Season 8 Homepage I

by SirJohnnyEnglish Sat Jun 13, 2015 6:49 pm

First topic message reminder :

Breaking News: London Wasps regain their crown following playoff final victory.

Season 8 Homepage I - Page 15 Aviva-Premiership-Trophy-e1306508139154

2014/2015 – London Wasps

2013/2014 – London Wasps
2012/2013 – Leicester Tigers
2011/2012 – Newcastle Falcons
2010/2011 - Newcastle Falcons
2009/2010 – Saracens
2008/2009 - London Irish

POS	Aviva Premiership	PLAYED	WON	DREW	LOST	P F	P A	P D	T F	T A	TBP	LBP	POINTS
1	London Wasps *	22	18	1	3	626	564	62	69	49	8	2	83
2	Sale Sharks *	22	18	0	4	616	546	70	68	49	7	4	82
3	Northampton Saints	22	16	0	6	606	553	53	62	51	8	6	78
4	Harlequins *	22	12	2	8	605	564	41	60	54	3	8	62
5	Leicester Tigers	22	11	2	9	551	541	10	47	47	0	9	57
6	Bath Rugby *	22	10	1	11	572	579	-7	57	55	3	11	51
7	Gloucester *	22	9	1	12	582	577	5	58	53	3	12	51
8	Newcastle Falcons *	22	9	1	12	553	579	-26	52	53	3	10	50
9	Saracens *	22	9	2	11	546	578	-32	47	53	1	10	50
10	Exeter Chiefs *	22	7	4	11	538	568	-30	46	54	0	11	46
11	London Welsh	22	4	0	18	513	601	-88	45	61	0	12	28
12	London Irish *	22	2	2	18	531	601	-70	43	64	1	16	27

Links

Fixture List
Released/Championship/National League/Academy Bidding
Foreign Transfers
Budgets
European Homepage
Anglo Welsh Homepage

Welcome to Season 8 of the Aviva Premiership fantasy rugby game. Below are the rules of the game which must be adhered to. If there are any situations that arise in the course of the game which are not covered by the rules, a final decision will be made by the RFU (SJE) as to how the situation will be resolved.

Senior Squads wrote:
The maximum squad size is 40 senior players. If a team has more than 40 players in their squad then they will be fined £1 million per player over the permitted amounts per day for the first seven days. If after 7 consecutive days a team still has more than the permitted number of players then the team will be fined £2 million per player per day, and fined 1 league point per player per day for the next seven days. If after this time a team still has more than the permitted number of players in their squad, the RFU (SJE) will remove players at its discretion to bring them back under the permitted numbers. There will be no right of appeal to players being removed.

Be aware that all tier one international matches which are played during the season will count in the game, and players selected in the match day 23's for those matches will not be eligible to play for their clubs on that weekend, therefore you must give due consideration to the make-up of your squad.

Academy Rules wrote:
Each team will be allowed to have an academy squad of 23 players. Players who are in the academy must be born on or after 1st September 1993.

Any player, who is at any Premiership club in real life, either in their senior, academy or AASE squads, can be bid for on the domestic bidding page. Players who are at your own club in real life and are coming through the academy system must be bid for if you want them in your own academy.

Transfers wrote:

Domestic (other AP Teams)
Each team has a budget to use in the purchase of players. Domestic transfers between AP clubs, regardless of nationality of player, should be negotiated between the respective managers, and then confirmed on the Domestic Transfer Confirmation Page.
Domestic (Championship and below)
Each team may during the season purchase no more than 5 players from the Championship or the National Leagues. Worcester Warriors & London Wasps will receive two additional bids to be used exclusively on academy age players. These players must be bid for on the National League Bidding page, and each bid will be considered by the RFU on its own merits before being accepted or rejected. No bid will be accepted until a minimum of 24 hours has elapsed from the time the bid was made, in order to afford other managers the opportunity to make a counter bid.
Foreign
To make a foreign transfer (i.e. from any club outside of the AP, regardless of whether the player is English) a bid should be made on the Foreign Transfers Page, which will be considered by the RFU against the posted guidelines for purchase prices before being accepted or rejected. No bid will be accepted until a minimum of 24 hours has elapsed from the time the bid was made, in order to afford other managers the opportunity to make a counter bid.

