Lions Watch: Six Nations Report

First topic message reminder :

Well we're nearly done with the Six Nations so if the Lions goes ahead who do you like the look of and who do you think will be touring?

LordDowlais wrote:

R!skysports wrote:Try assists?
TRY ASSISTS
France Antoine Dupont 4
Scotland Ali Price 3
Scotland Stuart Hogg 2
England Dan Robson 2
Wales Josh Navidi 2

This cannot be right, surely ?

I am sure LRZ assisted a few tries. Liam Williams against Scotland and Faletau against Italy are two that spring to mind.

https://www.sixnationsrugby.com/statistics/

R!skysports wrote:

LordDowlais wrote:

R!skysports wrote:Try assists?
TRY ASSISTS
France Antoine Dupont 4
Scotland Ali Price 3
Scotland Stuart Hogg 2
England Dan Robson 2
Wales Josh Navidi 2

This cannot be right, surely ?

I am sure LRZ assisted a few tries. Liam Williams against Scotland and Faletau against Italy are two that spring to mind.

https://www.sixnationsrugby.com/statistics/

But the point is that LRZ DID do those two try assists!  Have a look at the tries!  Not sure why he's not listed as being on 2 (at least) on those stats.  Assuming that try assist means giving the final pass???


Edit:  he is there on 2 try assists if you expand the whole table and see the full stats.  They only show a few on the front page for some reason.

Is the tour definitely going ahead, SA have their work cut out to organise a tour in 3 months. Seems like madness to proceed. Id enjoy watching it but is it worth the risk.

Sgt_Pooly wrote:Alive & Mickey......calm down please or you'll both be taking some time out.

Hmm, am I not allowed to post the source which proves that I was correct in what I said? Genuine question

The Oracle wrote:

R!skysports wrote:

LordDowlais wrote:

R!skysports wrote:Try assists?
TRY ASSISTS
France Antoine Dupont 4
Scotland Ali Price 3
Scotland Stuart Hogg 2
England Dan Robson 2
Wales Josh Navidi 2

This cannot be right, surely ?

I am sure LRZ assisted a few tries. Liam Williams against Scotland and Faletau against Italy are two that spring to mind.

https://www.sixnationsrugby.com/statistics/

But the point is that LRZ DID do those two try assists!  Have a look at the tries!  Not sure why he's not listed as being on 2 (at least) on those stats.  Assuming that try assist means giving the final pass???


Edit:  he is there on 2 try assists if you expand the whole table and see the full stats.  They only show a few on the front page for some reason.

I still can't find it, but that puts LRZ near the top in those stats too. Gee, now we have some statisticians trying to hate on him .

Good stats there for AWJ, Faletau and Tips too. Tips isn't a great carrier and I've always highlighted as an issue. That said, it probably isn't his role as part of this back-row.

Collapse2005 wrote:Is the tour definitely going ahead, SA have their work cut out to organise a tour in 3 months. Seems like madness to proceed. Id enjoy watching it but is it worth the risk.

I can see it delayed for 12 months.

Sgt_Pooly wrote:Alive & Mickey

Is that a Simple Minds song?

Haha

Collapse2005 wrote:Is the tour definitely going ahead, SA have their work cut out to organise a tour in 3 months. Seems like madness to proceed. Id enjoy watching it but is it worth the risk.

Yes, as of now, all parties are aligned to go forward with the Lions tour in SA.

Agree they have a lot of work to do to prepare including Covid-safe locations for room and board, training, and travelling. Much more work than a normal Lions tour. A big ask, but I suspect they have been working on it throughout the pandemic.

https://www.skysports.com/rugby-union/news/16057/12254568/british-and-irish-lions-and-south-africa-rugby-agree-to-keep-2021-tour-as-originally-scheduled

https://www.bbc.com/sport/rugby-union/56501183

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/rugby-union/2021/03/23/british-irish-lionss-tour-south-africa-go-ahead-planned/

