Return of Youngs, Sheridan and Moody

According to the BBC, these three will play against Ireland. Thoughts?

LINK

Was it ever in question that they wouldnt if fit?

Not really, but the fact they are fit in time for the Ireland game is certainly a plus - especially in the case of Youngs. Care has been playing well but I'd want Youngs to have a bit of game time before the world cup.

It'll also be very interesting to see how Sheridan is playing. He can be very hit or miss.

Think Youngs needs some game time so I agree with screamingaddabs.

Said on another thread even though Care is in better form, I think we could see Youngs and Flood at the World Cup because Johnson seems to favour them.

Big game for Sheridan in my view, because I really rate Corbisiero he is someone who could make a real impact if chosen, Sheridan obviously first choice most likely but players like Corbisiero are right on the heels of the starting 15.

Moody is very injury prone nowadays, people should be taking bets of whether he can last the full 80

We have enough competition for places in the back row, so if Moody was to miss out it wouldn't be a big worry. Haskell came back to form at the Six Nations and we also have a very reliable Tom Wood, who can partner Croft and Easter.

All three need to prove they can play 80 minutes in my view. No use taking them if they can't do that, and none are so irreplaceable that they should travel regardless of fitness.

I really rate Corbisiero he is someone who could make a real impact if chosen, Sheridan obviously first choice most likely but players like Corbisiero are right on the heels of the starting 15.

He made only a minor impact against Wales at HQ in fact his performance was pretty negligable. Improved vs Wales at the MS but I'm still not convinced. Would rather Stevens and Cole were paired as the props. Be interesting to see how Sheridan goes and who partners him. Cole did more damage in the scrum but Stevens has been better in the loose.

Looking from the outside, I don't see any of these three as current first choice. Corbisero and Stevens are better props than Sheriden who spends most of his time face down in the mud. Moody is past his best and Care is playing better than Youngs.

Saying that England will never dominate a match as much as they did against Wales and not win........surely!!!!!!

Bit of a risk playing Sheridan, Moody and Youngs straight off against Ireland. To be honest i can't see what Sheridan will bring, he's good in the scrum but w have no problem there and he's annonimous in the loose much like our other props.

I'd be sticking with Stevens, Cole.Corbs and PDJ.

yappysnap wrote:Bit of a risk playing Sheridan, Moody and Youngs straight off against Ireland. To be honest i can't see what Sheridan will bring, he's good in the scrum but w have no problem there and he's annonimous in the loose much like our other props.

I'd be sticking with Stevens, Cole.Corbs and PDJ.

No real choice though, they all have something to prove and need a shot. I suppose it means they are all in the squad too, as it is announced before the game...

They need the game-time, but if they don't play well then maybe look at some other options for the first game against Argentina and then give them a bit more time against Georgia and Romania. It's not ideal to be rehabilitating people on the fly, but all three players are valuable for England and all should and will make the World Cup squad.

formerly known as Sam wrote:

I really rate Corbisiero he is someone who could make a real impact if chosen, Sheridan obviously first choice most likely but players like Corbisiero are right on the heels of the starting 15.

He made only a minor impact against Wales at HQ in fact his performance was pretty negligable. Improved vs Wales at the MS but I'm still not convinced. Would rather Stevens and Cole were paired as the props. Be interesting to see how Sheridan goes and who partners him. Cole did more damage in the scrum but Stevens has been better in the loose.

The scrum lost it's dominance at the MS when Stevens came on. I wouldn't have him as first choice loosehead, but do think he'll go as the 4th prop.

Thats because he's mostly been playing tighthead for saracens, He is however international class at loosehead as well.

The match in Dublin is huge for Ben Youngs. He'll want to make amends for his performance against Ireland in the Six Nations, and with Danny Care injured, Martin Johnson needs to see a good performance from him.

Thats because he's mostly been playing tighthead for saracens, He is however international class at loosehead as well. .