There will be a summer foreign transfer window, which will run as follows.
Player Draft
Worcester Warriors & London Wasps will participate in a player draft beginning the week of June 22nd. Both sides will be allowed to draft two players each. The draft picks will go as follows; 1. Worcester 2. Wasps 3. Wasps 4. Worcester.

Round Bidding
There will be two rounds of bidding. The first window will run the week starting June 29th and the second the week starting July 3rd. All sides will be allowed to sign one player each during the window. These bids are not protected if you do not have the funds in place to bid during the window you will lose the bid.

Open Bidding
From July 13th the foreign market will be open to all bids similar to previous seasons. Due to the world cup the window will remain open till the end of September.

Player Releases wrote:
Managers may choose to release players from their clubs, for which they will be offered compensation

Compensation will be paid as follows

£2 million – current international (must have played international rugby in the previous 12 months)
£1.5 million – former international
£1m – top flight experience
£0.5m – other

All released players will be deemed to have joined a Championship side and can be bid for on the National League Bidding page.

Retirements wrote:
There will be no compensation for retiring players. Should a player who retires decide to come out of retirement and play again, then he will automatically go back to the club who he was playing for in the game when he retired.

Fixtures wrote:
There will be 22 Aviva Premiership games per season, plus the play offs. There will also be European Rugby Champions Cup, European Rugby Challenge Cup and Anglo Welsh Cup matches. These games will take place once a week. A match thread will be put up every Monday. Home teams must be named by midnight on Tuesday. Away teams must be named by midnight on Wednesday. Failure to meet these deadlines is punishable by the addition of three match points to the oppositions final score, unless both sides fail to do so. Both teams must provide tactics by midnight on Thursday. Predictions will be open from 00:01 hours on Friday and remain open until 20:00 hours on Sunday. Managers will pm the scores that they think will happen from these games (apart from games in which they are involved). An average of all predictions will be taken, and then 0.5 points added to each teams score for each prediction that had them as the winner, and that will then be the final score.

Managers are asked to provide detail as to why they have predicted a result. To be considered a descriptive prediction this must be a full 3 lines long when entered into the text box.

Teams wrote:
When naming your team, not only should you put the starting XV and replacements, but also tactics that your team will employ. Results will be affected by the tactics described.

In addition, each team must have the following:-

For domestic competition at least 8 England qualified players in your match day 23, and at least 4 of those must be in your starting XV.

For European competition at least 8 England qualified players in your match day 23, and at least 6 of those must be in your starting XV.

At least 2 props and 1 hooker on the bench.

All players must be eligible (not injured or banned).

Failure to comply with these rules will result in a 1 league point deduction.

If you fail to submit a team for a match, then the other team will be automatically awarded a 30-0 bonus point win. If both teams fail to submit a team, then it will be scored as a 0-0 draw.

Injuries and Suspensions wrote:
Injuries in this game do NOT reflect real life, they will be generated by me.

Players banned in real life will be ineligible for selection in this game for the duration of the ban.

Inclusion of injured/banned players will result in them being replaced by players on the bench, and the bench not having eight players, which may result in punishment if it concerns the front-row.

Punishment for fielding an ineligible player will be loss of one match point.

Financial Rewards wrote:
There will be no rewards for the result of an individual match, instead the managers will receive cash for predicting.

£2m for descriptive predictions
£0.25m for scores on the doors predictions
Bonuses will be awarded on a scaled basis i.e. 2m for 5 games, 1.6m for 4 games and so on
If you fail to predict without first advising me that you are unable to do so that week, you will be fined £1m for a first offence, £2m for a second offence, £3m for a third offence etc upto a maximum of £5m per fine.

