Six Nations / Lions

[mrw74]

Those tight heads are all great players. But I was really referring to the scrum and I think Adam Jones (when fit) has been top dog in that area for a few years now. The only irreplaceable player in the Wales squad.

 

I agree with your views on Adam Jones, but to say that he is the only irreplaceable player is a bit much, where would we be without Halfpenny, and the impact Wyn Jones had when he returned was also massive.

 

They, alongside Jones, and probably North, would be the first names on my teamsheet.

 

The biggest impact this season though has been Tipuric, as it has meant that we haven't missed Lydiate, who was last years most outstanding player.

[Guest LFD]

It is amazing how peoples Lions team change game by game with the Six Nations.

 

Wales might have the best team, but it doesn't mean individuals from other Nations, in weaker sides can't get into the Lions side. It is easier for individuals in Wales to shine than it is for someone in Scotland to do so.

 

Does anyone think Halfpenny can play on the wing? As Hogg looks a really good option at full back and I don't see much quality in the wing positions, bar North.

[mrw74]

It is amazing how peoples Lions team change game by game with the Six Nations.

 

Wales might have the best team, but it doesn't mean individuals from other Nations, in weaker sides can't get into the Lions side. It is easier for individuals in Wales to shine than it is for someone in Scotland to do so.

 

Does anyone think Halfpenny can play on the wing? As Hogg looks a really good option at full back and I don't see much quality in the wing positions, bar North.

 

I was having this same discussion at work the other day. Halfpenny was originally a winger, but not sure if it was Gatland who moved him to fullback. Hogg is impressive in the attacking sense, but positionally and tactically not as strong as Halfpenny, plus Hogg is more vulnerable under the high ball.

[George Costanza]

Halfpenny is a cert for the full back position. Kearney is a class act as well. Hogg looks a good prospect. I've not seen much if anything at club level though.

 

While the 6 Nations will have a major bearing on the lions picks, club form particularly those still playing in the HC still has a bearing. Also we need to see who is & isn't fit come selection time. As I've said previous, imo Bowe is the best winger of the home nations. Will he be fit though. Cuthbert is arguably a better finisher than North but North is a brute of a player.

 

My worry for the Lions especially with Gatland in charge is an overly massive welsh presence & the pretty one dimensional tactics that goes with it. Try and bash them in.... Of course Wales should have a large number of players selected. Double 6 nations champs and SF's in the WC. However they got beat away to Aus last year & the eng game apart they were in better form at that time. The lions needs more finesse & imagination along with the physicality of players such as Roberts, Phillips & North.

 

I'd love to see O'Driscoll in the team but I don't think he's playing well enough currently. I'd also hate to see a Roberts/Tuilagi center partnership too. I'm not a huge fan of Berrick Barnes, primarily because he has a fucking stupid name but he has game intelligence far more than either JR & MT combined.

 

I've been catching up with the super 15's. The brumbies are playing really well even without pocock. The key for Australia though will be the form of Cooper, Beale & Ginea - if they fire they are fucking hard to stop.

[mrw74]

Halfpenny is a cert for the full back position. Kearney is a class act as well. Hogg looks a good prospect. I've not seen much if anything at club level though.

 

While the 6 Nations will have a major bearing on the lions picks, club form particularly those still playing in the HC still has a bearing. Also we need to see who is & isn't fit come selection time. As I've said previous, imo Bowe is the best winger of the home nations. Will he be fit though. Cuthbert is arguably a better finisher than North but North is a brute of a player.

 

My worry for the Lions especially with Gatland in charge is an overly massive welsh presence & the pretty one dimensional tactics that goes with it. Try and bash them in.... Of course Wales should have a large number of players selected. Double 6 nations champs and SF's in the WC. However they got beat away to Aus last year & the eng game apart they were in better form at that time. The lions needs more finesse & imagination along with the physicality of players such as Roberts, Phillips & North.

 

I'd love to see O'Driscoll in the team but I don't think he's playing well enough currently. I'd also hate to see a Roberts/Tuilagi center partnership too. I'm not a huge fan of Berrick Barnes, primarily because he has a fucking stupid name but he has game intelligence far more than either JR & MT combined.

 

I've been catching up with the super 15's. The brumbies are playing really well even without pocock. The key for Australia though will be the form of Cooper, Beale & Ginea - if they fire they are fucking hard to stop.

 

Some very good points there George. If my memory isn't mistaken, Wales should have beaten Australia at least twice last summer, and were very unlucky to lose all 3 tests. So I would expect the Lions, with the added extra quality, to win the series.

