England side for Saturday - According to the Telegraph

by Toadfish Wed Feb 20, 2013 7:52 pm

First topic message reminder :

Interesting few changes according to the Telegraph and they are usually pretty accurate with their predictions. Always seen Lawes more as a six but an interesting time to do it. Thought putting an 8 in and moving Wood to 6 would have been the more obvious option. Injury to Billy V probably put paid to that but doesn't show a lot of faith in Waldrom.

Twelvetrees as the only cover for the back 4 also concerns me a bit. If he was that desperate to have him on the bench it probably should have been at the expense of a specialist 10.

Interesting.

England (probable): Goode, Ashton, Tuilagi, Barritt, Brown; Farrell, B Youngs; Marler, Hartley, Cole, Parling, Launchbury, Lawes, Robshaw, Wood. Replacements: T Youngs, M Vunipola, Wilson, Haskell, Waldrom, Care, Flood, Twelvetrees.

by yappysnap Thu Feb 21, 2013 7:47 am

I've been saying for a while now that Lawes would be a better 6 then lock for us and give us a very different skill set in the backrow.

Worth noting that he also made the joint most turnovers of the weekend against Ireland (3) so he may be more than capable of covering Woods and his roles. I hope he proves me right. His tackling will be key against Picamoles coming off the base of the scrums.

by Taylorman Thu Feb 21, 2013 8:33 am

nobbled wrote:
GeordieFalcon wrote:Tuilagi also set up Ashtons try with the bruising run...and perfectly timed pass ...throwing a slight dummy/delay during execution...

It might be harsh on Barritt...who i am actually a fan of...but i'd like to see 12 Telvetrees
13 Tuilagi
at some stage this 6n.

With 36 there i dont believe we actually lose that much defensively..infact isnt he the leading centre in regards to turnovers etc. Or hes certainly up there...but he just potentially adds another dimension to Englands attack...something i dont believe Barritt (who has shown some improvement in recent weeks ) can offer.

+1

Completely agree. I reckon Twelvetrees and Tuilagi should be the test centre pairing against Oz for the Lions. The amount of creativity between the two would be huge if given the freedom to exercise. 36 (No idea why hes called that) has a balance to him that not many others have- and both are ultra positive- and size to boot.

by nathan Thu Feb 21, 2013 8:35 am

Taylorman wrote:
nobbled wrote:
GeordieFalcon wrote:Tuilagi also set up Ashtons try with the bruising run...and perfectly timed pass ...throwing a slight dummy/delay during execution...

It might be harsh on Barritt...who i am actually a fan of...but i'd like to see 12 Telvetrees
13 Tuilagi
at some stage this 6n.

With 36 there i dont believe we actually lose that much defensively..infact isnt he the leading centre in regards to turnovers etc. Or hes certainly up there...but he just potentially adds another dimension to Englands attack...something i dont believe Barritt (who has shown some improvement in recent weeks ) can offer.

+1

Completely agree. I reckon Twelvetrees and Tuilagi should be the test centre pairing against Oz for the Lions. The amount of creativity between the two would be huge if given the freedom to exercise. 36 (No idea why hes called that) has a balance to him that not many others have- and both are ultra positive- and size to boot.

Say his name in an Irish accent. Twelvethrees

by gregortree Thu Feb 21, 2013 8:36 am

12 trees = tirty six

by kiakahaaotearoa Thu Feb 21, 2013 5:09 pm

by Jimpy Thu Feb 21, 2013 7:17 pm

Taylorman wrote:
nobbled wrote:
GeordieFalcon wrote:Tuilagi also set up Ashtons try with the bruising run...and perfectly timed pass ...throwing a slight dummy/delay during execution...

It might be harsh on Barritt...who i am actually a fan of...but i'd like to see 12 Telvetrees
13 Tuilagi
at some stage this 6n.

With 36 there i dont believe we actually lose that much defensively..infact isnt he the leading centre in regards to turnovers etc. Or hes certainly up there...but he just potentially adds another dimension to Englands attack...something i dont believe Barritt (who has shown some improvement in recent weeks ) can offer.

+1

Completely agree. I reckon Twelvetrees and Tuilagi should be the test centre pairing against Oz for the Lions. The amount of creativity between the two would be huge if given the freedom to exercise. 36 (No idea why hes called that) has a balance to him that not many others have- and both are ultra positive- and size to boot.

