Wednesday 20 March 2013

Today's News

News including transfer news!
Jonathan Joseph to join Bath- this transfer has been confirmed and had been circulating for the past 5 months so no real surprises there.

Northampton have made a bid for George North- rather shocking and unexpected unlike the Joseph deal, it looks like the giant Welsh winger may be seeking Gardens new (did you see what I did there!?) despite still having a year left on his current contract. Unfortunately it seems like we're sliding down the football hill. You watch in 20 years players will be being sold for millions! You heard it here first.

Brian O'Driscoll banned for 3 weeks- What is it with vicious stamps, Irishmen and short bans? That deserved at least 8 weeks he clearly meant to do it. I'm lost for words but i'm not overly disappointed as he's a fine player. I sense something fishy...

George Chuter leaving Leicester- A fine hooker in his day but I think he has passed his peak but still, as a Leicester fan, sad to see the back of him. He's been around the club for as long as I've been going to games. A Chuter-less Leicester is a strange one for me personally!

Keep voting on the poll!

Tuesday 19 March 2013

Lions XV

Okay, i'm going to turn around on all that stuff about journos telling us who's gonna be in the Lions team and do it myself, after all, it's only a bit of fun isn't it?

15. Leigh Halfpenny-as I have said in another post, the guy is a rock. That is all.
14. Alex Cuthbert- scinitillating pace and the guy knows how to score a try. There are question marks over his defensive positioning but at the end of the day, he tore the game away from England with his two tries, the first of which showed his class in finishing.




13. Manu Tuilagi-admittedly he didn't have one of his better games on Saturday but Manu knows how to beat defenders when receiving good passes. He is the kind of class Gatland will need to pierce the Australian defence. For England, I think his main problem, with all due respect, is that he hasn't got the most distributive players inside him.

12. Brian O'Driscoll- The man's a warrior and it doesn't matter what number is on the back of his shirt. Next?
11. Tommy Bowe- he is almost the forgotten winger at the moment. He's a real natural finisher and it's really annoying because he always scores against England! This is an asumption but i'm sure he probably plays well with O'Driscoll bearing in mind Bowe racks up the tries. 51 caps 26 tries how's that for a stat?
10. Johnny Sexton- he runs AND he can kick. There is no other British fly half in the same class as Sexton in my opinion. Like all good 10s he knows what to do and when to do it, what's more is that he can execute it as well. Ireland's best performance in the Six Nations was when Sexton was pulling all the strings. Better than that Farrell bloke by a mile, eh?
9. Mike Phillips- it's a close call but if the first test was tomorrow i'd have to pick Phillips. Still time is plenty for Murray, Youngs and Care.
1. Cian Healy- relatively poor Six Nations compared to Gethin Jenkins but he has won 3 Heineken Cups in 4 years so clearly has at least a little bit of talent. Form is temporary, class is permanent they say
2. Rory Best- Again, it's close between him and Hibbard, who knows? I'm not a front row expert so I have no particular reason why I am picking Best instead of Hibbard. Let the coaches decide.
3. Dan Cole- I've already talked about this battle elsewhere so i'll focus on Dan Cole. He is not only a good scrummager (keeping Castro out of the Leicester team) but his work in the loose is astonishing-it's almost like the number 7 is on his shirt!
4. Alun Wyn-Jones- I've never really payed particular interest to him personally on the field, but all the Welsh fans love him, but then again the Welsh love all of their players (no offence but it's true)
5. Geoff Parling- the sexiest Beard of the Year 2013 award must have improved Parling's game because he's playing like a man-possessed at the moment. He made more clean line breaks than any other England player against Wales so 1) that says a lot about Geoff and 2) it says a lot about England!
6. Tom Wood- already been through why he's so good!
7. Sam Warburton- showed glimpses of his 2011 form and what a world class openside he is. It will need somebody of his experience and calibre to battle Michael Hooper, or even the great George Smith.
8. Toby Faletau- a massive ball carrier who always crosses the gain line, his main rival would be Ben Morgan in my opinion so we'll see how things pan out.

