The Six Nations Thread

[Leicestertinytiger]

Against France it has to be Robshaw Underhill Hughes in the backrow with Haskell on the bench. Otherwise feel it could be another long day at the breakdown for England!

[mightymouse]

If Eddie is insistent on squeezing all his locks into the team surely Otoje should be 6 not Lawes.
A possible back row could be 6. Otoje 7. Underhill. 8. Robshaw

Simmons must have a place once he returns and one assumes so does Billy V.

I'm not sure Hughes has a long term future but to be fair to him he has only just reurned from injury and looked badly off the pace.

So a future back row could be 6. Simmons 7. Underhill 8. BILLY V with Otoje back at lock and lawes on bench although lineocut may be a issue In this scenario.

At some point Don Armand will need to come into the equation. I think Robshaw is a good player and has been unfairly maligned mainly because he has been played out of position and proved to make poor decisions under pressure as captain. However at some point a new order will need to be considered and England seem to have an embarrassment of riches in back row choices if all fit. When does he make the changes? That is the big question. The clock is ticking on the world cup. Will he have the courage to change before then?

[mol2]

Exactly Mightymouse.

Why persist with locks in the back row when there is talent enough to play players in their natural position?
For a shrewd operator like Eddie, it is strange that he starts international locks in the back row.

I don't have a problem with a player on the bench covering both lock and 6 but not starting there when there are players with better skill sets at 6 than Lawes or Itoje - Robshaw being one of those.
Robshaw is a good international at 6 but merely a capable emergency option at 7.

[BFG]

Eddie doesn't seem to think that England possess the talent to succeed and as a result is pursuing the safety first approach in playing style.
I think this is why we are seeing locks on the back row.
I actually think that he is wrong, it's the elite player squads that lack talent and not English rugby in general.
I thought the Argentina tour was just a small glimpse of what England could be.
Wanting to win and not wanting to lose are the same thing, but trying to play not to lose is what England are doing which is very different from not wanting to lose in my opinion.

[JP14]

Cameron Jordan named to start for the U18s, very excited about this fella.

[Rugbyflanker]

Really BFG,beating the Jaguares is your barometer? Argentina only turn up every four years,not a good measuring stick whatsoever IMO.

[BFG]

Really BFG,beating the Jaguares is your barometer? Argentina only turn up every four years,not a good measuring stick whatsoever IMO.

Well England don't even turn up every four years, so perhaps the Jaguares barometer is not that bad.
We shall see, but I can see what is coming!
I didn't think Jones' England would become some sort of cosy club, but it has, he is picking average players, playing players out of position, and playing safe.
It's becoming difficult to take Jones seriously, and how can you when he shoes Hartley into the team who isn't even the best hooker at his club!
The likes of Robson and Cipriani, BOC and even Bateman, the league is littered with better players to try before labelling England not good enough to have a proper go!

[Stephen18]

Really BFG,beating the Jaguares is your barometer? Argentina only turn up every four years,not a good measuring stick whatsoever IMO.

Well England don't even turn up every four years, so perhaps the Jaguares barometer is not that bad.
We shall see, but I can see what is coming!
I didn't think Jones' England would become some sort of cosy club, but it has, he is picking average players, playing players out of position, and playing safe.
It's becoming difficult to take Jones seriously, and how can you when he shoes Hartley into the team who isn't even the best hooker at his club!
The likes of Robson and Cipriani, BOC and even Bateman, the league is littered with better players to try before labelling England not good enough to have a proper go!

This is true like every coach he does seem to have decided his team and hes sticking with them, that being said i dont think they've become a bad team over night and because they've lost 1 game or 2 in 24, i’ll give them to the end of the 6 nations to prove themselves, but eddie is now wasting alot of places and games not trying new players. I'm still not convinced about this apprentice player thing he keeps doing picking 19 year olds for the future thats what the u20s if for so they get game time, im sure he could do sessions with the u20s and main team so they all get used to playing at that level, and select other players in those training spots like the ones listed by many on here. Im sure he said himself once in an interview that coachs should be incharge for a maxs of 4 years as there ideas become stale and the team stops moving on, so someone new needs to come to n a freshen things up.

[BFG]

Really BFG,beating the Jaguares is your barometer? Argentina only turn up every four years,not a good measuring stick whatsoever IMO.

