Danny gets the chop
25 Nov 2008
Martin Johnson has axed Danny Cipriani for England’s Test against the All Blacks.
Cipriani has been talked up by the English press but the past three weekends have shown this to be more hot air than anything else. Cipriani had three kicks charged down against the Boks (one resulted in Ruan Pienaar’s try), was weary in defence, and failed to ignite the backline, and as a result he’s been replaced by Toby Flood.
Opensider Tom Rees has also been dropped as Michael Lipman comes in. Lock Tom Palmer makes way for Nick Kennedy, who will win his second cap after scoring on debut against the Pacific Islanders.
Johnson has brought Leicester centre Danny Hipkiss into the 22 as he opts for a conventional bench of four forwards and three backs for the first time under his tutelage.
England – 15 Delon Armitage, 14 Paul Sackey, 13 Jamie Noon, 12 Riki Flutey, 11 Ugo Monye, 10 Toby Flood, 9 Danny Care, 8 Nick Easter, 7 Michael Lipman, 6 James Haskell, 5 Nick Kennedy, 4 Steve Borthwick (c), 3 Phil Vickery, 2 Lee Mears, 1 Tim Payne.
Subs: 16 Dylan Hartley, 17 Matt Stevens, 18 Tom Croft, 19 Tom Rees, 20 Harry Ellis, 21 Danny Cipriani, 22 Danny Hipkiss.
167 Comments
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25 Nov 2008, 17:52 pm
#100 The Rant Sniffer: Williams plays for Wales.
25 Nov 2008, 17:52 pm
Ryan Jones is the only guy who shouldn’t have been on the list.
25 Nov 2008, 17:53 pm
#99 BlackPanther: NZ have to go back to 1987 for past glory in a devalued RWC, thats even more pathetic
25 Nov 2008, 17:54 pm
#97 stodders: And the fact that when Richie Mac returned from injury the Kiwis started performing again asserts this aasumption. he is very good.
25 Nov 2008, 17:54 pm
#97 stodders:
McCaw must have won it before, probably the most influential player in the world every year for the last 5 years.
I prefer schalk, but that is just bias and the way he plays.
Palu presence is undeniable, made some big hits in S14 for NSW including crunching AJ and Deysel who dont often get crunched. Think he’s the biggest hitter in rugby and essential to oz.
25 Nov 2008, 17:54 pm
# Big Hit: yes – but he seems to have the backing of the English
25 Nov 2008, 17:57 pm
#106 The Rant Sniffer: I don’t understand why he doesn’t have the backing of some Safricans. He got the ball about 3 times in those two tests in the summer and a try resulted from nearly every one. Imagine he’d been in a good team instead of a weakened Wales. The players that stand out in losing teams should actually be given more credit. Its easy to be a flyhalf who gets quick ball all game.
25 Nov 2008, 17:57 pm
#103 Big Hit:
No, they refresh their glories every year.
TriNations Cup
Bledisloe Cup
Grand Slam ?
Not what most sane people would call ‘pathetic’.
What was the last trophy England won ?
25 Nov 2008, 17:57 pm
#105 cab: I also like Palu.
25 Nov 2008, 17:58 pm
#105 cab: I prefer Schalk too, but the ELVs have ruined him.
25 Nov 2008, 17:58 pm
Sorry, cannot resist….
Danny does’nt get the chop………….. Danny is a Chop !!
He runs like a girl !
25 Nov 2008, 18:00 pm
#108 BlackPanther: isn’t the bledisloe cup just beating aus? whoop de doo
the grand slam isn’t a proper one like Gavin Hastings says, no France to play or italy
fair enough on the 3N but SA had trouble with a new coach and gameplan and the ELVs brought in by Aus/NZ
25 Nov 2008, 18:00 pm
#110 Big Hit:
ha ha, and now you are going to get the kiwis in a helluva mood.
25 Nov 2008, 18:00 pm
#108 BlackPanther: you conveniently left out the one that matters most, didn’t quite refresh that one…
25 Nov 2008, 18:02 pm
#113 cab: well they had to change the rules after the world cup to give themselves a better chance. the Elvs suit them but no one else.
25 Nov 2008, 18:02 pm
#107 Big Hit: You are right in many respects – with ball in hand he has been the most exciting player this year, but thats it. I feel british sensationalism and bias has got the better of the selectors. if i had to pick a world 15 to beat the intergalaxy 15 he would not be in it. Maybe on the bench if i expected the game to get loose towards the end or for the last minute if we were 6 oints down. He would not start.
25 Nov 2008, 18:04 pm
#116 The Rant Sniffer: he wouldn’t be in my World XV right now either, but earlier in the year he would.
25 Nov 2008, 18:05 pm
Moving on – im getting rugby sick already – how many more days till super 14 kicks off?