Here’s the team that BBC voters (14000 of them) have compiled, based on the players who garnered the greatest percentage of votes.  Now I know there are always factors in these things e.g. “the English have more population so probably more of them noted” and “wales has more unemployed people so they’re sitting around doing nothing but voting on things like this (    )”, etc., etc.  But I wondered what people’s thoughts were.  I personally like it but could easily make the case for a starting place for players such as Hamish Watson, Tipuric, Stander, etc.  Not sure about the half back pairing but I do quite like the idea of familiar combos so can see that might work. Here’s the link to show the % scored in voting by those that missed out:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/56543449

15 - Stuart Hogg

14 - Louis Rees-Zammit

13- George North

12 - Robbie Henshaw

11 - Anthony Watson

10 - Johnny Sexton

9 - Conor Murray

1 - Wyn Jones

2 - Ken Owens

3 - Tadhg Furlong

4 - Alun Wyn Jones

5 - Maro Itoje

6 - Tadhg Beirne

7 - Tom Curry

8 - Taulupe Faletau

The Oracle wrote:Here’s the team that BBC voters (14000 of them) have compiled, based on the players who garnered the greatest percentage of votes.  Now I know there are always factors in these things e.g. “the English have more population so probably more of them noted” and “wales has more unemployed people so they’re sitting around doing nothing but voting on things like this (    )”, etc., etc.  But I wondered what people’s thoughts were.  I personally like it but could easily make the case for a starting place for players such as Hamish Watson, Tipuric, Stander, etc.  Not sure about the half back pairing but I do quite like the idea of familiar combos so can see that might work.  Here’s the link to show the % scored in voting by those that missed out:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/56543449

15 - Stuart Hogg

14 - Louis Rees-Zammit

13- George North

12 - Robbie Henshaw

11 - Anthony Watson

10 - Johnny Sexton

9 - Conor Murray

1 - Wyn Jones

2 - Ken Owens

3 - Tadhg Furlong

4 - Alun Wyn Jones

5 - Maro Itoje

6 - Tadhg Beirne

7 - Tom Curry

8 - Taulupe Faletau

I think it’s a pretty fair team. I have no idea what direction I would go for at half backs, and I would have Watson starting at openside, but if those guys stepped out for the first test I wouldn’t be too disappointed.

Yeah, that’s sort of how I was viewing it too Chris. I looked at it and thought straight away ‘I’d be happy with that’. But at the same time there are so many players there or there abouts. It’s such a tough task for the selectors.

Looks a fair team but I'd want a bit more power alongside Itoje and would be picking Marler if available.

Soul Requiem, forgive my ignorance - but how come Marler doesn’t feature for England? I know he’s stepped out a few times for personal reasons but is he available currently? Just wondering why he’s not picked if so?

The Oracle wrote:Soul Requiem, forgive my ignorance - but how come Marler doesn’t feature for England?  I know he’s stepped out a few times for personal reasons but is he available currently?  Just wondering why he’s not picked if so?

Due to Covid restrictions made himself unavailable for the six nations, would be very surprised if he made himself available for the lions.

Soul Requiem wrote:

The Oracle wrote:Soul Requiem, forgive my ignorance - but how come Marler doesn’t feature for England?  I know he’s stepped out a few times for personal reasons but is he available currently?  Just wondering why he’s not picked if so?

Due to Covid restrictions made himself unavailable for the six nations, would be very surprised if he made himself available for the lions.

Ah ok, so little chance of him then? Any other props you’d prefer who are likely to be available?

Would potentially start Cian Healy with Wyn Jones on the bench, definitely not Mako though who would be taken apart in the scrum.

Interesting article from the BBC - Over 14,000 votes. I've given the 2nd choice as well.

LIONS TEST SIDE

15 - Stuart Hogg - Scotland 82%
Liam Williams 12%.

14 - Louis Rees-Zammit - Wales 46%
Anthony Watson 20%.

13 - George North - Wales - 26%
Jonathan Davies (23%).

12 - Robbie Henshaw - Ireland - 40%
Jonathan Davies 20%

11 - Anthony Watson - England -%?
Johnny May %?

