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CAN SOMEONE DO THE LV TABLES FOR ME? TERRIBLE WITH CODING ON THESE THINGS

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Teams

Bath RFC	InTheFastLane
Exeter Chiefs	Driver - RIP 606
Gloucester	Anonmattyt
Harlequins	Steven_Sharks
Leicester Tigers	LukeLovesLuka
London Irish	stnick88
London Wasps	Arry
Newcastle Falcons	Sgt_Pooly
Northampton Saints	Dammit_Chris
Sale Sharks	SirJohnnyEnglish
Saracens	LDCPete
Worcester Warriors	prop_lyd

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Waiting List
1. Sam
2. pullthestrings
3. Bathite

What do people make of:

6. Croft
7. Pocock
8. Easter/Waldrom

Doesn't work for me luke. Croft is not great carrying in the tight (great in open spaces though), and carrying is Pococks weakest part of his game. In an English winter you are going to be heavily reliant on your 8 to get you going forward. Defensively it would be good, as Croft gets around well and tackles well, and we all know what Pocock can do, but it's not a top draw combination for me.

We'll solve my back row issues first Luke!


But i'd consider playing a better bally carrying 6

Driver - RIP 606 wrote:So how about

6.Moody
7.Jennings
8.Beattie/Lakafia

Works better with Lakafia at 8 than Beattie.

I am struggling to decide on my best combo in the back row

considering

6. fearns
7. warburton
8. heaslip

with Louw of the bench as being my first choice at the moment.

Agree with Pete driver.

Am looking at a massive front five with a lot of carriers. And actually using Croft, unlike England

I need to see a bit more of Fearns, not 100% sure of his style, what his strengths/weaknesses are.

For me, if you have Warburton and Heaslip at 7 and 8, you want a 6 who tackles like a demon (much like Lydiate for Wales),

Just need Wales to stuff the frogs and my back row is complete!

Who we all supporting now then in the RWC? I'm going Taffy!

6 SOB/Lydiate
7 Armitage
8 Lobbe

What do people think?

I was going to go for Wales but living on the border and playing for a club which is at least 50/50 English/Welsh has changed my mind I think. Never know such smugness in my life. Celebrated England's loss more than they did the welsh win.

I'm now supporting players. I want Cooper and Warburton to win the WC.

Lydiate
Armitage
Lobbe


SOB for Impact and covers all 3

Just going back to the whole balance of a back row thing, and if you need a fetcher, it does depend on the whole pack and even whole team to a degree.

If you have a hooker like Bismarck, who is a monster at the breakdown and gets loads of turnovers, the need for an out and out fetcher is less I would say than if you had Hartley, who hits rucks, but isn't great on the deck.

Has really got me thinking about the balance of my team now.

I'm considering packing down with Shawsy and Pierre for the winter months with the two fetchers in the back row as Shawsy and Pierre are both decent enough in the lineout to secure own ball and do more than enough carrying.

Driver, be careful with Shaw mate, I've heard he might want to retire immediately after WC...

Got following for sale...

PR Bob Baker (1 or 3)
FL Sione Kalamafoni (Tonga)
FL Liam Messam (NZ)
FL Alexander Lapandy (France)
FL/N8 Luke Watson (South Africa)
N8 Ryan Kankowski (South Africa)
SH Stuart Commins (SA/E)
FH Lionel Beauxis (French)
CE/FB Shane Geraghty (E)
CE Willie Mason (Australia)
CE Luke Eves (E)
CE Casey Laulala (NZ)
WG Julian Savea (NZ)
WG/FB Rory Lamont (Scotland)
FB Myles Dorrian (Australia)

I will be going 6 ferris 7 burger 8 hari

Mobility and serious carrying with a fantastic workrate.

Alberts off the bench and you get an idea of the way glaws will play in winter.

Carter and Barnes 10/12 for kicking balance.

What has happened to kahui?? Is he injured again

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/15233249.stm

Is going to be intersting to see how players performances at the World CUp affect their ratings here in terms of predicitons.

6 Kaino
7 Fourie
8 Spies

will be my backrow, has a bit of everything for me.

thats a serious back row you got there matt. especially if hari is on form.

I will be going horses for courses with my back row to be honest, depending on the conditions and opponents. Most of my flankers are 6.5's, Wood, Dusautoir, Zanni, and my 8's can play on the flanks as well, JvN, Narraway. So it will be about getting the balance right and the right tactics for each particular battle.

A lot depends on the conditions for me.

It's going to be weird seeing all the WC players back in squads. We've all got used to people's teams now without those players - feels like a differwent game already.

[quote="Driver - RIP 606"]
Who we all supporting now then in the RWC? quote]

My team's still in there

I know what you mean luke. I'm not sure who I have next week in the LV Cup, but my bench will probably have a few of my Saffas and English players who return this week.

Guys: think Donald's been called up to N.Z squad for whoever has him.

Gear has too. not ideal for matt.

I suspect Mat wopuldn't have played either of them in the next 2 games anyway, but if the AB's make the final, then it would mean throwing them back in for a league game here, in the week immediately after it which isn't ideal.

Matt could prbably do with the All Blacks going out in the semi to get his best players back in time to play in the next AP game.

Can't see it making a difference to Matt. Carter can come back in for him next league game, and he's hardly short on wingers...

To think NZ are now on 4th choice FH, crazy really. We'd be sending out Steve Myler I guess if in a similar position.

