34 Comments

• 1.Taahirah:
  14 Jan 2009, 13:37 pm

  Dragons

• 2.Taahirah:
  14 Jan 2009, 13:38 pm

  Number 8!

• 3.mshiniwami:
  14 Jan 2009, 13:54 pm

  No Glen Jackson?Pompous Poms…They need him because Flood/Cipriani aint doin the business at present

  Good to see David Strettle back in the set..He is the ONLY player in England set up with the X-factor..(well at least by their standards)

  Ben Foden has had a terrific season of late(last month or so)..A bit of a Brent Russell-type/Jason Robinson type…Not in the same class though…plus his pace is decent but not like they English Press has been advocating..(Its not hard to round the likes of Dempsey etc)

  Still too one dimension..Set piece team

• 4.Nguni Stud:
  14 Jan 2009, 14:26 pm

  Is Topsy Ojo the player who scored a brace against NZ down under?

• 5.fogdog10:
  14 Jan 2009, 14:28 pm

  Who is going to DRIVE Mike Tindall to the training ground?

• 6.ashley:
  14 Jan 2009, 14:36 pm

  #5 fogdog10:
  if he pick-up and drive
  ..
  can the ref penalise him?

• 7.fogdog10:
  14 Jan 2009, 14:39 pm

  # 6 : ha ha ha true

  Don’t know why ENG pessist with has beens?

• 8.coma:
  14 Jan 2009, 14:39 pm

  No Bradley Baritt yet, what a pity!!

• 9.ashley:
  14 Jan 2009, 14:45 pm

  #7 fogdog10:
  sadly, its their own fault.
  most people said a few years ago already that the influx of foreign players onto their club scene, will take oppertunities away from their upcoming talent and that they may find themselves in a situation (one day) where they will struggle to pick a quality run-on team because of this!
  well, it seem like “one day” arrived much sooner than anticipated!

• 10.The_GENERAL:
  14 Jan 2009, 15:55 pm

  #6 ashley: if the ref don’t penalize he is going to be trouble with the IRB

• 11.Loosehead:
  14 Jan 2009, 16:24 pm

  How can Julien White not be in the main squad? He and Sheridan would be an awesome front row.

• 12.ashley:
  14 Jan 2009, 16:30 pm

  #10 The_GENERAL:
  

• 13.Big Hit:
  14 Jan 2009, 19:11 pm

  #3 mshiniwami: Calling up Glen Jackson is a joke, catch a grip. He’s a 33 year old has-been who Cipriani would run rings around when in form. Strettle isn’t in the senior squad and there are plenty of players with the x-factor. Russell wasn’t in the same class as Robinson.

  #4 Nguni Stud: yes, he’s not in the squad

  #5 fogdog10: they stay at a 5* hotel

  #7 fogdog10: Tindall is in form.

  #8 coma: Barritt has to win his place from Andy Farrell before he’s considered for higher honours.

  #9 ashley: nothing to do with foreigners and everything to do with injuries as a result of there being too many games. For example, Rees, Wilkinson, Simpson-Daniel, Palmer, Hipkiss, Richards, Crane and Lewsey retired.

  #11 Loosehead: agree

• 14.stodders:
  14 Jan 2009, 19:37 pm

  #14 Big Hit: Rees and Wilkinson are certainly losses for England.

  But Big Hit, are you saying Simpson-Daniel, Palmer, Richards, Crane are big losses for England?

  To give some idea of the respective talent in SA, i’d compare them to the following players:

  Simpson-Daniel – Philip Burger. Explosive on their day, but lack consistency and break all too easily. Not good enough to make the grade at the top level.

  Palmer – Quinton Davids perhaps? No, that’s being too harsh on Davids . Palmer’s about as useful as a sword on a gunfight. Everytime he plays for England, the opposition smiles.

  Hipkiss – Has potential indeed, but he appears to come from the same factory that built Wilkinson. I think they should look for a new supplier as the players they produce keep on breaking. SA comparison would be with Marius Joubert, only Joubert on his top days has played better than Hipkiss has managed.

  Richards – Mr utility. A great sevens player, a poor XVs player. If you think he is a big loss, England are in trouble. Foden is a much better player IMO. South African equivalent – Kabamba Floors. OK, Richards plays scrum half and Floors plays openside/wing, but the point is that neither are really cut out for the XV a side version.

  Crane – Again, has potential, but is yet to cut his teeth on the international scene. The fact that he lost his place to Nick Easter in the elite squad speaks volumes about how far this young man has to go to become an international calibre player. SA comparison I guess would be with Jaques Botes of the Sharks – talented but unproven at international level.

