Irish Provinces NIE Best XV

Just a bit of fun more than anything else;

rules are kinda self explainitory, make the best XV you can only using NIE players playing for an Irish province currently (the player can be injured though).

Give it a bash and see what we come up with.

My team would be:

1-Van Der Merwe:
Beats DuPreez as VDm seems the better alround player and DuPreez seems to flatter to decieve
2-Strauss
One of the best NIE's last season, good from touch, excellent in the loose and great support runner
3-Afoa
Best scrummager IMO in Ireland. Just beats Botha to the prize although this is a big decision
4-Muller
Comfortably the best NIE lock at the moment, great leader and solid perfomer in the enforcer mould
5-Sykes
Has a lot still to prove and seems to be adjusting to irish weather rather than irish rugby
6-Warrenburg
Big lump of a man, no other contenders really. Not great by any means but very solid
7-Naiopu
Only Connacht representation in my XV. Great carrying, not a 7 but needed someone.
8-Diack
Can be very ropey at times but can be excellent at others.
9-Pienaar
One of the best signings Ulster have ever made, won them so many games last season.
10-Berquist
Has proved nothing much yet but spurred Madigan on hugely. Best pick though really.
11-Danielli
Beats Chambers to the team instead of putting payne on wing. Not a good try scorer but hard worker
12-Mafi
A little bit one dimensional but definitely a live wire and ferocious tackling.
13-Payne
Still hasn't shown anything really but the guy is class. Beats Chambers to the team (big decision).
14-Howlett
Easy call really, great try scorer and fantastic servant to rugby. One of the best alround wingers.
15-Nacewa
The best 15 in the NH IMO. Most natural player I've seen and amazing vision.

What do you make of my team?
Would you put Chambers in?
Does Botha deserve a look in?
Is Naiopu too out of place at 7?
Is there a better option than Sykes?

What would your team be like and why?

Diack isnt NIE pete. the only real call is Afoa over BJ. Both are perfect for what each province needs but Afoa is the more all round player

Oh crap, so does he qualify as a project player or does he have ancestry or am I just completely off the mark?

Who would you put at 8 then if the is IQ?

He's lived here for over three years so is now dual qualified for Ireland and South Africa. Don't think there are any other NIQ backrows.

You'd have to move Naoupu to 8 and Ray Ofisa of Connacht to 7.

That's definitely weakened the pack realistically.

I didn't know he had dual qualification. Can't see him getting capped for either realistically.

What do people think of the Daneilli/Chambers/Payne selection??

I'd have Terblanche or Chambers ahead of Danielli. Danielli has been poor for a while now.

12. Mafi 13. Chambers
11. Nacewa 14. Howlett
15. Payne/Terblanche

What about yer man who played no8 against Ulster, sorry forgot his name...he ran over the top of Diack for the try anyway. Oh yeah its Wannenburg not Warrenburg...

Sorry dyslexia strikes again!

Leo Avuav'a ran him over but he despite looking like a Samoan is Irish qualified I belive.

So if the team is

VDM-Strauss-Afoa
Muller-Sykes
Wannenburg-Naiopu-Ofesia
Pienar-Berquist
Mafi-Chambers
Nacewa-Payne-Howlett

who could these guys beat out of the provinces?

They'd beat Connacht surely with that backline?
Would they give Ulster a run for their money?

To take on a Welsh NWQ team of

??????? - Willis - Manu
Tito - Timani
Morgan - Rush - ??????
Fotuali'i - Parks
Tuilagi - Laulala
Chavhanga- Dirksen - Bowe

Really struggling for a loosehead and openside.

They could possibly beat Ulster as they would be stealing arguably our three best players!

chris_501 wrote:To take on a Welsh NWQ team of

??????? - Willis - Manu
Tito - Timani
Morgan - Rush - ??????
Fotuali'i - Parks
Tuilagi - Laulala
Chavhanga- Dirksen - Bowe

Really struggling for a loosehead and openside.

That could end up a tasty team actually.

Would love to see the NE(nglish)Q team!!!! :Laugh:

I think it looks pretty weak. Theres a bit of strength at 8 and 6 but not much elsewhere.

I think a NF(rance)Q team from the Top 14 would be potentially terrifying when you think of the players you have over there.

Steenkamp-Ledesma-Tialata
Botha-Albacette
Van Niekerk-Lauaki-Armitage (struggling a bit on 7s)
Burgess-Wilkinson (or Contempomi, Hook, Giteau, Hernandez)
Mcallister-Steyn
Matanavou-Byrne-Rokocoko

and thats probably leaving otu a huge number of players i've forgotten.