10 - Johnny Sexton - Ireland - 43%
Finn Russell 38%.

9 - Conor Murray - Ireland - 52%
Gareth Davies 18%.

1 - Wyn Jones - Wales - 39%
Cian Healy 26%.

2 - Ken Owens - Wales - 60%
Jamie George 17%.

3 - Tadhg Furlong - Ireland - 80%
Kyle Sinkler 11%.

4 - Alun Wyn Jones - Wales - 44%
Itoje 32%.

5 - Maro Itoje - England - 37%
Alun Wyn Jones 28%.

6 - Tadhg Beirne - Ireland - 33%
Tom Curry 14%.

7 - Tom Curry - England - 28%
Hamish Watson 23%.

8 - Taulupe Faletau - Wales - 64%
CJ Stander 13%.

Sgt_Pooly wrote:Alive & Mickey......calm down please or you'll both be taking some time out.

He's silent

DVM starts. End of

alive555 wrote:

Sgt_Pooly wrote:Alive & Mickey......calm down please or you'll both be taking some time out.

He's silent

DVM starts. End of

Hmm. He was getting a bit of stick tonight on the match thread for his poor defence

Is it worth mentioning that despite the fact he’s slower, I’ve been praising Duhan all season and say he should go on the Lions tour?

alive555 wrote:

Sgt_Pooly wrote:Alive & Mickey......calm down please or you'll both be taking some time out.

He's silent

DVM starts. End of

On that showing, no thank you.

6N Top Player

Top try scorer DVM

Top meters made DVM

So lions wingers should be Watson and DVM

RZ on bench.

alive555 wrote:6N Top Player

Top try scorer DVM

Top meters made DVM

So lions wingers should be Watson and DVM

RZ on bench.

Take a chill pill mun.

Duhan really should go. He is a gatland type player being big and he is quick

topped the tackle broken and defenders beaten stats in the pro 14 as well

LRZ to come on if / when the game breaks up and players tire

He is despite his size terrible defensively.

Duhan VDM is raw but it's hard to argue with what he can do. He's like the cross between George North and Cuthbert that Stockdale looked like he might be when he first broke through.

You have to pick in form wingers. Form matters on the wing more than any other position IMO. Both LRZ and VDM will tour and I think it's a matter of style as to who starts. For instance with Tuilagi or Davies or even North in the centre you might go for LRZ but with Daly or Slade at 13 you might look at VDM.

There will be no 'settled test team' per se this time. Lots of rotation between the games.

Soul Requiem wrote:Would potentially start Cian Healy with Wyn Jones on the bench, definitely not Mako though who would be taken apart in the scrum.

Mako is still a great player.

whatahitson wrote:

Soul Requiem wrote:Would potentially start Cian Healy with Wyn Jones on the bench, definitely not Mako though who would be taken apart in the scrum.

Mako is still a great player.

No he is not. Pure mince this series. with plenty of better srummaging props around and plenty props better in the loose he is yesterdays man

LordDowlais wrote:

alive555 wrote:6N Top Player

Top try scorer DVM

Top meters made DVM

So lions wingers should be Watson and DVM

RZ on bench.

Take a chill pill mun.

What on earth have you got against the top performing winger in this years 6n?

alive555 wrote:

LordDowlais wrote:

alive555 wrote:6N Top Player

Top try scorer DVM

Top meters made DVM

So lions wingers should be Watson and DVM

RZ on bench.

Take a chill pill mun.

What on earth have you got against the top performing winger in this years 6n?

That it’s subjective?

I thought Harris and Ritchie were fantastic last night, and have done themselves no harm in making the squad, along with all of the starting front row.

Watson had a strange game in attack, he was getting involved a lot, but didn’t look to be making any headway with his carrying. Perhaps the French had identified that and doubled up on him, I’m not sure.

This is going to be a very interesting Lions selection now that several Scotsman have thrown their Tam o Shanters into the ring.

Will Gats really pick on form?