Well England don't even turn up every four years, so perhaps the Jaguares barometer is not that bad.
We shall see, but I can see what is coming!
I didn't think Jones' England would become some sort of cosy club, but it has, he is picking average players, playing players out of position, and playing safe.
It's becoming difficult to take Jones seriously, and how can you when he shoes Hartley into the team who isn't even the best hooker at his club!
The likes of Robson and Cipriani, BOC and even Bateman, the league is littered with better players to try before labelling England not good enough to have a proper go!

This is true like every coach he does seem to have decided his team and hes sticking with them, that being said i dont think they've become a bad team over night and because they've lost 1 game or 2 in 24, i’ll give them to the end of the 6 nations to prove themselves, but eddie is now wasting alot of places and games not trying new players. I'm still not convinced about this apprentice player thing he keeps doing picking 19 year olds for the future thats what the u20s if for so they get game time, im sure he could do sessions with the u20s and main team so they all get used to playing at that level, and select other players in those training spots like the ones listed by many on here. Im sure he said himself once in an interview that coachs should be incharge for a maxs of 4 years as there ideas become stale and the team stips moving on, so someone new needs to come to n a freshen things up.

I agree they are not a bad team, and they are not a great team either.
I also agree with you about the apprentice scheme, this scheme is a way of shutting out other current top level performers in my opinion, I suppose that's rugby in general but I think they have now been found out before they have even met the All Blacks.
There are a heck of a lot of players in the Premiership worth trying and certainly before suggesting English players are not good enough as Jones has.
What strikes me though is how can you really know if you haven't even tried!

[Rugbyflanker]

I agree BFG. I would bin Hartley, Cole,Ford and Brown. Farrell to FH with Teo at 12. JJ has serious ? over him too with Slade and Daly waiting in the wings. Probably the most undynamic front row in world rugby so I'd bring in George and Sinckler/Williams. Pick two locks and a proper back row and Nowell/Watson/May back 3. BY straight back in with Care finishing,not much to change but needs to be done quick.

[Tiglon]

Tigers win a couple of games an England lose one. So the "Sack MOC" thread goes silent and instead Eddie Jones hasn't got a clue and England are useless.

Priceless

Good teams can lose matches, bad teams can win matches. Scotland have become an excellent team at home and England were very poor.

There is a reason that no team has ever won consecutive grand slams in the 6 Nations, and it isn't that all the coaches are rubbish.

[Stephen18]

Tigers win a couple of games an England lose one. So the "Sack MOC" thread goes silent and instead Eddie Jones hasn't got a clue and England are useless.

Priceless

Good teams can lose matches, bad teams can win matches. Scotland have become an excellent team at home and England were very poor.

There is a reason that no team has ever won consecutive grand slams in the 6 Nations, and it isn't that all the coaches are rubbish.

I dont get the drop ford put farrell to 10, they have been pkaying well together other than against scotland, they looked good again wales, the lions even changed their tactics to play to play maker to replicate it (with farrell at 12). During which time ford pulled the strings against Argentina, which was with out our lions players which was without cole, mako, sinkler, George, itoji, laws, farrell, teo, nowell, watson, daly with the lions, billy v injured and ben to personal reasons.
I agree the back row does need balancing, think the issue with that was Hughes being no where near match fit so got no go forward ball and not having a proper 7 so losing the breakdown (same issue with tigers) i dont have a major problem with lawes think hes been good there in recent times, but would rather have underhill, curry or armond or boc as a proper breakdown player. No 10 no matter how good can generate good attack without go forward, from the forwards.

[Rugbyflanker]

Yeah the OTT comments are hilarious. He's lost 2/26,one a very close game. Scotland are a totally different prospect at Murrayfield and couple that with a England team containing flogged Lions and it was a recipe for disaster!

[Rugbyflanker]

Ford just isn't an international 10,its as simple as that. He wouldn't get in any other home nation,Russell,Sexton and Biggar are all better than IMO and its a flat track bully partnership.

[JP14]

Ford just isn't an international 10,its as simple as that. He wouldn't get in any other home nation,Russell,Sexton and Biggar are all better than IMO and its a flat track bully partnership.

Bigger is not as good as Ford, only picked for Lions because he’s Welsh and a suck-up, spends most of his time complaining to the referee rather than trying to organise his backline