Worst 15 of the six nations so far

1. Gethin Jenkins - rusty performance from Melon
2. Matthew Rhys - Good player, bad game
3. Mike Ross - quiet game for Ross
4. Richie Grey - Come on Richie looks like youre gonna miss the plane.
5. Jim Hamilton - God how Scotland could do with Hines.
6. Dave Denton - Didn't start but came on early. Once highly rated but no way he is a Lion on that performance. Thought 8s could pass.
7. Sam Warburton - what happened to this guy.
8. Johnnie Beattie - Bad day at the office
9. Mike Phillips - wasn't terrible but well below par for a guy who usually relishes playing v Ieland
10. Freddy Michelak - God he was awful. Jackson wasn't far off.
11. Mike Brown - responsible for one Scotland try, Rob Kearney was very quiet but didn't make any mistakes so Brown takes it.
12. Jamie Roberts - offered very little
13. Jonathan Davies - Very good player but his worst game in a while
14. Wesley Fofana - His worst game for a while. Subbed off after 52 minutes.
15. Alex Goode - leaky defense v Scotland. Is he fit?

France.

Fair point Morgan, though strangely I couldn't pin point many French individuals that were worse than others round the six nations. Feel free to help me on that. Collectively they were dreadful though.

Machaneud, Michalak, the front 5 seemed pretty anonymous. Picamoles was a monster as always. Even Dusatoir was disapointing, he'll likely have a massive game against Wales next week. That was an odd France team to be fair.

Considered Machaneaud alright. Michelak was the first name on my list.

Denton was worse than Dusatoir who showed some form.

Has Sante Andre been possessed by the soul of Lievremont? You have the best 9 in the northern hemisphere in Parra. What do you do? Leave him on the bench. You have a magic 10 in Trinh Duc. What do you do? Leave him on the bench for the flaky Michelak, and even when he is having a melt down dont sub him.

You also have the best 12 in Europe playing on the wing to accomodate the great but inferior Mermox. Utter, utter mad selections out of the Lievremont top drawer. Brilliant. Vive la France!!!!!!!!

Brown and Goode played the other way around

You've got Mike Brown out of position, he was out of position on the wing. Not sure he particularly deserves his position in that team, he and Cole didn't combine well on their positioning that eventually lead to a try, but he had a pretty decent game with the ball in hand, something the stats back up, more metres with the ball than anyone else over the weekend, the most clean breaks and only Ben Morgan beat more defenders. There were definitely worse wingers on show.

I wonder if this lad's team happens to be the one side that doesn't have representation in his list?

Giazzon is a hooker, you'll need a tighthead.

As for including Mike Brown and Johnnie Beattie- I strongly disagree. Ok, Brown made one major mistake but also carried the ball 133m and beat multiple defenders on multiple occassions. He was actually selected in Planet Rugbys team of the week after Round 1....Beattie carried the ball well too, made a few linebreaks and offloaded the ball well too. I thought they were both pretty good.

I would suggest Picamoles for 8 and Cuthbert for wing. Picamoles showed amazing power for his try but otherwise the game passed him by. Cuthbert ran one excellent line for a try but was shown up in defence for one too and otherwise failed to influence the game enough.

For toghthead, I think Mike Ross was possibly the least impressive.

I thought Rees had a good game, lineout went wrong when Owens came on.

Murray for tighthead - used to be able to scrummage, now can't even do that, was never able to keep up with the pace of the game, still cant

What! No Shingler? Typical anti Scarlet bias...

He didn't do anything so it's to hard to comment whether he was anything good or bad.

To be fair he was injured.

Notch wrote:For toghthead, I think Mike Ross was possibly the least impressive.

Ok put in Ross.

splenetic wrote:I wonder if this lad's team happens to be the one side that doesn't have representation in his list?

Yeah, odd there are no Irish given their 2nd half 'performance' on Saturday.

I'd say the Welsh XV first half, the Irish XV 2nd half and the French XV for the whole game

splenetic wrote:I wonder if this lad's team happens to be the one side that doesn't have representation in his list?

Fixed that. Ross is on the team now. I also singled out Kearney however, he wasnt the worst 15 of the weekend.

Feel free to point out what Irish were worst in their position over the weekend.

There are no italians on the team now.

Notch wrote:Giazzon is a hooker, you'll need a tighthead.

