6N 2018
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England really need to think about picking a genuine 7. Scots won the breakdown area hands down.
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@rugger-quizzes Any eligible opensides running around in super rugby?
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Huw Jones has made a hell of a difference to this side. A few years ago Scotland was barely scoring a try and their midfield was dysfuntional
14 Tests and 10 tries is extremely good for a midfielder who, more often than not, is playing for the weaker side
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Huw Jones has made a hell of a difference to this side. A few years ago Scotland was barely scoring a try and their midfield was dysfuntional
14 Tests and 10 tries is extremely good for a midfielder who, more often than not, is playing for the weaker side
I don't agree with that at the moment. Scotland are actually pretty good.
He is a bloody good player though.
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Well congratulations to @Talisker and @MN5 A very well deserved win by much the better side. As someone alluded to earlier the Scots totally bossed the breakdown and simply starved the life out of England. Added to that we were not accurate enough with the possession we did have and coughed up far to much ball.
Gutted.
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@mikethesnow said in 6N 2018:
For Sale
1 chariot missing a wheelEddie start packing
Ireland v Wales score flattered Wales.
Well beaten.
Jackson missed a sitter when Evans was taken out in the air but that's just papering over the cracks.
Biggar doesn’t work with this pack.
Ireland's backline looked very weak in defense. The Welsh managed to score easy tries out wide with just a few munitions. The Irish win by attrition with their relentless recycling. The game against Scotland will be interesting : will the Scottish forwards (Barclay, Watson and McInally in particular) be a nuisance at the breakdown as they were against the Poms ?
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@mikethesnow said in 6N 2018:
For Sale
1 chariot missing a wheelEddie start packing
Ireland v Wales score flattered Wales.
Well beaten.
Jackson missed a sitter when Evans was taken out in the air but that's just papering over the cracks.
Biggar doesn’t work with this pack.
Ireland's backline looked very weak in defense. The Welsh managed to score easy tries out wide with just a few munitions. The Irish win by attrition with their relentless recycling. The game against Scotland will be interesting : will the Scottish forwards (Barclay, Watson and McInally in particular) be a nuisance at the breakdown as they were against the Poms ?
It is a weak point that’s been flagged for some time. They’ve gone from parsimonious to porous in the space of a year. Having an unsettled midfield is not helping. Henshaw and Ringrose had built up a good partnership but both out through injury. Aki needs more work and Stockdale whilst he’s scoring consistently, is found wanting too on defence.
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I had the joy of watching the Scotland victory in a country pub in the Cotswolds full of 'rugger' types wearing rugby shirts with the collars turned up. With 20 to go they were already saying 'but we'll still be ahead of them on the table'
The game seemed to me like England were found out as the school bully. Someone stood up to them and they had no idea what to do.
Agree about Farrell. Don't really like him but I'd have him in an AB squad. Only other Poms I'd consider are Jamie George and possibly Vunipola.I had to also swallow a bit of sick in my mouth and agree with Woodentop today. He said no way in hell would the likes of Martin Johnson be subbed of at 55mins when his team was behind and needed their leader to step up and show the way. This idea of playing a captain that gets subbed in a tight game must be an Aussie thing (Cheika was doing it as well).
Surely Hartley has to be ditched as captain before 2019? Farrell is supposedly the favourite to take over but I don't ever really see him doing anything but his own game. Will be interesting anyway as Eddie keeps on painting toward that corner. -
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I had to also swallow a bit of sick in my mouth and agree with Woodentop today. He said no way in hell would the likes of Martin Johnson be subbed of at 55mins when his team was behind and needed their leader to step up and show the way. This idea of playing a captain that gets subbed in a tight game must be an Aussie thing (Cheika was doing it as well).
Surely Hartley has to be ditched as captain before 2019? Farrell is supposedly the favourite to take over but I don't ever really see him doing anything but his own game. Will be interesting anyway as Eddie keeps on painting toward that corner.I'd assume, moving forward as the 3 compulsory frontrower replacements has percolated it's way through a decade of rugby at lower levels that we will see almost no frontrowers reCing the elite with any prior captaincy experience at any level anyway.
Hooker, especially, has produced plenty of test captains over the years. Will go the way of wingers throwing into lineout a and 2-3-2 scrums.
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Says plenty to me about the importance Chieka and Eddie place on having a captain.
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Jamie Heaslip has announced his retirement from the game. Great player for Leinster, Lions and Ireland with a good few medals and cups to go with it.
3 Six Nations
1 Grand Slam
3 European Cups
3 league titles
1 Challenge Cup
2 Lions Tours
1 Try of Year.Not a bad haul. All the best to him.
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@pot-hale said in 6N 2018:
Jamie Heaslip has announced his retirement from the game. Great player for Leinster, Lions and Ireland with a good few medals and cups to go with it.
3 Six Nations
1 Grand Slam
3 European Cups
3 league titles
1 Challenge Cup
2 Lions Tours
1 Try of Year.Not a bad haul. All the best to him.
Couldn't shake off the back injury. Shame for such a great career to end like that. I've heard stuff on social media that the back injury was a legacy from Pascal Pape - is that so?
Loved him in the red shirt for the Lions and feared him in either the green or blue.
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@catogrande said in 6N 2018:
@pot-hale said in 6N 2018:
Jamie Heaslip has announced his retirement from the game. Great player for Leinster, Lions and Ireland with a good few medals and cups to go with it.
3 Six Nations
1 Grand Slam
3 European Cups
3 league titles
1 Challenge Cup
2 Lions Tours
1 Try of Year.Not a bad haul. All the best to him.
Couldn't shake off the back injury. Shame for such a great career to end like that. I've heard stuff on social media that the back injury was a legacy from Pascal Pape - is that so?
Loved him in the red shirt for the Lions and feared him in either the green or blue.
Yes - that rumour or supposition has been around a few fora. Clearly it did him damage at the time, and he had to have a small op but nonetheless he returned to playing not long after. He has been scrupulously quiet on his medical history and has said publicly a number of times over the last year that his health is a private matter. So I don't think he's going to say anything about it unless he's asked to co-write an autobiography or something.
One of those players who was too easily dismissed as not one of the greats, yet his consistency in playing and remaining injury-free along with the respect he had from all of his team-mates in the role he played has a lot of value. One of those guys who didn't get all consumed by the game, and found it easy to switch off and do other things - particularly pursue future business ventures. I met him a few times in the course of work and found him very easy-going, smart and approachable.
Hope he continues to enjoy life.
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Balls of steel for that pass
