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England v Ireland
Discussion started by Bod , 15 March, 2012 11:12
England v Ireland
Bod 15 March, 2012 11:12
England
15 Ben Foden (Northampton Saints)
14 Chris Ashton (Northampton Saints)
13 Manusamoa Tuilagi (Leicester Tigers)
12 Brad Barritt (Saracens)
11 David Strettle (Saracens)
10 Owen Farrell (Saracens)
9 Lee Dickson (Northampton Saints)
1 Alex Corbisiero (London Irish)
2 Dylan Hartley (Northampton Saints)
3 Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers)
4 Mouritz Botha (Saracens)
5 Geoff Parling (Leicester Tigers)
6 Tom Croft (Leicester Tigers)
7 Chris Robshaw (Harlequins, capt)
8 Ben Morgan (Scarlets)
Replacements
16 Lee Mears (Bath Rugby)
17 Matt Stevens (Saracens)
18 Tom Palmer (Stade Francais)
19 Phil Dowson (Northampton Saints)
20 Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers)
21 Charlie Hodgson (Saracens)
22 Mike Brown (Harlequins)

Well done Lee!



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Re: England v Ireland
Tricky=Legend 15 March, 2012 11:25
Great for Mearsey, really has genuinely played his way to that spot.

I thought he was released so it may be that Webber has a knock. Either way I hope he gets a decent run and proves he should be number 1 choice.

Go get em Lee!

Re: England v Ireland
Bri 15 March, 2012 11:30
Picked on form,he should be there,well done,shame no Aatwood

Re: England v Ireland
hasta 15 March, 2012 11:33
Congrats Lee!

Re: England v Ireland
Optimist 15 March, 2012 11:37
Well done Mearsy...if he gets on, let's hope it's not at blind-side flanker!!

Great to see that picking the England team has become so easy and so obvious. To have got there from where England were a couple of months ago is an immense achievement.

Re: England v Ireland
marshie10 15 March, 2012 11:56
Can't believe they continue to pick Mike Brown on the bench, what impact will he bring? Why not pick someone like Abendanon or even Alex Goode?

Re: England v Ireland
hasta 15 March, 2012 12:03
Well, Abendanon's injured and Brown has been the form fullback of the Premiership for the past two years. I guess.

Re: England v Ireland
Kidney Stone 15 March, 2012 12:03
Nice one Mearsey - someone to represent the BB&W. Well deserved, has been very good since his return.

Re: England v Ireland
joehousewife 15 March, 2012 12:14
The only tweak I would have made would have been to stick with Sharples, though strettle is no slouch Sharples looks electric and would have been useful against 2 very classy wingers in Bowe and Trimble.

Re: England v Ireland
Rawce 15 March, 2012 12:17
Webber's having an op (shoulder?) according to his Twitter.

Re: England v Ireland
marshie10 15 March, 2012 12:17
hasta, good point on Bendy, completely forgot. In my opinion, Brown is not a man to have on the bench, in fact it's a shocking decision. What will he offer when we're 5 points down with 10 minutes to go? In my opinion, he should either start or not be in the squad.

Re: England v Ireland
Sam Y 15 March, 2012 12:40
Another injured player (Webber) joining us next year!! Seems to be the norm.

Re: England v Ireland
ballsout 15 March, 2012 12:42
Agree with marshie, hardly an impact player, as ridiculous as having Turner-Hall on the bench. As for him being the form fullback for two years, Foden may have something to say about that. One has the potential to be world class, the other I'm not even sure is international class.

Re: England v Ireland
Optimist 15 March, 2012 13:05
in some ways, it could be better to start with Brown, and have Foden for impact. But there aren't loads of other options at full-back. Wouldn't mind seeing a back 3 of Strettle, Foden, Sharples though.

Re: England v Ireland
Which Tyler 15 March, 2012 13:06
Quote:
Sam Y
Another injured player (Webber) joining us next year!! Seems to be the norm.
Will he be another Bod becomes convinced was injured when we signed him?