The team he had pencilled at the start of this process has surely gone up in smoke!

chris_501 wrote:

alive555 wrote:

LordDowlais wrote:

alive555 wrote:6N Top Player

Top try scorer DVM

Top meters made DVM

So lions wingers should be Watson and DVM

RZ on bench.

Take a chill pill mun.

What on earth have you got against the top performing winger in this years 6n?

That it’s subjective?

I thought Harris and Ritchie were fantastic last night, and have done themselves no harm in making the squad, along with all of the starting front row.

Watson had a strange game in attack, he was getting involved a lot, but didn’t look to be making any headway with his carrying. Perhaps the French had identified that and doubled up on him, I’m not sure.

agreed, they had 2 or 3 players on him every time. He ended with #2 stats for carries in the 6n.

I’d still pick LRZ as I’m Welsh. I’ve noticed a lot more folk still picking him though. If Duhan gets the nod over him then I wouldn’t mind at all, both look like class options right now.

mikey_dragon wrote:I’d still pick LRZ as I’m Welsh. I’ve noticed a lot more folk still picking him though. If Duhan gets the nod over him then I wouldn’t mind at all, both look like class options right now.

I think both perhaps - certainly both on the plane and possible both on the pitch. Might loose a bit in defense over say Maitland ( pick the stead winger of your choice) but what finishers. a big strong runner and a speedy mazy runner is a good combo. they are two players who really enhanced their reputation

BigGee wrote:This is going to be a very interesting Lions selection now that several Scotsman have thrown their Tam o Shanters into the ring.

Will Gats really pick on form?

The team he had pencilled at the start of this process has surely gone up in smoke!

A few Scots needed a big performance last night and they delivered. Ritchie is probably at the top of that list. He was getting honourable mentions in a lot of pundits picks during the tournament despite returning from injury and building up his form. I wonder how many will have him in their starting Lions side now? I'm certain McGeechan will, he certainly rates him.

Harris as well, picked ahead of Jones to a lot of criticism from fans, but he delivered massively. It's nice to see pundits discussing the defensive work rate of a player at half time rather than a fancy bit of play. Harris was everywhere and did a great job against some very talented French backline players.

I'd be surprised if Richie was on the plane let alone starting, that isn't a criticism of him but there are so many options for the back row.

6. Beirne
7. Curry
8. Faletau

Against South Africa with a scratch side I think you need your 6 and 8 to be genuine lineout options.

Despite playing in a poor team, young Tom still outperformed every other openside, his all round game is second to none.

Ritchie gave himself every chance on that performance last night. Injuries will happen between now and the tour (if it goes ahead, which I don't believe it will). Underhill is already under threat given his lack of durability. Another 2 or 3 injuries and he comes in to contention as a solid midweek player who can play either flank. He's put in a few big performances over the last 2-3 years, as has a player like Sam Johnson, and while they wouldn't be the first names in the test team by any means the Lions always includes some players who are there because they were a sensible option at the time.

Some players are 'right place, right time' and a player like George Turner could be exactly that as well.

I think the Lions will have to move the ball to beat South Africa in a manner similar to 2009 (which is why it's usually the best tour out of the three nations). Beirne, Henderson, and Lawes all look ideal to fill in the 6/20 shirt for when the Lions want that extra lock and lineout presence but Sam Skinner again showed his class (criminally underused by Scotland) and with a few injuries he enters the conversation along with a player like Cory Hill.

Harris has thrown a spanner in the works in the centres. If you could combine Harris' defence with Huw Jones' running you'd have a great player. I think the Lions will pick one Scottish centre from Johnson, Harris, and Jones.

I don't particularly envy Gatland. Interestingly, every game between the top four teams finished within a score. The margins are wafer thin. Equally, much as though we've all enjoyed England's poor showing. We are talking about seriously good rugby players who properly manshamed New Zealand not too long ago. Add the Sarries effect this season too. I think England had incredibly, bizarrely strict Covid rules. I believe the players that played together and trained together were not allowed to socialise in their spare time. England played like players who were bored.

