Re: England Getting Four Wins in the Six Nations - A New Thread

[Geordie]

First topic message reminder :

2 tries for Hartley at 12 .

Fdjour decent first scrum then missed some tackles etc.
Sales two wingers Reed and Roebuck were very impressive....

Bath v Cardiff now...lots of potential England options here.

[Cumbrian]

I think Freeman laid down a statement (albeit against disinterested opposition), he could (and should) be a boon for Borthwick.

[Geordie]

Freeman has to be a starter...simple as that...

[formerly known as Sam]

Doesn't matter where Freeman starts he just has to start.

[No 7&1/2]

7.5s going to have a heart attack when Furbanks picked for thw England squad.

Had to laugh at the interview he gave re a Dave given him grief as that may be the name behind the number. Rang true though that I've never really had too much concern over the skillset but more his mental fortitude which seems backed up by the quotes. Last weekend he went to pot quickly after an early mistake and that's still the thing that concerns me.

[No 7&1/2]

Re Freeman and a host of others... they're putting their hands up and they really need to be picked and supported to excel. Re Healeys point that you could pick the Northampton backline bar 1 or 4 as he would actually pick...you need to play the right way. You can't pick these guys and just ask them to watch the ball sail kver their heads for 80 mins. Here's hoping that a few coaches go down with having to turn ip for births or something and suddenly Vesty has to step in and coach the full team.

[Rugby Fan]

7.5s going to have a heart attack when Furbanks picked for thw England squad.

Rugby Analyst has included Furbank as a full back in his training squad.



His back three choices are Cokanasigna, Furbank, Steward, Radwan, and Watson, with Daly as a utility back. He's picked Freeman as a centre.

[mountain man]

I'd have Lawrence 12 Freeman 13. Despite his excellent form for Saints I do worry about Furbank but it's only fair to pick on form.
It's seems highly likely he'll be in announced squad anyway.

[Geordie]

9 Mitchell
10 Marcus (Fin on the bench)
11 Radwan
12 Dingwall
13 Lawrence
14 Freeman (Roving all over)
15 Steward

Murley injured I think or is he back again. Sleightholme in the squad also.

I think we're 6 months to a season out from having our 12. I think it could be Hartley...if he develops correctly at Saracens.

[mountain man]

Seriously I think you can forget Radwan being in. I just can't see it happening.

[Geordie]

Of course Radwan won't be in he's too good for England.
It'll probably be Daly...

[formerly known as Sam]

9 Mitchell
10 Marcus (Fin on the bench)
11 Radwan
12 Dingwall
13 Lawrence
14 Freeman (Roving all over)
15 Steward

Murley injured I think or is he back again. Sleightholme in the squad also.

I think we're 6 months to a season out from having our 12. I think it could be Hartley...if he develops correctly at Saracens.

I'd be tempted to go with;

9. Mitchell
10. F Smith
11. Freeman
12. Dingwall
13. Lawrence
14. Roebuck
15. Steward

21. Warr 22. M Smith 23. Slade

If I was to pick on form but that is a very green backline. Steward at not long turned 23 being easily the most capped player. I suspect they'll need a little more experience in there somewhere though the first game is Vs Italy and with Slade and M Smith bringing nearly 90 caps of experience off the bench if we need it and a midfield leader in Dingwall plus a strong club connection across 9/10/12 we might be able to make it work.

[Geordie]

Yes Sam if that backline was to stsrt v Italy I would be very happy.

[mikey_dragon]

9 Mitchell
10 Marcus (Fin on the bench)
11 Radwan
12 Dingwall
13 Lawrence
14 Freeman (Roving all over)
15 Steward

Murley injured I think or is he back again. Sleightholme in the squad also.

I think we're 6 months to a season out from having our 12. I think it could be Hartley...if he develops correctly at Saracens.

I'd be tempted to go with;

9. Mitchell
10. F Smith
11. Freeman
12. Dingwall
13. Lawrence
14. Roebuck
15. Steward

21. Warr 22. M Smith 23. Slade

If I was to pick on form but that is a very green backline. Steward at not long turned 23 being easily the most capped player. I suspect they'll need a little more experience in there somewhere though the first game is Vs Italy and with Slade and M Smith bringing nearly 90 caps of experience off the bench if we need it and a midfield leader in Dingwall plus a strong club connection across 9/10/12 we might be able to make it work.

