The Official *England to Grand Slam Glory 2013* Thread

[Duty281]

First topic message reminder :

“It is not enough that we do our best; sometimes we must do what is required.”
Winston Churchill

In just over 4 weeks, Stuart Lancaster's England will start their quest for Grand Slam glory. It has to be said that this is England's best chance since 2003 for a Grand Slam. Really, for the Northern Hemisphere's biggest Rugby nation not to have clinched a Grand Slam for 10 years is a poor return. That will surely change on the 16th March.

“My tastes are simple: I am easily satisfied with the best.”
Winston Churchill

This amount of optimism stems from a hugely encouraging 2012 for the English rugby team. 4 wins out of 5 in last year's Six Nations with a fairly new team, then a character-building tour to South Africa, running South Africa and Australia close at the home of Rugby, before ending the year by beating the World Champions and running in 3 tries against them. 2013 will be the year that it all comes together for England.

"The English have an extraordinary ability for flying into a great calm."
Alexander Woollcott

2013 for England will start with a game home to Scotland. Unless there's a downpour, Scotland have little hope. Expect England to rack up 25+ points and a multitude of tries against inferior opposition.

"Let not England forget her precedence of teaching nations how to live."
John Milton

Then, away to Ireland. Often, the Irish are seen as a bogey team for England but let's be rational. England are better in every department as they proved in 2012. I'll be looking for a very very good result from England in this game.

"You must hate a Frenchman as you do the devil."
Lord Nelson

The third game will be the biggest of the lot. Home to the French at Twickenham. Beaten by England in Paris in 2012, France will be beaten by England in London in 2013. No mistake though, this game will be the toughest challenge that England will face in the 2013 Six Nations. I expect England to just about edge out the French.

"We few. We happy few. We band of brothers."
William Shakespeare

On the 10th March, England will be on the home straight. Home to Italy, mere cannon fodder against the mighty mighty England. 4 wins out of 4, Grand Slam in sight.

"Ever the faith endures, England, my England."
W.E. Henley

The crowning glory will be against England's little brother, Wales. No doubt they'll be up for this game, they love a game against their bigger brother and the chance to upset the odds. What is it Wales, 7 losses out of 7 since last year's Grand Slam? After a tough 20 minutes, England's superiority and class will show. Grand Slam clinched.

“You ask, what is our aim? I can answer in one word. It is victory, victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory, however long and hard the road may be; for without victory, there is no survival.”
Winston Churchill

[Guest]

I love this optimistic side from the English, turning losses in moral victories,all this talk of steady progress,
but i bet you not one English fan could tell us what game plan Lancaster has.

NZ win was born from unforseen circumstances.
And the SA draw was because SA couldn't find the posts.

Non had any bearing on what England did.

[mystiroakey]

yeah your right view when england play its allways about the other team.. Engalnd never ever have a say in anything. We won the RWC because other teams messed up

[Guest]

Ahh View my laddie.. I suppose wales had that virus thing for the last 7 games an all

No Wales have been exceptionally poor and really shot of confidence and only have there inept game plans to blame.
As current GrandSlam Six Nation champs we all expected better but Wales failed to deliver.

But don't go writing them off just yet, just like a tortured genius painting the perfect picture he loves nothing more than being on the brink of perfection and then just ripping it all up just so he can start again.

[mystiroakey]

I am gonna right them of this year- but i did back you lot for a GS last time!!

I have no idea what has been going on with you lot- Everyone of your players looks a shadow of themselves a year ago.. Anyway good luck..

[Guest]

yeah your right view when england play its allways about the other team.. Engalnd never ever have a say in anything. We won the RWC because other teams messed up

No,
the 3 key reasons why England won the world cup-
1. Cheated against Samoa by disrupting play with 16 men.
2. Avoiding NZ.
3.The Blatant amount of penalties awarded to England v Wales in the second half, Wales spanking the English in every facet of the game but a word in the tunnel with the ref at half time for Clive took care of that.

