606 AP Team of The Year - FB

Team is almost sorted - and very different from the one selected by ESPN. It will be interesting to compare it with Sky and RPA when they do theirs.

For now team is:

Marler
Brits
Johnston
Kohn
Robson
Johnson
Robshaw
Easter
Peel
Mieres
Wade
Barritt
Pisi
May
TBC

Work is manic toady so no big write up - but you know who the contenders are. Surely (on AP form alone) a straight fight between Mike Brown and Rob Miller.

wingers thread and links to others:
https://www.606v2.com/t28794-606-ap-team-of-the-year-wingers

LondonTiger wrote:Team is almost sorted - and very different from the one selected by ESPN. It will be interesting to compare it with Sky and RPA when they do theirs.

For now team is:

Marler
Brits
Johnston
Kohn
Robson
Johnson
Robshaw
Easter
Peel
Mieres
Wade
Barritt
Pisi
May
TBC

Work is manic toady so no big write up - but you know who the contenders are. Surely (on AP form alone) a straight fight between Mike Brown and Rob Miller.

wingers thread and links to others:
https://www.606v2.com/t28794-606-ap-team-of-the-year-wingers

Agreed, LT, it does seem to me that there are one or two 'odd' selections in there that are difficult to justify (at least in my head!). Have gone for Mike Brown for fullback

No Tiger surprises me. Though I suppose most of their star performers were at the world cup and internationals.

The surprising names in my opinion Mieres and Peel. Particularly Mieres, not sure how he got so many votes. Below at least 3 fly halves IMO - Hodgson,Flood and Evans.


Has to be Mike Brown. Though closely by Goode who I think is underrated.

Brown has been getting better year on year and has had a great season, but I've voted for Miller. This has been the season that he has fulfilled his potential.

Geordan Murphy for me, his leadership has been outstanding and his ice cool nerve to slot in his words "the ugliest kick of his life" against Sarries makes him my choice. Miller has impressed me greatly though has shown the odd slip under the high ball, Goode had some dodgey form in the first half of the season but is looking back to his classy best now (wish he'd signed for Tigers when we tried to do a deal) and Brown has been a real attacking force for Quins. Good to have so many options for England!

No Tiger surprises me. Though I suppose most of their star performers were at the world cup and internationals.

LT ruled half of them out and then the Quins/Exeter love in accounted for the rest, I mean there's no way Mieres is better than Flood or has shown such this season but there you go.

Went for Brown as well, Miller was outstanding when he came to Welford Road but for me Brown has clearly been the best over the season (though a notable mention for Geordan who has been a true leader and consistent as ever at the back for Tigers).

As for the team, well when the team finishing 2nd who have scored the most tries by a distance and have won 14 out of their last 16 games (including a record 6 wins in a row with a TBP) don't have a single player in the team of the season you know something isn't quite right but there we go.

Beshocked, I understand that reasoning but they weren't all away for all those matches and since the world cup we have had 1 loss, 1 draw and 14 wins, that is just under 3/4 of the season where we have been far and away the best team, I personally would have thought that would be enough to justify at least 1 Tigers player in there but that is the way people have voted. I think we will just have to put this down to Tigers' performances being down to a huge collective effort and I will take that if it means us winning the Premiership.

formerly known as Sam wrote:Geordan Murphy for me, his leadership has been outstanding and his ice cool nerve to slot in his words "the ugliest kick of his life" against Sarries makes him my choice. Miller has impressed me greatly though has shown the odd slip under the high ball, Goode had some dodgey form in the first half of the season but is looking back to his classy best now (wish he'd signed for Tigers when we tried to do a deal) and Brown has been a real attacking force for Quins. Good to have so many options for England!

No Tiger surprises me. Though I suppose most of their star performers were at the world cup and internationals.

LT ruled half of them out and then the Quins/Exeter love in accounted for the rest, I mean there's no way Mieres is better than Flood or has shown such this season but there you go.