AP finishing positions.

Champions: 8m
Runners Up: 6m
Playoff Semi Finalist Losers: 5m
5th: 4m
6th: 3.5m
7th: 3m
8th: 2.5m
9th: 2m
10th: 1.5m
11th: 1m
12th: 0.5m

Heineken Cup

Losing Quarter Finalists - £2 million each
Losing Semi Finalists - £3 million each
Runners Up - £4 million
Champions - £5 million

Amlin Challenge Cup

Losing Quarter Finalists - £1 million each
Losing Semi Finalists - £2 million each
Runners Up - £3 million
Champions - £4 million

Anglo-Welsh Cup

Losing Semi Finalist - £1 million each
Runners Up - £2 million
Champions - £3 million

If your budgets falls below minus £10 million for any reason, the administrators (SJE) will step in and players from within your squad will be released for the relevant financial compensation (foreign transfer value) in order to bring your budget back above minus £10 million.

by Guest Tue Jul 21, 2015 5:57 pm

Sgt_Pooly wrote:I thought Pollard was pretty awful in defence Johnny, he seems to have regressed this season (along with his kicking from hand).

Boks lack of impact in the forwards from the bench was a big factor, they offered very little were Aus ramped up.

Praised by commentators for his defensive work throughout. He did not have the greatest game
Ball in hand but his defensive effort was beyond questioning.

by Steven_Sharks Tue Jul 21, 2015 6:03 pm

Pollards defence was very very good.

by Sgt_Pooly Tue Jul 21, 2015 6:15 pm

His defence was pretty dire, remember him slipping off tackles before 2 Aus tries. His defence has been poor all season which is surprising as it was good last year. Seems teams are targeting him.

by Sgt_Pooly Tue Jul 21, 2015 6:20 pm

Check Aus first try, AAC ran straight past Pollard, awful attempt. He was poor there all game and Aus got joy through his channel.

by Sgt_Pooly Tue Jul 21, 2015 6:25 pm

"Pienaar slows the game down and does not allow SA to play a proper attacking game. Meyer is probably the only person in SA who wants Pienaar in the Bok team. The calls for Pienaar to be axed are pretty strong in the press."

Not sure on that, I like Pienaar, I thought he outplayed Genia.

by dammit_chris Tue Jul 21, 2015 6:29 pm

He's a big lad so not sure how you target someone who is very good defensively as you are suggesting there. Pollard is an exceptional talent, he's form has gone off but in an odd way in that he does some excellent things in a game but then makes some bad decisions or executes things poorly - he's young and will only get better.

Similar to Ford in that the season before last people were saying he was poor and shouldn't be selected for England and now you'd be hard pressed to find someone who wouldn't say he's England's first choice no10. Pollard has had similar ups and downs but all
Down to experience and an excellent player.

by Sgt_Pooly Tue Jul 21, 2015 6:36 pm

Being big doesn't make you good defensively though Chris, see Twelvetrees who has the odd lapse.

10 Handré Pollard

A disappointing game which saw him make too many basic errors. Made a crucial turnover and attacked the line well, but his kicking out of hand was not good enough and he missed too many tackles.
4/10

Pretty much as I seen it. He ran well but he's not the best option for SA as he's too error prone.

Totally agree he'll improve Chris, the lad is only 21/22, he's a boy still.

by Steven_Sharks Tue Jul 21, 2015 6:38 pm

Pienaar's lack of pace himself leads people to think he provides slow ball when he doesn't.

Just as Peranara's pace and livelyness leads to people presume he's flakey and can't control a game.

Lazy stereotypes

by Sgt_Pooly Tue Jul 21, 2015 6:40 pm

Agree Steve, I really like Pienaar.

by Guest Tue Jul 21, 2015 6:58 pm

Steven_Sharks wrote:Pienaar's lack of pace himself leads people to think he provides slow ball when he doesn't.

