606 Aviva Premiership Dream Team - Scrum Half

Well it looks like we have a pack, barring late shifts in voting:
MakoV, Youngs, Cole, Borthwick, Manoa, Kalamafoni, Salvi, Easter

So now we move to the backs, starting with the (one horse?) race to the scrum half spot:

Saracens are unable to decide who their number 1 scrum half is – with Wigglesworth and de Kock each starting half the regular season matches. I am not willing to list both, so sorry Sarries fans but neither makes the poll.
Early season injury, followed by England duties means Ben Youngs featured in less than half the matches so does not qualify.

Danny Care 14 starts (2 rep), 8 tries, 1dg
Danny Care put last seasons issues firmly behind him. Good form and injury to youngs allowed him to start for England again in the 3rd test in SA. This form continued into the 2012/13 AP season and saw him sparking Quins while his England rival was recuperating from shoulder injury. Was unlucky that Stuart Lancaster’s pre-arranged plan, to give him and Youngs 2 matches each in the AIs, meant he missed the win over NZ. While he will have been dismayed at his performance against Italy in his only 6Ns start, he always offered a threat from the bench and has been simply stunning in the premiership. His performance against Tigers at the Stoop was the best individual performance I have seen in any match this season. He simply refused to accept defeat and with Nick Evans misfiring dragged his team to victory. The YC he got at WR in the play-off semi deprived Quins ofd their attacking focus and without him they looked rather toothless. Danny Care has to win this poll.

Lee Dickson 19 starts (1 rep) 3 tries
Dickson is the heartbeat of the Northampton team, driving the pack on and providing quick ball to his backs. Does not offer the running threat of Care or Youngs, he is however an excellent link man.

Dan Robson 15 starts (7 rep) 1 try
Injury to former AB (and big money signing) gave Robson more game time than he would have expected. He has looked a much better player than he did in last summers JWC, with that eye for a break still there but allied to a much improved service. The signing of Tavis Knoyle to add to Gloucester’s scrum half contingent could see his appearances drop drastically next season. This would be a shame.

Haydn Thomas 17 starts (3 rep) 3 tries
The 34 year old veteran, and winner of this poll last year, is Mr Reliable. Consistently good performances, he is also mentoring his probable replacement Chudley. A bit of a latecomer to professional rugby he well deserves the belated plaudits and recognition.

Michael Claassens 16 starts (4 rep) 3 tries
Not as influential as he has been in other seasons, will still be missed at the (w)Rec.

Joe Simpson 20starts (2 rep) 2 tries.
Still only 24, even if he looks middle-aged. Has dropped down the England pecking order since his solitary cap in RWC11, though unbelievable that Lancaster has called up Karl Dickson to training camps ahead of him. Decent season with some flashes of what he can do. At times though it looked really scruffy between him and BillyV at the back of scrums, perpetuating the possibly unfair stereotype that Simpson’s scrum half skill base is not solid enough. Young enough and good enough to pressure Care and Youngs.

Injury to Tomas O’Learey saw SH duties shared equally between him, Allinson and Phibbs at LI.

Dwayne Peel 13 starts (2 rep) 2 tries
Still a mighty fine Scrum half, but starting to show his age.

Worcester and London Welsh have no conteneders, though of course Tyson Keats was influential for the wrong reasons.

Well I nailed my colours to the mast - Danny Care.

LT, surely as the Speaker of the House you should remain impartial??

In fairness it could only be Care for this one. He has had an excellent season and has really put his troubles behind him. It is a shame and a conundrum that he cannot transfer that form to the international stage. Is that down to the game plan or his inability to play a different style? Probably a bit of both, but with the strong bias in the former camp.

Haydn Thomas should be the 2nd choice, or on the bench if LT can be bothered to go that far! He is such a niggly, gritty little tyke! A great player who is at the centre of the Chiefs game. He deserves a lot more recognition than he gets.

On Dan Robson, he's had a great year and whilst Tavis Knoyle will provide extra competition I believe he will rise to this. He has a very promising future ahead of him.

Care for me, great form all season, very unlucky to miss out on the Lions in my opinion. Honourable mention to Lee Dickson, a massively under rated scrummie and really the heartbeat of the Saints. When he plays well, they often do

Care has been one of the few shining lights for Quins this season. Absolutely outstanding player and although he's suffered in England colours with Lancasters enforced rotation and bench warming policy he's always shown his class at club level.

I can not wait for next season and to see the Easter/Care/Botica combo get used more often and hopefully Care partnering a refreshed Nev as well.

Also i've had the pleasure of meeting him a handful of times and he's a top guy, really friendly and happy to make time to chat (when he isn't late for a train anyway!).

Bathite wrote:Care for me, great form all season, very unlucky to miss out on the Lions in my opinion. Honourable mention to Lee Dickson, a massively under rated scrummie and really the heartbeat of the Saints. When he plays well, they often do

Lee Dickson has been quality for Saints especially against Sarries where he looked possessed, on the down side he's also been very poor at times and made their average 10's life almost impossible.

Would of gone for B. Youngs had he qualified so my close second choice is Care although his form dropped slightly towards the end of the season.

Hmm tough... I really like Hayden Thomas but has he been as good/got as much game time as last year? I'm not sure he has so I will have to go for Care who for me has looked a lot stronger in the league than Youngs, despite Youngs' being first choice for England.

OK, whoever spoilt the voting pattern put your hand up now.

nathan wrote:Would of gone for B. Youngs had he qualified so my close second choice is Care although his form dropped slightly towards the end of the season.