I thought your backline was set to feature more stolen Welsh players....

[No 7&1/2]

Tompkins and Williams are due to join up later.

[formerly known as Sam]

9 Mitchell
10 Marcus (Fin on the bench)
11 Radwan
12 Dingwall
13 Lawrence
14 Freeman (Roving all over)
15 Steward

Murley injured I think or is he back again. Sleightholme in the squad also.

I think we're 6 months to a season out from having our 12. I think it could be Hartley...if he develops correctly at Saracens.

I'd be tempted to go with;

9. Mitchell
10. F Smith
11. Freeman
12. Dingwall
13. Lawrence
14. Roebuck
15. Steward

21. Warr 22. M Smith 23. Slade

If I was to pick on form but that is a very green backline. Steward at not long turned 23 being easily the most capped player. I suspect they'll need a little more experience in there somewhere though the first game is Vs Italy and with Slade and M Smith bringing nearly 90 caps of experience off the bench if we need it and a midfield leader in Dingwall plus a strong club connection across 9/10/12 we might be able to make it work.

I thought your backline was set to feature more stolen Welsh players....

Nothing worth stealing from Wales is there?

More a focus on capping the in form talent that also qualifies for Scotland.

[mountain man]

Walker having really good game for Quin's.

[mountain man]

I watched Quins v Cardiff and Care, Smith, Dombrandt, Walker and Chisolm all had really good game. Have to factor in opposition as it turned out to be a bit of a rout but can only play team in front of you.

Smith is a definite for Eng squad of course and quite probably Care but others should give food for thought to Borthwick. Do I have my doubts over Dombrandt for Eng again? Most definitley but he did have a good game.

[Poorfour]

Will Evans had a good game, too. Though he might be deemed a bit small for international rugby, he carried, tackled and jackalled very effectively against a pretty strong Cardiff back row

[formerly known as Sam]

I don't think Will Evans has been seen as to small I think it's a double blow of significant injuries at unfortunate times and there being a lot of competition at openside. He's in great form again and if the injury curse doesn't strike has a great chance of making the squad.

Care might well be in the squad as an experienced option though hopefully phased out as the younger guys push through. Sadly it doesn't look like JVP will recover in time though he is back training so could be back next week it probably isn't enough time.

Dombrant, it's always the same story. Looks good at club level then gets to international level and looks to be lacking the physicality to make a difference. Whether he can change that round this time I'm not sure, depends whether Borthwick offers him yet another chance. There were questions over his fitness last 6N where he didn't finish a game despite there being no like for like 8 in the 23.

[No 7&1/2]

Tbf Borthwock is going down the route of playing no number 8.

I come back to don't expect guys who play for Northampton,Harlequins etc to have the same influence and impact they do for their clubs as that's not what is being asked of them.

[No 7&1/2]

Lynagh had a really good game off the bench.

[mountain man]

Lynagh had a really good game off the bench.

Hard to tell really as by time he got on Cardiff were done and dusted. Likewise C-CS, I'd have liked to seen him on earlier.

[Rugby Fan]

Alfie Barbeary just got a yellow card when it could easily have been red card.

If that gets reassessed by the citing commissioner, it'll be the worst possible timing for his Six Nations squad chances.

[No 7&1/2]

Alfie Barbeary just got a yellow card when it could easily have been red card.

If that gets reassessed by the citing commissioner, it'll be the worst possible timing for his Six Nations squad chances.

It looked a red to me.

[Geordie]

Yeah should have been a red...but surely he is SBs first choice target for 8 moving Earl to the flank.

[Geordie]

Will Evans had a good game, too. Though he might be deemed a bit small for international rugby, he carried, tackled and jackalled very effectively against a pretty strong Cardiff back row

Speaking of 7s....would you include Pepper in the A game?

[No 7&1/2]

2 reds in the same game. He's out of the tournament for a long time.

[Geordie]

Aw well guess Barbeary won't be England 8 lol

[No 7&1/2]

Shame as he's the only 8 that really suits Borthwick and was probably the best player on the pitch...albeit he should have been off the pitch.

