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England World Cup Squad

Watson was rested and i think will starts at FB with Big joe and McConnechie(if fit) rest daly may
 
rugga658 said:
Itpje is several levels above James Ryan A much more impactful player
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It's not really relevant to the thread so I'll be brief but you keep citing yesterday's game as evidence of this, which I think is a bit bizarre as only one of those players was playing. As I say, James Ryan genuinely hasn't played a single game of professional rugby where he wasn't one of our best players on the pitch (it sounds ridiculous but it's 100% true, as someone who's watched every game he's played, which is pretty sad but you don't post over 1000 times on a rugby forum in two years by being cool). Even when Ireland or Leinster lose he's usually a heroic standout. It's just weird given that of all the Irish players who have been in terrible form all year and given that there were 10+ players who humiliated themselves on Saturday it seems bizarre for you to single out one of the few guys who has been consistently good and didn't play in the nightmare game against England. (It's not like there's a shortage of choice, any of Best, O'Mahony, Stander, Sexton, Murray, Stockdale and probably a fair few others are easy targets right now.) Whether or not he'd have made a difference on Saturday I don't know but I will say with complete confidence he wouldn't have collapsed or pulled his pants down the way the guys who were playing did.

None of this is an attack on Itoje, who is a genuinely brilliant player, but I do find the constant comparisons between him and Ryan silly, it's as tiresome as Messi/Ronaldo (or Sexton/ROG in Ireland) at this point. They're both amazing players and easily the two best lock (and possibly foward) talents the Northern Hemisphere has produced in the best part of a decade and trying to put one down in favour of the other is just unnecessary, we should all just look forward to them playing together in 2021.

I'll happily admit that that was neither brief or relevant to the thread but I have nothing better to do right now.
 
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I am genuinely looking forward to a Itoje-Ryan combination for the Lions in 2 years time. It could be the first choice combo for the Lions for the next 3 Lions series.
 
The_Blindside said:
I am genuinely looking forward to a Itoje-Ryan combination for the Lions in 2 years time. It could be the first choice combo for the Lions for the next 3 Lions series.
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I'd have Itoje & Kruis as my Lions pair with Ryan on the bench

Jamie George is clear #1 hooker as is Mako for LH prop + Billy V for #8
& there's no one close

The position that'll be most contested for Lions team is #7

Hamish Watson would start but you have Curry Underhill Leavy Navidi Tuperic & Ellis Jenkins
who all would have legit claims to start
 
rugga658 said:
I'd have Itoje & Kruis as my Lions pair with Ryan on the bench

Jamie George is clear #1 hooker as is Mako for LH prop + Billy V for #8
& there's no one close

The position that'll be most contested for Lions team is #7

Hamish Watson would start but you have Curry Underhill Leavy Navidi Tuperic & Ellis Jenkins
who all would have legit claims to start
Click to expand...

Yeah you got a point about Kruis. This is of course assuming AWJ doesn't retire post RWC. Kruis was where AWJ was in the 2009 Lions series before his performance in 2013, in the last Lions series.

Still, the Lions have great depth at lock and 7.

And yet it's 2 years away. So for now the RWC is the main focus. I was just saying this to break the whole Maro v Ryan debate. Both future Hall of famers for me.
 
rugga658 said:
I'd have Itoje & Kruis as my Lions pair with Ryan on the bench

Jamie George is clear #1 hooker as is Mako for LH prop + Billy V for #8
& there's no one close

The position that'll be most contested for Lions team is #7

Hamish Watson would start but you have Curry Underhill Leavy Navidi Tuperic & Ellis Jenkins
who all would have legit claims to start
Click to expand...

I like Hamish Watson a lot, but personally, I'd have all of the others you mention ahead of him.
 
BPM said:
I like Hamish Watson a lot, but personally, I'd have all of the others you mention ahead of him.
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Yeah for sure. Watson's almost certainly the best carrying 7 in the world (although Savea's definitely in the running) but Curry, Underhill and Leavy are all far more rounded players and fulfil the role of a 7 much better.
 
LTTP and catching up with this thread;
TobyBeastTeague said:
Genge is still new to propping having only moved there from the back row in the last few years. Chucking him in at TH for the first time at international level would be suicide.
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Gengey has been playing prop about 7 years now, "last few years" isn't right my dude. I agree he shouldn't switch at this point though, especially in a world cup.

Anyone else concerned about Mako? I'm not sure he was ready to come back from injury and it didn't look good when he came off early.
 
Rinkadink said:
Anyone else concerned about Mako? I'm not sure he was ready to come back from injury and it didn't look good when he came off early.
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Yes. Same hamstring apparently. Even if it was only a twinge, that suggests the original problem hasn't been properly sorted. That's worrying.
 
Nowell has tricky feet and is difficult to put down, Cokanasiga is about pace and power. I kind of see where you're going in that they're both 'powerful', but I wouldn't have described them as 'similar'.

I'll be disappointed if Nowell is out as I'm a big fan, but if he is, I'll be curious to see who is called up. It could just easily be Harry Williams or a third scrum half as a back three player. If it is a winger, I guess Thorley is next cab off the rank. Again, I'm a fan, but it would be another risk given he's currently uncapped.
 
BPM said:
Nowell has tricky feet and is difficult to put down, Cokanasiga is about pace and power. I kind of see where you're going in that they're both 'powerful', but I wouldn't have described them as 'similar'.

I'll be disappointed if Nowell is out as I'm a big fan, but if he is, I'll be curious to see who is called up. It could just easily be Harry Williams or a third scrum half as a back three player. If it is a winger, I guess Thorley is next cab off the rank. Again, I'm a fan, but it would be another risk given he's currently uncapped.
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I guess similar in they often look to break the gainline in contact, where as May is looking for for the open space.
 
Reiser99 said:
I guess similar in they often look to break the gainline in contact, where as May is looking for for the open space.
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On nowell from your previous everything BPM said above is correct plus nowell has a hell of a workrate attsck and defence, and is v good at the breakdown for a back. But he cant match Big Joes offloading or pace. Its a tough choice(even for a chidfs fan).

May has to be our first choice. He is rapid obv but his skill level in defence and in the air and even his strength in the carry. He has to start, i used to dislike him and think he wasnt good enough because all he had was pace but he has improved 10 fold. And by all accounts one of the hardest workers in training.
 

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