Its because Geordan murphy, the Tigers Captain, is from the Republic of ireland. When he used to say Billy's name, Twelvetrees sounded like 'Twelve Threes' - or '36' if you prefer.

by Geordie Thu Feb 21, 2013 7:41 pm

But suggesting them for the LIons centres is a little too early Taylorman.

Tuilagi will go to OZ i would imagine...Barritt is a difficult one...he might...he might not.
Either way this should leave the way open for 36 to go to Argentina and start both games...and continue his international learning...

by wales606 Thu Feb 21, 2013 8:05 pm

I would be slightly concerned if I was an England fan.

It's all change...

France: 15 Yoann Huget, 14 Vincent Clerc, 13 Mathieu Bastareaud, 12 Wesley Fofana, 11 Benjamin Fall, 10 Francois Trinh-Duc, 9 Morgan Parra, 8 Louis Picamoles, 7 Thierry Dusautoir, 6 Yannick Nyanga, 5 Yoann Maestri, 4 Christophe Samson, 3 Nicolas Mas, 2 Benjamin Kayser, 1 Thomas Domingo
Replacements: 16 Dimitri Szarzewski, 17 Vincent Debaty, 18 Luc Ducalcon, 19 Jocelino Suta, 20 Antoine Claassen, 21 Maxime Machenaud, 22 Frederic Michalak, 23 Florian Fritz.

by AlastairW Thu Feb 21, 2013 8:15 pm

wales606 wrote:I would be slightly concerned if I was an England fan.

I'm always slightly concerned before any match ... sometimes i'm very concerned. In the Ireland match i thought i was going to have a heart attack for 80 minutes, and that's when i could bring myself to peak over the sofa.

Weather says it won't rain, so it might not be such an arm wrestle, but i'm more than slightly concerned! Wink

by **Ozzy3213** Thu Feb 21, 2013 8:20 pm

That French side is a 100% improvement on what they have sent out so far. This will be a very tough game for us indeed.

Bring it on.

by Triangulation Thu Feb 21, 2013 8:41 pm

AlastairW wrote:
wales606 wrote:I would be slightly concerned if I was an England fan.

I'm always slightly concerned before any match ... sometimes i'm very concerned. In the Ireland match i thought i was going to have a heart attack for 80 minutes, and that's when i could bring myself to peak over the sofa.

Weather says it won't rain, so it might not be such an arm wrestle, but i'm more than slightly concerned!

I'm in the same boat. What the hell are we supposed to do to cope with this?

Might have to go for a couple of runs or something. It's horrendous supporting England. There is a healty does of masochism to the endeavour.

by EnglishReign Thu Feb 21, 2013 8:52 pm

Awesome French team, you'd think anyway.

by beshocked Thu Feb 21, 2013 8:55 pm

wales606 wrote:I would be slightly concerned if I was an England fan.

It's all change...

France: 15 Yoann Huget, 14 Vincent Clerc, 13 Mathieu Bastareaud, 12 Wesley Fofana, 11 Benjamin Fall, 10 Francois Trinh-Duc, 9 Morgan Parra, 8 Louis Picamoles, 7 Thierry Dusautoir, 6 Yannick Nyanga, 5 Yoann Maestri, 4 Christophe Samson, 3 Nicolas Mas, 2 Benjamin Kayser, 1 Thomas Domingo
Replacements: 16 Dimitri Szarzewski, 17 Vincent Debaty, 18 Luc Ducalcon, 19 Jocelino Suta, 20 Antoine Claassen, 21 Maxime Machenaud, 22 Frederic Michalak, 23 Florian Fritz.

Trust the French to pick a proper side for the England game.

by gregortree Thu Feb 21, 2013 8:56 pm

Makes you wonder what France coffee

were doing in the first 2 tests as this is an awesome side. England have to win the backrow / breakdown battle against this very talented French back row. And bottle up that pair of dangerous centres... for which we will select our own sturdy defensive pair. Pin the French play in the middle away from the French wingers.Win the front row battle in the first 1/4 and I think England will do it.
I always felt more nervous about Ireland as they have been England's past nemesis on too many occasions. By contrast England have seemed to have the measure of France in the 6N for several years now.
This French side has serious talent, so always feel a bit nervous against players like these.

by Geordie Thu Feb 21, 2013 9:04 pm

Thats a strong french side...with players in their right positions and a proper FH...

