Six Nations

[LSUY]

The squads are starting to get announced, so I thought I would start the Six Nations thread to look ahead to what should be a good tournament. So who are you betting on to win?

Squads
England;
Backs: Balshaw (Gloucester), Cipriani (Wasps), Cueto (Sale Sharks), Flood (Newcastle), Gomarsall (Harlequins), Hodgson (Sale Sharks), Noon (Newcastle), Richards (London Irish), Sackey (Wasps), Strettle (Harlequins), Tait (Newcastle), Tindall (Gloucester), Wigglesworth (Sale), Wilkinson (Newcastle), Vainikolo (Gloucester).
Forwards: Borthwick (Bath), Croft (Leicester), Chuter (Leicester), L Deacon (Leicester), Easter (Harlequins), Haskell (Wasps), Kay (Leicester), Mears (Bath), Moody (Leicester), Payne (Wasps), Rees (Wasps), Regan (Bristol), Shaw (Wasps), Sheridan (Sale), Stevens (Bath), Vickery (Wasps, capt), Worsley (Wasps)

France;

Ireland;
Forwards: Neil Best (Belfast Harlequins/Ulster), Rory Best (Belfast Harlequins/Ulster), Tony Buckley (Shannon/Munster), Leo Cullen (Blackrock College/Leinster), Simon Easterby (Llanelli), Jerry Flannery (Shannon/Munster), John Hayes (Bruff/Munster), Cian Healy (Clontarf/Leinster), Jamie Heaslip (Clontarf/Leinster), Marcus Horan (Shannon/Munster), Bernard Jackman (Clontarf/Leinster), Denis Leamy (Cork Constitution/Munster), Donncha O'Callaghan (Cork Constitution/Munster), Johnny O'Connor (Galwegians/Connacht), Mick O'Driscoll (Cork Constitution/Munster), Malcolm O'Kelly (St Mary's College/Leinster), Alan Quinlan (Shannon/Munster), David Wallace (Garryowen/Munster).
Backs: Tommy Bowe (Belfast Harlequins/Ulster), Girvan Dempsey (Terenure College/Leinster), Gordon D'Arcy (Lansdowne/Leinster), Gavin Duffy (Galwegians/Connacht), Luke Fitzgerald (Blackrock College/Leinster), Shane Horgan (Boyne/Leinster), Robert Kearney (UCD/Leinster), Geordan Murphy (Leicester), Brian O'Driscoll (UCD/Leinster), Ronan O'Gara (Cork Constitution/Munster), Eoin Reddan (Wasps), Jonathan Sexton (St Mary's College/Leinster), Peter Stringer (Shannon/Munster), Andrew Trimble (Ballymena/Ulster), Paddy Wallace (Ballymena/Ulster)

Italy;
Backs: Mirco Bergamasco (Stade Francais), David Bortolussi (Montpellier), Gonzalo Canale (Clermont-Auvergne), Pablo Canavosio (Castres), Denis Dallan (Overmach Parma), Ezio Galon (Overmach Parma), Andrea Marcato (Benetton Treviso), Andrea Masi (Biarritz), Ludovico Nitoglia (Rugby Calvisano), Enrico Patrizio (Petrarca Padova), Ramiro Pez (Casino de Venezia), Simon Picone (Benetton Treviso), Matteo Pratichetti (Rugby Calvisano), Kaine Robertson (Montepaschi Viadana), Alberto Sgarbi (Benetton Treviso), Pietro Travagli (Overmach Parma)
Forwards: Robert Barbieri (Benetton Treviso), Mauro Bergamasco (Stade Francais), Marco Bortolami (Gloucester), Martin Castrogiovanni (Leicester), Carlo Antonio Del Fava (Ulster), Santiago Dellape (Biarritz), Carlo Festuccia (Racing Metro Paris), Leonardo Ghiraldini (Rugby Calvisano), Andrea Lo Cicero (Racing Metro Paris), Carlos Nieto (Gloucester), Sergio Parisse (Stade Francais), Antonio Pavanello (Benetton Treviso), Salvatore Perugini (Toulouse), Tommaso Reato (Femi CZ Rovigo), Josh Sole (Montepaschi Viadana), Alessandro Zanni (Rugby Calvisano)

Scotland;