Just as Peranara's pace and livelyness leads to people presume he's flakey and can't control a game.

Lazy stereotypes

I like Pienaar a lot but he is a controlling scrum half and not one who gets the ball out quickly. His tactical kicking and awareness are great. Just think he works better in a conservative game plan.

Seen Pienaar win many games be man of the match by
Doing this.

by Fluxy Tue Jul 21, 2015 7:14 pm

Pienaar had much better service than Genia. He is not just a 'controlling nine' I'm stating that with Lambie or Steyn, They would've got a little more joy in attack than Pollard. For me he is a talent, but not ready mentally for international rugby

by Guest Tue Jul 21, 2015 7:22 pm

Did you not seem he crucify the all blacks last year fluxy ???

Opinion of Ex Bok players is unanimous on him. They obviously know a thing or
2

http://m.sarugbymag.co.za/index.php?postslug=&slug=blog/details/continue-to-play-pollard#continue-to-play-pollard

by SirJohnnyEnglish Tue Jul 21, 2015 7:27 pm

Unanimous? Did you read Gaffie Du Toit in that link Whistle

by Guest Tue Jul 21, 2015 7:32 pm

Well 5 out of 6.

The point of these games is to get ready for the WC. A young player has ups and downs but he has been identified as the player they want and like ford he needs games at that level and only way you get experience is by doing that.

As I posted the other day after the same game where Skelton had a stinker. I think it would be wrong to drop Skelton as I think he is their best option and could become world class so you stick with him.
Same with Pollard and same with George ford.

They will make a few mistakes starting out but that is what makes them later in life.

I hear Pollard was playing as well as Picamoles in training SJE Whistle

by SirJohnnyEnglish Tue Jul 21, 2015 7:42 pm

Does that mean you'll start rating him now? Wink

Agree Pollard should be kept on at 10. Only a young lad and definitely looks to have the skill set needed going forward. Boks know what Lambie offers. If Pollard is still struggling end of the RC then its time to start considering swapping them.

by Guest Tue Jul 21, 2015 7:54 pm

SirJohnnyEnglish wrote: Does that mean you'll start rating him now?

Agree Pollard should be kept on at 10. Only a young lad and definitely looks to have the skill set needed going forward. Boks know what Lambie offers. If Pollard is still struggling end of the RC then its time to start considering swapping them.

i rate him as a carrier but needs to be in the right backrow to get best out
Of him and to cover his work around the park.

I like a footballing 8
And am not really a fan of the pickles, Palu, Nathan Hughes types

by dammit_chris Tue Jul 21, 2015 8:08 pm

What would people have as SAs backline now, if all players were fit - the coaches seem stuck in style as to whether to get v attack minded or stick to controlling games with their pack and selecting less exciting backs to play that way.

by Sgt_Pooly Tue Jul 21, 2015 8:10 pm

SirJohnnyEnglish wrote:Unanimous? Did you read Gaffie Du Toit in that link

Matt's unanimous can generally be 1 out of 10.

Meyer is being faithful to Pollard as he's a Bull. Lambie has a much better all round game currently and is a better player. He displaced him in the AI's and he should be starting now.

Pollard is a talent but he's not there yet. They're expecting miracles but he's performs every 10 games or so, 1 good game against the AB's and a dozen poor ones.

by Steven_Sharks Tue Jul 21, 2015 8:24 pm

9. Pienaar
10. Pollard
11. Habana
12. JDV
13. Serfontein
14. JP Pieterson
15. Willie Le Roux

I'm very much undecided on the right wing slot. I'd like to get Kriel in there somewhere but haven't seen much of him as a winger

by Guest Tue Jul 21, 2015 8:32 pm

Sgt_Pooly wrote:
SirJohnnyEnglish wrote:Unanimous? Did you read Gaffie Du Toit in that link

Matt's unanimous can generally be 1 out of 10.

Meyer is being faithful to Pollard as he's a Bull. Lambie has a much better all round game currently and is a better player. He displaced him in the AI's and he should be starting now.

