Team for Italy

[Danno]

Time travel 7 years ago. This script needs changing.
http://www.rugbyrebels.co/viewtopic.php ... 2fd0b0b9df

the sad thing is nearly half of them are still there.
I notice a young pup by the name of Itoje might get his first cap and people are moaning about Faz.

Daly to 12!

[stepsider]

Time travel 7 years ago. This script needs changing.
http://www.rugbyrebels.co/viewtopic.php ... 2fd0b0b9df

the sad thing is nearly half of them are still there.
I notice a young pup by the name of Itoje might get his first cap and people are moaning about Faz.

Daly to 12!

The good thing is that a potential backline of JVP, Smith (x2, until Scotland call), Kelly, Lawrence, Freeman, Arundell, Steward, with Atkinson S, Bailey, Joseph jr, Murley, OHC, Quirke, Roebuck (plus others emerging) has an average age of around 22. Which is about a decade lower than most international sides.

It's simply a question of not burning this talent.

[Banquo]

btw justice4freeman

[p/d]

Ireland, awesome
DuPont. Just wow.
What a game

[Spiffy]

Ireland, awesome
DuPont. Just wow.
What a game

Pound for pound, DuPont must be one of the most powerful men in world rugby,never mind his fantastic skills. How the hell did he hold back Hansen from scoring when his centre of gravity was totally in the wrong place.

[Mellsblue]

Ireland, awesome
DuPont. Just wow.
What a game

Pound for pound, DuPont must be one of the most powerful men in world rugby,never mind his fantastic skills. How the hell did he hold back Hansen from scoring when his centre of gravity was totally in the wrong place.

Dupont is the centre of gravity.

[francoisfou]

Ireland, awesome
DuPont. Just wow.
What a game

Pound for pound, DuPont must be one of the most powerful men in world rugby,never mind his fantastic skills. How the hell did he hold back Hansen from scoring when his centre of gravity was totally in the wrong place.

Dupont is the centre of gravity.

Yes, he’s good, but Ntamack seems to have lost his touch. Don’t be surprised if Jalibert starts in Paris against Scotland. That was France’s first defeat in 14 matches and I’m now having thoughts that they’ve maybe peaked too soon before their World Cup.

[p/d]

Pound for pound, DuPont must be one of the most powerful men in world rugby,never mind his fantastic skills. How the hell did he hold back Hansen from scoring when his centre of gravity was totally in the wrong place.

Dupont is the centre of gravity.

Yes, he’s good, but Ntamack seems to have lost his touch. Don’t be surprised if Jalibert starts in Paris against Scotland. That was France’s first defeat in 14 matches and I’m now having thoughts that they’ve maybe peaked too soon before their World Cup.

Take nothing away from Ireland, just excellent, but Ntamack and Ramos were very disappointing

[FKAS]

Pound for pound, DuPont must be one of the most powerful men in world rugby,never mind his fantastic skills. How the hell did he hold back Hansen from scoring when his centre of gravity was totally in the wrong place.

Dupont is the centre of gravity.

Yes, he’s good, but Ntamack seems to have lost his touch. Don’t be surprised if Jalibert starts in Paris against Scotland. That was France’s first defeat in 14 matches and I’m now having thoughts that they’ve maybe peaked too soon before their World Cup.

They were missing some quality players who were huge in the same fixture last year. Villiere and Woki huge losses. No Danty also didn't help yesterday.

Woki arguably their biggest loss as a combination of him and Flament allows the heavier backrow, the locks are mobile enough to help with the work rate. As soon as the big Bok comes in then you get more physicality but less mobility.

They might need to go back and tweak a few things on the training pitch but they've got a fairly young team still that can come back.

[Timbo]

I don’t think France have peaked too early, I just think Ireland are really, really good. That Ireland performance is probably the best individual performance from any team since the 2015 All Blacks (probably excluding South Africa in the World Cup final).

[Mellsblue]

Pound for pound, DuPont must be one of the most powerful men in world rugby,never mind his fantastic skills. How the hell did he hold back Hansen from scoring when his centre of gravity was totally in the wrong place.

Dupont is the centre of gravity.

Yes, he’s good, but Ntamack seems to have lost his touch. Don’t be surprised if Jalibert starts in Paris against Scotland. That was France’s first defeat in 14 matches and I’m now having thoughts that they’ve maybe peaked too soon before their World Cup.

Tbh, I’ve always thought Jalibert is the better player but having the Toulouse halfback partnership is probably a good thing. Shouldn’t read too much into one game.

[Mellsblue]

Dupont is the centre of gravity.

Yes, he’s good, but Ntamack seems to have lost his touch. Don’t be surprised if Jalibert starts in Paris against Scotland. That was France’s first defeat in 14 matches and I’m now having thoughts that they’ve maybe peaked too soon before their World Cup.

Take nothing away from Ireland, just excellent, but Ntamack and Ramos were very disappointing

If I had to chose at Europe/NH XV I’d have Ramos at 15 but he was crap yesterday.

[Mr Mwenda]

Pound for pound, DuPont must be one of the most powerful men in world rugby,never mind his fantastic skills. How the hell did he hold back Hansen from scoring when his centre of gravity was totally in the wrong place.

Dupont is the centre of gravity.

