[FrogInABog]

(Original post by Roobsa)
The dumbest penalty was Ashton having a go at Rougerie when Foden caught the up and under.

Pretty sure that was Croft... Although I may be wrong!!

Dumb penalty all the same...

Ooh ooh and, on another note, Lancaster for the job!!!

Edit: My bad, you were right, it was Ashton

[Casshern1456]

Lucky to win that, a mixture of poor decision making from France too for bringing on Trich-Duc for that drop goal.

[Gob Bluth]

So that effectively means we have won the 6 Nations. Happy with that. Some great games, and finishes in this years 6N. France ultimately poor, England undeniably good.

Some cracking games next week. All of them are going to be too close to call imo.

[kingsholmmad]

Damn, I'd hate to be a French supporter, I'd spend the whole season screaming at the tv and sobbing. Half the time they play a kicking game but don't have anybody actually chasing the kick, the rest of the time they play a passing game but only pass it to the bloke stood two feet away from them and come to a grinding halt.

Never mind, England got the win even if it was partly due to the French playing like they'd never met each other before. The point is, England keep improving so I'm a happy man.

[ForensicShoe]

(Original post by dews1290)
I know what you mean he almost looks scared of the ball, the face he makes reminds me of this clip of Jimmy Bullard : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIB7dCl51Z8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82W5yIEvFNA

Found it!

[jacksonriddle]

france seemed to have forgotten the first rule of schoolboy rugby: never throw the ball away in contact.

so many bad passes from that lead to interceptions and counter attacks. D:

[Gob Bluth]

Who's looking forward to this weekend? St Patrick's day, gonna get messy, and coupled with if we win the Grand Slam will be incredible!

Feel sorry for Justin Tipuric. An actual top quality flanker, and was fantastic against Italy, but to be only one year younger than Sam Warburton. His chances are going to be limited at International level i would think.

[pinkpenguin]

Gonna be a fun weekend. Fancy Italy, Ireland and Wales to win I reckon.

Looking forward to the Lions tour already We've defo got a great chance.

[made_of_fail]

(Original post by Gob Bluth)
Who's looking forward to this weekend? St Patrick's day, gonna get messy, and coupled with if we win the Grand Slam will be incredible!

Feel sorry for Justin Tipuric. An actual top quality flanker, and was fantastic against Italy, but to be only one year younger than Sam Warburton. His chances are going to be limited at International level i would think.

tipuric is a lightweight who lacks the physical presence to have an impact on international rugby

can't wait for the romp to victory at twickers. manu going to run over ireland's midgets in midfield. healy in the fight of his life to stay on his feet at scrum time. rog to come on at 50 as the hope drains away from the bogtrotters.

[Gob Bluth]

(Original post by made_of_fail)
tipuric is a lightweight who lacks the physical presence to have an impact on international rugby

He is only 21 you know. A lot of time for him to get that physical presence you speak of. Technically i rate him a lot being an O's fan.

[TheDubs]

Love Ireland England at Twickers on Paddys day! Even more so than at Lansdowne! Its like a neutral venue this way!

Even though its a 'nothing match' Ireland England has been IMO the best game of the six nations over the past 5/6 years. Always love this fixture! 'hon the boys in green!!

[Idris Dragon]

(Original post by Gob Bluth)
He is only 21 you know. A lot of time for him to get that physical presence you speak of. Technically i rate him a lot being an O's fan.

I like Tipuric a lot. He's still growing as a player and lets not forget that Martyn Williams has never been a hugely physical 7, but by getting himself in the right places he was great (c.f. tries in France '05) and when the game loosened up he came into his own. The only major problem with Tipuric was his tendency to get yellow carded at the start of this season; but he's been ok recently (touch wood)...

Isn't it nice to have someone actually quite good on the bench; a few years back it was Robin Sowden-Taylor, who was a really solid club pro but not really an international...

[Idris Dragon]

(Original post by pinkpenguin)
Looking forward to the Lions tour already We've defo got a great chance.

Amen to that. We could really bully their tight 5 and we have back row players coming out of our ears; even if you just look at the starting 6's, 7's & 8's you are struggling to cut it down (although Warburton and Croft will be your test starters all things being equal)...

[pinkpenguin]

(Original post by Idris Dragon)
Amen to that. We could really bully their tight 5 and we have back row players coming out of our ears; even if you just look at the starting 6's, 7's & 8's you are struggling to cut it down (although Warburton and Croft will be your test starters all things being equal)...

All depends on the gameplan you want vs. Australia really. You've gotta absolutely dominate them up front to stand a chance, but you want to have a little bit of dynamism there to actually score points against a strong defence.

I wouldnt pick Croft and Warburton. The balance isn't right - the back row becomes too small if you pick both of them.

I'd go with:

6. Ferris - for big hits (ala last week, and ala vs. Australia at RWC). General nuisance.
7. Warburton - for smart tackles/defence and to neutralise Pocock. Obv class player.
8. Denton - your big backrow runner. Scope for Faletau/maybe even Morgan playing the same role.

That's 2 largely defensive players + an absolute beast at 8. Have a balance in the 2nd row too - O'Connell and Gray for example. O'Connell does the work, Gray is the attacking threat.