  Why did you put Lewsey in there? He’s retired, not injured. If you start naming retirees, the list in endless. I’m surprised you didn’t put Dallaglio’s name down too

  So there you have it. If South Africa didn’t have Philip Burger, Quinton Davids, Marius Joubert, Kabamba Floors and Jaques Botes, would their supporters be wailing and gnashing their teeth? No, I didn’t think so.

  Harden up will you and quit making excuses. Just admit that England lack depth right now and get behind your coach and hope they develop some decent players with experience in time for 2011. Unless something extraordinary happens for England in the 6N, I expect the makeup of the Lions touring squad to lay bare England’s current lack of quality.

• 15.PaulLondon:
  14 Jan 2009, 20:19 pm

  #11 Loosehead

  Julian White has retired from international rugby.
  Johnson has selected him for the saxons as prop cover for the main squad.

  Looking at the Saxons squad if they were to play the 1 team tomorrow. I would be tempted to place a small wager on a saxons win

  Forwards: Matt Mullan (Worcester), Nick Wood (Gloucester), Julian White (Leicester), David Wilson (Newcastle), David Paice (London Irish), Joe Ward (Wasps), Rob Webber (Wasps), Richard Blaze (Leicester), Louis Deacon (Leicester), Ben Kay (Leicester), George Skivington (Wasps), Steffon Armitage (London Irish), Jordan Crane (Leicester), Tom Guest (Harlequins), Michael Lipman (Bath), Chris Robshaw (Harlequins), Joe Worsley (Wasps).

  Backs: Nick Abendanon (Bath), Mike Brown (Harlequins), Matt Banahan (Bath), Topsy Ojo (London Irish), James Simpson-Daniel (Gloucester), David Strettle (Harlequins), Olly Barkley (Gloucester), Dan Hipkiss (Leicester), Jordan Turner-Hall (Harlequins), Dominic Waldouck (Wasps), Ryan Lamb (Gloucester), Stephen Myler (Northampton), Paul Hodgson (London Irish), Peter Richards (London Irish), Richard Wigglesworth (Sale).

• 16.Big Hit:
  14 Jan 2009, 20:46 pm

  #14 stodders: Rees, Wilkinson, Simpson-Daniel, Hipkiss and Palmer are losses for England, all were in with a good shout of starting as would Lewsey with his return to form. There are still games to go before the 6N and more players will get injured.

  Can you stop doing that player by player nonsense, all you’re doing is trying to talk down the qualities of our team. I don’t do it with Scotland so don’t do it with England.

  Philip Burger, Davids, Joubert, Floors and Botes don’t compare. Only Joubert of that group is real international quality.

  Bottom line is NZ, Ireland, Scotland, SA never have this trouble with injury and always get close to their first team out. The only time we have our first team out is at World Cup and thats why we reach the final or win it.

  #15 PaulLondon: If you think that I’d have to question your knowledge of rugby.

• 17.stodders:
  14 Jan 2009, 21:08 pm

  #17 Big Hit: You’re catching on, I think.

  I’m not trying to talk down the “qualities” of England’s team as you put it, i’m just being honest about the lack of quality currently available to Johnson as i see it, and putting your tired excuse of key players being missing that would make England better to the test.

  IMO, Simpson-Daniel, Palmer, Richards, Crane are no better than what Johnson already has and would not make England any better than they currently are. In fact, apart from Crane, the rest would be a step down.

  England currently lack a feared tighthead, an experienced hooker, bulk in the second row to offset Kennedy’s lineout prowess and mobility, an international class openside (Rees isn’t that man right now IMO, though he is far better than Moody), a cohesive back row unit, a cohesive half back partnership, a cohesive midfield partnership and a cohesive back 3.

  England’s strengths currently lie in their backrow and scrum half stocks and their back 3 players. To my mind, if they finish in the top 2 in the 6N they will have had a great tournament. I can see them finishing 4th behind Wales, France, and Scotland.

  Every nation goes through a tough time in their cycle. England had an extended period of dominance in the NH through out the 90s and early 00s. The world cup in 2007 IMO was the exception rather than the rule of that crop of English players. With the experience and winning culture gone from the squad now, England are back to step 1. With Johnson as coach, maybe they will finally admit it and move forward rather than sideways or backwards.

  Just my opinion.

  Oh, and quit questioning peoples rugby knowledge if they disagree with your opinion. I don’t think the Saxons would win, but I don’t think the England A team would beat them by much. That in itself suggests that the Saxons could upset the A team on a given day. Therefore PaulLondon is perfectly within his rights to suggest it.

