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I'm calm! And I'm not bloody fickle!
I don't mind if England lose if they put out a decent team.
[i] I cannot feel anything for another country so I am genuinely surprised that you can change allegiance[/i]
Who would you rather watch play rugby
Digby Iaone, James O'Connor, Quade Cooper or
Matt Banahan, Mark Cueto and Charlie bloody Hodgson
That's what I'm basing my "support" on. I can't feel anything for an England team that can't play the game!
In reality I will be hoping for England to do well, but I won't be bothered about missing their games.
I'm calm! And I'm not bloody fickle!
I don't mind if England lose if they put out a decent team.
Still fickle though, vacillating your allegiance just cos you think they are crap. Despite the waffle on here I personally think the England team are excellent (hodgson excepted). Even if I thought they were crap I would still be behind them. Wales are living breathing proof that decent support goes a very long way.
Who would you rather watch play rugby
Digby Iaone, James O'Connor, Quade Cooper or
Matt Banahan, Mark Cueto and Charlie bloody Hodgson.
That's what I'm basing my "support" on. I can't feel anything for an England team that can't play the game!
Again I support england, so if it there were 2 rugby games on at the same time England (with Matt Banahan, Mark Cueto and Charlie bloody Hodgson) vs whoever and Aus (with Digby Iaone, James O'Connor, Quade Cooper) vs the others, I'd be watching the England game and supporting England. I think molgrips had you sussed
molgrips - Member
You don't really get the concept of 'supporting' a team do you Dez?
😀
(PS this is just banter please do not get upset or angry, it really is your choice to support whom you want in whatever way you please...)
Unless you are from Nothern Britain in which the case is Scotland then "ABE" (apparently)Actually I was rooting for Engerland in 2003 just because I loved the rugby they played and had played against a fair few of them at club level. But by contrast I was in a Kilt and corked hat at the Twickenham final (but you did have Will Carling at that time, hating that England team was SO easy)
Will Carling? The GOLDEN ERA matey 🙂
DezB - Member
Will Carling? The GOLDEN ERA matey
You've redeemed yourself..
Danny Care ruled out now. Sheesh.
England will be in trouble if youngs doesnt recover
Anagallis- I think the whole of Wales think they will win the world cup... especially after one victory! 😉
The reality of the situation always kicks in for the Celtic nations sooner or later,and we downgrade our expectations... unlike some people....
Danny Care ruled out now. Sheesh.
As another one bites the dust, is it time to question whether the pre tournament friendlies are a good or bad idea so close to travelling?
I think the whole of [s]Wales[/s] England think they will win the world cup... especially after one victory!
I think there is an enforced state of realism in Wales. 😉
If Nugget has a good game today he may be going to his 4th WC.
Nugget will go, he's the only back up openside, whereas players like ryan jones and powell can cover 8 and blindside.
what rugby is on this afternoon? I've got wales argentina at 2:30, when are ireland playing next?
Scotland play italy at 5 pm as do Ireland and france
ahh excellent
Brains in the fridge...... nice!
Good start from the Pumas.*
*Even if it's a cougar on the shirt.
😆 how did that score happen, will take it though 😆
Big George can sidestep....
Decent win for wales and that must be Knowle and Hook as halfbacks surely?
Now for scotland - must get some tries.
Knoyle had a great game. And yes, Hook is the form player at ten.
Scrappy game tho. Loads of turnovers, and those two tries looked to be cack defending although I was not watching 100%.
Allez les bleus! Great try...
What a surprise. Half time and the commentary team are talking about the English team. Who aren't even playing this weekend......
I was just shouting at the tv on that same subject!
Hmmmm
scotland need to show more. Group of death looks a bit toothless now having seen Argentina, Scotland and the Orcmaster and his trundlemuppets
the Orcmaster and his trundlemuppets
😆 😆 😆 😆 😆
Wide open after this weekend....France played well...for 50 minutes then got sloppy....Ireland are looking lost, O'Driscoll possibly past it now?....South Africa beat the All Blacks....still think New Zealand at home should win it but France are more than capable of beating them (see 1999 & 2007) when they feel like it....England dont have a midfield pairing i'm afraid....Tindall (kudos for boning Royalty) is past it and Hape is garbage....oh for the days of Will Greenwood in the centre....i reckon Australia could sneak this.