Well we said this current England side will still have ups and downs..if they win this game...it will be impressive...if they lose, they will take it on the chin as they have other loses and learn from it...

Hopefully it'll be a cracker.

by Jimpy Thu Feb 21, 2013 9:05 pm

France have sent quality sides against us before, home and away. England have won both home and away.

by Bathman_in_London Thu Feb 21, 2013 9:19 pm

beshocked wrote:
wales606 wrote:I would be slightly concerned if I was an England fan.

It's all change...

France: 15 Yoann Huget, 14 Vincent Clerc, 13 Mathieu Bastareaud, 12 Wesley Fofana, 11 Benjamin Fall, 10 Francois Trinh-Duc, 9 Morgan Parra, 8 Louis Picamoles, 7 Thierry Dusautoir, 6 Yannick Nyanga, 5 Yoann Maestri, 4 Christophe Samson, 3 Nicolas Mas, 2 Benjamin Kayser, 1 Thomas Domingo
Replacements: 16 Dimitri Szarzewski, 17 Vincent Debaty, 18 Luc Ducalcon, 19 Jocelino Suta, 20 Antoine Claassen, 21 Maxime Machenaud, 22 Frederic Michalak, 23 Florian Fritz.

Trust the French to pick a proper side for the England game.

I know, typical! It wouldnt be too much of an exaggeration to say that if that team had started the first 2 games, the French could easily be 2 from 2.

Lawes is going to need to be at his best to counter that backrow. We need a big first 15 mins or so, get our heads in front and then hopefully the tradtional french low morale collapse occurs. I'm pretty worried...

by Geordie Thu Feb 21, 2013 9:28 pm

Dont forget though guys...we've been very strong in all departments...

We have a very physical aspect to OUR team aswell that im sure the French will be a little nervous about.

IF this is the side...then thats a monstrous pack we are putting out...that is both aggressive at the breakdwon..AND mobile with ball in hand...

Our midfield is rock solid defensively aswell....and Farrell has been looking quietly impressive pulling the strings at 10.

Not sure why all the gloom and doom.

by bluestonevedder Thu Feb 21, 2013 9:30 pm

For some reason, Lawes is 6 is worrying me and I'm not sure why.

I'm just praying that he can make it through the full game with no injuries.

by Jimpy Thu Feb 21, 2013 9:31 pm

I'm pretty sure Number 6 is Lawes's preferred position.

by whocares Thu Feb 21, 2013 9:34 pm

doubt this team would have done much better againts italy - the form and lack of interest on the field had more to do than the actual names. Although Michalak was particularly useless, Trinh Duc is no dan carter and I am not sure he would have easily found gaps within a very good welsh defense. the only real improvement is Fofana instead of Mermoz but now he has a lot of pressure to perform after moaning for the last 2 weeks...
as for the other players let's see but I dont think its much better than the teams who got beaten by england the last 2 years.
bottom line : dont get too much excited and no need to over-hype us Wink

by bluestonevedder Thu Feb 21, 2013 9:41 pm

Jimpy wrote:I'm pretty sure Number 6 is Lawes's preferred position.

I know he used to play there a lot for Saints, but he's mostly turning out at lock now-probably at SL's request.

He's actually quite lightweight too, and I'd rather have someone like Haskell there to carry the hard yards. I'm just hoping that Lawes has:

a) learnt how to tackle better
b) improved his ball carrying strength, so as not to be stripped by a centre again

by Poorfour Thu Feb 21, 2013 9:42 pm

It's a strong French team, but it's no more daunting than the ABs. Were in December.

Threats:
The backline is very dangerous, the back row is top notch.
There is quality all over the pitch
They are French and therefore capable of producing a sublime performance at any moment.

Opportunities:
They haven't played together in this formation in the 6N.
The lineout combination is untried
The bench is a bit of a mixed bag
They are French and therefore capable of falling apart at any moment.

England strengths:
A settled squad in most positions
A very strong bench
They play their own gameplan, not the opposition's
Defensively strong
England will be fitter in the last 20 minutes, which could be decisive.

England weaknesses:
Probably the toughest pack they've yet faced
Not sure about how Lawes will go for 80 minutes
Not packing a full-time No 8
Last year a very similar England squad won by living off scraps. That may not be enough this year.