But we really are spoilt for choice in the backrows. Ferris, SOB, Heaslip, Wallace (assuming 2009/10 form), Warburton, Faletau, Lydiate, Tipuric, Croft, Wood, Morgan, Hask?, Denton, Rennie all good enough to go. And that's excluding any new faces that hit the scene over the next 12 months.

Christ they can only take about 5 or 6 of them. Some v good players are going to be left at home.

For jokes, and because I'm bored, here's my Lions 22 if the test was this weekend and everyone injured was fit:

Spoiler:

Show

1. Gethin Jenkins (WAL)
2. Rory Best (IRE)
3. Adam Jones (WAL)
4. Ritchie Gray (SCO)
5. Paul O'Connell (IRE)
6. Stephen Ferris (IRE)
7. Sam Warburton (WAL)
8. David Denton (SCO)

9. Mike Phillips (WAL) - on the assumption he picks the ball up a bit quicker..
10. Owen Farrel (ENG) - Hard. But good kicker, and decent ball handler. Nothing fancy vs. Australia needed.
11. George North (WAL)
12. Brian O'Driscol (IRE) - Soz Wales, I'm always gonna pick him. I predict he's a 12 when he gets back anyways.
13. Manu Tuilangi (ENG)
14. Leigh Halfpenny (WAL)
15. Rob Kearney (IRE)

16. Ross Ford (SCO)
17. Dan Cole (ENG)/Cian Healy (IRE) - know nothing about how to pick substitute props!
18. Alun Wyn Jones (WAL)
19. Tom Croft (ENG)
20. Lee Dickson (ENG)
21. Rhys Priestland (WAL)
22. Ben Foden (ENG)

Sorry England. Bit Celtic this time.
I realise the Welsh centres have been hard done by. But BOD is in my Lions team. Deal with it.

[MoreTeaVicar?]

(Original post by pinkpenguin)
Gonna be a fun weekend. Fancy Italy, Ireland and Wales to win I reckon.

Looking forward to the Lions tour already We've defo got a great chance.

I'm hoping Ireland are going to win but England are looking pretty good despite having a young team. Need O'Driscoll on the pitch; that would sort it all out.

I think Scotland might beat Italy.

[Gob Bluth]

(Original post by Idris Dragon)
I like Tipuric a lot. He's still growing as a player and lets not forget that Martyn Williams has never been a hugely physical 7, but by getting himself in the right places he was great (c.f. tries in France '05) and when the game loosened up he came into his own. The only major problem with Tipuric was his tendency to get yellow carded at the start of this season; but he's been ok recently (touch wood)...

Isn't it nice to have someone actually quite good on the bench; a few years back it was Robin Sowden-Taylor, who was a really solid club pro but not really an international...

I know. It's nice to have some depth at last. Wales have always been so much 15 man based, but recently we have got a really good young squad. Our best for years. Overall it's better than our GS sides of the 2000s, mainly due to the amount of youth, potential and depth, imo.

[Idris Dragon]

(Original post by Gob Bluth)
I know. It's nice to have some depth at last. Wales have always been so much 15 man based, but recently we have got a really good young squad. Our best for years. Overall it's better than our GS sides of the 2000s, mainly due to the amount of youth, potential and depth, imo.

I agree; if you look at the average age of this team, it is younger than the England team who we keep hearing are young and exciting. These guys are younger, have been to a WC semi and there are people knocking on the door too. A really exciting time to be a Welsh rugby supporter and with England and Ireland having strong teams too (with the Scots providing a tough pack and the issue of playing up at Murrayfield), we could have some titanic battles for crowns and slams in the next few years.

The true test of this team is if we can beat the tri-nations. The other two grand slam teams couldn't and we should have beaten the boks at the world cup, so hopefully we can...

[Idris Dragon]

Mervyn Davies has passed away. One of the greatest ever.

Tomorrow just got a whole lot more emotional...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/16444916

[Hylean]

(Original post by pinkpenguin)
Gonna be a fun weekend. Fancy Italy, Ireland and Wales to win I reckon.

Looking forward to the Lions tour already We've defo got a great chance.

I quite like your Lions team. We all know that BOD will be in there. He's definitely one of the best centres at the moment, though I'm not sure that he'll be 12, but we'll see.

As for this weekend, I'd love Italy to win as they rarely do, but I wouldn't mind a Scottish win, so I'm neutral there.

Ireland and Wales, definitely. I want Wales to win a GS.

(Original post by made_of_fail)
can't wait for the romp to victory at twickers. manu going to run over ireland's midgets in midfield. healy in the fight of his life to stay on his feet at scrum time. rog to come on at 50 as the hope drains away from the bogtrotters.

Same old spiel that's brought out when England play Ireland. And England's recent history against us isn't the best.

I think England stand a chance of winning, it's going to be close.

[Keelo]

Big day today needed from England! Hoping for a big win but Ireland are strong! Farrell, Ashton and Tuilagi will be key for England to win this one!

Also hoping for a big France win! Very possible as France will want to take revenge on Wales for there loss to us last week!