Good result by Wales but a poor performance. Someone should tell Ireland that they'll never beat France that way!! Rougerie completely owned BOD and Keith Earls is still shit, whats up with Bowe?
Someone should tell Ireland that they'll never beat France that way!!
Tactical suicide at times.
If you want to prove how dominant your scrum is, near your own 22 isn't a great place to do it. And if you REALLY need to make your point, don't forget to win your ball. And if you lose your ball, you really need to make sure that France don't score from your dominant scrum. Otherwise you look a little silly.
Keith Earls is still shit
While he no doubt does very well for Munster in the Heineken Cup, he's just a bit short of class to be a full international. He'll be ok as a bench player to bring on in the last ten...he's got pace...just not much else 🙂
Disappointed with that performance yesterday...not many positives to take...O' Leary had a shocker...Darcy and O'Driscoll were very quiet. Same old same old, not converting opportunities until France had stopped giving a shit and making some really stupid mistakes.
Oh well, as I said previously, expectations are low at least. Instead of 2007 when they went as clearly the best home nation and were shit. Now, they're clearly still the best home nation, but when they're shit, it won't be a massive-let down. 
Thought Wales did pretty well yesterday. Argentina are no mugs and are superb at bringing opponents down to their style of play. Wales managed to rise above that and that is a pretty good result. Pretty sure England and Scotland would take that result in a few weeks time 🙂
Saw only a small part of Ireland vs France and the 2nd half of Scotland vs Italy.
Still do not undertand how Scotland can get so many line breaks that they do not ultimately put away. It must frustrate the heck of Robinson.
Was probably an All Blacks 'C' team in SA. Not sure I would read much into that result TBH.
Knoyle had a great game
your easily pleased, his passing, decision making and clearing of the ball from rucks was very poor. A couple of nice breaks but he isnt half the player Phillips is.
Phillips isnt half the player Phillips is on his current form 😯
true but he's still better than Knoyle, shame Peel hasnt been considered as he would provide something different from the bench. Knoyle is just Phillips light.
Hibbard ruled out apparently
http://www.walesonline.co.uk/rugbynation/rugby-news/2011/08/21/hooker-richard-hibbard-out-of-world-cup-91466-29276309/
maybe bring in Ken Owens? Is he fit?
Oh and Note for Mr. Flannery:
When the ref is shouting at you, not once, not twice, but three flippin' times..."Use it green"...and you're a mere 5 yards or so from the opposition line, it's probably a good idea to do something with it. You eejit! 🙂
Ken Owens... Tavis Knowle... Not more Scarlets in the Wales team please! 😀 They'll promise so much and then break little Welsh hearts just as it gets to the crunch (as if Wales arn't capable enough of doing this 🙄 )
Philips can be guaranteed to give away penalties and wind up refs. I'd play Knowle on yesterdays performance
Philips can be guaranteed to give away penalties and wind up refs
any examples from recent history and before you say so in the england game the ref was wrong. He's better than any Scotchland scrum half.
No - the ref is sole arbiter of fact.
Philips is a card waiting to happen. He is petulant and arrogant - a bad mix.
Glitchy bumpy
I think Phillips has improved in recent matches and no doubt whatever was going on at the Ospreys killed his appetite for the game a bit.
Phillips is solid if not spectacular... a bit in the Stephen Jones mould. So long as Wales have one 9 or 10 that can make things happen then it's not so bad (e.g. Phillips and Hook together).
Tavis Knowle will wind up players and referees far more than Phillips! The only Welsh scrum half with more 'chat' is Martin Roberts
Phillips will never get a snappy pass out though! Stop. Bend down. Leisurely attempt to find the ball. Stand. Look around for a bit. Pass. I guess being a big guy he will always struggle to have the smooth fluid motion of getting a ball out of the ruck like smaller, more traditional build of scrum half though...
Id rather have any one of the tops 4 Scottish scrum halves thats for sure 🙂
Always wondered why the Welsh stuck with Phillips. A couple of years back they has a mouth watering back line supplied by possibly the slowest service in world rugby. Sure he offers other options but as a scrum half he does the basics pretty poorly.
On recent form even the other options are not that great.
Agree with TJ - Blair, Cusiter, Lawson & Laidlaw would all get the nod before him
Blair, Cusiter, Lawson & Laidlaw would all get the nod before him
The last Lions coaches didnt choose any of them ahead of him and wont next time either I'll wager.