Also well done im sure somewhere in the 606 house rules it says any English poster resorting to winning a World Cup line gets a Gold star.

[mystiroakey]

sorry yeah thats what happened view- you jogged my memory.. we were gifted it by refs and cheating and all that stuff..

[Guest]

I am gonna right them of this year- but i did back you lot for a GS last time!!

I have no idea what has been going on with you lot- Everyone of your players looks a shadow of themselves a year ago.. Anyway good luck..

Wales won't need your luck, all Wales need is the return of key forwards and then we can have the English and Irish crying for another twelve months.

[mystiroakey]

yeah your right they dont need my luck. Coz my luck is secretly evil luck..

[Guest]

yeah your right they dont need my luck. Coz my luck is secretly evil luck..

No such thing as luck,
some people confuse a chain of events which then determine an unusual out come as luck.
For e.g. The All Blacks contract the norovirus then spend four days vomiting and diarrhea then have to play an International game of rugby against a solid team, not a flash or world class team but a good steady solid team, the All Backs lose.
Bad Luck? NO. Wrong place wrong time.

[Pete C (Kiwireddevil)]

yeah your right they dont need my luck. Coz my luck is secretly evil luck..

No such thing as luck,
some people confuse a chain of events which then determine an unusual out come as luck.
For e.g. The All Blacks contract the norovirus then spend four days vomiting and diarrhea then have to play an International game of rugby against a solid team, not a flash or world class team but a good steady solid team, the All Backs lose.
Bad Luck? NO. Wrong place wrong time.

Wasn't "Oops, bad timing" what Suzy the Welsh waitress said when she realised it had hit a few days late?

[mystiroakey]

Tell me guru view. What is luck? or is there no such example? is it just a word people use when they are confussed?

[Guest]

Luck is a superstition, a word banded around by the foolish and weak minded.

[mystiroakey]

What about winning the lottery?

how woulld you define thatl. What chain of events bring that to happen...

If you could break it down then surely you could win the lottery

[Guest]

yeah your right they dont need my luck. Coz my luck is secretly evil luck..

No such thing as luck,
some people confuse a chain of events which then determine an unusual out come as luck.
For e.g. The All Blacks contract the norovirus then spend four days vomiting and diarrhea then have to play an International game of rugby against a solid team, not a flash or world class team but a good steady solid team, the All Backs lose.
Bad Luck? NO. Wrong place wrong time.

Wasn't "Oops, bad timing" what Suzy the Welsh waitress said when she realised it had hit a few days late?

Lol i was born in wedlock.

[Pete C (Kiwireddevil)]

yeah your right they dont need my luck. Coz my luck is secretly evil luck..

No such thing as luck,
some people confuse a chain of events which then determine an unusual out come as luck.
For e.g. The All Blacks contract the norovirus then spend four days vomiting and diarrhea then have to play an International game of rugby against a solid team, not a flash or world class team but a good steady solid team, the All Backs lose.
Bad Luck? NO. Wrong place wrong time.

Wasn't "Oops, bad timing" what Suzy the Welsh waitress said when she realised it had hit a few days late?

Lol i was born in wedlock.

I was referring to her giving the AB's norovirus. Apologies, I didn't know your Mum's name was Suzy

[Guest]

You select numbers then a machine distributes random numbers then if yours correspond you win if they don't you lose.
No good or bad luck just did or didn't.

Needless to say i don't gamble, 33 years old and never so much as bought a lottery ticket.
I did run a gambling pool in high school thou got me in a lot of trouble ):

[mystiroakey]

Yeah i thought he took that one wrong..

If i was a guru i would analys that he has mother son issues!!

he brings all problems back to her

[Guest]

of course suzy now i see your angle of thought, how stupid of me.

I thought you were referring to my conception as bad luck, hence a woman being late.

[mystiroakey]

You select numbers then a machine distributes random numbers then if yours correspond you win if they don't you lose.
No good or bad luck just did or didn't.