A lot depends on the opposition with backrows, I'll be looking at going:

6. Juan Smith/Kelly Brown
7. McCaw/Brussow
8. Read/Vermulen

SA missed Smith so much it's unreal, his carrying/ruck play and lineout work is top notch. Burger is a very good BS but plays better on the OS.

You have some power on the flanks especially there Matt.

Really like your balance too Nick, Kaino has been incredible this WC. NZ backrow was very good against Arg, good to see Read back playing, some of his offloads where in SBW territory!

Read is immense and makes a big difference to NZ.
I think on form Brussouw may have the edge on McCaw.
For me, Pocock and Warburton have put in the best performances at openside.

Just to defend Pocock as to what was being said last night regarding his carrying - it's not his best asset, but he has still been one of the Oz pack's most consistent carriers, and a quick check on ESPN has him down as top 3 carriers in the pack in each of his starts in the tournament so far.

Pocock's carrying is in no way a weakness. Would never mark him down for it.

It's as good if not better than McCaw's, Brussows, Warburtons etc

Pocock's carrying is nowhere near in the same league as any of the three you have mentioned there Steve. I cannot agree with that at all.

I am not saying he is a weak carrier by the way, I am saying that it is one of the weaker parts of his game. Over the ball at the breakdown, he is second to none, so much power to stay on his feet and compete, but I have seen him knocked back when carrying by players that he physically dominates at the breakdown on numerous occasions.

Perhaps I've missed something with McCaw and Warburton but I've never seen Brussow carry the ball into contact to such effect to suggest he is in a different league to Pocock when it comes to carrying.

Brussow carries well. He tends to look for gaps rather than contact, and McCaw is a regular ball carrier for the AB's, often being instrumental in try scoring opportunities.

McCaw's carrying is much stronger than Pococks, as his link play and all round game. Prob similar with Warbs tbh, who's more of an allrounder

Taking this back to the original point, which was in relation to having Croft and Pocock as your flankers. On a muddy, wet pitch in the middle of January at Welford Road, are you honestly saying that you could see that flank pairing working in terms of making hard yards in tight areas with ball in hand? That is not either of those players games.

Transport them to Melbourne on a hard pitch in blazing sunshine in the middle of summer and the sort of defences optional rugby that is often served up in the Super XV and it could work like a dream as a pair.

Like I said in another post earlier, horses for courses in the back row for me, and in a traditional English winter, that's the worng horse for the course.

Question to people in relation to fatigue of WC players.

Corbisiero - started 1 match and played a total of 102 minutes rugby in the past 5 weeks. - Good to start for me NEXT WEEK? Think the England team arrive back here tomorrow lunchtime.

Mccaw is a good carrier.
Brussow lacks a carrying game
Of any sort for me and i would say he is behind pocock in that aspect. Neither are great carriers.

Just watching the Aussie game. Brussows injury looked serious. Anyone know what's wrong with him

Fine to play pete

I agree Pete, in the winter months I'll be tempted to play Rush or Stowers at 8 over Spies. All depends on conditions.

yeh wouldnt mark you down at all for playing corbs

Not for me Pete. Anybody involved over the weekend should at most be bench.

Pete, apparently Ashton is playing for Saints this weekend - a lot of the England players want to go straight into their teams to get a bit of redemption for their awful showings. Reckon if they start on the bench then there's no issue, its just the 24 hour plane ride could effect them to start.

Yeah, I'm talking about starting Corbs NEXT WEEK anyway, not this, have already announced my side for this week, and haven't included any of my English or South African players.

My bad, no issues for next week

I did think from your comment you thought I meant this week Pooly. I've included Mapusua, Lawson and Zanni who were back from the World Cup last week in my squad for this week, just to reintergrate them back in rather than throwing a load of players all in at once for the next AP game.

I think it's probably not such an issue chucking some of the backs straight in this week Chris, think it's unlikely any of the forwards who got a lot of gametime will go straight back in though.

Bryce Lawrence is simply shocking.
Boks dealt some terrible decisions. Burger playing brilliantly and so far guthro justifying being picked ahead of beast.

To one of your earlier points pooly I think sa
May play smith at 8. He has played
There a lot in the past.

Genia and pocock are defending superbly
And matfield ruining Aussie line
Out

Available:

HK Marius Tincu (Romania)
PR Craig Mitchell (TH) (Wales)
PR Oliver Tomaszczyk (TH)(England)
PR Juan Gomez (TH) (Argentina)
PR Ben Alexander (LH/TH) (Austrailia)
PR Rodrigo Roncero (LH) (Argentina)
PR Boris Stankovich(LH) (England)
CE Dan Hipkiss (England)
CE Jared Payne (New Zealand)
LK Flip van der Merwe (South Africa)
LK Ed Slater (England)
LK Juandre Kruger (South Africa)
LK Donncha O'Callaghan (Ireland)

Joc defended superbly yesterday he is surprisingly strong

Irish referee Alain Rolland will take charge of Wales' World Cup semi-final clash with France at Eden Park on Saturday.

Rolland will be joined by assistant referees Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa) and Wayne Barnes (England). Meanwhile South Africa's Craig Joubert will referee the second semi-final between Australia and New Zealand at the same venue the following day.

Wales' Nigel Owens and France's Romain Poite will be the assistant referees for the second semi-final.

Anyone see Tom Homer's try yesterday. Boy has some pace and power, and is the leading point scorer in the league.

Just saying!