25 Nov 2008, 18:06 pm
#118 The Rant Sniffer: months isn’t it? there’s more games this weekend and many Boks will play for the Baa Baas
25 Nov 2008, 18:08 pm
#116 The Rant Sniffer: Agree with you.
He’s v exciting. However, I don’t see Sivivatu on the IRB short list, and he offers the same excitement and game breaking qualities as Williams, and I don’t think Sivivatu is one of the best players in the world.
25 Nov 2008, 18:08 pm
#99 BlackPanther: You say “the Sth African supporters are in fear of living off past glories”??
Well I don’t know which Saffas you’ve been hanging around with [maybe old 'Tackles'?], but I sure as heck don’t FEAR living off past glories – heck – I embrace past glories! Don’t you – or do you just live year by year?
TWO World Cup trophies – the most recent being barely a year ago. And let me tell you BlackPanther [and since you haven't won it since '87, I'm guessing I need to remind you] – it’s real sweet winning the Ulitmate Prize in World Rugby. Old Bill is safely at home in South Africa for the next 3 years. And it’s wonderful.
So wonderful that not even a dismal 3N can take the shine off it. So wonderful that even die-hard purists like you all but disappeared from this site for months and months after the RWC07, not daring to show their faces here to greet the music after all the vitriol sprouted about how the Blacks were going to wipe the French fields clear of all and sundry…
So by all means proceed in your usual sanctimonious and condescending fashion… It’s a rather weak cover for someone who clearly yearns for that final award. I have news for you mate – if it never happened in France, it sure as hell ain’t going to happen in 2011 in your own backyard….
25 Nov 2008, 18:10 pm
#112 Big Hit: Grand Slam is the Grand Slam of the Home Nations. It does not mean the same as the 5N or 6N Grand Slam. It never has and it won’t ever be unless the IRB sanction a bigger international window in November.
NZ had their own problems in the 3N too. There wasn’t a single team that didn’t have issues to deal with. NZ just coped better than the rest and it resulted in them winning the title.
25 Nov 2008, 18:11 pm
#120 stodders: Sivivatu hasn’t been in great form this season. He is Fijian anyway, poached by NZ from the PIs team.
25 Nov 2008, 18:12 pm
#119 Big Hit: YES – almost forgot about the BAA BAAs – its a very good team is it not? Jake White coaching it? Did he get all the players he wanted – Be good to see Koster get a chance.
25 Nov 2008, 18:12 pm
#122 stodders: its not a proper Grand Slam and should have a new name. NZ had everything in their favour in the 3N, the rules, the ref, the fixtures, the suspensions and they still looked like throwing it away
25 Nov 2008, 18:13 pm
#124 The Rant Sniffer: yeah, he got permission to have them all. Should be a good game.
25 Nov 2008, 18:13 pm
#112 Big Hit:
Since every single achievement of the Worlds no1 team has somehow been demeaned, that makes the sport of rugby look fairly dire.
So a Grand Slam played on your own turf makes it harder huh ?
In fact, why bother at all playing between RWCs if those games simply dont matter ? Strange how you keep making references to supposed small psychological victories (‘Rees outplayed McCaw’) in a match that had absolutely no meaning.
25 Nov 2008, 18:14 pm
#123 Big Hit:
The PIs poached 8 players from NZ.
Your arguments are 100% baseless.
25 Nov 2008, 18:16 pm
#123 Big Hit: PIs aren’t a national team. He is Fijian by birth, but is a NZ resident by time spent in NZ.
Is Riki Flutey a poach? If so, then yes, Sivivatu is a poach.
25 Nov 2008, 18:16 pm
#125 Big Hit: That’s the biggest load of B*llshit you’ve written for some time.
25 Nov 2008, 18:18 pm
#121 greenbok:
Fingers crossed that you draw Fiji, Argies and England again next time then. Crikey, what will happen if you dont ?
25 Nov 2008, 18:18 pm
#128 BlackPanther: Im thinking KP was poached – Mike catt was poached – Matt Stevens was poached etc
25 Nov 2008, 18:20 pm
Why was Tom Rees dropped? he was one of the standout performers for England in the humping sorry gang raping that they recieved from the Boks, the commentators praised him and i have to say am shocked that he was dropped. Good decision to drop Cipriani the ZZZZZZZ list celebrity that he is was brutally exposed for what he really is against the Boks, Ma Nonu will be disappointed he is not playing as he was a weak line in the defensive chain.
Wont matter anyway it will be a long afternoon for England, who are up against a team that perform the basics of rugby on a level that no other country does or can match. Its about playing simple rugby and doing the basics well and not complicating things thats what wins matches, its a simple game really.