Wales pick him because he draws defenders, he lets them get away with not loading up the rucks because he he handles players coming through, he is invaluable in defence where he plays like an extra backrower and he deals with shit ball himself rather than passing it on. Giving a backlinetime isnt about just a fast pass, if it was Roberts would be the welsh 9.
Nicky Walker out! Just as well we have as many spare wingers as we do 9's. A-A....Phillips is gash, has been for ages. Lawson, Cusiter, hell possibly even Blair are better. There are better teams that Bayonne in France,actually there are better teams than Bayonne in Newcastle and Exeter,none of them were interested.
Who would have thought it? Welsh rugby player starts dating a singer and game goes to pot, lightening DOES strike twice. 😯
Your worried about Walker being injured and have the cheek to say Phillips the 50 cap British Lions test scrum half is gash. Righto 😆
A-A i like Philips, abrasive running 9, but he, as TJ says is a card waiting to happen. Example; did he not spend 10 minutes in the bin last weekend? Still don't understand why Peel is so overlooked.
Cusiter still my favourite even though i taught Blair.
did he not spend 10 minutes in the bin last weekend?
For a ruck infringement that the ref got wrong, however it shows a lack of rugby knowledge if you thing a team so dominated in terms of possesion and territory arent going to have players binned. Phillips used to be a card waiting to happen due to his temper but that has improved massively in the last few years, teams spend a lot of effort trying to wind up with no effect these days.
Blair and Cussitor are hugely overated.
Peel doesnt get chances for Wales because he plays for Sale and they never release him for training.
Newcastle and Exeter
so when are these teams announcing signings of the calibre of:
Rockcoko
Lauki
Teealata
Phillips
Chisholm
Haymans
I guess Exeter are happy with Mitchel, I'm sure that would see them finish 7th in the top 14!
So what you are saying is that Philips is off to France to boost his pension?
Phillips is a professional sportsman and has always taken the coin, hard to blame him for it.
intrestingly most of that list are under 30.
anagallis_arvensis - MemberPeel doesnt get chances for Wales because he plays for Sale and they never release him for training.
Plus he's pretty crap these days.
Not a young player anymore, he doesn't have the physical attack that Phillips has, his pass isn't particularly quick or sharp AND he makes more tactical mistakes than any of the other Welsh scrum halves. Why pass to the O/Half when you can make a poor box kick and give possession straight back to the other team? Ask Peel because he does it all the time.
Tavis Knoyle had a very good game against the Pumas. He needs more game time, and probably ultimately to move away from the Scarlets where he'll be worshipped as a god soon, but he's becoming very capable. Much more rounded than Phillips or Peel.
Anyway, TJ's arguments aside, Wales is in a good position with regards to 9s - Phillips, Peel, Rees, Knoyle, Lloyd Williams, plus there are a handful who are developing.
I'd prefer to take Peel with Phillips and Knoyle or Rees but Rees and Peel aint options open to us which is a shame.
squads announced soon are they not?
Rees is injured, is he?
Scotchish Squad announced already..
Scotland squad in full:Backs: Joe Ansbro (London Irish), Mike Blair (Edinburgh), Chris Cusiter (Glasgow Warriors), Simon Danielli (Ulster), Nick De Luca (Edinburgh), Max Evans (Castres), Ruaridh Jackson (Glasgow Warriors), Rory Lamont (Toulon), Sean Lamont (Scarlets), Rory Lawson (Gloucester), Graeme Morrison (Glasgow Warriors), Dan Parks (Cardiff Blues), Chris Paterson (Edinburgh).
Forwards: John Barclay (Glasgow Warriors), Kelly Brown (Saracens), Geoff Cross (Edinburgh), Alasdair Dickinson (Sale Sharks), Ross Ford (Edinburgh), Richie Gray, Dougie Hall (both Glasgow Warriors), Jim Hamilton (Gloucester), Nathan Hines (Clermont Auvergne), Allan Jacobsen (Edinburgh), Alastair Kellock (captain, Glasgow Warriors), Scott Lawson (Gloucester), Moray Low (Glasgow Warriors), Euan Murray (Newcastle Falcons), Ross Rennie (Edinburgh), Alasdair Strokosch (Gloucester), Richie Vernon (Sale Sharks).
