The Rugby Thread

talkshowhost86 · Dec 4, 2017

Arnoldtoo said:
Good game - Quins v. Sarries. A pity it all hinged in the end on a ludicrous 'high tackle' penalty.

That was a ludicrous penalty, but to be fair by that point Quins had had what looked like a try not even referred to the TMO, and how Sarries didn't have at least one player go off for consistent penalties is beyond me.

Hell of a performance from a still depleted Quins against a strong Sarries team. That's three years in a row we've done them at the Stoop.

Just a shame we can't get up for any other games in quite the same way.

Arnoldtoo · Dec 5, 2017

Maro Itoje out with a broken jaw.

6 Nations starts in 9 weeks, but no prognosis yet on how long he'll be out.

E17yid · Dec 5, 2017

Arnoldtoo said:
Maro Itoje out with a broken jaw.

6 Nations starts in 9 weeks, but no prognosis yet on how long he'll be out.

TBH, it’s the one area where you’ve got an embarrassment of riches I’m sure Launchbury, Lawes, Kruis can do a job (less so with Kruis)

Lawes/Launchbury is a nice combo, tbf.

Arnoldtoo · Dec 5, 2017

E17yid said:
TBH, it’s the one area where you’ve got an embarrassment of riches I’m sure Launchbury, Lawes, Kruis can do a job (less so with Kruis)

Lawes/Launchbury is a nice combo, tbf.

Yeah I guess, but .. but .. Maro.

tbh I have no idea how long these things take to heal. When I broke a collar bone ( scoring a try, as it happens :hero: ) I'm sure I was only out for 8 weeks. Mind you, we were tough back then ...

talkshowhost86 · Dec 5, 2017

Good work Quins. Jaw broken by Mike Brown

Anyway...Lawes and Launchbury are more than a match for most at the moment, and I'm not 100% convinced Itoje would have been ahead of either on merit (mainly down to a lack of game time for Maro since the Lions tour). Kruis is starting to get back to his best as well, and Ewels has looked good when called upon.

Hopefully it will also stop Eddie having thoughts of using Maro in the back row.

E17yid · Dec 5, 2017

Arnoldtoo said:
Yeah I guess, but .. but .. Maro.

tbh I have no idea how long these things take to heal. When I broke a collar bone ( scoring a try, as it happens :hero: ) I'm sure I was only out for 8 weeks. Mind you, we were tough back then ...

If it’s a actual break I’d imagine you’re looking at 6-12 weeks. A fracture might only be 4-6 weeks but fuck knows. Our game is 2nd game in I think so hopefully he misses that one.

E17yid · Dec 5, 2017

What’s England’s injury list looking like st the moment? You’re looking alright on that front aren’t you? Itoje aside.

talkshowhost86 · Dec 5, 2017

E17yid said:
What’s England’s injury list looking like st the moment? You’re looking alright on that front aren’t you? Itoje aside.

Not sure when Billy V is back, and yeah Itoje is the other serious one.

If you count Tuilagi as part of the England squad then he's just coming back, and we will presumably see Ben Te'o at some point. I think centre is a big area of weakness for England as whilst the Farrell-JJ combo is very talented, it doesn't have a lot of ball carrying and is liable to exposure defensively, so having either Te'o or Tuilagi available would make a big difference.

Elswhere we're looking pretty good. Nowell is coming back, our first choice and second choice front row are all available, so if the 6Ns was tomorrow England wouldn't be able to blame injury for any failures.

E17yid · Dec 5, 2017

talkshowhost86 said:
Not sure when Billy V is back, and yeah Itoje is the other serious one.

If you count Tuilagi as part of the England squad then he's just coming back, and we will presumably see Ben Te'o at some point. I think centre is a big area of weakness for England as whilst the Farrell-JJ combo is very talented, it doesn't have a lot of ball carrying and is liable to exposure defensively, so having either Te'o or Tuilagi available would make a big difference.

Elswhere we're looking pretty good. Nowell is coming back, our first choice and second choice front row are all available, so if the 6Ns was tomorrow England wouldn't be able to blame injury for any failures.

If the 6N was tomorrow I think we’d most likely finish 4th, possibly 5th.

At least we should have the big Yid, Tipuric, Moriarty, Ball, Webb, North and Liam Williams back for the 6N (providing they don’t get injured when they come back for their regions/clubs) but so, so gutted J.Davies will still be out.

Arnoldtoo · Dec 5, 2017

E17yid said:
What’s England’s injury list looking like st the moment? You’re looking alright on that front aren’t you? Itoje aside.

Well my collar bone is fine now, but I'm not expecting a call-up.

E17yid · Dec 5, 2017

Arnoldtoo said:
Well my collar bone is fine now, but I'm not expecting a call-up.