[Rugby Fan]

The citing commissioner could review both those offences as red. In practice, that rarely happens, which might help Barbeary escape a longer ban.

[Geordie]

6 matches...maybe halved..3 games? Would make the 6n bit would not be match fit....

[Geordie]

Rumours Sinckler on his way to Toulon with immediate or near immediate effect ..

[No 7&1/2]

Not good news if true.

[Geordie]

Ah I'm not sure. He's not the old player at Quins, hasn't been since his move to Bristol. But it does mean we're low on experience.

Painter might get promoted from the A game then...

[No 7&1/2]

Still our best tight head. Starting to get a bit concerning how many players don't want to play for England.

[mountain man]

Sinckler is miles off player he was 2-3 years ago. He went through a really poor patch of form pre RWC and I hoped he'd improve but if anything got worse. Coupled with a demeanour which looks like he can't be bothered and it's not been great.
I don't think a big loss being honest.

[mountain man]

Still our best tight head. Starting to get a bit concerning how many players don't want to play for England.

Well again being brutally honest if they don't want to play and give 100% for England then let them go. Give the place to someone who really wants it and is determined to make it.

[No 7&1/2]

Like Wales. Seems to be working for them tbf.

[Geordie]

Still our best tight head. Starting to get a bit concerning how many players don't want to play for England.

Nah hasn't been for along time...

[Geordie]

Still our best tight head. Starting to get a bit concerning how many players don't want to play for England.

Well again being brutally honest if they don't want to play and give 100% for England then let them go. Give the place to someone who really wants it and is determined to make it.

Or maybe he's been told his not involved...

[No 7&1/2]

Still our best tight head. Starting to get a bit concerning how many players don't want to play for England.

Well again being brutally honest if they don't want to play and give 100% for England then let them go. Give the place to someone who really wants it and is determined to make it.

Or maybe he's been told his not involved...

Could well be. Wouldn't be the first mistake Borthwick has made. Won't be the last. Or maybe Harrison has decided he's a loosehead.

[Geordie]

Still our best tight head. Starting to get a bit concerning how many players don't want to play for England.

Well again being brutally honest if they don't want to play and give 100% for England then let them go. Give the place to someone who really wants it and is determined to make it.

Or maybe he's been told his not involved...

Could well be. Wouldn't be the first mistake Borthwick has made. Won't be the last. Or maybe Harrison has decided he's a loosehead.

Be a very good decision...he's not the same player..poor..rhe mistake would be keeping him in.

[No 7&1/2]

So if he appears it's a mistake by Borthwick then. Fair enough.

[Geordie]

Not according to you as you love Sinckler ..

[No 7&1/2]

No. Its a mistake from your perspective. Yeah for me Sinckler is our best tighthead as I say above. He is underutilised by the current structure though.

[king_carlos]

Good to see the same high quality discourse as the previous England thread. Regretting posting in here after Mako retired now.

RF/mods, is it possible to remove a thread you've posted in from the "MyPosts" link? Asking for a colleague.

[Geordie]

Sorry KC just can't stop when 7.5 posts his drivel...

[No 7&1/2]

Uncalled for again Geordie. Saying Sinckler is our best tighthead isn't nonsense at all. Questioning whether we can afford to maintain the ban on selecting foreign based players isn't illogical given the growing number either.

[formerly known as Sam]

Sinckler is out of contract with Bristol at the end of the season. He's not looked remotely like good value for money as he's rumoured to be on around £475k a season. I imagine he's been told he's not going to get close to that on renewal and his agent is struggling to find interest at that level in the Prem. He's 30 years old, 31 by the end of the season, so he's got one big contract left in all probability. Would make sense for him to look at a move to France on a three year deal and maximise his earnings.

[formerly known as Sam]

Uncalled for again Geordie. Saying Sinckler is our best tighthead isn't nonsense at all. Questioning whether we can afford to maintain the ban on selecting foreign based players isn't illogical given the growing number either.

Sinckler isn't our best tighthead and wasn't first choice at the world cup.

We've got several younger options coming through. Heyes, Painter, Stuart are all playing regularly. Cole, Collier and Davison are all still around and available.

Ending the ban on selecting foreign based players is effectively calling open season on the Prem's best talent and will start a war between the PRL and the RFU.

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