Wales;
Backs: Lee Byrne (Ospreys), Jamie Roberts (Cardiff Blues), Tom James (Cardiff Blues), Mark Jones (Llanelli Scarlets), Shane Williams (Ospreys), Tom Shanklin (Cardiff Blues), Sonny Parker (Ospreys), Gavin Henson (Ospreys), James Hook (Ospreys), Stephen Jones (Llanelli Scarlets), Dwayne Peel (Llanelli Scarlets), Mike Phillips (Ospreys), Gareth Cooper (Gloucester).
Forwards: Gethin Jenkins (Cardiff Blues), Adam Jones (Ospreys), Duncan Jones (Ospreys), Rhys Thomas (Newport Gwent Dragons), Huw Bennett (Ospreys), Matthew Rees (Llanelli Scarlets), Ian Evans (Ospreys), Ian Gough (Ospreys), Alun Wyn Jones (Ospreys), Jonathan Thomas (Ospreys), Martyn Williams (Cardiff Blues), Robin Sowden-Taylor (Cardiff Blues), Gareth Delve (Gloucester), Alix Popham (Llanelli Scarlets), Ryan Jones (Ospreys, capt)

Fixtures
Saturday, 02 February 2008
England v Wales, 16:30
Ireland v Italy, 14:00
Sunday, 03 February 2008
Scotland v France, 15:00
Saturday, 09 February 2008
France v Ireland, 16:00
Wales v Scotland, 14:00
Sunday, 10 February 2008
Italy v England, 14:30
Saturday, 23 February 2008
France v England, 20:00
Ireland v Scotland, 17:00
Wales v Italy, 15:00
Saturday, 08 March 2008
Ireland v Wales, 13:15
Scotland v England, 15:15
Sunday, 09 March 2008
France v Italy, 15:00
Saturday, 15 March 2008
England v Ireland, 15:00
Italy v Scotland, 13:00
Wales v France, 17:00

 

[amazon]

any 1 of 4 i think could win - going to be very open.
Ireland have a serious point to prove after their World Cup and Gatland will improve Wales, France under new management and England have a shot too though I think he made some seious errors in squad selection - why on earth Hipkiss and Simpson-Daniel weren't selected is beyond me - they would have been in my starting XV's and why Balshaw continues to be selected is a joke.

Not a huge fan of selecting Tongans for England either

 

[FMA]

Mixed feelings about the England squad, to be honest. I would call into question why there is no specialist full back, and only one inside centre (Flood - and even he's more of a fly half). The inclusion of Geraghty or Allen, would have given us far more options.

I can't understand why Simpson-Daniel, hasn't been included. He's been excellent for Gloucester, all season. He would have been a better addition to the side, than Cueto. Likewise, I would have selected Hipkiss over Noon.

I think Lewsey has been very unlucky to be omitted from the squad - clearly Ashton fancies Strettle at 11, and Tait at 15.

I'm not surprised to see that Varndell, didn't make the cut. He still isn't quite the finished article; his defence isn't great and his tries have come about more through pace, rather than skill. However, there has been a marked improvement from him, in a very short space of time - mainly thanks to Loffreda - and I think within the next 12 to 18 months, he will become an England regular.

In terms of forwards selection, I would rather have seen Kennedy of London Irish, over Deacon of Leicester. The former is far better in the lineout, and is a natural successor to Kay.

Unfortunately, Dan Ward-Smith, is injured again, and so wasn't in contention for a place, but if he was fit, then I would chuck him into the mix, and see how he faired. I can't wait to see how Haskell and Croft, fair, should they come on at any point. Haskell, is being groomed to takeover from Lol, at number 8, but I think he would make an outstanding number 7.

I was hoping that Stevens would be able to cement himself as our tight head, during this Six Nations, although seeing as Vickery has kept the captaincy, that won't happen now.

 

[FMA]

any 1 of 4 i think could win - going to be very open.
Ireland have a serious point to prove after their World Cup and Gatland will improve Wales, France under new management and England have a shot too though I think he made some seious errors in squad selection - why on earth Hipkiss and Simpson-Daniel weren't selected is beyond me - they would have been in my starting XV's and why Balshaw continues to be selected is a joke.

Not a huge fan of selecting Tongans for England either

Agreed.

I don't think there's a rizla between the four that you've mentioned, and I think it'll go right down to the wire this year. I'll be interested to see how the French fair this tournament, now that Laporte, has left. As a Wasps and England fan, I would be gutted if Edwards joins the Welsh setup, clearly the chance to work with Warren, again, is too good to pass up, but I would have loved to have seen him take charge of the Saxons.

Balshaw has been in sparkling form for Gloucseter, but I wouldn't have him ahead of Lewsey, no way.

 

[LSUY]

I have got some mixed feelings aboutEngland's selection. Simpson-Daniel and Lewsey deserve to be in the squad. The Noon selection is a strange one. I seriously think this is his last chance at forcing a place in the team.