There is no way Wilkinson is the best non french outhalf in the Top 14. Seriously, that is beyond a joke at this stage. He was the best 10 in the worold 8 years ago. Its over. Move on.

An aging Felipe is better, his club mate Warwick is better, Hernadez is better, Hook out of position is better...... I despair.

Sorry, I didn't mean to imply he was the best, he was the first that came to mind, in much the way that armitage was the first 7 but I'm sure there are better, I put the others in when i thought of them and none of them are at there best. Contepomi is as you point out ageing, Hook may or may not be a flyhalf depending on who you listen to, giteau is certaimly not at his best and hernandez is injured i believe (i certainly haven't seen him play in a long time). In other positions as well there are probably a huge number of players I've forgotten i was just throwing together a team. Ideally i'd have thought of a 13 instead of playing 2 12s or even moved steyn back to fullback instead of Byrne.

For England possibly

Tonga'uiha-Britz-Castro
Wentzel - Hamilton
Brown-Joubert-Burger
Peel-Evans
Fuimaono-Sapolu-Pisi
Tagicakibau-Murphy- Tuilagi

You could put Godzilla in for the French lads at 7. My god the French team is terrifying!

Sorry Dim, may have overreacted a touch there, just thought you were another individual who will forever believe that the sun shines from JW's @rse. Sorry abou that!

On the subject of Felipe, as a Munster fan I have no agenda in promoting him for this paper teamsheet, but I watched his perfromance for Stade away to Perpignan (I think) a couple of weeks ago and he was excellent. Much like the last thing a boxer loses is his punch, Felipe will always have the vision to start the riot ina phonebox well after his body fails to follow his minds orders. And that hasnt happened just yet.

Ye, Hook is cursed by his own versatility, but I still think he can be a player that plays 30 games a season at 10 without embarressing himself in any way. And I also think he is far better than JW is now in all facets of play, inc goal kicking. I am totally ignoring the RWC stats btw.

pete (buachaill on eirne) wrote:You could put Godzilla in for the French lads at 7. My god the French team is terrifying!

+1 that. That team would mangle the Irish & Welsh N I/W E Teams. WHich is probably a good thing for Wales & Ireland, if you get me. But that is some team, with a huge number of options too of the highest quality.

Sorry Dim, may have overreacted a touch there, just thought you were another individual who will forever believe that the sun shines from JW's @rse. Sorry abou that!

That's alright, despite being English I've never been a complete Jonny lover. He was v. good in 03 although was helped by having quality players around him and hasn't been the same since.

On the subject of Felipe, as a Munster fan I have no agenda in promoting him for this paper teamsheet, but I watched his perfromance for Stade away to Perpignan (I think) a couple of weeks ago and he was excellent. Much like the last thing a boxer loses is his punch, Felipe will always have the vision to start the riot ina phonebox well after his body fails to follow his minds orders. And that hasnt happened just yet.

That might be the case but he's had some absolute shockers as well, like this 'winning'drop goal against Toulouse https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=OP3yLxzmOLI

You could put Godzilla in for the French lads at 7.

Brilliant shout I'd forgotten him.

I think you could read several different things into these teams. Obviously the French and English leagues have more overseas players but they are spread across a larger number of teams. It's also not the players listed here for the French and English leagues that are the problem as i suspect Welsh and Irish supporters would be happy to have top quality players like these in their leagues. The problem is the average overseas players clogging up English and French rugby and denying young English and French players game time. The same can also be said of the Rabo as well as there are some fairly average players in the NIQ and NWQ teams, I'm thinking of the likes of Sykes, Berquist, Tuilagi and Parks who add little to their teams.

BAsically what I'm saying is I'm happy to see overseas players playing provided they are high quality imports who add to their teams and aren't avergae journeymen denying youngsters the opportunity to play.

chris_501 wrote:To take on a Welsh NWQ team of

??????? - Willis - Manu
Tito - Timani
Morgan - Rush - ??????
Fotuali'i - Parks
Tuilagi - Laulala
Chavhanga- Dirksen - Bowe

Really struggling for a loosehead and openside.

Manu (can play loose) - Willis - Filise
Paterson - Timani
Stowers - Rush - Molitika

Fotuali'i - Parks
Lamont - Lualala
Chavanga - Blair - Bowe

Ben Morgan and Dirksen are going to be WQ soon (Morgan in a few days), and Tito is WQ already.