Needless to say i don't gamble, 33 years old and never so much as bought a lottery ticket.
I did run a gambling pool in high school thou got me in a lot of trouble ):

its what we call luck- luck isnt a superstition- if you hit a high odds draw you got lucky. thats it nothing more to it. Its just language.. However i do like you ,hate using the term luck in sports. Its for weak peops that cant deal with losing!

[Guest]

Yeah i thought he took that one wrong..

If i was a guru i would analys that he has mother son issues!!

he brings all problems back to her

If you were a guru you wouldn't be backing a team that happened to be in the right place at the right time as the next big thing

[majesticimperialman]

yeah your right they dont need my luck. Coz my luck is secretly evil luck..

No such thing as luck,
some people confuse a chain of events which then determine an unusual out come as luck.
For e.g. The All Blacks contract the norovirus then spend four days vomiting and diarrhea then have to play an International game of rugby against a solid team, not a flash or world class team but a good steady solid team, the All Backs lose.
Bad Luck? NO. Wrong place wrong time.

viewtothegym

That virus was a 24 hour virus. (That is 1 day ) incase you did not realise, not 4 days.
Secondly the All Blacks pride them selves of winning every game they play.If any of that team that played for the All Blacks was not fully fit, they would not of payed. Pure and simple, they (the All Blacks) believe they could win seeing that they have won 20 games on the trot. So 1 more game will not hurt them will it?

The 6ns will be a test for all countrys, some of them having injured players returning. And some of them trying to carry forward where they left off in the Als. And of course this will also be a challenge for the Lions selection.

[Guest]

You select numbers then a machine distributes random numbers then if yours correspond you win if they don't you lose.
No good or bad luck just did or didn't.

Needless to say i don't gamble, 33 years old and never so much as bought a lottery ticket.
I did run a gambling pool in high school thou got me in a lot of trouble ):

its what we call luck- luck isnt a superstition- if you hit a high odds draw you got lucky. thats it nothing more to it. Its just language.. However i do like you ,hate using the term luck in sports. Its for weak peops that cant deal with losing!

Agreed nothing worse than blaming bad luck on anything that doesn't go your way in life as well as results on a sports field. Still no such thing as luck even in wining prize money.

[Guest]

yeah your right they dont need my luck. Coz my luck is secretly evil luck..

No such thing as luck,
some people confuse a chain of events which then determine an unusual out come as luck.
For e.g. The All Blacks contract the norovirus then spend four days vomiting and diarrhea then have to play an International game of rugby against a solid team, not a flash or world class team but a good steady solid team, the All Backs lose.
Bad Luck? NO. Wrong place wrong time.

viewtothegym

That virus was a 24 hour virus. (That is 1 day ) incase you did not realise, not 4 days.
Secondly the All Blacks pride them selves of winning every game they play.If any of that team that played for the All Blacks was not fully fit, they would not of payed. Pure and simple, they (the All Blacks) believe they could win seeing that they have won 20 games on the trot. So 1 more game will not hurt them will it?

The 6ns will be a test for all countrys, some of them having injured players returning. And some of them trying to carry forward where they left off in the Als. And of course this will also be a challenge for the Lions selection.

Madge in English please, im not fluent in gibberish.

[mystiroakey]

You select numbers then a machine distributes random numbers then if yours correspond you win if they don't you lose.
No good or bad luck just did or didn't.

Needless to say i don't gamble, 33 years old and never so much as bought a lottery ticket.
I did run a gambling pool in high school thou got me in a lot of trouble ):

its what we call luck- luck isnt a superstition- if you hit a high odds draw you got lucky. thats it nothing more to it. Its just language.. However i do like you ,hate using the term luck in sports. Its for weak peops that cant deal with losing!

Agreed nothing worse than blaming bad luck on anything that doesn't go your way in life as well as results on a sports field. Still no such thing as luck even in wining prize money.

i suppose, but still a term used when things go your way..I dont like the term unlucky though..

[majesticimperialman]

yeah your right they dont need my luck. Coz my luck is secretly evil luck..