All of which said, if England come out with the intensity they've shown in 220 out of their last 240 minutes of rugby, I think even France will find them hard to live with.

by beshocked Thu Feb 21, 2013 9:42 pm

I do think yet again England do have the better bench.

The likes of Hartley and Lawes made good impacts vs Ireland and have been promoted as a result.

With Care and M.Vunipola showing storming form it does bode well.

It's incredible when realising how many caps Care has and Flood too.

by gregortree Thu Feb 21, 2013 9:44 pm

Whocares,
Nice to get your comments.

There are very few French posters on this mainly 'Anglo' language board.
(Although a few posters seem to struggle with the written English language)
So it is good to hear from you.

by beshocked Thu Feb 21, 2013 9:47 pm

Poorfour nice SWOT analysis. thumbsup

by Bathman_in_London Thu Feb 21, 2013 9:53 pm

I think the return to cold grey weather is making me a little gloomy geordie...

My concerns (apart from the fact that France are playing a proper team of course) are specifically in the front row, in the second half in Dublin we got pinged quite a bit, and that Frence front row is only here to scrummage. Big test for Marler.

The other concern is the backrow. Games aren't played on paper, but that French backrow looks very nicely balanced whereas ours doesnt. Ours looks solid defensively and they will tackle all day but where is the go forward? Morgan would have been a nice foil to Picamoles if fit, but as it is, in mind, only Tuilagi offers us real tackle breaking go forward.

by Geordie Thu Feb 21, 2013 9:59 pm

Last year a very similar England squad won by living off scraps. That may not be enough this year.

Alternatively that could be a Strength...a very new, raw team beat the french...the same team (with a couple of changes that actually strengthens it) is now however many caps stronger...and have just beat a massively experienced Ireland team in Ireland for the first time in however many years...so hopefully we wont be getting scraps.

by gregortree Thu Feb 21, 2013 10:04 pm

ITS OFFICIAL
England: 15. Alex Goode (Saracens, 8 caps); 14. Chris Ashton (Saracens, 31 caps), 13. Manusamoa Tuilagi (Leicester Tigers, 18 caps), 12. Brad Barritt (Saracens, 13 caps), 11. Mike Brown (Harlequins, 13 caps); 10. Owen Farrell (Saracens, 14 caps), 9. Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers, 30 caps); 1. Joe Marler (Harlequins, 7 caps), 2. Dylan Hartley (Northampton Saints, 44 caps), 3. Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers, 37 caps), 4. Joe Launchbury (London Wasps, 6 caps), 5. Geoff Parling (Leicester Tigers, 14 caps), 6. Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints, 17 caps), 7. Chris Robshaw (Harlequins, capt, 14 caps), 8. Tom Wood (Northampton Saints, 15 caps).

Replacements: 16. Tom Youngs (Leicester Tigers, 6 caps), 17. David Wilson (Bath Rugby, 24 caps), 18. Mako Vunipola (Saracens, 6 caps), 19. James Haskell (London Wasps, 47 caps), 20. Thomas Waldrom (Leicester Tigers, 5 caps), 21. Danny Care (Harlequins, 38 caps), 22. Toby Flood (Leicester Tigers, 54 caps), 23. Billy Twelvetrees (Gloucester, 2 caps).

6&8 feel a bit 'light', on first look.
But we have Waldrom and Haskell on the bench to add ballast and vigour respectively, at the appropriate moment.

by doctor_grey Thu Feb 21, 2013 10:06 pm

Lawes is an extremely powerful runner. When he gets the ball, he almost always makes good forward progress. Can break tackles, too.

His problem in the past was he was so strong and confident running, he would sometimes lose the ball in contact. We saw this to our chagrin against Wales last year in the Six Nations. Turned the match. He has been working on that this year at Saints. I still think he runs too vertical in contact, which exposes the ball too much. But much better than last year. I have to believe Lancaster would not pick him and put him in such a critical position unless he was convinced this has been mostly corrected.

by Barney McGrew did it Thu Feb 21, 2013 10:09 pm

Reasons to be nervous, part 3. We have a FB on the wing, a lock at B/S, a B/S at no 8, and a centre at hooker (on the bench). Not to mention Cole suffering PTSD. Plus no Morgan or Vunipola, and Haskell with brand-flu. Looks like Wood is now our 3rd/4th choice no 8 ahead of Waldrom who drops to 5th from 1st just 5 games ago.