As for including Mike Brown and Johnnie Beattie- I strongly disagree. Ok, Brown made one major mistake but also carried the ball 133m and beat multiple defenders on multiple occassions. He was actually selected in Planet Rugbys team of the week after Round 1....Beattie carried the ball well too, made a few linebreaks and offloaded the ball well too. I thought they were both pretty good.

I would suggest Picamoles for 8 and Cuthbert for wing. Picamoles showed amazing power for his try but otherwise the game passed him by. Cuthbert ran one excellent line for a try but was shown up in defence for one too and otherwise failed to influence the game enough.

Did originally have Cuthbert but at least he scored a decent try. Wasnt particularly impressed with Brown. Beattie was terrible.

GunsGerms wrote:

Notch wrote:For toghthead, I think Mike Ross was possibly the least impressive.

Ok put in Ross.

What did Ross do wrong? He won a couple of penalties in the scrum.

A somewhat uncharitable thread, after just one game, but on the basis it's just a bit of fun;

D'arcy put a hand up for selection in this team. Would've said he was a shoo-in to start, but then Earls came on and managed to be even worse. Maybe they could play 12 & 13?

Heaslip did nothing behind the mighty effort of the 7 in front of him. Maybe the captaincy weighs a bit heavy on his shoulders. He'll have to raise his game against England or Ben Morgan will trample him into the Aviva grass. Literally.

BOD seems to have been awarded the man of the match on the basis of one speculative pass that went to hand (O'Brien was player of the entire weekend) but O'Driscoll did put a superb try-saving hit on Ian Evans, so he wasn't completely anonymous and thus avoids selection.

That should give a nice balanced look to the team.

Casartelli wrote:A somewhat uncharitable thread, after just one game, but on the basis it's just a bit of fun;

D'arcy put a hand up for selection in this team. Would've said he was a shoo-in to start, but then Earls came on and managed to be even worse. Maybe they could play 12 & 13?

Heaslip did nothing behind the mighty effort of the 7 in front of him. Maybe the captaincy weighs a bit heavy on his shoulders. He'll have to raise his game against England or Ben Morgan will trample him into the Aviva grass. Literally.

BOD seems to have been awarded the man of the match on the basis of one speculative pass that went to hand (O'Brien was player of the entire weekend) but O'Driscoll did put a superb try-saving hit on Ian Evans, so he wasn't completely anonymous and thus avoids selection.

That should give a nice balanced look to the team.

Yes it is just a bit of fun.

BOD also scored a try and defended very well.

Heaslip was no way near as bad as Denton. Ben Morgan will probably be out of the Ireland match, he still looks slightly overweight so wouldnt be too concerned about him.

1. Gethin Jenkins - rusty performance from Melon Agree - he shouldnt even be in the squad
2. Matthew Rhys - Good player, bad game - Agree, think hes slightly past his best though these days
3. Mike Ross - quiet game for Ross - I actually thought all of the tightheads did pretty well this weekend. Can I put Gethin Jenkins here too? the worst of all the props on show by a mile.
4. Richie Grey - Come on Richie looks like youre gonna miss the plane. Agree (although I think he'll improve throughout the 6ns)
5. Jim Hamilton - God how Scotland could do with Hines.
6. Dave Denton - Shingler - he shouldnt have been starting
7. Sam Warburton - what happened to this guy. Agree, but I think the welsh management have caused their own problems by rushing him back in Oz and sticking with him since despite not being fit, he's had to play himself back to fitness and form in front of the world leading a team who are young and only really know relative success but on a downward spiral, without its head coach, thats a tough gig, especially when you're more experienced players arent fronting up and your Howley is selecting the team.
8. Johnnie Beattie - Bad day at the office - Agree, but only cause I was really looking forward to seeing him play, hes been ripping up trees for montpellier, Morgan was probably the worst 8 on show.
9. Mike Phillips - Machenaud (sp?) - Sorry, but Parra this guy was not.
10. Freddy Michelak - God he was awful. Jackson wasn't far off. Agree
11. Mike Brown was responsible for one Scotland try, Rob Kearney was very quiet, North & Cuthbert may aswell have not played in the first half, but it goes to.... Benjamin Fall - I sort of did forget he was playing until I saw him pick up a ball after a whistle.
12. Jamie Roberts - offered very little - Agree
13. Jonathan Davies - Very good player but his worst game in a while -Agree
14. Wesley Fofana - His worst game for a while. Subbed off after 52 minutes. - Agree
15. Alex Goode - leaky defense v Scotland. Is he fit? Agree

That is my version of the worst 15, I used Guns OP cause it was pretty similar in make up to what I would have had!