I’m surprised I haven’t been called up for Wales, tbh

talkshowhost86 · Dec 5, 2017

E17yid said:
If the 6N was tomorrow I think we’d most likely finish 4th, possibly 5th.

At least we should have the big Yid, Tipuric, Moriarty, Ball, Webb, North and Liam Williams back for the 6N (providing they don’t get injured when they come back for their regions/clubs) but so, so gutted J.Davies will still be out.

I reckon on current form the 6Ns would look like this:

1. Ireland
2. England
3. Scotland
4. France
5. Wales
6. Italy

I just think Ireland look much more fluid at the moment and I can see England coming unstuck in at least one game. The big benefit for England is that we have Ireland and Wales at Twickenham which gives us a big edge, but away at Murrayfield suddenly looks a bit more daunting.

Wales, France and Scotland should all be fairly close, and whilst Wales will have some players back (Warburton is probably due another injury about a week after coming back from this one) I still expect to see quite a muddled Wales team. Will Webb even play if he's not in the long term plans? Is North really playing well enough? Can a man who has elected to move to the Dragons (Moriarty) really be in the right head-space to play rugby?

France are France...who knows what they'll bring to the party.

And Scotland, whilst they had a great Autumn, simply don't put runs of results together so it's hard to see them getting 3-4 wins.

Will be very interesting. Looking forward to it whatever happens because the Autumn internationals were a bit naff all told.

talkshowhost86 · Dec 5, 2017

E17yid said:
I’m surprised I haven’t been called up for Wales, tbh

I think under Gatland's selection policy you have to be picked for the Lions before you're picked for a competitive Welsh game. Give it four years.

E17yid · Dec 5, 2017

talkshowhost86 said:
I reckon on current form the 6Ns would look like this:

1. Ireland
2. England
3. Scotland
4. France
5. Wales
6. Italy

I just think Ireland look much more fluid at the moment and I can see England coming unstuck in at least one game. The big benefit for England is that we have Ireland and Wales at Twickenham which gives us a big edge, but away at Murrayfield suddenly looks a bit more daunting.

Wales, France and Scotland should all be fairly close, and whilst Wales will have some players back (Warburton is probably due another injury about a week after coming back from this one) I still expect to see quite a muddled Wales team. Will Webb even play if he's not in the long term plans? Is North really playing well enough? Can a man who has elected to move to the Dragons (Moriarty) really be in the right head-space to play rugby?

France are France...who knows what they'll bring to the party.

And Scotland, whilst they had a great Autumn, simply don't put runs of results together so it's hard to see them getting 3-4 wins.

Will be very interesting. Looking forward to it whatever happens because the Autumn internationals were a bit naff all told.

Most of that is pretty fair. I’d take slight issue with the France prediction as while they’ve always been i Co distant they’ve been more shit than they’ve been good. They got done by SA and our 4th team beat them but you’re right, you never really know with the French.

I think the Moriarty comment is also pretty harsh, making himself available for Wales is obviously a big motivation I would’ve absolutely loved to have him at the Ospreys, tbh. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that North chooses us when he returns next year.

I think you’re right about Wales in general, though. I’m not expecting any real coherence to our play to shine through in the 6N but having our first team back certainly gives us a much better shout if causing an upset or 2.

I’d go for England to win it, like you say that game is at Twickenham so I think England will just edge it. Our opener against Scotland in Cardiff is massive. If we can sneak that one we’ll go into to England gabecwith a lot of confidence and if we have a fully fit squad (bar Davies) then I’d never write us off.

talkshowhost86 · Dec 6, 2017

E17yid said:
Most of that is pretty fair. I’d take slight issue with the France prediction as while they’ve always been i Co distant they’ve been more shit than they’ve been good. They got done by SA and our 4th team beat them but you’re right, you never really know with the French.

I think the Moriarty comment is also pretty harsh, making himself available for Wales is obviously a big motivation I would’ve absolutely loved to have him at the Ospreys, tbh. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that North chooses us when he returns next year.

I think you’re right about Wales in general, though. I’m not expecting any real coherence to our play to shine through in the 6N but having our first team back certainly gives us a much better shout if causing an upset or 2.

I’d go for England to win it, like you say that game is at Twickenham so I think England will just edge it. Our opener against Scotland in Cardiff is massive. If we can sneak that one we’ll go into to England gabecwith a lot of confidence and if we have a fully fit squad (bar Davies) then I’d never write us off.

Yeah with France I put them 4th because they do tend to up their game in the 6 nations but on form you’re right that Wales May edge it.

