England v New Zealand

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tigermad
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England v New Zealand

Post by tigermad »

:smt035 :smt035


England take on the mighty All Blacks at HQ this weekend and will be looking to build on that win against Australia in Sydney. But it will be brutal against a New Zealand side that has only lost once in the last year if my memory serves me well. It should be a cracking game.
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bluntiger
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Re: England v New Zealand

Post by bluntiger »

Here is the team I would put out:

15. Ben Foden
14. Mark Cuato
13. Delon Armitage
12. Mike Tindall
11. Chris Ashton
10. Toby Flood
9. Ben Youngs
8. James Haskell
7. Lewis Moody (c)
6. Tom Croft
5. Tom Palmer
4. Courtney Lawes
3. Dan Cole
2. Dylan Hartley
1. Andrew Sheridan

The good thing is that there is a real nucleus of a team here. Hartley, Cole, Lawes, Crofy, Youngs, Flood, Foden, Ashton are all pencilled in before I started thinking about selection and that is a good sign. Like the team of 2003 where Robinson, Dalaglio, Back, Hill, Johnson, Greenwood, Wilkinson, Dawson were also shoe-in selections.
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Will S
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Re: England v New Zealand

Post by Will S »

bluntiger wrote:Here is the team I would put out:

15. Ben Foden
14. Mark Cuato
13. Delon Armitage
12. Mike Tindall
11. Chris Ashton
10. Toby Flood
9. Ben Youngs
8. James Haskell
7. Lewis Moody (c)
6. Tom Croft
5. Tom Palmer
4. Courtney Lawes
3. Dan Cole
2. Dylan Hartley
1. Andrew Sheridan
My changes to the above team would be:

14: I would go for Strettle over Cueto. Strettle is our quickest player in camp and we could do with his speed and footwork if we are going to pick holes in the NZ defence.
12: Whilst I fully agree with Armitage at 13 I don't think Tindall has the skill set to play 12 (I think Glous have tried it a few times and it didn't work). We seriously lack at 12 and whilst I think Englands long term centre partnership may be our very own 12T's and Manu at present we are very thin. In the current EPS I would go for Flutey if fit, Hape if not.
8: Not a massive fan of Haskell but agree we need a more dynamic 8 than Easter and at present he is probably our best option.
kingol22
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Re: England v New Zealand

Post by kingol22 »

hape and tindall should be the centre pairing and ashton, foden and strettle should make up the back 3 the only problem position is 8 and i think they will stick with easter but hopefully crane can find some form and push for the 6nations. it should be a close game but i think new zealand will edge it by 2 points.
wardy
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Re: England v New Zealand

Post by wardy »

Tigermad,

Not sure why you should need your memory. All Blacks lost last saturday against the Aussies. Mind you I can't even remember what I did yesterday so I'm one to talk!!!!
Give blood, play rugby!!
bluntiger
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Re: England v New Zealand

Post by bluntiger »

kingol22 wrote:hape and tindall should be the centre pairing
And that is the biggest weakness IMO, we simply do not have anyone near world-class at 12 and Hape is not close to international class.
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Will S
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Re: England v New Zealand

Post by Will S »

Everytime I've seen Hape play he has been out shone by his opposite number. He can't even make the starting 12 slot at Bath.

Centres is the weak spot for both England and Tigers at present. I'm hoping that 12T's and Manu can provide the long term solution for both club and country.
Big Dai
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Re: England v New Zealand

Post by Big Dai »

Couldn't give a hoot! A waste of time!
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Duncan B
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Re: England v New Zealand

Post by Duncan B »

Whats a waste of time? :smt026 I cant wait to see the game! I still love watching England and I always will, as ever Im optimistic about the game and really believe we can get a result. Go on boys :smt023
BJ.
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Re: England v New Zealand

Post by BJ. »

Big Dai wrote:Couldn't give a hoot! A waste of time!
I agree. We either play the SH nations at the end of our season when we're all knackered or at the end of their season (i.e. now) when they're all knackered.

The AIs are nothing but revenue-generators for the RFU. Whilst a select few swan off to Twickenham (half of which don't know one end of a rugby ball from the other), the rest of us mere mortals who want to support our clubs are messed about with having large chunks of the playing squad taken away or have our kick-off times put to stupid o'clock on a Friday night.
Whatever you do, don't argue. We might never hear from you again.
tb1
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Re: England v New Zealand

Post by tb1 »

BJ. wrote:half of which don't know one end of a rugby ball from the other
Are they not the same? :smt017
BJ.
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Re: England v New Zealand

Post by BJ. »

BJ wrote:half of which don't know one end of a rugby ball from the other
I'm referring of course to the hoards of chinless wonders and hooray Henrys who appear at such events because it is 'the place to be seen'. They, along with their equally cerebrally-challenged gals, turn up in their brand new England shirts which are still creased from where they have just come out of the wrapping. They then proceed to get blitzed out of their brains without watching one minute of the game whilst the gals spend all afternoon on their mobiles to someone three rows away or occasionally chirping up with a 'Where's Jonny?' as he is the only player they've ever heard of.

I've been to five England internationals, luckily none of which were at Twickenham.
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Mr Bean
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Re: England v New Zealand

Post by Mr Bean »

BJ normally when I go twickers to watch england I'm in the top teir as the tickets are cheepest you dont get the hooray henrys there you get your common rugby supporter who didnt want to pay though the nose. the only time i have ventured lower down is when I went to watch bedford in the powergen shield in 2005 where we ended up sitting around the people who I talk to at goldington road and then during the cup final (bath v leeds) on the telly you couldnt hear the leeds or bath fans all you could hear where very happy bedford chants.
Purebob
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Re: England v New Zealand

Post by Purebob »

I've been to five England internationals, luckily none of which were at Twickenham.
BJ if you have never been to an international at HQ how can you be so sure that the crowd are as you say ?

I've been a dozen or so times to internationals at HQ and some times I've been sat near drunken clueless posh lads, also drunken clueless business men but I've rarely had any hassle.

Mostly I've been sat near rugby fans, the best being the Welsh and the French fans. Only had one day ruined when I was sat next to a boorish LI season ticket holder ( he waved it at me several times) whose bitter tirades against Tigers had me grab him by the collar and threaten to flatten his nose if he did not shut up. So "real" fans can be as big a pains in the armholes as hooray Henrys.
BJ.
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Re: England v New Zealand

Post by BJ. »

The crux of my gripe is the number of players we lose whenever the AIs are played. I pay over £400 for my season ticket at Welford Road and, for that money, I would like to watch our star players as much as possible. Instead, they are taken away for a considerable length of time for these meaningless matches. If these fundraisers for the RFU have to be played during the regular season, then cancel the league schedule for these dates or, better still, scrap the joke that is the LV Cup which, in itself, is only another fundraiser but this time for the poor, cash-strapped Welsh regions and play them then.
Whatever you do, don't argue. We might never hear from you again.
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