Still 10 points better than dopey France (first 2 games) and 5 points better than classy France (this weekend) though.

by 100%beefy Thu Feb 21, 2013 10:10 pm

bluestonevedder wrote:
Jimpy wrote:I'm pretty sure Number 6 is Lawes's preferred position.

I know he used to play there a lot for Saints, but he's mostly turning out at lock now-probably at SL's request.

He's actually quite lightweight too, and I'd rather have someone like Haskell there to carry the hard yards. I'm just hoping that Lawes has:

a) learnt how to tackle better
b) improved his ball carrying strength, so as not to be stripped by a centre again

? The guy is 18 stone 8 and signficantly heavier than Haskell

by bluestonevedder Thu Feb 21, 2013 10:12 pm

doctor_grey wrote:Lawes is an extremely powerful runner. When he gets the ball, he almost always makes good forward progress. Can break tackles, too.

His problem in the past was he was so strong and confident running, he would sometimes lose the ball in contact. We saw this to our chagrin against Wales last year in the Six Nations. Turned the match. He has been working on that this year at Saints. I still think he runs too vertical in contact, which exposes the ball too much. But much better than last year. I have to believe Lancaster would not pick him and put him in such a critical position unless he was convinced this has been mostly corrected.

Hope you're right Dr Grey.

Good point regarding his body positioning going into contact. Same with Robshaw. THey both go in very upright, rather than reducing their head-on size and making themselves harder to tackle.

by Jimpy Thu Feb 21, 2013 10:17 pm

Barney McGrew did it wrote:Reasons to be nervous, part 3. We have a FB on the wing, a lock at B/S, a B/S at no 8, and a centre at hooker (on the bench). Not to mention Cole suffering PTSD. Plus no Morgan or Vunipola, and Haskell with brand-flu. Looks like Wood is now our 3rd/4th choice no 8 ahead of Waldrom who drops to 5th from 1st just 5 games ago.

Still 10 points better than dopey France (first 2 games) and 5 points better than classy France (this weekend) though.

A bit tenuous to suggest Youngs preferred position is at centre, he hasn't played there for ages.

by george doors Thu Feb 21, 2013 10:18 pm

Why oh why no Danny Care to start, by far the best number 9 Eng have!

by beshocked Thu Feb 21, 2013 10:21 pm

Ben Youngs is currently in good form. He has to stay as starting no 9. He's also improved parts of his game like the box kick which are important when you pair him with a fly half like Farrell. B.Youngs is adapting his game.

by 100%beefy Thu Feb 21, 2013 10:23 pm

I think Care is the more exciting player, but SL has made his choice and having someone like Care as impact when legs start getting tired is a great asset.

by nobbled Thu Feb 21, 2013 10:27 pm

george doors wrote:Why oh why no Danny Care to start, by far the best number 9 Eng have!

Youngs has played well - and if we need to shake things up Care can come on and annoy the French with his sniping around the fringes.

Youngs didn't do much wrong last game, and deserves to keep the shirt for now.

Two great 9's - glad they are competing for the shirt!

by Luckless Pedestrian Thu Feb 21, 2013 10:29 pm

Craig Joubert's the referee for this one. Is that likely to be significant?

by bluestonevedder Thu Feb 21, 2013 10:32 pm

100%beefy wrote:
bluestonevedder wrote:
Jimpy wrote:I'm pretty sure Number 6 is Lawes's preferred position.

I know he used to play there a lot for Saints, but he's mostly turning out at lock now-probably at SL's request.

He's actually quite lightweight too, and I'd rather have someone like Haskell there to carry the hard yards. I'm just hoping that Lawes has:

a) learnt how to tackle better
b) improved his ball carrying strength, so as not to be stripped by a centre again

? The guy is 18 stone 8 and signficantly heavier than Haskell

Beefy, Lawes is also 6'7-6'8. Haskell is 6'4, and much denser because of that. It is possible to be light comparable to your height!

by bluestonevedder Thu Feb 21, 2013 10:33 pm

nobbled wrote:
george doors wrote:Why oh why no Danny Care to start, by far the best number 9 Eng have!

Youngs has played well - and if we need to shake things up Care can come on and annoy the French with his sniping around the fringes.

Youngs didn't do much wrong last game, and deserves to keep the shirt for now.

Two great 9's - glad they are competing for the shirt!