Other way round. He's been mostly playing loosehead for Sarries with Neito at tighthead. However, for England he has reverted to his more usual tighthead position.

I think the England scrum was on top through out, the only issue was that Rolland allowed the Welsh to collapse or stand up as long as the ball reached the Welsh 8s feet. Rolland reffed the game well apart from at the scrum where he completely inadequete.

For the props I'd go with Cole and Sheridan as my starting duo with Stevens on the bench. I'd have Stevens as back-up to Cole, and Corbisiero as back-up to Sheridan.

Wilson on stand-bye.

Doran-Jones is a good player, but I think he needed to be involved in the Wales games to be considered at this stage, and given the opportunities Corbisiero has had, it looks like MJ has made his choice re: back-up loosehead.

formerly known as Sam wrote:

Thats because he's mostly been playing tighthead for saracens, He is however international class at loosehead as well. .

Other way round. He's been mostly playing loosehead for Sarries with Neito at tighthead. However, for England he has reverted to his more usual tighthead position.

I think the England scrum was on top through out, the only issue was that Rolland allowed the Welsh to collapse or stand up as long as the ball reached the Welsh 8s feet. Rolland reffed the game well apart from at the scrum where he completely inadequete.

Whilst the Welsh pack did go down or stand and got away with it several times, it is also true that every single one of those times, Cole was driving in on the Welsh hooker instead of driving straight and could equally have been penalised every time before the Welsh pack disintegrated.

Rolland didn't have a clue as to what was happening in the tight (what referee does?) but Cole's boring in was so obvious that I am sure in the WC he will be pinged time and time again by another ref. if he repeats that. Fair play to the lad, he played to the ref's whistle, and that is all part of the game, but WHEN will referee's learn to apply the laws for the scrummage we already have?

That's a fair point ML. It is just about the oldest trick in the tightheads book and if you've got the upper hand on the loosehead the coaches wouldn't be best pleased if you didn't turn the screw on the hooker, at least until the referee cottons on.

what referee does?

The french ones? They tend to be pretty handy when it comes to reffing the tighter interchanges.

formerly known as Sam wrote:That's a fair point ML. It is just about the oldest trick in the tightheads book and if you've got the upper hand on the loosehead the coaches wouldn't be best pleased if you didn't turn the screw on the hooker, at least until the referee cottons on.

what referee does?

The french ones? They tend to be pretty handy when it comes to reffing the tighter interchanges.

Also it seemed like just about all the props were binding on the arms if they bound at all and the ref just seemed to ignore it as liong as the scrum was over with quickly. Why the props shirts don't have special 'grip' sections on the sides is beyond me.

One last scrum question, at about 45 minutes England pushed the Welsh scrum back 3 or 4 yards and then they stood up and the ball came out. Rather then award a pen or let play carry on the ref opted for a re scrum, why would he choose that?

[quote="The french ones? They tend to be pretty handy when it comes to reffing the tighter interchanges. [/quote]

Better at scrum time but shocking at managing rucks. The T14 is at times reminicent of trench warfare with the amount of players scrabbling on the ball trying to 'contest' it. The IRB directive to try to favour the attacking team never seemed to get to the French refs.

One last scrum question, at about 45 minutes England pushed the Welsh scrum back 3 or 4 yards and then they stood up and the ball came out. Rather then award a pen or let play carry on the ref opted for a re scrum, why would he choose that?.

Probabley because he couldn't decide whether England were driving the Welsh up or whether the Welsh front row were bailing out and standing up due to not being able to stand the pressure.

The T14 is at times reminicent of trench warfare with the amount of players scrabbling on the ball trying to 'contest' it.

Players seem to take an age to roll away but competition is actually allowed at the breakdown unlike with some of the SH refs who allow the defending team to just flop off their feet and seal the ball off.

Why the props shirts don't have special 'grip' sections on the sides is beyond me.

+1. The skin tight shirts don't offer a lot of binding options.