No such thing as luck,
some people confuse a chain of events which then determine an unusual out come as luck.
For e.g. The All Blacks contract the norovirus then spend four days vomiting and diarrhea then have to play an International game of rugby against a solid team, not a flash or world class team but a good steady solid team, the All Backs lose.
Bad Luck? NO. Wrong place wrong time.

viewtothegym

That virus was a 24 hour virus. (That is 1 day ) incase you did not realise, not 4 days.
Secondly the All Blacks pride them selves of winning every game they play.If any of that team that played for the All Blacks was not fully fit, they would not of payed. Pure and simple, they (the All Blacks) believe they could win seeing that they have won 20 games on the trot. So 1 more game will not hurt them will it?

The 6ns will be a test for all countrys, some of them having injured players returning. And some of them trying to carry forward where they left off in the Als. And of course this will also be a challenge for the Lions selection.

Madge in English please, im not fluent in gibberish.

Only in Welsh eh view.

[Guest]

Yep as a word it means what we all know,either things have gone well for you or not very well for you.
But as far as wearing the same socks every time you buy a lottery ticket helping you win is nonsense,
no supernatural power helps you win.
Also if you did believe in the supernatural,you wouldn't get help in winning the lottery because the Bible condemns gambling! but hey that's another whole can of worms.

S i won't wish the English luck but i will say may you struggle.

[Guest]

yeah your right they dont need my luck. Coz my luck is secretly evil luck..

No such thing as luck,
some people confuse a chain of events which then determine an unusual out come as luck.
For e.g. The All Blacks contract the norovirus then spend four days vomiting and diarrhea then have to play an International game of rugby against a solid team, not a flash or world class team but a good steady solid team, the All Backs lose.
Bad Luck? NO. Wrong place wrong time.

viewtothegym

That virus was a 24 hour virus. (That is 1 day ) incase you did not realise, not 4 days.
Secondly the All Blacks pride them selves of winning every game they play.If any of that team that played for the All Blacks was not fully fit, they would not of payed. Pure and simple, they (the All Blacks) believe they could win seeing that they have won 20 games on the trot. So 1 more game will not hurt them will it?

The 6ns will be a test for all countrys, some of them having injured players returning. And some of them trying to carry forward where they left off in the Als. And of course this will also be a challenge for the Lions selection.

Madge in English please, im not fluent in gibberish.

Only in Welsh eh view.

say what?

[mystiroakey]

Yep as a word it means what we all know,either things have gone well for you or not very well for you.
But as far as wearing the same socks every time you buy a lottery ticket helping you win is nonsense,
no supernatural power helps you win.
Also if you did believe in the supernatural,you wouldn't get help in winning the lottery because the Bible condemns gambling! but hey that's another whole can of worms.

S i won't wish the English luck but i will say may you struggle.

Many sportsman are superstitious.. They like to do things a certain way.. tie there shoelaces in a certain way, wear a magnet around there wrist, Dress a certain way etc etc.. But hey why knock it - sometimes the placebo affect works...it can put them in a decent mental place

[Guest]

Yep as a word it means what we all know,either things have gone well for you or not very well for you.
But as far as wearing the same socks every time you buy a lottery ticket helping you win is nonsense,
no supernatural power helps you win.
Also if you did believe in the supernatural,you wouldn't get help in winning the lottery because the Bible condemns gambling! but hey that's another whole can of worms.

S i won't wish the English luck but i will say may you struggle.

Many sportsman are superstitious.. They like to do things a certain way.. tie there shoelaces in a certain way, wear a magnet around there wrist, Dress a certain way etc etc.. But hey why knock it - sometimes the placebo affect works...it can put them in a decent mental place

Yep i know it's crazy the level some sports people go to with superstitions,the American Footballers seem to be the worse i have heard of.

