RBS 6 Nations 2017

[Russ]

The fact is that Lucky Joe has never lost a home 6N match in four seasons.
Put that in your pipes and smoke it.

Never won a RWC QF either

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[Rooster]

Yup, he's not only a great coach but is lucky as well! Kearney and Heaslip injured allowing the two changes he should have made anyway! Still say he can't pick his nose. Mind you, being a great coach and lucky is hard to beat. How can we improve his selections?

Is Heaslip injured?

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No idea but Stander at 8 and POM starting along with Payne instead of the useless Bobbo made all the difference.

[Russ]

Yup, he's not only a great coach but is lucky as well! Kearney and Heaslip injured allowing the two changes he should have made anyway! Still say he can't pick his nose. Mind you, being a great coach and lucky is hard to beat. How can we improve his selections?

Is Heaslip injured?

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No idea but Stander at 8 and POM starting along with Payne instead of the useless Bobbo made all the difference.

Just imagine what the score would have been if

1. SoB played for the team
2. Zebo was dropped
3. Earls was dropped

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[BaggyTrousers]

LOOK you can talk all you like, but this is an undeniable fact:

A coach who has selected the back row he has for all five matches, needs to be asked the question, why do you think you have three players better than Peter O'Mahony?

Of course, he would talk about balance, but he would be overlooking the fact that he is forging a back row in the absence of Van der Flier, the best proper 7 in the country, so the real answer about his selection is his religious fervor for selecting his holy cows if they are remotely fit.

SOB was good enough yesterday but overall not a great 6Ns, Heaslip a tremendous player for a long time but worth more than POM now? Stander has had a great season, no question he's worth his place.

In terms of leadership, not only is POM clearly the best 6 in Ireland but he is the closest in leadership to Paul O'Connell, he should start 6 every time when fit.

Schmidt is a great coach, he would be a better coach if he took the blinkers off and realised that not all of his guaranteed selections are now worth their place.

For the future he should make his centre & full back selections what he had yesterday, Bob being a guaranteed starter must frustrate every non-Mexican in the country.

He also needs to realise that his establishing wingers are no longer or never were top class & get the younger guys on his summer tour and AIs.

That apart there is talent and talent coming through, a great day yesterday for the 9 shirt, both did very well, especially Marmion who I had doubted.

[Rooster]

When POM was not mentioned earlier in the tournament I assumed that he was injured, he is one of those players who if fit plays irrespective of who else is available

[Russ]

When POM was not mentioned earlier in the tournament I assumed that he was injured, he is one of those players who if fit plays irrespective of who else is available

Would be prudent for the IRFU to review the Janny contract they gave Jamie

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[Rooster]

When POM was not mentioned earlier in the tournament I assumed that he was injured, he is one of those players who if fit plays irrespective of who else is available

Would be prudent for the IRFU to review the Janny contract they gave Jamie

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Jamie plays well in the season he gets his contract renewed then slacks off, they should give him 1 year contracts to keep him at his best

[bazzaj]

Summary of 6 nations would be the importance of cracking home advantage.

Taking Italy out of the equation the championship basically came down to Wales handing the game to England in the closing stages of their home encounter.
That was the only away victory such are the small margins.

I was pleased to see the French returning to their core traditional values of ball in hand and I think when they find a balance to their gameplan they will be a force again before too long.
Well done Guy Noves.

A competitive Scotland has strengthened the tournament in the same way.

The competitive element was tremendous and most games produced great intensity.
Sadly the only thing lacking was any classic encounters that will stand out in the memory due to a typical conservatibe approach adopted when the pressure was on.

Sets up the Lions very nicely all in all.

[UlsterAreBrill]

Yup, he's not only a great coach but is lucky as well! Kearney and Heaslip injured allowing the two changes he should have made anyway! Still say he can't pick his nose. Mind you, being a great coach and lucky is hard to beat. How can we improve his selections?

Is Heaslip injured?

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No idea but Stander at 8 and POM starting along with Payne instead of the useless Bobbo made all the difference.

Just imagine what the score would have been if

1. SoB played for the team
2. Zebo was dropped
3. Earls was dropped

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Who would you propose as the alternatives? Bowe and Trimble both injured, TOH is a weak link in defence, so too Gilroy who is better off the bench if at all. Zebo and Earls did fine, but I would like to see Sweetnam and Bryne mostly get a chance in the summer

We were never going to see a sudden change in game plan against England in the 6N and even if so it wasn't the weather for getting the ball wide at every chance

[UlsterAreBrill]

Summary of 6 nations would be the importance of cracking home advantage.

Taking Italy out of the equation the championship basically came down to Wales handing the game to England in the closing stages of their home encounter.
That was the only away victory such are the small margins.

I was pleased to see the French returning to their core traditional values of ball in hand and I think when they find a balance to their gameplan they will be a force again before too long.
Well done Guy Noves.

A competitive Scotland has strengthened the tournament in the same way.

The competitive element was tremendous and most games produced great intensity.
Sadly the only thing lacking was any classic encounters that will stand out in the memory due to a typical conservatibe approach adopted when the pressure was on.

Sets up the Lions very nicely all in all.

Hard to disagree with that. France need a proper 7 but aside from that have the makings of a good team. If they continue to improve they could surprise some in the WC

[Russ]

Yup, he's not only a great coach but is lucky as well! Kearney and Heaslip injured allowing the two changes he should have made anyway! Still say he can't pick his nose. Mind you, being a great coach and lucky is hard to beat. How can we improve his selections?

Is Heaslip injured?

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

No idea but Stander at 8 and POM starting along with Payne instead of the useless Bobbo made all the difference.

Just imagine what the score would have been if

1. SoB played for the team
2. Zebo was dropped
3. Earls was dropped

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Who would you propose as the alternatives? Bowe and Trimble both injured, TOH is a weak link in defence, so too Gilroy who is better off the bench if at all. Zebo and Earls did fine, but I would like to see Sweetnam and Bryne mostly get a chance in the summer

We were never going to see a sudden change in game plan against England in the 6N and even if so it wasn't the weather for getting the ball wide at every chance

1. VDF (when he's back). For this tournament I would have had ODonnell
2. Byrne
3. Stockdale

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[UlsterAreBrill]

1. VDF (when he's back). For this tournament I would have had ODonnell
2. Byrne
3. Stockdale

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Agreed on VDF but Leavy's a better player than TOD

Bryne has been class this year but both him and Stockdale has properly hit their stride the past month or two, at which point it would be unrealistic to bring them straight in to the squad

Summer time i'd like the above three, ROL/Sweetnam thrown in.

Also Olding & Ringer at 12 and 13 could be a very special centre pairing, and a second playmaker at 12 would help us quite a bit

[Neill_M]

The seeding pots for the RWC draw on May 10th are now finalised:

Pot 1: NZ, England, Australia, Ireland
Pot 2: Wales, Scotland, France, South Africa
Pot 3: Japan, Georgia, Argentina, Italy

Italy are outside the top 12 in the rankings, but have actually qualified for the tournament - unlike Fiji who try and qualify through the Pacific Nations Cup later in the year.

[BR]

So: Ireland, South Africa, Argentina and Fiji, then?

[big mervyn]

So: Ireland, South Africa, Argentina and Fiji, then?

England to get Scotland, Georgia and Romania.