D-Day for England: the Six Nations selection thread.

[Caledfwlch]

Was just wondering how come they left Lamb and Lewsey. Not too sure bout Lewsey, but Lamb is/was in a rich vein of form barring the issues rgding tackling. And Phil Vickery. Some captain.

 

[Bullitt]

See: My theorey on the RFU Holy Trinity.

 

[Dozzy_X]

england lack quality centres and i dont feel tindall, noon, flood and maybe winkinson are going to offer us we havn't seen before. tait IS a fullback, and a good 1 at that but england are screaming out for a decent centre partnership. i hope something gets sorted out. hopefully this time next year the saints' ashton should have won himself a space quite nicely there. until then i still feel england are weak there. no good having a 17stone winger and a gas man in sackey if they never get the ball.

 

[Bullitt]

That's where Allen and Hipkiss will come in. As for Vinakolo and Sackey, I doubt either of them will be England wingers this time next year.

 

[Incredible Schalk]

Would you guys say England have a genuine chance of the ***le then? i just get that impression.

 

[SecondRow04]

surprised that balshaw and noon were included, cant see what they offer tbh. noon is defence and thats about it and balshaw is just shite.

could of had better younger players in allen and hipkiss, would of been better.

simpson daniel passed up again, dissapointing really,

still a strong squad tho imo, could win the 6 nations

 

[Prestwick]

I still think that a Geraghty - Hipkiss partnership would be (to use a technical term) the "killer app" in England's offering. The crazy adventurism of Geraghty combined with the sheer brutality of Hipkiss would open up English rugby to a whole new world of opportunity.

Would you guys say England have a genuine chance of the ***le then? i just get that impression. [/b]

I'd say we have a chance, its just that we love to go about it in the most difficult way possible.

 

[getofmeland]

Well what a surprise that Balshaw is in the squad, he will be injured after 10 mins on the pitch... Very shocked to see the Volcano in there, but he has been on form...
I am annoyed to see Abendanon in the Saxons however it will be good experience for him, also very very annoyed not to see Banahan in either squad, I feel he at least deserves a place in the Saxons, however so many Gloucester Players in the squads can only be good news for Bath, who aren't missing too many players... Although I would rather see a stronger England squad than Bath winning...

How relieved am I not to see Farrell on that sheet, has someone in the RFU suddenly realised that he is not a Rugby Union player?

Mite - I can see your point with the Holy Trinity, but this time you can't include Bath in that... considering the players picked for Bath are the players who deserve there place...

I am far more positive with the Saxons Squad as I feel it is stronger than the backline of the main squad...

Oh yeah and before I forget... WHAT HAS VICKERY DONE!!! There is no reason at all where he should be the England Captain, he is not even the best player in his position... Nick Easter or Simon Shaw for Future England Captain???

 

[Bullitt]

Mite - I can see your point with the Holy Trinity, but this time you can't include Bath in that... considering the players picked for Bath are the players who deserve there place...[/b]

Don't get me wrong, I'd love to see Abandaman and Banahan in the England setup this year - Bath have some cracking player right now.

My point abot the Holy Trinity was refering more towards the eyebrow raising selections such as Borthwick, Kay, Moody, Balshaw (old ties, eh?), Sackey, and Vickery.

 

[getofmeland]

I would argue about Borthwick being a member of the squad, he has a very good Rugby Head and alot of the younger locks can learn off him... Maybe not a starter but a great player to have come off the bench to change the lineout and give you a choice...
Also Sackey, I can see why he is in the squad, defiently not the first name on the sheet but he is a handy runner, tackling needs a bit more work, but he never gives up on a chance if that makes sense, he is a worker or thats the opinion I get off him, he did have a good couple of games in the World Cup, not the best player available but a handy one to have in your 32 Man squad...

On the Bath Setup it is one of the best I have seen for a fair few years, also alot more talent in the Academy waiting to break through...

 

[Vambo]

I know a lot of people are keen to see the 'bright young things' playing for England but IMO many of them still have a lot to prove at premiership level never mind international level.

 

[Prestwick]

Hey guys, look on the bright side.

If we had more Bath players in there, we'd be able to name the England team of the 2008 Six Nations after something which would easily rival the many illustrious teams of New Zealand:

Coming to confuse and confound at a recreation ground near you!

 

[Dozzy_X]

lol. its easy to pronouce 'banana' and 'abandon-man!' both should be in the saxons squad. but still abandon-man is better than balshaw. glous will struggle with all these backs missing...

 

[stormmaster1]

<div class='quotemain'>Mite - I can see your point with the Holy Trinity, but this time you can't include Bath in that... considering the players picked for Bath are the players who deserve there place...[/b]

Don't get me wrong, I'd love to see Abandaman and Banahan in the England setup this year - Bath have some cracking player right now.

My point abot the Holy Trinity was refering more towards the eyebrow raising selections such as Borthwick, Kay, Moody, Balshaw (old ties, eh?), Sackey, and Vickery. [/b][/quote]



Those selections are easy to disagree with, but with Kay and Borthwick being two of Englands best lineout captains and playing well, it's easy for two experienced locks to get a place. Moody is a unique flanker and did well in the world cup imo barring a trip in the final. Balshaw i just don't get, but Sackey was leading try scorer in the world cup, and Vickery was captain. Was Ashton ever likely not to pick them?

I know a lot of people are keen to see the 'bright young things' playing for England but IMO many of them still have a lot to prove at premiership level never mind international level.
[/b]

very true. Easy to remember two young stars in Varndell and Tait who made the leap to internationals before they were ready.

Would you guys say England have a genuine chance of the ***le then? i just get that impression. [/b]

We have a chance. Grandslam is unlikely with the French revenge mission in Paris But England did much better in the world cup than Ireland, Wales or Scotland so they must fancy their chances. I expect most those sides to improve, but the England pack if on form is fearsome enough to control the game. There could be lots of changes from the final side so it may simply depend on how the individuals gel as a team. The two SA games in the WC show that it isn't simply down to selection.

 

[Vambo]

The 22:

15 Iain Balshaw

14 Paul Sackey

13 Mike Tindall

12 Toby Flood

11 David Strettle

10 Jonny Wilkinson

9 Andy Gomarsall

1 Andrew Sheridan

2 Mark Regan

3 Phil Vickery

4 Simon Shaw

5 Steve Borthwick

6 James Haskell

7 Lewis Moody

8 Luke Narraway

REPLACEMENTS

16 Lee Mears

17 Matt Stevens

18 Ben Kay

19 Tom Rees

20 Richard Wigglesworth

21 Daniel Cipriani

22 Lesley Vainikolo

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17 out of my 22 made it