[Breadvan]

yeah your right view when england play its allways about the other team.. Engalnd never ever have a say in anything. We won the RWC because other teams messed up

No,
the 3 key reasons why England won the world cup-
1. Cheated against Samoa by disrupting play with 16 men.
2. Avoiding NZ.
3.The Blatant amount of penalties awarded to England v Wales in the second half, Wales spanking the English in every facet of the game but a word in the tunnel with the ref at half time for Clive took care of that.

Also well done im sure somewhere in the 606 house rules it says any English poster resorting to winning a World Cup line gets a Gold star.

Not forgetting Stephen Jones not being able to hit a barn door with his boot that day.

[Duty281]

yeah your right view when england play its allways about the other team.. Engalnd never ever have a say in anything. We won the RWC because other teams messed up

No,
the 3 key reasons why England won the world cup-
1. Cheated against Samoa by disrupting play with 16 men.
2. Avoiding NZ.
3.The Blatant amount of penalties awarded to England v Wales in the second half, Wales spanking the English in every facet of the game but a word in the tunnel with the ref at half time for Clive took care of that.

Also well done im sure somewhere in the 606 house rules it says any English poster resorting to winning a World Cup line gets a Gold star.

Jealously at its best.

1) 16 men on the field for 2 minutes when England were 13 points up I believe.
2) Not our fault they couldn't beat Australia. Besides, we beat them in Wellington just a few months before.
3) It's always the refs fault if Wales get knocked out. What about the blatant bias in the Final against England?

[Morgannwg]

yeah your right view when england play its allways about the other team.. Engalnd never ever have a say in anything. We won the RWC because other teams messed up

No,
the 3 key reasons why England won the world cup-
1. Cheated against Samoa by disrupting play with 16 men.
2. Avoiding NZ.
3.The Blatant amount of penalties awarded to England v Wales in the second half, Wales spanking the English in every facet of the game but a word in the tunnel with the ref at half time for Clive took care of that.

Also well done im sure somewhere in the 606 house rules it says any English poster resorting to winning a World Cup line gets a Gold star.

Haha very well said View, and you're spot on .

[Taylorman]

The point I was making was regardless of the merits and whys it was still a one off. England went from narrowly losing to sides the ABs never lost to once all year despite both sides having multiple attempts (vs SA for e.g) to thrashing the ABs. Neither Englands nor the ABs form suggested that result was on the cards. It would be one of the clearest one offs for some years if we're at all honest.

But should England lose to anyone but France, the questions and comparisons with the AB match will be inevitable. Based on the AB performance England should sweep the 6N. Based on their year overall, England should go close to winning the title, a GS an unlikely result.

Frankly I'd be disappointed if they well and truly prove the AB match was a one off as it was great to finally see someone take them on at their game and out muscle them across the field. Makes coming up there all the worthwhile.

[emack2]

IF you accept that the All Blacks result was something of a misnomer.Englands results post 6N have`nt been that impressive.A draw in 4 matches versus injury weakened Bok sides and a loss to a similarly weakened Aus .side.Certainly they performed well in most of those but still did`nt win.
Lancaster has named an impressive squad and will keep there feet on the ground.
BUT for the writer of this thread to just rubbish Italy and especially Scotland [my ancestors are outraged]may just come back to haunt them.
New management in Scotland too may just change things,Wales and Ireland at Home are no gimmes .Then FRANCE on current form THAT could be the decider .
2003 is a long time ago 10 years in the wilderness of underachievement with all there resources England shameful.
England have beaten the All Blacks roughly once every decade since the 1970`s twice 2002-3 if you want to nit pick.Three of those wins were under Englands best Coaches success wise Cooke,Rowell,Woodward.THEY did`nt write off any side before a ball was kicked neither will Lancaster on the strength of one win.
SO as an England/Scotland fan AFTER my beloved AB`s wish them well BUT don`t count chickens.

[mystiroakey]

"2003 is a long time ago 10 years in the wilderness of underachievement with all there resources England shameful."

very true.. I wonder why that is macky. Is it because our kids support other teams instead...





PS.. just joshing ya!!