On the other hand it's good to see Croft, Deacon, Payne, Rees, Cipriani, Wigglesworth and Vainikolo included. Ashton and the RFU are obviously looking toward the next World Cup and considering that the likes of Flood, Tait, Strettle, Haskell and Wilkinson will be available for that, the future for English rugby is looking very bright.

Looking at the fixtures this tournament is England's too lose. They don't have to go to Cardiff or Ireland, which is two of the worst places to play. Playing in Paris can go either way. The French crowd turn on their own players so fast it can be their downfall. The game at Murrayfield is probably going to be the hardest away game they've got.

 

[liamc23]

Im not looking forward to this years six nations, will be interesting to see Gatlands squad and who he picks as captain. Hopefully Stoddart and Delve will make an impact on the international scene.

Cant believe you've picked the volcano i would be so pissed off if i was simpson-daniel or Lewsey, being dropped for a tongan who's played 12 union games.

 

[Crazy_Horse]

Im not looking forward to this years six nations, will be interesting to see Gatlands squad and who he picks as captain. Hopefully Stoddart and Delve will make an impact on the international scene.

Cant believe you've picked the volcano i would be so pissed off if i was simpson-daniel or Lewsey, being dropped for a tongan who's played 12 union games.

I'm a bit happier after seeing the Wales squad announcement and the return of nugget. Gatland, Edwards and Howley won't have had enough time to make too much difference but the noises coming from the camp are positive and none of the "gippospeak" we had under gareth jenkins.

For the record, my realistic prediction is

1.France
2.Ireland
3.England
4.Wales
5.Scotland
6.Italy

Once we get past this weekend's heineken cup matches I will, of course, be predicting a Welsh grand slam. :wink:

 

[Crazy_Horse]

. Hopefully Stoddart and Delve will make an impact on the international scene.
.

Missed this...sorry.

Delve is likely to make an impact but Stoddart can't defend. Jamie Roberts of the Cardiff Blues is the better bet.

 

[liamc23]

Missed this...sorry.

Delve is likely to make an impact but Stoddart can't defend. Jamie Roberts of the Cardiff Blues is the better bet.

Jamie's a good friend of mine, he couldnt believe it when he was picked absolutely chuffed to bits. I cant believe its going to be between him and Byrne for Fullback against england.

 

[Crazy_Horse]

Jamie's a good friend of mine, he couldnt believe it when he was picked absolutely chuffed to bits. I cant believe its going to be between him and Byrne for Fullback against england.

Yeah I bet he was chuffed! What an honour, and to think he's still only a part-time player...

IMHO he's streets ahead of Stoddard because he does the basics of fullback play so much better. Dare I say, he reminds me a bit of a young Alfie.

Hopefully he'll follow in the footsteps of another medical student who played for wales...Dr. John Peter Rhys Williams!

 

[amazon]

anybody know much about Luke Narraway? I have seen him twice this season and he looks a good prospect.

I still stand by my above post re Balshaw - I'd love to be proved wrong but he just doesn't seem to have it for me.

 

[FMA]

I'm surprised Ashton went with Narraway. I would have thought he would have gone with Rees and Moody, and played Haskell at 8.

Usually, Gloucester pick Delve at number 8, but I have seen Narraway a few times this season. I would say 'good prospect, is about the measure of him. I've seen him sparkle in a few games, but against the Ospreys in the Heineken Cup the other week, he looked out of his depth. Seeing as he's up against 13 of them this weekend, some may see that as a concern. However, with Moody and Haskell in front of him, he should get through it.

 

[talkshowhost86]

Reckon England will have the measure of the Welsh. Narraway is a bit of a worry but the rest of the pack should be too powerful for Wales.

And I think our back line looks quite exciting. Flood and Tindall should be a good combination as Tindall can actually break the line which we havn't had since he's been out. Strettle is quality and Sackey was starting to look the part towards the end of the World Cup. Coupled with Vainikolo coming off the bench I think we should be ok. The key could be how Balshaw deals with the pressure early on but I think he'll be fine.

 

[Crazy_Horse]

Gatland has made a shrewd move imo going for a unit over the individual choices. He's only had 7 days to train with the squad so i don't really take this as a sign of things to come. Gatland and Edwards made the blitz defence popular in rugby union with wasps and the ospreys are the only welsh region to play this so it makes sense in a way to include parker over shanklin, jon thomas is a good lineout option and on reflection could be the right choice over delve, phillips gets in over peel by default, byrne is still an odd choice and the english will be licking their lips and putting high balls up to expose his poor positioning all day long.