Nice one comfort. Machenaud defo came close for me too. I like Philips actually but he really wasnt the pest we are used to seeing when he plays v Ireland.

Fall scored a decent try so would be harsh enough to include him but yes he wasnt great.

Not sure how Morgan got mentioned there - for the just under 50 minutes he was on he had a storming game, beat more tacklers than anyone on the pitch and making more metres than anyone bar Brown.

Also think Brown is a bit of a harsh call - yes he made a mistake for the first Scotland try (should just have kicked to touch), but was consistently dangerous ball in hand.

Goode on the other hand didn't really do too much that shone and made a few mistakes (a couple of times passing too early rather than drawing the defender and creating space), so on a weekend where most fullbacks played well, he's not an unreasonable call.

Dummy, Im not saying Morgan played badly, but I thought ALL of the 8s had strong games this weekend. Faletau was probably the least eye catching but I'd put that down to his work in the tight exchanges.

I just felt Mogan/Beattie were the least impressive, and Im still slightly bitter Morgan didnt want to turn to the darkside

George North was awful and went missing for large parts of the game as an international player you have to go looking for the ball, Brown isn't a winger and may be found out against Ireland as that’s where I would target England.

Let’s hope for Quins sake that this experience doesn't destroy his confidence

Really didnt think George North was that bad. Thought he was one of he better Welsh backs. If you look at the stats I think he was Wales' top carrier. Neutralised all day though with some excellent tackling.

Think it's much too early to make a call for anyone in certain positions - Thought all six starting Number 8s had excellent games over the weekend, for example. Would pick Goode at 15, since that's where he played, and would undoubtedly find a spot for Hamilton as well. Machenaud would be my 9, Jackson my 10, Mermoz and Roberts my centres (God, Roberts looks low on confidence), and Cuthbert, even allowing for his try, looked a pale imitation of last year. Those are the ones that stood out to me. I'm loath to fill every position - there wasn't enough incompetence on display for that.

captain carrantuohil wrote:Think it's much too early to make a call for anyone in certain positions - Thought all six starting Number 8s had excellent games over the weekend, for example. Would pick Goode at 15, since that's where he played, and would undoubtedly find a spot for Hamilton as well. Machenaud would be my 9, Jackson my 10, Mermoz and Roberts my centres (God, Roberts looks low on confidence), and Cuthbert, even allowing for his try, looked a pale imitation of last year. Those are the ones that stood out to me. I'm loath to fill every position - there wasn't enough incompetence on display for that.

What do you meant too early? Its the worst 15 so far.

Comfort wrote:Dummy, Im not saying Morgan played badly, but I thought ALL of the 8s had strong games this weekend. Faletau was probably the least eye catching but I'd put that down to his work in the tight exchanges.

I just felt Mogan/Beattie were the least impressive, and Im still slightly bitter Morgan didnt want to turn to the darkside

Well most media had Beattie in the lions position after this week, so it seems that were two games being shown

Morgan for me

For this team the Captain has to be Phillips

One of the worst performances I have ever seen - if anyone says he should go on the lions, they should check themselves into a padded room

There wasn't a worst 8, then. The team will have to take the field without one. Broadly, the Scottish tight 5, the French back row (except Picamoles), Machenaud, Jackson, the French or Welsh centres, unless you want Lamont, Cuthbert, Fofana and Goode.

captain carrantuohil wrote:There wasn't a worst 8, then. The team will have to take the field without one. Broadly, the Scottish tight 5, the French back row (except Picamoles), Machenaud, Jackson, the French or Welsh centres, unless you want Lamont, Cuthbert, Fofana and Goode.

Fair enough.

Riskysports wrote:For this team the Captain has to be Phillips

One of the worst performances I have ever seen - if anyone says he should go on the lions, they should check themselves into a padded room

Risky, can you clarify why you thought he was so bad?

Not having a go, I just disagree.