There are many potential wildcard selections flying around the media. I personally will keep tabs on ol' Wilko and see if Toulon do well in the Heineken Cup. Christian Wade would be an interesting choice as he has lightning pace but is seemingly not wanted by England due to his alleged defensive frailties.

I would love to hear about any changes you would make to my team and/or any wildcard selctions you would make in the comments.

Monday 18 March 2013

Players out of form

Chris Ashton- What can I say? Lacks hunger and willingness and more importantly, lacks a decent try-scoring record over the past 12 months. England need to pick Johnny May in the Argentinian tour and see how Ashton can react. One to watch next season possibly.

Rob Kearney- Maybe it's due to the poor Irish team in the 2013 Six Nations, but Kearney's form has dipped dramatically and is no longer the counter-attacking threat that he was only a couple of years ago. Nevertheless still a quality player and still with plenty of matches to prove that he is equal to Halfpenny and Hogg.

Danny Care- A quality speedster with plenty still to offer for England but I think he has taken his foot off the gas, or maybe rammed it on too hard- he seems to be trying too hard to regain the England 9 shirt and is playing sloppily (is that even a word!?). This could be due to the England fly half (not mentioning names) not being a running fly half and not attracting any attention from the opposition defence so Care seems to have been targeted at the fringes. Before the Six Nations I would have had him as a front-runner for the Lions jersey but not up to his best. The same case as Kearney however- still plenty of matches left for him and if he guides his team to the completion of the treble then I would again see him as a front-runner for the Lions, come the end of May.

Players in form

Leigh Halfpenny- The Welsh full-back came as close to securing a spot on the plane as possible with five consistent outstanding performances. In my opinion he fought off the challenge from Scotland's Stuart Hogg with his great full-back play: great positioning, brave high ball attempts and fearless tackling (Halfpenny completed 100% of tackles attempted in the 2013 Six Nations). His big, important kicks showed Gatland that he can perform under pressure, especially in the last match against England.


Conor Murray- One of the most under-rated players in the tournament, injury to Jonathon Sexton in the second round meant that the young Paddy Jackson came in to the side and Conor Murray was influential in helping him to guide the Irish ship. Murray shouldered responsibility in times of absolute hostility for Ireland and did his utmost to help the cause. The Lions will need leaders and team players who want to fight for a series win and I think Conor Murray has both of these attributes. However he faces stiff competition from Mike Phillips and Ben Youngs.

Geoff Parling- England's shining light in adversity, Parling made 2 clean line breaks (more like rampages!) against Wales and was my standout England performer in that game. He also consistently played well throughout the tournament, commanding England's lineout well.

Adam Jones- Showed his true class as the tournament went on and has upped the anti in competition for the Lions tighthead shirt. It's hard to compare him to Cole as they are on opposite sides of the scrum but we can all agree that Jones obliterated Marler and more pressure fell on Cole so he crumbled. Unlike Cole, Adam Jones doesn't have key Heineken Cup games to show Gatland what he's made of but Jones has surely proved his worth over the years. Another worry about Adam Jones is as he is ageing (sorry Adam but it's true) he might tire out as the tournament wears on, whereas Cole is only 25 years old.

Tom Wood- A dynamic blindside flanker who leaps around the pitch and gets stuck in where he can. He is also a useful option in the lineout with safe hands. Unfortunately he was played at the wrong position for most of the tournament so we haven't been able to see his true worth but he gave it an almighty shot and impressed most people. If Dan Lydiate, Stephen Ferris and Tom Croft fully return to fitness and hit top form, there will be some tasty competition for the 6 shirt.


Lions overview

With the Six Nations having come to a thrilling end, all eyes turn to the British and Irish Lions as rugby fans all over the world look to sustain their appetite for the game. 

All over the media, journalists are putting forward their Lions XVs and I and many others are keen to follow who's in form and who's not in form. What I hope that the selectors of the Lions don't do, is pick the players from their Six Nations form. You have to remember that the Lions is 3 months away. 3 months! In that time there is the Heineken cup for players to stake their claims for the Lions and there is also plenty of time for players to get injured and/or drop out of form. 

There are no definites or must-haves at this early stage. On the other hand, there are some players who really did put their hands up, and some who really didn't.