Librarian
Player Valuation: £70m
Scottish left that one behind, played most of the rugby
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Rugby
- Thread starter gonetomorrow
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So the build up begins to the penultimate round of the 6N...
Scotland will try desperately to derail Ireland's grand slam campaign, but does the pack look up to the task? Man for man I'm struggling to find a pairing where I'd say the Scottish player is superior to his Irish counterpart. There's a couple of Scottish backs that have the skills necessary to do some damage but two of them (Russell and Hogg) have track records that suggest they lack composure under pressure. Huw Jones has looked very handy in the centre though. Ireland potentially have Gibson-Park, Sexton and Henshaw all returning to the squad to bolster the back line, and Tadgh Furlong may also return to the front row at exactly the right moment. Big game with big implications and I think Ireland will edge it.
Italy v Wales looks like the wooden spoon decider - appropriate that it's being shown on ITV, the wooden spoon provider of tv coverage. I dislike Italy less than I do Wales, but are Wales really so awful at the moment that they will lose here? Hopefully yes.
The late game on Saturday 11th is England v France at Twickenham, and something tells me Dupont, Aldritt and co will get the win against a Borthwick-led England that looks pretty much identical to the Jones-led England of six months ago. Something has to be done at the coaching level of the England set-up: if they persist with selecting Farrell at fly-half then at the very least let Henry Slade kick the goals. Personally I think there's more mileage in picking Ford at 10 to fit with the Leicester tactics being used, particularly in a game where France are suddenly looking at fielding a third-choice prop due to a combination of injuries and suspensions.
Scotland will try desperately to derail Ireland's grand slam campaign, but does the pack look up to the task? Man for man I'm struggling to find a pairing where I'd say the Scottish player is superior to his Irish counterpart. There's a couple of Scottish backs that have the skills necessary to do some damage but two of them (Russell and Hogg) have track records that suggest they lack composure under pressure. Huw Jones has looked very handy in the centre though. Ireland potentially have Gibson-Park, Sexton and Henshaw all returning to the squad to bolster the back line, and Tadgh Furlong may also return to the front row at exactly the right moment. Big game with big implications and I think Ireland will edge it.
Italy v Wales looks like the wooden spoon decider - appropriate that it's being shown on ITV, the wooden spoon provider of tv coverage. I dislike Italy less than I do Wales, but are Wales really so awful at the moment that they will lose here? Hopefully yes.
The late game on Saturday 11th is England v France at Twickenham, and something tells me Dupont, Aldritt and co will get the win against a Borthwick-led England that looks pretty much identical to the Jones-led England of six months ago. Something has to be done at the coaching level of the England set-up: if they persist with selecting Farrell at fly-half then at the very least let Henry Slade kick the goals. Personally I think there's more mileage in picking Ford at 10 to fit with the Leicester tactics being used, particularly in a game where France are suddenly looking at fielding a third-choice prop due to a combination of injuries and suspensions.
I know it’s not his job, but Smith tackles like a fanny and offers nothing at all defensively, where as Farrell does.
Playing, big, fast, physical teams like the French, you can‘t afford to have any potential holes in your defensive set up, even the backs.
wandyr79
Player Valuation: £25m
I suppose it is a balancing act, maybe Smith is not right for this weekend as England are, right now, but if you set up the team to be able to cover a 'defensively weak' 10 then it should be OK once this team, hopefully, develops into a more consistent attacking team. To do this, in my opinion is to have Smith at 10.
All the debate about Farrell v Smith is being rendered pretty irrelevant at the moment. Five minutes before half-time and the French forwards are firmly in control.
Yep, getting absolutely rucked off the park.
Smith is a massive fanny.
Gonna be a proper mullering here.
I think a part of the issue is that he is NOT massive!
England aren't coming back from this. There's nothing they can do in half-time to fix the issues at the breakdown.
Only been watching since half time in the City game, but this is embarassing stuff.
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