't really seem too much advantage in being in the 1-4 or 5-8 pots - the luck seems to be more in who you are paired with from the other pot.
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Wales unchanged for the France match. Unsurprisingly considering the performance against Ireland and the WC seeding on the line.
WALES XV
Halfpenny, North, Davies, S Williams, L Williams, Biggar, Webb
Evans, Owens, Francis, Ball, AW Jones (capt), Warburton, Tipuric, MoriartyReplacements:
Baldwin, Smith, Lee, Charteris, Faletau
G Davies, S Davies, Roberts -
Two changes for England in the Dublin game. Watson in for Nowell and Billy Vunipola in for Hughes. A pity for Nowell who has done nothing wrong and has been very busy as well as providing a lot of go forward, but Watson has that extra pace and is a proven finisher. Vunipola for Hughes is less of a surprise as you sort of got the feeling that Hughes was only keeping the bed warm for Vunipola. Billy V is fast becoming one of Eddie's first names on the team sheet together with Farrell (which reminds me of an old football commentary that may be urban myth. Talking about England selection in the 1990s "It's always good to see Seaman on the sheet first thing"), anyway I Lee Grant.
England team to face Ireland in Dublin:
Brown, Watson, Joseph, Farrell, Daly, Ford, Youngs, Marler, Hartley (c), Cole, Launchbury, Lawes, Itoje, Vunipola, Haskell.
Bench: George, Vinipola, Sinckler, Wood, Hughes, Care, Teo, Nowell.
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