What Exeter love-in? Tom Johnson is fully justified, and while Mieres may be less so, he's been incredibly consistent and in the second half of the season really developed hims game massively, setting free our back division. In all honesty, I'm surprised more Exe forwards didn't get selected (but that is with my one eye!)

What Exeter love-in? Tom Johnson is fully justified

I know but with a lot of the international options removed that was one of our few good shots at a place with Mafi. The reason more Exeter forwards didn't get a look in is because they play better than the sum of their parts. Individually they aren't really stand outs but put them together as a unit with Baxter calling the shots and suddenly they are a force.

Tigers probably have more second place options than any-one else.

Ayerza, Mafi, Waldrom, Salvi, Flood, Allen, Agulla have all come close.

Sam as I said I don't think Mieres was better than Evans,Flood or Hodgson.

Killer the difficulty is who do you include from Tigers?

I think Agulla was unlucky but many of the Tigers players only really woke up in the 2nd half of the season.

I personally would have had Ayerza and Agulla in at least and then after that I agree they are prob either first or second options so its a toss up. Flood is a difficult one but he has been easily the best 10 since he came back from injury so I would prob put him in as well, I know its only the 2nd half of the season but that second half has been so impressive that I think it can be justified.

beshocked wrote:Sam as I said I don't think Mieres was better than Evans,Flood or Hodgson.

Killer the difficulty is who do you include from Tigers?

I think Agulla was unlucky but many of the Tigers players only really woke up in the 2nd half of the season.

not strictly true. Since the end of the World Cup the returning tigers players have played well and the team went Played 16, Won 14, D1, L1.

Who would I include - well I understand the devotion to Joe Marler - but I feel Ayerza was better. Mafi has been outstanding in the league all season and was really unlucky to lose out to Johnson - and that ESPN selected Robshaw at 6. Waldrom, Flood and Agulla all deserve to be in, but came second in the polls.

also there were a lot of comments about certain players performances being "downgraded" by voters due to getting easy rides in a strong tigers team.

But this was a democratic vote (almost) and the people had their say.

not strictly true. Since the end of the World Cup the returning tigers players have played well and the team went Played 16, Won 14, D1, L1.

The one loss coming in the second half of the season away at Exeter which turned out to be a bit of a turning point for Tigers after a player meeting called by Geordan and involved the senior players laying down the law. From then a victory at Sarries, LV Cup triumph as well as dismantling both Saints and Quins at their own grounds on the way to 6 consecutive tbp wins.

Sam you talk about the Sarries win but that was a virtual full strength Tigers against a Sarries side denuded of a 1st choice backrow and backline.

You won in stoppage time.

We had Nils Mordt at fly half for crying out loud!

It's like the thrashing at WR - it's a good win but when players are missing it loses it's sparkle.

Sam you talk about the Sarries win but that was a virtual full strength Tigers against a Sarries side denuded of a 1st choice backrow and backline

Not quite full strength in that we were missing a good chunk of players (Castro, Cole, Parling, Deacon, Croft, Youngs, Harrison) but we were certainly the stronger team. In terms of morale it was a big one with Flood coming back from injury and a poor performance against Exeter as well as Manu showing he was back. In the context of play it wasn't a good result but in the context of the season having been stuffed at Ravenhill and then lost to the Chiefs it was an important game where Tigers showed some real grit and it brought the team together.

Yes Sam because of course the likes of Ayerza,Chuter,Mafi,Salvi,Waldrom,M.Tuilagi,Allen,Murphy,Agulla,Flood is not virtually a full strength side?

You had match ups like Flood vs Mordt,Taylor vs Agulla,Waldrom vs Wray, Allen vs Powell.

I said not quite in that we were not far off full strength. We were down to our fourth choice scrum half and were missing 3 tightheads as well as Croft, Deacon and Crane. Sarries were missing the two injured flankers, Stevens (though considering the mess in your scrum that was a blessing), Botha, Hodgson, Barritt and Farrell. Tigers certainly did have the far stronger team but it was a demoralised team that needed that victory a lot at that point in time.

Remember Flood and Manu were just back from injury.

I'm clearly voting for Brown here