On Moriarty I was joking really, but wouldn’t he be exempt from the new rules anyway as he was already at Gloucester? My main point is that by joining Dragons he’s effectively quitting competitive club rugby as they are such a poor operation. Mind you Ospreys seem to be trying to compete with them on that front this season.

But yeah he’s putting country before club and that’s fair enough. Probably good for his health as well as he’ll play a lot less now.

E17yid · Dec 6, 2017

talkshowhost86 said:
Yeah with France I put them 4th because they do tend to up their game in the 6 nations but on form you’re right that Wales May edge it.

On Moriarty I was joking really, but wouldn’t he be exempt from the new rules anyway as he was already at Gloucester? My main point is that by joining Dragons he’s effectively quitting competitive club rugby as they are such a poor operation. Mind you Ospreys seem to be trying to compete with them on that front this season.

But yeah he’s putting country before club and that’s fair enough. Probably good for his health as well as he’ll play a lot less now.

I was going to say, on current form, we’re probably the worse region in wales at the moment or at best on a par with the Dragons. I’m sure we’ll sort it out next season.

I’m going for

England
Ireland
Scotland
Wales
France
Italy

Like you say, though, I think you can throw a blanket over Scotland, Wales and France and I assume this new bonus point rules are carrying on from last season which adds another dimension. However if we beat Scotland on opening day I’ll up my prediction to 3rd and if we pull off a victory at Twickenham on the second game then we’re obviously going to win the grand slam again.

Arnoldtoo · Dec 6, 2017

E17yid said:
I was going to say, on current form, we’re probably the worse region in wales at the moment or at best on a par with the Dragons. I’m sure we’ll sort it out next season.

I’m going for

England
Ireland
Scotland
Wales
France
Italy

Like you say, though, I think you can throw a blanket over Scotland, Wales and France and I assume this new bonus point rules are carrying on from last season which adds another dimension. However if we beat Scotland on opening day I’ll up my prediction to 3rd and if we pull off a victory at Twickenham on the second game then we’re obviously going to win the grand slam again.

I love the way you always have Wales at least 3 places lower than you actually think they will finish.

Even if you put them 2nd you secretly think they'll be 3 places higher!

Fooling. No-one.

E17yid · Dec 6, 2017

Arnoldtoo said:
I love the way you always have Wales at least 3 places lower than you actually think they will finish.

Even if you put them 2nd you secretly think they'll be 3 places higher!

Fooling. No-one.

Ha ha. TBH, it’s hard to call with us at the moment. The autumn wasn’t great but it wasn’t terrible either but it’s even harder to gauge where we are as we’ve got so many injuries. It would’ve been nice to see where we are over the autumn with our first team but I think there’s a few positives to take out.

Welsh hat or no Welsh hat I always expect to beat Scotland at home so maybe I’m being slightly disingenuous in my prediction but I accept Scotland are in better form and are further along in their evolution than us. I honestly don’t think you’ll find many Welshman thinking we’ll be above Ireland and England, that much in being truthful about but I’ll always hold hope of beating both as with our first team, man for man, we’re quite even. We’re also better when we’re written off. Time will tell.

Arnoldtoo · Dec 6, 2017

E17yid said:
Ha ha. TBH, it’s hard to call with us at the moment. The autumn wasn’t great but it wasn’t terrible either but it’s even harder to gauge where we are as we’ve got so many injuries. It would’ve been nice to see where we are over the autumn with our first team but I think there’s a few positives to take out.

Welsh hat or no Welsh hat I always expect to beat Scotland at home so maybe I’m being slightly disingenuous in my prediction but I accept Scotland are in better form and are further along in their evolution than us. I honestly don’t think you’ll find many Welshman thinking we’ll be above Ireland and England, that much in being truthful about but I’ll always hold hope of beating both as with our first team, man for man, we’re quite even. We’re also better when we’re written off. Time will tell.

I think predictions are more dangerous this year than for a while tbh.

So much of the game (any game for that matter) is about confidence, and Scotland have tons of it atm. But lose the first game and it could all disappear.

Wales Scotland should be a good game and I honestly couldn't call it, though with home advantage ...

England bloody well should win with the resources and the depth that Jones has cultivated; there's little or no weakening when the 'finishers' come on and that's a huge advantage.

Ireland I just don't think are ahead of where they were last year, and I think they'll need to be to win the 6N.

I'm going:

England
Ireland - only because they're at home to Wales & Scotland
Wales - cos they're at home to Soctland
Scotland
France
Italy

Throw in a rogue result or two (Scotland to beat England at Murrayfield?) and I honestly think any of the top 4 there could win it.

talkshowhost86 · Dec 6, 2017

I'd certainly be surprised if we see a grand slam this time.

Should be great to watch. As long as England win. :cautious:

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