 

Gatland will pick a core of Welsh players, certainties will probably be Adam Jones, Alyn Wyn Jones, one of Warburton or Tipuric or Lydiate if fit, Phillips, North and Halfpenny. I agree with you on Roberts and Tuilagi, it would be boring and predictable, and I feel that BOD is still better than those two, but I imagine Gatland would go for Roberts and BOD like the last tour.

 

The forward battle will be immense in the summer. The aussies clearly aren't as strong as they were, but their midweek teams will do their best to unsettle and batter the Lions teams. I cannot wait for it all to start.

[Guest LFD]

Why is Philips a certainty?

 

I think there is no stand out in the scrum half position.

[mrw74]

Why is Philips a certainty?

 

I think there is no stand out in the scrum half position.

 

I agree with you, but I'm just going with the fact that Gatland likes a physical scrum half and he knows Phillips well. I'd be shocked if he isn't the scrum half for the test team.

[Guest LFD]

I'm hoping Gatland picks on form and not just players he knows.

 

He should have Phillips, Youngs and Care on the plane, with the message no one is first choice and what they do in the warm up games / training will determine the selection.

[mrw74]

I'm hoping Gatland picks on form and not just players he knows.

 

He should have Phillips, Youngs and Care on the plane, with the message no one is first choice and what they do in the warm up games / training will determine the selection.

 

That should be the same with every player, but certain coaches have always had their favourite players. Who would you have as captain?

[Guest LFD]

Who would you have as captain?

 

Really not sure.

 

If BOD was a certainty to start I'd go for him, just because he has been there and done it, unlike everyone else.

[mrw74]

Really not sure.

 

If BOD was a certainty to start I'd go for him, just because he has been there and done it, unlike everyone else.

 

Experience is a big thing, I've already stuck my neck out and gone for Wyn Jones.

[Guest LFD]

Experience is a big thing, I've already stuck my neck out and gone for Wyn Jones.

 

He's certainly playing well and one of a few players who I think is almost a certainty to start.

 

That will help he cause.

[mrw74]

He's certainly playing well and one of a few players who I think is almost a certainty to start.

 

That will help he cause.

 

That's the main issue with giving the captaincy to someone before the tour, as it already confirms them as a starter for the tests, barring injury of course.

[Rapey Hugh]

As a feckless student I spent the morning watching the first two tests from 09 on YouTube.

This year its the same centre partnership for me.

That Roberts/BOD axis was top class with two players in their natural positions. There were some great moves where Roberts hits it up, gets hands free to give to Drico who was always just in the right place to cut up the defence.

In defence having JR to protect the 10 channel(even though Sexton is a good enough tackler that he plays 12) is a great comfort while BOD for me is still up there with Smith as one of the best defensive decision making centres on the planet. I would like to have Tuilagi come off the bench though to wreak havoc at around 60 mins but in terms of keeping our defensive structure against a live wire Aussie backline I would be worried about him.

 

Something is telling me if he is fit Zebo will play a part as Gatland seems to like him, as well he should!

[moof]

Why is Philips a certainty?

 

I think there is no stand out in the scrum half position.

 

Because he's proven, where Care and Youngs are still very green?

 

I'm not Phillips' biggest fan but if you're in a battle then he's the one you'd want backing you up.

[moof]

I'm hoping Gatland picks on form and not just players he knows.

 

He should have Phillips, Youngs and Care on the plane, with the message no one is first choice and what they do in the warm up games / training will determine the selection.

 

I hope he just picks the players he wants and forgets about the politics.

[Guest LFD]

I hope he just picks the players he wants and forgets about the politics.

 

I agree, but I don't think any of the scrum halfs are clear choices.

[mrw74]

This year its the same centre partnership for me.

That Roberts/BOD axis was top class with two players in their natural positions. There were some great moves where Roberts hits it up, gets hands free to give to Drico who was always just in the right place to cut up the defence.

 

Something is telling me if he is fit Zebo will play a part as Gatland seems to like him, as well he should!

 

I agree to a certain extent about that centre partnership, but I don't feel that Roberts has had that good a season to justify him starting at 12. He's a powerful runner and tackler but I think that teams have sussed him out now and he doesn't seem to do anything new. Then again, is their a better pairing at 12 and 13 than those two?

 

What I've seen of Zebo, albeit very little, I like his style of play, what's he like defensively?