Pollard is a talent but he's not there yet. They're expecting miracles but he's performs every 10 games or so, 1 good game against the AB's and a dozen poor ones.

Oh the irony!!

5 out of 6 boks pick him and then you say it's due to him
Being a bull and you are the only one along with Gaffie du Toit
Who goes for him.

Looks like your unanimous is 1 out of 6 lol

by Guest Tue Jul 21, 2015 8:35 pm

Steven_Sharks wrote:9. Pienaar
10. Pollard
11. Habana
12. JDV
13. Serfontein
14. JP Pieterson
15. Willie Le Roux

I'm very much undecided on the right wing slot. I'd like to get Kriel in there somewhere but haven't seen much of him as a winger

Agree with that Steve. As I said I would prefer not to have Pienaar if they were to play an open game but with FDP unfit he is their best.

WLR got some really poor ratings from the game Saturday but I thought he went well after a poor season by his standards. Offers them that real threat. Could put WLR wing and kriel 15

by Sgt_Pooly Tue Jul 21, 2015 8:37 pm

JP should be nowhere near and Serfontein hasn't enough gas for 13 imo.

9. Pienaar
10. Lambie
11. Habana
12. De Allende
13. JDV
14. ?
15. WLR

I think we'll see that line up at some point soon. Not totally sold on De Allende as he doesn't seem keen on offloading, good runner though.

JDV a decent 13 and shores up the defence (especially if Pollard starts).

Interesting options for SA with Serfontein & Kriel coming through too. Kriel covering FB/13 and Serfontein 12.

WLR was very good on Saturday, he's SA one true WC back imo.

by Sgt_Pooly Tue Jul 21, 2015 8:40 pm

anonmattyt wrote:
Sgt_Pooly wrote:
SirJohnnyEnglish wrote:Unanimous? Did you read Gaffie Du Toit in that link

Matt's unanimous can generally be 1 out of 10.

Meyer is being faithful to Pollard as he's a Bull. Lambie has a much better all round game currently and is a better player. He displaced him in the AI's and he should be starting now.

Pollard is a talent but he's not there yet. They're expecting miracles but he's performs every 10 games or so, 1 good game against the AB's and a dozen poor ones.

Oh the irony!!

5 out of 6 boks pick him and then you say it's due to him
Being a bull and you are the only one along with Gaffie du Toit
Who goes for him.

Looks like your unanimous is 1 out of 6 lol

I never say "unanimous" as there's no such thing.

There was an article a few months back from the same source and they were backing Lambie. Pollard has proved he's not ready, he's had many bad games to his one or two good games.

He's still a boy though, he'll sort his kicking and defensive flaws.

by Steven_Sharks Tue Jul 21, 2015 8:41 pm

I might be wrong but there's not much between JDV and Serfontein in the pace stakes. I'd have said serfontein quicker actually

by Sgt_Pooly Tue Jul 21, 2015 8:43 pm

anonmattyt wrote:Did you not seem he crucify the all blacks last year fluxy ???

Opinion of Ex Bok players is unanimous on him. They obviously know a thing or
2

http://m.sarugbymag.co.za/index.php?postslug=&slug=blog/details/continue-to-play-pollard#continue-to-play-pollard

I see most of these "experts" want Fourie at 13 too Doh

by Sgt_Pooly Tue Jul 21, 2015 8:49 pm

Steven_Sharks wrote:I might be wrong but there's not much between JDV and Serfontein in the pace stakes. I'd have said serfontein quicker actually

I disagree Steve, JDV has decent gas and is quite deceptive. Serfontein is really slow, especially at 13. I rate him very highly but only at 12.

by Guest Tue Jul 21, 2015 8:56 pm

Steven_Sharks wrote:I might be wrong but there's not much between JDV and Serfontein in the pace stakes. I'd have said serfontein quicker actually

Serfontein and jdv are rapid top end. Not that quick off the mark but more than quick enough. Jdv and serfomtein a great unit for me

by dammit_chris Tue Jul 21, 2015 9:09 pm

Agree with you there Steve, I'd like to see Kriel in there somewhere as he looks like a very good player from what I've seen. They need a spark from the wings as both exceptional defenders but not the best offensively anymore - though Habana's kick chase game gives them a different option out wide.