Comfort wrote:

Riskysports wrote:For this team the Captain has to be Phillips

One of the worst performances I have ever seen - if anyone says he should go on the lions, they should check themselves into a padded room

Risky, can you clarify why you thought he was so bad?

Not having a go, I just disagree.

He passing was awful and led to Biggar's charge down. He still makes yards on the run but if he can't do his primary job then he's useless

His passing was alright for the majority of the game considering he was having to wrestle the ball free from 1-2 irish men at nearly every single ruck.

When wales started winning clean ball he put it on a plate and we saw the welsh backline get moving.

Phillips isnt the problem in the welsh team, in fact, hes doing very well to hold it together. Hes got a young 8 who is known more for his work ball in hand than tight control and rucking and a young 10 starting his first game in the 6nations in a side on the back of 7 losses.

Sorry, Phillips may not have been on top form this weekend just gone, but I would have loved to see any of the other scrum halfs behind that welsh pack in the first half.

And by no means am I a big Phillips fan, I just hear people regurgitate so much rubbish about him without acknowledging the fact our forwards are so hit and miss at the breakdown it could possibly have an effect on him.

ChequeredJersey wrote:

Comfort wrote:

Riskysports wrote:For this team the Captain has to be Phillips

One of the worst performances I have ever seen - if anyone says he should go on the lions, they should check themselves into a padded room

Risky, can you clarify why you thought he was so bad?

Not having a go, I just disagree.

He passing was awful and led to Biggar's charge down. He still makes yards on the run but if he can't do his primary job then he's useless

Phillips was guff. Watch Youngs and Connor for examples of how to Play scrum half. Genia really exposed Phillips for what he is in the summer. An amateur scrum half who should be a Flanker and stop kidding himself.

I thought that sub scrummy the Welsh brought on looked a lot more dangerous.

Number 8 is a tough one given that there were strong performances across the board, but Beattie's work at the base of a rapidly retreating scrum allied with some powerful carries rules him out for my money.

I'd include Morgan personally. Morgan made some good carries (aided very much by Visser's inability to tackle anything), but he had an armchair ride. I felt he and Goode were the only two players in the England side probably bettered by their opposite numbers in blue, and for that reason I'd put them in this "worst XV" of the week. Harsh, as neither were particularly bad, but just so happen to be in strong categories.

Seems to be polarised opinions of Phillips going on here. The French scrum half was considerably worse on Sunday.

Well I guess Beattie was better than Morgan at running from one side of the pitch to the other while waving the ball in one hand, especially after Morgan had gone off injured.

lostinwales wrote:Well I guess Beattie was better than Morgan at running from one side of the pitch to the other while waving the ball in one hand, especially after Morgan had gone off injured.

Would that be after he had clattered the English lock onto his erse and was looking for support and subsequently won a penalty through his efforts ? Go watch some rugby pal

I did watch the game and I do rate Beattie. I just get fed up that because of a couple of good runs hes getting rated so highly, when the fat boy ran twice as far in less time and less carries, beating more defenders on the way. Even allowing for turnstile Visser his stats would still be better

Stats frats

Beattie was good. No doubt at all. Ran, tackled, rucked. all the things a good forward should do.

Phillips - awful as ever - he is just so slow in passing. Wales will struggle anytime they play him You don't need an extra flanker - you need a scrum half

15. Alex Goode - leaky defense v Scotland. Is he fit?

No. Played one game returning from injury then straight into international action.

during the match commentary it was mentioned that michalak had been learning from wilkinson to iron out the erratic behaviour in his game but i wonder if this is a wise plot. one thing about wilkinson is he as been described as many a thing mostly with robotic overtones. he was one of the greats but he as never been known for his flair hes just not that sort of player. so if its true that the change in michalak is down to being forced to play an unnatural style then it begs the question what is a flair player without his flair? can you imagine carlos spencer or shane williams or david campese with the erratic behaviour ironed out of their games? or was it just his time in the super rugby that has upset his natural rhythms?

Can't believe Cuthbert managed to avoid this list! He was key for two of Irelands tries!!

I can only hope that France keep the same half back combo against Wales.Both were poor in the extreme.

yappysnap wrote:Can't believe Cuthbert managed to avoid this list! He was key for two of Irelands tries!!

He was on my first draft but I took him off because he scored a good try.

He also made no tackles at all