A man who cannot change his mind, cannot change anything

RAEBURN SHIELD

Re: England v Ireland
Optimist 15 March, 2012 13:09
...and France have changed a third of their starting line-up and squad. I know which head coach is engendering confidence.

Re: England v Ireland
P G Tips 15 March, 2012 13:12
If Mearsy is required at blindside I think he would do a good job!

IIRC his first appearance was off the bench as a back row replacement in the JC2 days.

PG

Re: England v Ireland
ballsout 15 March, 2012 13:23
Quote:
Optimist
...and France have changed a third of their starting line-up and squad. I know which head coach is engendering confidence.

Didn't Johnson use a total of 24 players in the entire Six Nations last year? Identical starting XV's until the Ireland game when Banners replaced Tindall.

Re: England v Ireland
spongey 15 March, 2012 13:30
Brown has been fantastic in the premiership this year and is probably better on from than Foden. He deserves his bench spot and full back being a difficult position to cover having a fullback on the bench makes a lot of sense. He will make an impact if he gets longer than 5 minutes of rugby every week. He is certainly international class but he wasn't when he was last picked for England. I have watched a lot of Quins this season and Brown is one of the main reasons they are top of the league. And without Robshaw and Brown Quins aren't the same team. He deserves his bench spot and I'd prefer Brown to anyone else there.

Re: England v Ireland
Tricky=Legend 15 March, 2012 13:30
True BO. And ironically they were also Six Nations Champs! The difference I think with this team is that there are a lot of new caps and the tendency might have been to swap and change people if we didn't quite get the results or play the way we wanted to and he's not done that.

Lancaster has not altered the team in order to give many a chance to prove themselves or in turn because they have proved themselves. Johnson seemingly stuck with the same players out of loyalty rather than form or player development.

Re: England v Ireland
Rob 15 March, 2012 13:31
Ashton should NOT be playing. His head is clearly not right for one reason or another. His only impact in the last 5 games has been jumping out of the line and making a tackle, leading to the Tuilagi try.

Everyone loves SL because he is making the right noises - installing pride back in the shirt, discipline on and off the pitch, picking players on form.

Wait a minute, what was that last one? Picking players on form? Whilst that has applied to players such as Strettle, Parling, Robshaw, Farrell and Barritt - this has NOT been applied to the man standing on our right wing.

What is it about Ashton that people and, more importantly SL, deem so irreplaceable? The guys head is clearly not in the right place with him being mucked about by Mallinder (deservedly so IMHO) and the fall out from the whole RWC debacle.

Charlie Sharples is undoubtedly the form winger (many will say Tom Biggs, but take the Bath goggles off) in the Premiership and his blistering pace is something England could really do with.

A spot on the bench of dropped from the 22 may just be the kick up the ar5e that the petulant, ill-disciplined and mouthy Chris Ashton needs. It may after all, flick a switch inside him, bringing back that real hunger and desire to play for his country again.

Just my few pennies worth.

Re: England v Ireland
Widcombe boy 15 March, 2012 13:36
Thought Sharples looked fragile in defence last week, but he has got serious gas!

Re: England v Ireland
marshie10 15 March, 2012 13:44
Humpo, I'd even argue that Parling has not been picked on form, he's been injured for months. Parling impressed me against France but I think Attwood is a better player. I still don't think Brown should be on the bench, start with him at 15 and have Foden on the wing. Foden hasn't really excited me at full back to be honest. I don't think Brown would excite me either but when it comes to form, Brown edges Foden for me.

Re: England v Ireland
P G Tips 15 March, 2012 13:54
Personally I thought Ashton improved against France on his previous performances this season.

Still not on true form - but better.

PG

Re: England v Ireland
ballsout 15 March, 2012 13:58
Are Youngs and Lawes 'on form'?