The backrow options they have just gives them so much more physicality than other teams - always seems to be where we come unstuck as they just smash us to pieces at the breakdown.

by Steven_Sharks Tue Jul 21, 2015 10:57 pm

SA's backs will do what they've always done. Do what's needed and make few mistakes. Havana will finish the chances he gets, there chosen centres will rarely go backwards and the half backs will get more things right than they do wrong.

WLR will need to see how effective he is when he is number 1 concern on the opposition tactics board.

The SA back 5 most interesting for me. A fit and firing trio of Alberts, Burger and Vermaulen is the best back row in the world. It's physicality simply frightening. If they went brave and selected 2 out of Etzebeth, De Jager (who I thought was the best player on the pitch when he came on on Sat) and PDST (fitness permitting) rather than going for Matfields lineout expertise then they would have the best pack in the WC. I think against the best they won't be able to carry Matfield in the loose. And if BDP keeps the form he showed on Sat then they are laughing.

by Sgt_Pooly Wed Jul 22, 2015 7:06 am

I really like Serfontein, he's very solid but is no 13. It's a bit like playing Barritt at OC.

by Sgt_Pooly Wed Jul 22, 2015 8:18 am

Brussow to start against NZ:

http://www.sport24.co.za/Rugby/RugbyChampionship/Boks-set-to-pull-Brussow-surprise-20150721?

And Sopoaga to start at 10 for NZ apparently.

by Sgt_Pooly Wed Jul 22, 2015 10:54 am

SA team:

15 Willie le Roux
14 JP Pietersen
13 Jesse Kriel
12 Damian de Allende
11 Bryan Habana
10 Handré Pollard
9 Ruan Pienaar
8 Schalk Burger (captain)
7 Francois Louw
6 Heinrich Brüssow
5 Lood de Jager
4 Eben Etzebeth
3 Jannie du Plessis
2 Bismarck du Plessis
1 Tendai Mtawarira

Replacements:
16 Adriaan Strauss
17 Trevor Nyakane
18 Vincent Koch
19 Flip van der Merwe
20 Warren Whiteley
21 Cobus Reinach
22 Pat Lambie
23 Cornal Hendricks

Pollard a very lucky boy, not sure how bad he has to be to be dropped.

by prop_lyd Wed Jul 22, 2015 12:27 pm

After a number 8

by Steven_Sharks Wed Jul 22, 2015 1:47 pm

Brussow very lucky indeed.

by Sgt_Pooly Wed Jul 22, 2015 2:09 pm

Brussow was excellent in the S15, he deserves his chance.

Surprised Meyer has included him though, perhaps he's caved under public pressure.

by Guest Wed Jul 22, 2015 5:31 pm

Who else was left to be picked ?

by Guest Wed Jul 22, 2015 5:34 pm

Sgt_Pooly wrote:SA team:

15 Willie le Roux
14 JP Pietersen
13 Jesse Kriel
12 Damian de Allende
11 Bryan Habana
10 Handré Pollard
9 Ruan Pienaar
8 Schalk Burger (captain)
7 Francois Louw
6 Heinrich Brüssow
5 Lood de Jager
4 Eben Etzebeth
3 Jannie du Plessis
2 Bismarck du Plessis
1 Tendai Mtawarira

Replacements:
16 Adriaan Strauss
17 Trevor Nyakane
18 Vincent Koch
19 Flip van der Merwe
20 Warren Whiteley
21 Cobus Reinach
22 Pat Lambie
23 Cornal Hendricks

Pollard a very lucky boy, not sure how bad he has to be to be dropped.