If you match the players 1 on 1 in each position it's very, very close imo

Byrne vs Balshaw - Like a competiton of who can pick the worst fullback....No winner, both are shite. 0-0
M. Jones vs Sackey - Hands Like Feet (Jones) is more solid in defence than Sackey, both have the pace to cause damage in space. 1-0 Wales
Parker vs Tindall - Both getting old and slow, similar "crash ball players", with little creativity. Tindall probably shades it 1-1
Henson vs Flood- Henson. By a mile. Bigger, stronger, more creative than Flood. 2-1 Wales
S. Williams vs Strettle- Shane Williams again by a mile, though Strettle is one for the future 3-1 Wales
Hook vs Wilkinson- Hook is one for the future again, but Wilkinson has been there and done it, England aren't the same without him 3-2 Wales
Phillips vs Gommersall- Phillips has a tendancy to get caught up and try and win it on his own, Gommersall is the better passer 3-3
Thomas vs Narroway - Jon Thomas is a versitile workhorse, makes hard yards and a good lineout option. Narroway making his debut. 4-3 Wales
M. Wililams vs Moody- Martyn Williams is the best openside in the northern hemisphere, 3rd best in the world. Moody isnt even an openside imo. 5-3 Wales
Jones vs Haskell- Ryan Jones is a british lion and captain of wales, a real talent.. haskell is yet to prove himelf at this level. 6-3 Wales
A.Wyn Jones vs Borthwick- Alyn Wyn Jones great in the loose and lineout, borthwick an experienced lineout operator but older. 7-3 Wales
Gough vs Shaw - Shaw shades it for his "dog" 7-4 Wales
A Jones vs Vickery- Vickery more experienced and a better scrummager. 7-5 Wales
Bennett vs Regan- Bennett is inexperienced but his lineout throwing is improving. Regan has done it all but can be a bit too aggressive. 7-6 Wales.
D Jones vs Sheridan- Duncan Jones is good aorund the loose and a decent scrummager, Sheridan is a brute force. Probably shades it 7-7.

Of course it's a team game so we'll just have to see. Wales have nothing to lose as nobody expects the win, and the media pressure is all on England thanks to gatman. I hope the referee watches sheridan's illegal binding and he gets pinged as much as he has done recently while playing for Sale.

Looking forward to it.

 

[LSUY]

I saw this at work and thought some of you might like it. This is taken from an interview with Simon Shaw and he mentions the nicknames of most of the England players.

Matthew Tait - The Student
You always find Taity in Puma kit because it's free, which is one of the reasons he is known as "Student". Being part of the Newcastle group he spends a lot of time trying to match Jonny Wilkinson in training and we keep on warning him that it is only going to end in pain.

Dave Strettle - Beckham
The first thing you notice about Strettle is the hair - just like David Beckham used to have his. It's very important to him, as is appearing in the right clothes.

Andrew Sheridan - Sir
Why is he called "sir"? Well wouldn't you be polite to this giant of a man? He calls me a "Freak of Nature" which is rich coming from him.

Andy Gomarsall - Salad Bar
It has been poor Gomarsall's lot in life to have thick legs which has given the false impression that he is a big lad. He did take a lot of stick when at Wasps which is where the "Salad Bar" nickname came from as that is where he was told to spend more time.

Phil Vickery - Geraldine
Because he reminds us of Dawn French in The Vicar of Dibley. It would be helpful to the cause if Vicks stayed on the pitch for the odd match rather than picking up bans for his errant footwork.

Lewis Moody - Crazy Horse
When children are growing up, they are taught to avoid dangerous situations that could end up in injury. Moody must have missed that bit because he still puts his head into places where the only result will be pain and stitches. Also called "Waterboy" when he is a sub, as he often is. Someone to avoid, even during non-contact training.

Toby Flood - The F Train
Another of the Newcastle boys and he sticks even closer to Jonny when it comes to training. We warned him during the World Cup that he was going to pick up an injury by constantly training with Wilko and, sure enough, he picked up a hamstring problem. Calls himself the F-Train but don't ask me why as no one knows.

Mark Regan - usually Ronnie but recently Apple
He started calling Andy Farrell and Matthew Tait "Apple" during the World Cup as they kept on turning over the ball. Then he did the same thing three times in training and became "Apple" himself.

 

[Adamspurs]

What a game this is!

COYW!

 

[nidge]

:rofl:

 

[Adamspurs]

YES!!! What a result!!

James Hook, I love you!

 

[nidge]

Fantastic result for Wales.

 

[liamc23]

One the greatest days of my life makes it sweeter being up here in Oxford, first half we were shocking but second half we completely dicked on them.