Re: England v Ireland
marshie10 15 March, 2012 14:05
Indeed they're not ballsout, but with Parling, he wasn't a regular in the first place, that's why I don't understand his selection.

Re: England v Ireland
Rob 15 March, 2012 14:51
No they are not, ballsout, hence why they are not in the Starting XV.

Re: England v Ireland
ballsout 15 March, 2012 15:05
Ah so it's just a first XV that's selected on form then (except for Ashton, Parling and, before the France game, Croft)

Re: England v Ireland
Rob 15 March, 2012 16:10
The only scrum half who has the ability to shove Youngs out the 22 is the guy who can't stop chinning jagerbombs and @#$%& against walls....

Re: England v Ireland
cheekywatson 15 March, 2012 16:52
I have to confess that I think abendanon is a fantastic club player but...
having watched saxons scotland his tackling ability really shows up against better players, that is why he is not picked.

Re: England v Ireland
Clarkey3k 15 March, 2012 18:11
Given thread title surprised no one has yet predicted the outcome for this one so here's my punt - Eng to win by 5-10pts. Agree Ashton lucky to retain his shirt but hoping he proves me wrong on Saturday.



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Re: England v Ireland
Which Tyler 15 March, 2012 18:19
Are we in the running for Lancaster if England chose Mallet?
Are we in the running for Robbo if the Scots end up with the wooden spoon?

I feel I need to know these things before deciding who to support this weekend.

Has any team ever won all their away matches, whilst losing all their home matches in 1 championship? might be something to aim at.


Of course, come KO none of this will matter and I'll be right behind the boys, and expecting a narrow victory



A man who cannot change his mind, cannot change anything

RAEBURN SHIELD

Re: England v Ireland
TCM2007 15 March, 2012 18:30
I think if you want Robbo back at The Rec, you need to cheer on Itsly.



Stuart

Former ed.

Re: England v Ireland
Which Tyler 15 March, 2012 18:32
What if I don't?
I'd rather have whoever England don't want from Mallet vs Lancaster, even Kirwan.

I'm not anti-Robbo, and think he's better suited to club rugby than international, but I don't think he's the best potentially-available



A man who cannot change his mind, cannot change anything

RAEBURN SHIELD




Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 15/03/2012 18:35 by Which Tyler.

Re: England v Ireland
B4thB4ck 15 March, 2012 21:45
Just enjoyed watching the 2003 highlights on ESPN Classic.

6-42 to England.

Great to see a really dominant England pack, particularly in creating space in the last quarter.

Also what a great combination Wilko and Dawson were and that drop goals seem to be a forgotten art when you're in the oppo 22 but getting slow ball (could say the same about Bath).

On Sat I'd like to see Morgan stay the pace better, seems to burn brightly for the first half hour then fade a bit. Always liked big ball carriers though, I don't see much in the way of impact coming off the bench but happy-ish with the backs.

Ashton probably the last name on the team sheet.

Re: England v Ireland
Dan Wiley 16 March, 2012 09:28
Ireland aren't in any particular form, England should beat them at home.

Re: England v Ireland
ballsout 16 March, 2012 10:29
Ireland have still scored the most tries this year and were unlucky to lose to Wales. They also weren't in any particular form this time last year either and look what happened. Wouldn't be surprised if England lost sadly

Re: England v Ireland
Which Tyler 16 March, 2012 10:35
Eng vs Ire on Paddy's day. not convinced that Ireland's form has much to do with anything.



A man who cannot change his mind, cannot change anything

RAEBURN SHIELD

Re: England v Ireland
Tricky=Legend 16 March, 2012 12:21
Ireland are dangerous with some very potent backs, a strong lineout and excellent back row. I'd find it difficult to believe that a young England are favourites, even at home.

That said, I think England can do it. Also agree that Ashton should be dropped. Might spark him up a bit. Attwood should have been in the 22 for the whole tournament IMHO, but their loss has been our gain in a time when we've really needed him.


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