Yes, he’s good, but Ntamack seems to have lost his touch. Don’t be surprised if Jalibert starts in Paris against Scotland. That was France’s first defeat in 14 matches and I’m now having thoughts that they’ve maybe peaked too soon before their World Cup.

I had similar thoughts. They seemed worryingly short of ideas. It felt a bit like France had been worked out. Their kicking strategy seemed to be completely confused by the Irish tactics.

Dupont was amazing much of the time but also made more mistakes than I have ever seen from him. It felt at times he was taking it all in himself and this played into Irish hands.

[Oakboy]

Yes, he’s good, but Ntamack seems to have lost his touch. Don’t be surprised if Jalibert starts in Paris against Scotland. That was France’s first defeat in 14 matches and I’m now having thoughts that they’ve maybe peaked too soon before their World Cup.

Take nothing away from Ireland, just excellent, but Ntamack and Ramos were very disappointing

If I had to chose at Europe/NH XV I’d have Ramos at 15 but he was crap yesterday.

Doris would be my first pick.

[Oakboy]

Back on thread, I look again at the forwards on the bench with some concern, especially after watching the under-20s match. Arguably, we should have better cover than the five named. I wonder if Walker will get any minutes at all.

[p/d]

If I had to chose at Europe/NH XV I’d have Ramos at 15 but he was crap yesterday.

I think Keenan is the full package.

[p/d]

Dupont is the centre of gravity.

Yes, he’s good, but Ntamack seems to have lost his touch. Don’t be surprised if Jalibert starts in Paris against Scotland. That was France’s first defeat in 14 matches and I’m now having thoughts that they’ve maybe peaked too soon before their World Cup.

I had similar thoughts. They seemed worryingly short of ideas. It felt a bit like France had been worked out. Their kicking strategy seemed to completely confused by the Irish tactics.

Dupont was amazing much of the time but also made more mistakes than I have ever seen from him. It felt at times he was taking it all in himself and this played into Irish hands.

Felt like they thought they could bludgeon their way to victory but had no back up plan when it didn’t work. Compounded by a 6:2 split and Irish tenacity

[Mellsblue]

If I had to chose at Europe/NH XV I’d have Ramos at 15 but he was crap yesterday.

I think Keenan is the full package.

I think it’s just that he wears tight shorts… but, yeah, he’s a very close second, for me.

[p/d]

Back on thread, I look again at the forwards on the bench with some concern, especially after watching the under-20s match. Arguably, we should have better cover than the five named. I wonder if Walker will get any minutes at all.

I can say, categorically, there isn’t one forward on the bench I’m excited about coming on

[Oakboy]

Back on thread, I look again at the forwards on the bench with some concern, especially after watching the under-20s match. Arguably, we should have better cover than the five named. I wonder if Walker will get any minutes at all.

I can say, categorically, there isn’t one forward on the bench I’m excited about coming on

Exactly. Every one is a marked step down from the equivalent starter. I think SB will need a re-think before the 3rd match.

[p/d]

Back on thread, I look again at the forwards on the bench with some concern, especially after watching the under-20s match. Arguably, we should have better cover than the five named. I wonder if Walker will get any minutes at all.

I can say, categorically, there isn’t one forward on the bench I’m excited about coming on

Exactly. Every one is a marked step down from the equivalent starter. I think SB will need a re-think before the 3rd match.

Small thing I suppose. If we had VRR and Ribbans plus a fit LCD and Curry then probably not a conversation we would be having

[Oakboy]

I can say, categorically, there isn’t one forward on the bench I’m excited about coming on

Exactly. Every one is a marked step down from the equivalent starter. I think SB will need a re-think before the 3rd match.

Small thing I suppose. If we had VRR and Ribbans plus a fit LCD and Curry then probably not a conversation we would be having

True. I simply don't think that bench will do for the visit to Wales. Let's hope there is no 'it's only Italy' thinking behind the selection.

[Danno]

Exactly. Every one is a marked step down from the equivalent starter. I think SB will need a re-think before the 3rd match.

Small thing I suppose. If we had VRR and Ribbans plus a fit LCD and Curry then probably not a conversation we would be having

True. I simply don't think that bench will do for the visit to Wales. Let's hope there is no 'it's only Italy' thinking behind the selection.

It's only Wales.

[Mellsblue]

Small thing I suppose. If we had VRR and Ribbans plus a fit LCD and Curry then probably not a conversation we would be having

True. I simply don't think that bench will do for the visit to Wales. Let's hope there is no 'it's only Italy' thinking behind the selection.

It's only Wales.

Yeh, going on matches so far, this will be the more difficult match.

[p/d]

Exactly. Every one is a marked step down from the equivalent starter. I think SB will need a re-think before the 3rd match.

Small thing I suppose. If we had VRR and Ribbans plus a fit LCD and Curry then probably not a conversation we would be having

True. I simply don't think that bench will do for the visit to Wales. Let's hope there is no 'it's only Italy' thinking behind the selection.

I actually think SB is focused on the XV. Looking at this 6n to get ‘his’ first team settled, which from the out would have included Willis and Slade. As for the bench, that will sort itself over time.

For what it is worth my starting front row for today would have been VRR, Walker & Cole.