Six Nations 2017
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@Pot-Hale said in Six Nations 2017:
Eddie Jones sporting a black eye at today's press conference. He said he slipped in the shower.
Warren Gatland sported a bandage on his head at the Lions press conference a while ago - reason - he slipped in the bathroom.....
Just saying like...
Saying what? They were having 'pass the soap' games that went wrong?
Jones looked like Hartley had gone to town on his head at the bottom of a ruck.
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England retain 25 players for the lead up to the France game.
Forwards
Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers), Ellis Genge (Leicester Tigers), Jamie George (Saracens), Teimana Harrison (Northampton Saints), Dylan Hartley (Northampton Saints), James Haskell (Wasps), Nathan Hughes (Wasps), Maro Itoje (Saracens), George Kruis (Saracens), Joe Launchbury (Wasps), Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints), Joe Marler (Harlequins), Matt Mullan (Wasps), Kyle Sinckler (Harlequins), Tom Wood (Northampton Saints).
Backs
Mike Brown (Harlequins), Danny Care (Harlequins), Elliot Daly (Wasps), Owen Farrell (Saracens), George Ford (Bath Rugby), Jonathan Joseph (Bath Rugby), Jonny May (Gloucester Rugby), Jack Nowell (Exeter Chiefs), Ben Te’o (Worcester Warriors), Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers).
Papers seem to think the starting lineup will be:
15 Brown
14 Nowell
13 Joseph
12 Farrell
11 May
10 Ford
9 Youngs
1 Marler
2 Hartley (c)
3 Cole
4 Lawes
5 Kruis (injury in training today being assessed, so may be Launchbury)
6 Itoje
7 Wood
8 HughesIn other news, Sexton ruled out of the Scotland game with a calf injury.
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@Margin_Walker what has happened to Tuilagi?
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Season ending knee injury. He's not really in the conversation England wise these days, as he can't seem to get himself on the pitch for more than a month or two before breaking something. Isn't related to his previous groin problem, so hopefully he'll get over it.
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Four more sleeps.
I can't wait.....
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@Pot-Hale said in Six Nations 2017:
Four more sleeps.
I can't wait.....
Me too! Off to Twickenham this weekend for a work junket. Will be a great opener, forecast looking like rain though.
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Kruis now confirmed out for England with knee ligament damage. Being assessed tomorrow, but that may be it for the 6N for him.
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Sexton and O'Mahony out of selection for Scotland match with minor injuries not cleared up. Keatley drafted in at 10, Madigan not picked from Bordeaux.
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@Margin_Walker said in Six Nations 2017:
Kruis now confirmed out for England with knee ligament damage. Being assessed tomorrow, but that may be it for the 6N for him.
Huge amount of press with players and coaching staff declaring how they believe they have created good depth to cover absences and how players that have had little recent play won't be affected by that.
I'm not sure how much is simply answering the media questions and how much of it is that they are thinking a lot themselves about these 'issues' and trying hard to be positive.I can only compare with the ABs and have seen only the odd player that is able to come straight back into rugby at test level and perform near potential. Usually the comments afterwards are along the lines of ' I was fit enough and had all the training numbers but man did I feel it out there. I'll be better for that next week'
I'm really hoping that 'committed France' turn up and don't wave the white flag part way through the game if things aren't going well.
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@Crucial Yeah, I know what you mean. Even after being beasted for what seemed like weeks on end during pre-season training the first match back was always a bastard. Still we've really only got Hartley and Marler in this situation, less so Marler who hardly seems to have been away.
Daly in place of Jack Nowell is the stand out change for me. Nowell has been on fire for Exeter.
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Forgive my player ignorance @Catogrande but who is the fullback cover? Is Nowell a test level 15?
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@Crucial said in Six Nations 2017:
Forgive my player ignorance @Catogrande but who is the fullback cover? Is Nowell a test level 15?
I'd guess that Daly is the utility cover, he's certainly got the skills set. Nowell has played full back in the past, but not for some time and not at such a high level. I'd say that if Brown went down we would see Daly go to 15 and Nowell to the wing. Longer term I think that Watson will be our full back.
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@Catogrande said in Six Nations 2017:
@Crucial said in Six Nations 2017:
Forgive my player ignorance @Catogrande but who is the fullback cover? Is Nowell a test level 15?
I'd guess that Daly is the utility cover, he's certainly got the skills set. Nowell has played full back in the past, but not for some time and not at such a high level. I'd say that if Brown went down we would see Daly go to 15 and Nowell to the wing. Longer term I think that Watson will be our full back.
I thought Daly was a centre converted to wing?
The reason I ask is that it appears that Eddie & Co are taking a slightly different approach to other top teams where having two players in the back three with fullback skills is quite important to the gameplan. It affords the 15 to come into the line more on both attack and defence and sets up counter-attacking better.
If Eddie has some different ideas it will be interesting to see. it's not as if you expect less ball to be kicked to you in the 6N. -
Daly in for Nowell as the latter missed a couple of days training this week for personal reasons. Assume he would start all things being equal.
Daly definitely the 15 cover there. He's actually played far more there for Wasps than he has wing, which is effectively his third position.
Shame they played it safe with Mullan rather than Genge on the bench.
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@Crucial I think Percentage Eddie sees Daly as an ideal cover for centre, wing and full back, which allows him to have a back up 9 (Care) and an impact sub (Teo) as well as Nowell/Daly. This then allows him his favoured 5/3 split on the bench as Farrell can play 10 as well as 12. You could see similar thinking when Goode was the utility man that could play 10,12,13,15 or wing. The only problem being that he could play them all equally mediocrely.