 

Lydiate made a 40 minute cameo on Friday night and it set to start on Saturday. If he proves his fitness, he'll be on that plane.

[Rapey Hugh]

I'm a munster fan so I see a fair bit of him. He's solid in the tackle and his pace is usefull in kick chase with typically good(this six nations aside!) GAA based aerial skills and has a cannon of a left boot. The only thing is said cannon is a bit inaccurate and prone to misfires!

[Guest LFD]

I see that cunt Walsh is ref for the Lions game against the Barbarians. At least he won't be doing the Tests.

[Rapey Hugh]

No we were lucky enough to get that prick Joubert who won the all blacks the World Cup

[mrw74]

I'm a munster fan so I see a fair bit of him. He's solid in the tackle and his pace is usefull in kick chase with typically good(this six nations aside!) GAA based aerial skills and has a cannon of a left boot. The only thing is said cannon is a bit inaccurate and prone to misfires!

 

Cheers for that. I've always preferred the trickier winger, ie Shane Williams, rather than a big strong winger, ie North or Cuthbert.

[Rapey Hugh]

Me too, I feel that way about all backs bar maybe 12. Seeing as we are talking about him Tenacious Z (or Django as the Irish squad call him on twitter) is back and fit for the Quins game!

We're still getting beat though. Fucking Conor O'Sea and his talented band of likeable bastards.

[Guest LFD]

What do people make of the treatment of Armitage by Lancaster?

 

He's been brilliant for Toulon this season (he was player of the season the year before).

 

The England set up are saying he isn't fit enough, yet he is playing 80 minutes week in, week out for Toulon.

 

Is it simply because Lancaster wants Robshaw at 7, therefore no need for Armitage? I would have thought England would be better with Robshaw at 6 and Armitage at 7. Surely worth a try isn't it?

 

Armitage should be a Lions contender - but not being in the England set up might count against him?

[Guest LFD]

Was watching this weeks Rugby Club on Sky. Didn't know about Joost Van der Westhuizen, he can hardly talk now.

 

Very sad!

 

Here is an article about it a year ago. He has obviously got worse since.

 

South African rugby legend Joost Van der Westhuizen, 40, given just five years to live after being diagnosed with motor neuron disease

 

Joost van der Westhuizen has been given between two and five years to live after he was formally diagnosed with motor neuron disease, his agent confirmed today.

The former Springbok captain, 40, received the grim prognosis last week after visiting a neuromuscular specialist in America.

His agent Bridget Van Oerle said it was confirmed that the father-of-two was suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, one of the most common forms of motor neuron disease.

She said: ‘He is obviously very shocked and upset to have heard the news.

‘On the surface of it, it is a bleak outlook and he is now spending some time at home with his children.

‘Joost is devastated and has asked to be left alone so he can collect his thoughts.’

Van der Westhuizen's Johannesburg-based doctor Jody Pearl said the star received his prognosis after he visited world-renowned neurologist Erik Pioro in Cleveland, Ohio.

In an interview with the News24 website she said: ‘Dr Pioro confirmed that Joost does indeed suffer from ALS, which gives him a 80 per cent chance to live between two and five years.’

 

Van der Westhuizen's formal diagnoses comes two months after the retired scrum half first learned he was suffering from the disease.

 

In May the former player announced that doctors believed he was suffering from some form of MND, a set of diseases which cause the degeneration of the cells which control muscle movements.

 

Confirmation that van der Westhuizen is suffering from ALS means he has one of the most common forms of MND.

The degenerative condition causes motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord to break down and can produce involuntary muscle spasms and paralysis.

In America ALS is often known as Lou Gehrig's disease after the famous 1920s American baseball player who was diagnosed with the condition in 1939.

Other well-known sufferers include the scientist Stephen Hawking, who has lived with the disease for five decades, and actor David Niven, who died of it 1983.

 

South Africa has reacted with shock to news of van der Westhuizen's condition.

The respected player earned 89 caps for his country during a ten-year international career between 1993 and 2003.

The Pretoria-born scrum half played a vital role in South Africa's famous home 1995 World Cup victory.

He then went on to captain the team during the 1999 tournament and was the most-capped player in Springboks history by the time of his international retirement.

Since leaving the field van der Westhuizen has continued to enjoy a high public profile in South Africa, where he has worked as a television pundit.

The sportsman separated from his wife last year and lives alone in Johannesburg.

 

Joost Van der Westhuizen diagnosed with motor neuron disease given 5 years to live | Mail Online