• 18.Big Hit:
  14 Jan 2009, 21:24 pm

  #17 stodders: ‘Just my opinion’

  A chippy Celt’s opinion is always cherished

  Palmer started in the AIs, Simpson-Daniel would’ve done had he been fit. My inclusion of Crane and Richards is to highlight the injury problems not to make excuses.

  England have strength all through the team if everybody is fit. As far as the cycle is concerned, we’ve been experiencing major and repeated injury problems since 2003, the 2007 RWC run was completed with the 2003 players.

  The ELVs and refereeing (SH refs for 6N) have set us back but then again thats what they were designed to do as Australia keep losing to us at World Cups. This will be rectified in May when the ELVs are voted upon.

  As for our final placing we finished 2nd last year in the 6N and 2nd in the World Cup. Scotland haven’t finished 2nd in the 6N this decade and NZ haven’t finished 2nd in the RWC for 15 years. So enough with this downward spiral nonsense.

  The Saxons team make hard work of winning the Churchill Cup, how are they going to beat the First XV? He is within his rights to suggest it but I’d have to question how much he knows about rugby if he really believes it. Julian White also hasn’t retired from international rugby as suggested.

• 19.CHAZ:
  14 Jan 2009, 22:06 pm

  #18 Big Hit: Come on BH, England are on a downward sprial, crashing and burning is all I can see them doing this year, you can’t keep on going back to past results BH they mean nothing, nobody cares who came 2nd, its only the wons that are on the top of their game that people care about, you can’t make a silk purse out of a sows ear, and thats exactly what England are at the moment, and I can’t see it changing in the future, its like those wise heads keep on saying its because of the influx of overseas players that are killing your team BH.

• 20.Big Hit:
  14 Jan 2009, 22:50 pm

  #19 CHAZ: Past results are only last season. NZ struggled to get past a 13 man England youth team with the ref in their back pocket and they couldn’t make it past the QF of a World Cup. And foreigners aren’t harming our game, the export is harming your game because NZers and Aussies don’t want to watch a watered down S14 and crowds are disintegrating. The main problem we have is that we play too many games and pick up injury after injury, at full strength we’re up there with the very best.

• 21.Hurricane:
  15 Jan 2009, 00:16 am

  #20 Big Hit:
  Past results are only last year.
  Tri nations champs,Bledisloe cup,Hilliary cup and #1 ranked team in the world.
  World cup was in 2007 so who cares done and dusted,SA won thank god.
  As for struggling to get past an youth team from England,Big Hit thats all you got,you dont have anything else and now you are looking at more kiwi has beens and even looking at retired players to help,yawn same ole same ole.We cannot help you guys are weak over there,our players play just as much games as yours but unlike your team we have depth,accept that England havnt got depth and stop with the stupid excuses,you have started of 2009 on the same way 2008 ended,with excuses

• 22.PaulLondon:
  15 Jan 2009, 01:10 am

  I could be mistaken here,but did Julian White not withdraw from the England WC squad and retire from International rugby stating,he wanted to spend more time on his farming busniess,and wanting to spend more time with his family?

  I did say, if the saxons played the 1st tomorrow I would be tempted to bet on a saxons win.

  Looking at the saxons squad,in my opinion there are players who this season. been the form players in their positon than some of those who made it into the firsts.

  Robshaw ,S.Armitage,Crane ,are unlucky not to have been selected. Brown and Abendennon , must feel hard done by considering London Irish have been playing D. Armitage at 13 but ,hats off to him he got his chance at 15 and has made the most of it. Strettle when fit fushes Monye into the centres at quins and JSD, when fit would oust Sackey. White put on a clinic against the Northhampton, and Bath, front rows . As for Turner-Hall, he should be the start 12.There are a few players in the squad not long back from Injury so the saxons is where they belong right now. It would be a close call but I favour the saxons, in a one off.

  Remember when Wales 1st team played a club side in a WC warm up match and lost??

• 23.CHAZ:
  15 Jan 2009, 01:44 am

  #20 Big Hit: See you allways going on with the past, move on, get with future, and the rose is wilting im sad to say very badly, with all your resources and your population you still can’t field a decent rugby side, never ever call us poachers, last game the AB’s played against the Poms, the AB’s had two players not born in NZ, and the Poms had 3, go figure.
  On a diffrent but simular vein Greenwood another explayer that likes making an arse of himself promoting the THE WORLD CLUB CHALLENGE you have got to be kidding, and who’s involved??No teams from NZ, no teams from SA, just the bloody frogs, the poms, and the occers, mind you when nothing happening in the north, get 4 nothing teams, take them to Asia let them play, and the winner will be crowned the the best club team in the world, YEAH RIGHT!!!!!!