Using the squad format from last time I'd probably go with:

Looseheads: Healy, Jones, Sutherland
Hookers: Owens, Herring, Cowan-Dickie
Tightheads: Furlong, Fagerson, Sinckler
Locks: AWJ (irritatingly good still), Ryan, Itoje, Henderson, Gray
Back-Row: Tipuric, Navidi, Watson, Curry, Beirne, Dombrandt, Stander

Scrum-half: Murray, Davies, Hardy
Fly-halves: Sexton, Russell, Biggar
Centres: Henshaw, Ringrose, North, Davies, Tuilagi
Back three: Hogg, Van Der Merwe, Maitland, Watson, Earls, Rees-Zammit

Big call on Dombrandt. Can't see Gatland picking a player who hasn't played test rugby tbh. You note that England manshamed NZ and yet you're leaving both Vunipolas at home? Seems incredibly harsh. They've been there, done that for England for the best part of a decade now and were key players in the manshaming.

If the tour goes ahead what are the chances the Lions pick a massive squad to reflect the bubble issues?

Something like 40 + 5 or even 40 + 10? A 50 man squad seems far from ideal but if a player has to enter isolation before they can join the squad, that severely limits the scope for last minute call ups like Shane Williams or the 'geography' players as seen in previous tours.

Or might we be looking at a tour which is significantly limited in warm up games instead?

Honestly I can't see how the tour is happening this year in all honesty. I think it'll be next summer. Nothing about having it in South Africa this year makes sense.

Which would create massive problems for the home nations' world cup preparations.

whatahitson wrote:Big call on Dombrandt. Can't see Gatland picking a player who hasn't played test rugby tbh. You note that England manshamed NZ and yet you're leaving both Vunipolas at home? Seems incredibly harsh. They've been there, done that for England for the best part of a decade now and were key players in the manshaming.

Pretty simples on the Sarries players - come May, when the squad is picked, it will have been at least seven months since Farrell, Mako, Billy, Daly and George have played well in a top class game. Dombrandt's offloading game is outstanding, although I agree that he's unlikely to go. I'd quite like to see a more agile number 8 travel too so one of Simmonds, Fagerson, Conan, Dombrandt etc. would be the ones to choose from. I think Dombrandt's offloading puts him at the front of that queue.

With regard to the Vunipolas, in an ideal world I'd have played Faletau at blindside and Billy at 8. But let's not beat around the bush, Billy Vunipola has been hopeless this Six Nations and there are many very good players playing much better.

123456789. wrote:I don't particularly envy Gatland. Interestingly, every game between the top four teams finished within a score. The margins are wafer thin. Equally, much as though we've all enjoyed England's poor showing. We are talking about seriously good rugby players who properly manshamed New Zealand not too long ago. Add the Sarries effect this season too. I think England had incredibly, bizarrely strict Covid rules. I believe the players that played together and trained together were not allowed to socialise in their spare time. England played like players who were bored.

Using the squad format from last time I'd probably go with:

Looseheads: Healy, Jones, Sutherland
Hookers: Owens, Herring, Cowan-Dickie
Tightheads: Furlong, Fagerson, Sinckler
Locks: AWJ (irritatingly good still), Ryan, Itoje, Henderson, Gray
Back-Row: Tipuric, Navidi, Watson, Curry, Beirne, Dombrandt, Stander

Scrum-half: Murray, Davies, Hardy
Fly-halves: Sexton, Russell, Biggar
Centres: Henshaw, Ringrose, North, Davies, Tuilagi
Back three: Hogg, Van Der Merwe, Maitland, Watson, Earls, Rees-Zammit

I can’t see him leaving out Faletau and Liam Williams. I’d take them, but that’s probably my Welsh bias. I’d take them over Donbrandt and Maitland from the squad you’ve picked. Apart from that I really like your squad.

123456789. wrote:With regard to the Vunipolas, in an ideal world I'd have played Faletau at blindside and Billy at 8. But let's not beat around the bush, Billy Vunipola has been hopeless this Six Nations and there are many very good players playing much better.