Bennett, Bevington, Burns, Charteris, Davies, Faletau, James, Jenkins, Jones, Jones, Jones, Lydiate, Mitchell, Owens, Powell.
Brew, Byrne, Davies, Halfpenny, Hook, Jones, Knoyle, North, Phillips, Priestland, Roberts, Williams, Williams, Williams.
no martyn williams
We took both Cusiter and Murray.Tell you what A-A, we will swap a prop for a centre,how about it? He is really good,but doesn't play on a Sunday.
you can have Scott Williams, we'll have Murray but I'll have to check the dyas the matches are on!!
[url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/14614058.stm ]Shame, would have been nice for him to have gone home for a while[/url]
😈
Reckon Cross will be first choice at tight head for Scotland
Murray was an awesome prop but I think he has lost it a bit recently. That said he made a huge difference when he came on on Saturday. With potentially a number of key games on Sunday I think he cannot be first choice prop.
Martin Williams not going??? I guess he is getting on but he was best open side from the UK in the last decade (at least).
Hape going and Flutey staying? 😯
I am hoping Murray has the hunger again, he looked the part when he came on against a useful Italian scrum, but agree with the two group matches on the Sabbath, he will be second choice.
Congrats to Warburton in being the youngest wales ever captain. An old head on young shoulders, I look forward to see his career progress.
Probably the only wales player I wish was english. Or kiwi, maori, Saffa. Doesn't seem to matter really.
Not really RWC news but Tom Rees is out for the majority of next season this time with ruptured knee ligaments. V sad news for him as he was a great player a few years ago. Only 26 though so hope he can get back again.
duckman - Member
Hape going and Flutey staying?
Brilliant! Worst centre in world rugby goes to the World Cup! 🙂
I think Tindalls going too........ 🙁
CFH, take your pick. Banahan is going too!
TJ's excellent term "trundlemuppets" so perfectly sums up the England midfield!
Sadly I agree CFH. No amount of spin could describe the current crop of English centres in a positive fashion. Shame as I think the rest of the team deserves better.
Come on, we need to know about Charlie. Is Charlie going?
Wrecker, not sure that is true, it is just those in consideration (bar Tuilagi). Allen, JSD, Barritt, Jordan Turner Hall, Waldouck, Billy Twelvetrees are all very talented and should (if fit) have been looked at in more closely in my view. They just don't seem to fit Jonno's ideas.
They just don't seem to fit Jonno's ideas
He has some?
I rather feel sorry for him. Foisted in to the role on reputation as a player rather than any ability as a coach/manager.
Tim, I should have phrased that better. There are far superior alternatives than those who are consistently selected (regardless of form). You are quite correct although I'm not convinced jonno has any ideas when it comes to backs. It would be nice to take a single centre capable of a bit of flair or imagination.
I think he is after all round players rather than someone like JTH who has a weakness (kicking) but is a hard running linebreaker who can tackle. It means Eng end up with centres who are not outstanding in any particular department, but adequate in all. It will be fine against lesser quality teams but in tight games there is no game breaker in the midfield.
TimP - Member
Wrecker, not sure that is true, it is just those in consideration (bar Tuilagi). Allen, JSD, Barritt, Jordan Turner Hall, Waldouck, Billy Twelvetrees are all very talented and should (if fit) have been looked at in more closely in my view. They just don't seem to fit Jonno's ideas.
As a generalisation, the English club sides play a game which doesn't require any sort of midfield creativity or skill other than running straight with the ball until tackled and presenting the ball back. Repeat until hopefully a gap opens. Very few of the players mentioned would get into a Welsh, Irish, French team, and I'd suggest that the Italian backs are almost as creative as any of the English club midfield players.
And of course, if the club game doesn't need any creativity, then it's not going to appear in the international team, especially with Wilkinson running the show. A great positional player but hardly one to get a great midfield moving.
Amusingly though, England can win the RWC with almost the weakest set of backs of any of the home nations.
the only wales player I wish was english
your funny, very funny, well done.
England can win the RWC with almost the weakest set of backs of any of the home nations.
English backs are much better than scotland, they wont win the world cup though.
English backs are much better than scotland, they wont win the world cup though.
That's why I said [u]almost[/u]!
your funny, very funny, well done.
What's your problem?
What's your problem?
Hape, Tindall, Banahan I could go on