[Taylorman]

Winning the Wcup in one way seems to have been the worst thing that could happen to England rugby. Only now have they had some resemblance of anything like it, other than the odd oz win here and there.

Beating NZ seems to have an odd effect on some sides. They tend to lose their next matches. I realise its probably nothing to do with their gs efforts but the combination of partial complacency and the 'bet you cant do that to us' attitude of the opponent I think plays a part here.

Be interesting to know if in the team chats before the match whether Lancaster uses words like 'if you can beat them you can beat anyone etc etc'...and later on find the opponents are playing that game...

[emack2]

Mysti maybe chopping and changing Coaches did`nt help if you accept that most post Woodward.Had better win stats than him over the period BEFORE they were sacked.That successful coaches take YEARS to develop teams and IF
your an All Black one.You are generous in defeat to the opposing side after the match.THEN make very sure it does`nt happen again if you can help it injuries etc permitting.That losing is something that can`t be tolerated instead of saying oh well we tried our best.THAT is the difference in the mindset of the SH in general and NZ in particular than the NH .Woodward understood that and instilled it in his team or at LEAST the senior players did.

[RubyGuby]

[quote="mystiroakey"]"2003 is a long time ago 10 years in the wilderness of underachievement with all there resources England shameful."

very true.. I wonder why that is macky. Is it because our kids support other teams instead...




No! its because that was the norm before 2003, you've just reverted back to where you were following that blip

[Jimpy]

yeah your right view when england play its allways about the other team.. Engalnd never ever have a say in anything. We won the RWC because other teams messed up

No,
the 3 key reasons why England won the world cup-
1. Cheated against Samoa by disrupting play with 16 men.
2. Avoiding NZ.
3.The Blatant amount of penalties awarded to England v Wales in the second half, Wales spanking the English in every facet of the game but a word in the tunnel with the ref at half time for Clive took care of that.

Also well done im sure somewhere in the 606 house rules it says any English poster resorting to winning a World Cup line gets a Gold star.

Jealously at its best.

1) 16 men on the field for 2 minutes when England were 13 points up I believe.
2) Not our fault they couldn't beat Australia. Besides, we beat them in Wellington just a few months before.
3) It's always the refs fault if Wales get knocked out. What about the blatant bias in the Final against England?

I can't believe you're actually giving this chopper the time of day.

[Duty281]

With only 12 days till the Scotland game, England have been hit by injuries to Johnson, Clark and Burns. Not the best preparation it has to be said.

http://www.espnscrum.com/six-nations-2013/rugby/story/175908.html

[Effervescing Elephant]

Clark and Johnson were never really likely to feature but gutted for Freddie Burns. Hope it's just a knock....

[Peter Seabiscuit Wheeler]

Even with Burns Farrell has answered any question that he would get the starting shirt, and whatever people thought Flood was most likely for the bench.
None of the injuries are that important. Its usually during training that the entire first 15 breaks their legs.

[RubyGuby]

Tuilangi is also out






























on his sledge this morning

[mystiroakey]

naughty ruby!!

[Effervescing Elephant]

Tuilangi is also out






























on his sledge this morning

You complete sh@t! I nearly had a blydi moment there!!!!

[Luckless Pedestrian]

I thought he'd done a Gareth Thomas.

[mystiroakey]

poor old garteth thomas-- loads of reality shows, BB, gay come out programs etc etc,dancing on frozen ponds, And still didnt get enough public support in the pond dancing to be saved

[gregortree]

Burns is just a knee lig tweak. They hauled him off at 12 minutes to make sure it became no worse. Every chance he will recover quickly.
And now with Sarries, Quins, and Leicester squads also on fire in the HC. Youngs Bros, Care, Fllod, Farrell, then Splashton scoring a brace despite the big freeze, England players are looking in good shape just ahead of the 6n.

[Scarpia]

I thought I'd gone to a rugby message board but I seem to have dropped in on an episode of "Quote ,,,,,, Unquote"

[gregortree]

Where can I buy the England GS Tshirt ? Is it on sale yet ?

[Sponsored content]