I am sure SJE put a rule in about constant player bashing and wind ups. You are obviously ignoring that rule. Barrit same as serfontein laughing

by Sgt_Pooly Wed Jul 22, 2015 5:48 pm

Not looking to get into personal digs Matt, I just want to chat rugby.

Barritt is a better player than Serfontein imo, I was comparing them playing out of position at 13.

by Guest Wed Jul 22, 2015 6:19 pm

You have also been going on about pollard every day since Saturday. Pretty damn boring and what we we are trying to get away from if you read SJE's posts when doing the new rules.

Let's try and make the forum more objective and enjoyable

by Guest Wed Jul 22, 2015 6:38 pm

I reckon this could see him be lions coach. Been massively impressed with him http://www.planetrugby.com/story/0,25883,3551_64692,00.html

by Sgt_Pooly Wed Jul 22, 2015 7:05 pm

Lets not get things personal and stick to rugby thumbsup

by Sgt_Pooly Wed Jul 22, 2015 7:25 pm

Another big retirement:

http://www.quins.co.uk/news/jordan-turner-hall-announces-retirement/

by Guest Wed Jul 22, 2015 8:49 pm

So many injuries these days

by Driver Wed Jul 22, 2015 9:11 pm

I don't think Pollard has set the world stage alight yet, He's gone OK in the games i'v seen. I'd argue that George Ford has been the best 10 at International level this season.

On Barritt vs Serfontain, I'd say Jan has a better running game but Barritt is a defensive monster. Both same at distrubtion tbh.

by Driver Wed Jul 22, 2015 9:13 pm

I fancy the boks for the World Cup if i'm honest

by Guest Wed Jul 22, 2015 10:04 pm

Driver if they get selection right in our conditions they are contenders.

They desperately need Alberts in Backrow for the added carrying and to also allow themselves better bench forwards options.

Talk on a few sites of Alberts and etzbeth locks if vermaulen fit and then have Burger and Louw.

loed de jager was excellent on weekend but 5 is an issue although flip is maybe back involved for WC.

Boks have serious firepower and a physical style and can beat anyone on their day

by Sgt_Pooly Thu Jul 23, 2015 4:51 am

I doubt we'd see a Etzebeth/Alberts combo as neither can run a line.

Meyer was praising Lood at the weekend as he's came in and ran it without much experience, this shows Etzebeth won't be doing it anytime soon imo.

You're always going to have Flip, Matfield or Lood at a push with Etzebeth/Alberts.

by Sgt_Pooly Thu Jul 23, 2015 5:11 am

Australia (15-1) :- Israel Folau; Adam Ashley-Cooper, Tevita Kuridrani, Matt Toomua, Joe Tomane; Bernard Foley, Nick Phipps; Ben McCalman, David Pocock, Scott Fardy; Rob Simmons, Will Skelton; Greg Holmes, Stephen Moore (capt), James Slipper.

Reserves: Tatafu Polota-Nau, Scott Sio, Sekope Kepu, Dean Mumm, Michael Hooper, Nic White, Quade Cooper, Kurtley Beale.

by Guest Thu Jul 23, 2015 9:16 am

All black squad named

New Zealand: 15 Israel Dagg, 14 Ben Smith, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Charles Piutau, 10 Lima Sopoaga, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw (c), 6 Liam Messsam, 5 James Broadhurst, 4 Brodie Retallick, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Dane Coles, 1 Tony Woodcock
Replacements: 16 Codie Taylor, 17 Wyatt Crockett, 18 Ben Franks, 19 Sam Whitelock, 20 Victor Vito, 21 TJ Perenara, 22 Beauden Barrett, 23 Malakai Fekitoa

by SirJohnnyEnglish Thu Jul 23, 2015 9:30 am

Interested to see how Broadhurst goes in this one. Has improved over the last two seasons but its a big ask throwing him in against a physical Boks side. Him v De Jager will be interesting.

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