• 24.Big Hit:
  15 Jan 2009, 01:44 am

  #21 Hurricane: last season for us is 2007-08, no one’s looking at Kiwi has-beens but Eddie Jones. England squad was named today, Jackson nowhere to be seen. You don’t have depth, your side was going to be turned over by Munster 2nds until you called in the reinforcements.

• 25.Big Hit:
  15 Jan 2009, 01:49 am

  #22 PaulLondon: White didn’t want to be 3rd string behind Vickery and Stevens, but he didn’t officially retire. I know the Saxons look strong enough (Hurricane claims no depth, go figure) in the backs especially but the first string England pack would overpower it pretty easily imo.
  The young backs you suggest look good in the GP but internationals is whole different ball game.

  #23 CHAZ: the only player who didn’t have an English parent was Flutey and he was laughing at the All Blacks doing the haka because none of them (except a sub) were Maoris

• 26.Tbozknows:
  15 Jan 2009, 03:11 am

  Johnny is better than Cipriani.. He is the match winner. For me he starts any day of the week..

• 27.Hurricane:
  15 Jan 2009, 03:39 am

  #24 Big Hit:
  You saying we dont have depth is a laugh,look in your own backyard before judging others.
  The Munster game was a cracker,their seconds team we struggled against,i believed we were always going to win it,we looked better but just didnt have the rhythm,but we didnt struggle against England at Twickers so looking at that Munster would beat England,hows that feel.By the way when you said no one is looking at Kiwi has beens,have you noticed Flutey,he is a has been,and just wait there will be more Kiwis in your team in the next 5 years.

• 28.Hurricane:
  15 Jan 2009, 03:41 am

  #25 Big Hit:
  Exactly Big Hit,i claim you have no depth,and this was the case when you played SA and NZ at home,you were hammered

• 29.CHAZ:
  15 Jan 2009, 03:55 am

  BREAKING NEWS EXTRA EXTRA, Martin J the English rugby coach (mmmmmfffff) has asked Mike Catt, Rory Underwood, Neil Back, and Lawrence Diaglow, to start training as he has no players worth their salt playing rugby anywhere, Martin was asked why those players, because he said, we play boring rugby so those players are the best at boring rugby and we need them this year otherwise we will ranked below Italy at the end of this year.

• 30.Big Hit:
  15 Jan 2009, 06:40 am

  #27 Hurricane: always believed you were going to win? you had to load the team to beat Munster 2nds, if they had any of their Irish internationals on the bench you were screwed. And you couldn’t score against 13 men at Twickenham for 60 minutes with the ref handing you penalty after penalty in a horribly biased performance. Flutey is 28, hardly a has-been and plays for the English champions.

  #28 Hurricane: yeah we fielded a young team and were beaten soundly by SA, but you guys couldn’t put 13 men to the sword and when you fielded a young team you couldn’t beat Munster 2nds with no Irish internationals and had to get Brad Thorn, Rokocoko, Muliania to save you.

• 31.Big Hit:
  15 Jan 2009, 06:42 am

  #29 CHAZ: you can’t sell out your home games and your tv audiences are switching off, so who is really boring?

• 32.cane:
  15 Jan 2009, 12:56 pm

  #30 Big Hit:

  True BiggLies………………..Munster played like Men.

  England on the other hand……………….

  Did the RU provide their Team with KY jelly prior to Oz, SA and NZ Tests. Such a rogering must have been, well …..uncomfortable.

• 33.Hurricane:
  15 Jan 2009, 22:34 pm

  #30 Big Hit:
  Big HIt we beat the Irish internationals,so who cares if they were missing from Munster.
  Correct we couldnt put England away like we had hoped,but i thought when we talked about this game after it happened you said you werent blaming the ref,hmmm seems to have changed somewhat,you are blaming the ref for England trying to disrupt NZ illegally.
  About Flutey,you are correct in a way,but in NZ he is a has been and he has never been an AB,not good enough but seems to be great over their for some strange (No Depth) reason

• 34.Hurricane:
  15 Jan 2009, 22:38 pm

  Oh and Big Hit by the way,in 3 tests we scored 113 points against you guys.
  You scored in 3 tests 38 points,looks like the average that has been happening against you guys in the last 100 years.
  And of course the game you were talking about in the posts on this thread was the game at Twickers,NZ won the game 32points to 6 and you are saying we didnt put you guys to the sword,lol

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