Last Saturday against Wales was an example of how composed the All Blacks are, they were down 9-6 at the break but i was under no illusion that they wouldnt come back and put the welsh away easily, why? again because they do the BASICS so well and are very composed, compare that to the Boks who were 13-3 ahead at the break but i was seriously worried that Wales could come back because the Boks couldnt even do the simple stuff and also tried to be fancy when the game never called for it, and sure enough they almost did it.
A good defensive display could keep the score down for England at the weekend by a defeat of about 20 points, but i seriously doubt they will, i look at the England team and see very little quality throughout it, coupled with a number of fat boys in their pack who will struggle to keep up with the pace of the game (borthwick, Easter, Crane etc etc)
25 Nov 2008, 18:20 pm
#131 BlackPanther: Crikey – well probably win again – because your bunch and the wallies will be knocked off AGAIN by the time we get to the Final.
Do us a favour and try not to drop the ball before then, again.
25 Nov 2008, 18:20 pm
#132 The Rant Sniffer: Oh no, they all had English parents or met residency criteria, so according to Big Hit they can’t be classed as poaches.
Only NZ poach didn’t you know, it’s written in the papers.
25 Nov 2008, 18:21 pm
#132 The Rant Sniffer: they all have English parents. Sivivatu is 100% Fijian.
#128 BlackPanther: PI players have a parental link
#131 BlackPanther: they’d play france and beat them, unlike NZ.
25 Nov 2008, 18:23 pm
#133 dquinn25: Rees has been dropped because he is tired supposedly.
I think he has been dropped for Lipman because the England coaches need a 7 who links more to suit their gameplan better. Rees is a better athlete, but he isn’t playing the openside role well at the moment. I think Johnson has made a faux pas though, as Rees’ work in tight has kept England competitive.
25 Nov 2008, 18:24 pm
#136 Big Hit: NZ had better hope they play England then. Guarateed win that one
25 Nov 2008, 18:26 pm
#137 stodders: Rees is playing well right now. johnson said he wanted to give Lipman a run out. Strange decision really.
25 Nov 2008, 18:27 pm
#136 Big Hit: Riki Flutey, Perry Freshwater, Vainikolo?
The others are tenuous links. They are all South Africans with British ancestry sure, but they aren’t English and they weren’t developed in England, aside from Catt.
The RFU have a rich history of plundering the colonies for talent. It is the hypocrisy and denial of the English media that leaves a bad taste. If they just admitted it and stopped judging the rancour would cease.
25 Nov 2008, 18:28 pm
#138 stodders: nz have to get to the latter stages to play England, both times they were due to meet us in the last two RWCs and they failed.
25 Nov 2008, 18:29 pm
#140 stodders: Vainikolo was a shameful one, Tonga probably would’ve used him. Flutey would never have been used by NZ but Sivivatu definitely would by Fiji.
25 Nov 2008, 18:29 pm
anyways, i’m out chat later guys
25 Nov 2008, 18:31 pm
#136 Big Hit:
8 X PI players BORN in NZ.
SA didnt play France and beat them. In fact, the 3 teams SA has the worst record against are France, Australia and NZ, particularly under Jake White, all the teams they avoided at RWC07. Good luck to them too, but most teams would be happy with avoiding 1 tough team let alone all 3 of them.
25 Nov 2008, 18:32 pm
#142 Big Hit:
Sivivatu may well have not played for Fiji. In Caucaunibuca and Delasau, they have two better wingers already available.
Flutey could have shone for Wasps and been invited to play for NZ in the future.
25 Nov 2008, 18:32 pm
#141 Big Hit:
Its the other way around. England have never beaten NZ at a RWC, theyre lucky to avoid them.
25 Nov 2008, 18:52 pm
Yeah Stodders i agree its also a shme Scotland dont face England at world cups as it should be a guaranteed win also. From what i have seen over the Autumn tests the scottish team have more individual talent than England at the moment, seriously to bring back Payne and Palmer into the England squad for last weeks game really exposes there lack of resources at the moment.
England can improve undoubtedly but that goes without saying as they couldnt get much worse, which is also shocking considering they have a player base larger than pretty much every country, Thier game is suffering as is ours to an extent with the inclusion of so many foreign players in our major teams. unfortunately money talks these days and people buy better teams just as folk buy better cars, computers, prostitutes etc.
25 Nov 2008, 19:02 pm
#83 Big Hit: Sorry no room for that cup yet, our cupboard is full of other cups and awards!!!!!!!
25 Nov 2008, 19:04 pm
#139 Big Hit: No maybe MJ knows more about rugby and his players than you do!!!
He has also stated that RM is by far the best 7 in world rugby also!!
25 Nov 2008, 19:06 pm
#136 Big Hit: Sivivatu is not 100% fijian BH get your facts straight!!
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