He was poor against Scotland but since then very good. Mako has been quietly excellent up until the scrum issues against Ireland. A lot is being made of very little and I feel like some people are just sticking the boot in to England as it's the first time in 6 years they've been able to get away with it for more than just the odd game here or there. Neither was hopeless, come on now. Nearly ever team and every player has had a bad game. I do think Gatland will have to factor in the Saracens form issue though. He might be turning up at Coventry and Jersey to see how they're getting on... But in all seirousness they're too good to drop and knowing they need 2-3 games to get up to top speed they should get lots of game time early in the tour.

The Oracle wrote:

123456789. wrote:I don't particularly envy Gatland. Interestingly, every game between the top four teams finished within a score. The margins are wafer thin. Equally, much as though we've all enjoyed England's poor showing. We are talking about seriously good rugby players who properly manshamed New Zealand not too long ago. Add the Sarries effect this season too. I think England had incredibly, bizarrely strict Covid rules. I believe the players that played together and trained together were not allowed to socialise in their spare time. England played like players who were bored.

Using the squad format from last time I'd probably go with:

Looseheads: Healy, Jones, Sutherland
Hookers: Owens, Herring, Cowan-Dickie
Tightheads: Furlong, Fagerson, Sinckler
Locks: AWJ (irritatingly good still), Ryan, Itoje, Henderson, Gray
Back-Row: Tipuric, Navidi, Watson, Curry, Beirne, Dombrandt, Stander

Scrum-half: Murray, Davies, Hardy
Fly-halves: Sexton, Russell, Biggar
Centres: Henshaw, Ringrose, North, Davies, Tuilagi
Back three: Hogg, Van Der Merwe, Maitland, Watson, Earls, Rees-Zammit

I can’t see him leaving out Faletau and Liam Williams. I’d take them, but that’s probably my Welsh bias. I’d take them over Donbrandt and Maitland from the squad you’ve picked. Apart from that I really like your squad.

That's absolutely not your Welsh bias, that's my sheer idiocy. Faletau would be my starting 8 and Williams would travel too. Bit hungover so I did suspect I was leaving some very good players out.

whatahitson wrote:

123456789. wrote:With regard to the Vunipolas, in an ideal world I'd have played Faletau at blindside and Billy at 8. But let's not beat around the bush, Billy Vunipola has been hopeless this Six Nations and there are many very good players playing much better.

He was poor against Scotland but since then very good. Mako has been quietly excellent up until the scrum issues against Ireland. A lot is being made of very little and I feel like some people are just sticking the boot in to England as it's the first time in 6 years they've been able to get away with it for more than just the odd game here or there. Neither was hopeless, come on now. Nearly ever team and every player has had a bad game. I do think Gatland will have to factor in the Saracens form issue though. He might be turning up at Coventry and Jersey to see how they're getting on... But in all seirousness they're too good to drop and knowing they need 2-3 games to get up to top speed they should get lots of game time early in the tour.

I don't think anybody is too good to drop, certainly not at the standard these teams are hitting these days. Perhaps hopeless was a tad strong. As I said they are all very, very good rugby players. But very few of the England players were in the top three in their position over the course of the Championship. If two or three games was all it took, then they would not have put that performance in against Ireland. I think it's reasonable to discount the Italy games as an effective assessment of where players are and I think that equally applies to Championship games. If it were being picked a year ago I'd expect the entire England Sarries contingent to tour and probably start. But then a year ago Ireland and Wales were poor, Scotland had not won an away game (Italy aside) since 2010. England were Six Nations winners, world cup finalists and Sarries were flying high in Europe. Things have changed since then and as the Lions is a one off (not a building process) it has to reflect that. I wouldn't be surprised or upset if Vunipola toured. I also expect come next year's tournament he'll be back to his best, but I don't think he's one of the best three English 8s on form, let alone the best of the Lions nations.