Care is the sort of player that opposition will detest coming off the bench. He's an awesome player, and at the moment, we seem to be quite spoilt with them both playing so well. Let's not forgot, players like Simpson aren't even getting a look in at the moment!

by doctor_grey Thu Feb 21, 2013 10:38 pm

Launchbury, Parling, Lawes, Robshaw, Wood. All lineout options.

by gregortree Thu Feb 21, 2013 10:41 pm

Dr Grey, good point, and esp re Lawes.

by 100%beefy Thu Feb 21, 2013 10:47 pm

bluestonevedder wrote:
nobbled wrote:
george doors wrote:Why oh why no Danny Care to start, by far the best number 9 Eng have!

Youngs has played well - and if we need to shake things up Care can come on and annoy the French with his sniping around the fringes.

Youngs didn't do much wrong last game, and deserves to keep the shirt for now.

Two great 9's - glad they are competing for the shirt!

Care is the sort of player that opposition will detest coming off the bench. He's an awesome player, and at the moment, we seem to be quite spoilt with them both playing so well. Let's not forgot, players like Simpson aren't even getting a look in at the moment!

by gregortree Thu Feb 21, 2013 10:51 pm

100%beefy wrote:
bluestonevedder wrote:
nobbled wrote:
george doors wrote:Why oh why no Danny Care to start, by far the best number 9 Eng have!

Youngs has played well - and if we need to shake things up Care can come on and annoy the French with his sniping around the fringes.

Youngs didn't do much wrong last game, and deserves to keep the shirt for now.

Two great 9's - glad they are competing for the shirt!

Care is the sort of player that opposition will detest coming off the bench. He's an awesome player, and at the moment, we seem to be quite spoilt with them both playing so well. Let's not forgot, players like Simpson aren't even getting a look in at the moment!

? the guy is HEAVIER and therefore by definition cannot be regarded as a LIGHTWEIGHT by comparison with someone who is LIGHTER

And anyway even using your premise Lawes is denser
height divided by weight Lawes 3.29 (18.8, 6ft 7)
height divided by weight Haskell 3.22 (17.7, 6ft 4)

Beefy, its a mirage, I made the same assumption, but thanks for the stats.

by damage_13 Thu Feb 21, 2013 10:52 pm

Lawes problem is that more leg = more tackle area, these tall blokes need to get those legs pumping IN the tackle and draw more defenders in, there's a chance he could gain more yards and break the tackle.

A huge hand-off wouldn't go amiss, but methinks he is there for the lineout option, being tall in the breakdown is a liability.

by Geordie Thu Feb 21, 2013 10:54 pm

We have five genuine lineout options in that back 5... Erm

...hence why hartley has been brought back.

I think i can see a gameplan here Wink

by lostinwales Thu Feb 21, 2013 10:55 pm

I was watching a couple of Lawes tackles on youtube. Lets just hope the French half backs have been watching them too Erm

by 100%beefy Thu Feb 21, 2013 10:56 pm

bluestonevedder wrote:
100%beefy wrote:
bluestonevedder wrote:
Jimpy wrote:I'm pretty sure Number 6 is Lawes's preferred position.

I know he used to play there a lot for Saints, but he's mostly turning out at lock now-probably at SL's request.

He's actually quite lightweight too, and I'd rather have someone like Haskell there to carry the hard yards. I'm just hoping that Lawes has:

a) learnt how to tackle better
b) improved his ball carrying strength, so as not to be stripped by a centre again

? The guy is 18 stone 8 and signficantly heavier than Haskell

Beefy, Lawes is also 6'7-6'8. Haskell is 6'4, and much denser because of that. It is possible to be light comparable to your height!

? the guy is HEAVIER and therefore by definition cannot be regarded as a LIGHTWEIGHT by comparison with someone who is LIGHTER

And anyway even using your premise Lawes is denser thumbsup

height divided by weight Lawes 3.29 (18.8, 6ft 7)
height divided by weight Haskell 3.22 (17.7, 6ft 4)

by nobbled Thu Feb 21, 2013 11:01 pm

Lawes tackling is immense, but he has all the self-preservation of Jonny Wilkinson. Think we should be discussing who will go to 6 when rather than if he gets injured - I'd say Wood moves to 6 then roll on Waldrum to have a 6 playing at 6 - rather than Haskell at 6.

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