Yes but it only dropped from out-standing to still the best 9 in the league. No matter how one eyed you are you can not say that Youngs has been the best 9 in the AP this season, he's been good in the last few games but before that was a passenger as the Tigers juggernaught rolled over opposition teams.

I would not say he had been a passenger Yappy, but certainly not as important to tigers as Care is to Quins.

Care deserves the spot. Been great in the AP, shame he can't show that form for England but that's for another discussion.

LondonTiger wrote:I would not say he had been a passenger Yappy, but certainly not as important to tigers as Care is to Quins.

Yea I guess you're right, I'm just surprised at how one eyed some fans can be. This def hasn't been a great season for Youngs at club level, he has been very good for England but its only been since perhaps March that he's looked confident playing at Tigers.

nathan wrote:Would of gone for B. Youngs had he qualified so my close second choice is Care although his form dropped slightly towards the end of the season.

At the very end of the season, yellow card in SF aside, what on earth was wrong with his form? He had 4 excellent matches in a row, only the match against Sarries was in any way mediocre

yappysnap wrote:

LondonTiger wrote:I would not say he had been a passenger Yappy, but certainly not as important to tigers as Care is to Quins.

Yea I guess you're right, I'm just surprised at how one eyed some fans can be. This def hasn't been a great season for Youngs at club level, he has been very good for England but its only been since perhaps March that he's looked confident playing at Tigers.

Agree 100% with that.

Youngs has actually been good for England this season but in terms of AP form Care has definitely been the best scrum half.

Chequeredjersey I think mediocre against Saracens is putting it very nicely but I agree that Care deserves the plaudits in the AP.

(Obviously I voted for Danny Care, and I really hope England can eventually work out how to get the best out of him one day)

yappysnap wrote:

LondonTiger wrote:I would not say he had been a passenger Yappy, but certainly not as important to tigers as Care is to Quins.

Yea I guess you're right, I'm just surprised at how one eyed some fans can be. This def hasn't been a great season for Youngs at club level, he has been very good for England but its only been since perhaps March that he's looked confident playing at Tigers.

Half his premiership matches have come since the 6Ns finished. Just checking we have won 9/10 premiership matches that he played - he does make a difference. Care has been exceptional, but I do feel people underplay Youngs form this season.

beshocked wrote:

yappysnap wrote:

LondonTiger wrote:I would not say he had been a passenger Yappy, but certainly not as important to tigers as Care is to Quins.

Yea I guess you're right, I'm just surprised at how one eyed some fans can be. This def hasn't been a great season for Youngs at club level, he has been very good for England but its only been since perhaps March that he's looked confident playing at Tigers.

Agree 100% with that.

Youngs has actually been good for England this season but in terms of AP form Care has definitely been the best scrum half.

Chequeredjersey I think mediocre against Saracens is putting it very nicely but I agree that Care deserves the plaudits in the AP.

Yeah, but as we all know when your pack gets murdered the way ours did against Sarries and the HBs get targeted the way Sarries (very intelligently) do against us, the Scrum Half is always going to struggle. 1 bad game in half a dozen at the end of the season does not a run of poor form make, which was my point

LondonTiger wrote:

yappysnap wrote:

LondonTiger wrote:I would not say he had been a passenger Yappy, but certainly not as important to tigers as Care is to Quins.

Yea I guess you're right, I'm just surprised at how one eyed some fans can be. This def hasn't been a great season for Youngs at club level, he has been very good for England but its only been since perhaps March that he's looked confident playing at Tigers.

Half his premiership matches have come since the 6Ns finished. Just checking we have won 9/10 premiership matches that he played - he does make a difference. Care has been exceptional, but I do feel people underplay Youngs form this season.

They are both excellent players and should be 1st and 2nd choice for England for the next 3 years easily

ChequeredJersey wrote:(Obviously I voted for Danny Care, and I really hope England can eventually work out how to get the best out of him one day)

He has only had the one run in the team and by the time he was dropped in Australia in 2010, most people were relieved I think. Unfortunately Lancaster's disciplinary action last season cost him the chance to replace Youngs in that 6Ns. Who knows what might have happened if he had started against France and Ireland and thus gone to SA as first choice rather than on the naughty step. I think it is crazy that he has not been taken to South America.

Agreed CJ. I feel they are pushing each other to improve and then setting the standard that othe SHs have to reach.

Very odd that he isn't on the plane to SA, part of me thinks that perhaps Gatland has asked for him to be ready at a moments notice for a special flight to Oz... The other part thinks that Lancaster is slightly hit and miss with his selections (to put it kindly).

Apparently he "needs resting"

ChequeredJersey wrote:Apparently he "needs resting"

Just keep him away from the "resting" Danny Cipriani please.

LondonTiger wrote:

ChequeredJersey wrote:Apparently he "needs resting"

Just keep him away from the "resting" Danny Cipriani please.

Cipriani should just be locked in a see-through plastic room with Maurie Fa'asalavu and told he can't leave until he manages to put him on the ground. That would either keep him out of trouble for eternity or rid him of his fear of tackling

Is Mo teetotal? If so yes he could be a good training partner for Cips.

LondonTiger wrote:Is Mo teetotal? If so yes he could be a good training partner for Cips.

Danny Care's teetotal!

ChequeredJersey wrote:

LondonTiger wrote:Is Mo teetotal? If so yes he could be a good training partner for Cips.

Danny Care's teetotal!

He is on the wagon? Good for him. No way we should let him anywhere near Cipriani then. Hot beach, Kelly Brook holding an ice cold beer, could tempt any man.