123456789. wrote:

The Oracle wrote:

123456789. wrote:I don't particularly envy Gatland. Interestingly, every game between the top four teams finished within a score. The margins are wafer thin. Equally, much as though we've all enjoyed England's poor showing. We are talking about seriously good rugby players who properly manshamed New Zealand not too long ago. Add the Sarries effect this season too. I think England had incredibly, bizarrely strict Covid rules. I believe the players that played together and trained together were not allowed to socialise in their spare time. England played like players who were bored.

Using the squad format from last time I'd probably go with:

Looseheads: Healy, Jones, Sutherland
Hookers: Owens, Herring, Cowan-Dickie
Tightheads: Furlong, Fagerson, Sinckler
Locks: AWJ (irritatingly good still), Ryan, Itoje, Henderson, Gray
Back-Row: Tipuric, Navidi, Watson, Curry, Beirne, Dombrandt, Stander

Scrum-half: Murray, Davies, Hardy
Fly-halves: Sexton, Russell, Biggar
Centres: Henshaw, Ringrose, North, Davies, Tuilagi
Back three: Hogg, Van Der Merwe, Maitland, Watson, Earls, Rees-Zammit

I can’t see him leaving out Faletau and Liam Williams. I’d take them, but that’s probably my Welsh bias. I’d take them over Donbrandt and Maitland from the squad you’ve picked. Apart from that I really like your squad.

That's absolutely not your Welsh bias, that's my sheer idiocy. Faletau would be my starting 8 and Williams would travel too. Bit hungover so I did suspect I was leaving some very good players out.

Haha! I think it just shows how many good choices there are this time. It’s gonna be difficult for the selectors. Some very good players are going to miss out! Just noticed you have Hardy in there. Might be a bit early in his international career for me. Not sure how bad his injury is either but it might rule him out. Certainly a good tournament for him though and he surpassed my (admittedly low) expectations for him by quite a way!

The Oracle wrote:

123456789. wrote:

The Oracle wrote:

123456789. wrote:I don't particularly envy Gatland. Interestingly, every game between the top four teams finished within a score. The margins are wafer thin. Equally, much as though we've all enjoyed England's poor showing. We are talking about seriously good rugby players who properly manshamed New Zealand not too long ago. Add the Sarries effect this season too. I think England had incredibly, bizarrely strict Covid rules. I believe the players that played together and trained together were not allowed to socialise in their spare time. England played like players who were bored.

Using the squad format from last time I'd probably go with:

Looseheads: Healy, Jones, Sutherland
Hookers: Owens, Herring, Cowan-Dickie
Tightheads: Furlong, Fagerson, Sinckler
Locks: AWJ (irritatingly good still), Ryan, Itoje, Henderson, Gray
Back-Row: Tipuric, Navidi, Watson, Curry, Beirne, Dombrandt, Stander

Scrum-half: Murray, Davies, Hardy
Fly-halves: Sexton, Russell, Biggar
Centres: Henshaw, Ringrose, North, Davies, Tuilagi
Back three: Hogg, Van Der Merwe, Maitland, Watson, Earls, Rees-Zammit

I can’t see him leaving out Faletau and Liam Williams. I’d take them, but that’s probably my Welsh bias. I’d take them over Donbrandt and Maitland from the squad you’ve picked. Apart from that I really like your squad.

That's absolutely not your Welsh bias, that's my sheer idiocy. Faletau would be my starting 8 and Williams would travel too. Bit hungover so I did suspect I was leaving some very good players out.

Haha! I think it just shows how many good choices there are this time. It’s gonna be difficult for the selectors. Some very good players are going to miss out! Just noticed you have Hardy in there. Might be a bit early in his international career for me. Not sure how bad his injury is either but it might rule him out. Certainly a good tournament for him though and he surpassed my (admittedly low) expectations for him by quite a way!

There's a real dearth of quality 9s. Youngs is still very good admittedly and had a good tournament so perhaps he'd be a better choice. Ali Price is not going to tour, Scott Steele neither. George Horne would offer something different but his injury really rules him out.