Team Selection for Newcastle

[Oadbywonder]

Why O Why make so many changes to a winning side ????

[Gate]

Didn't you mean to say "Why oh why bring back a fullback who's just won a Grand Slam, a no.6 who's been playing out of his skin at the highest level, one of the top three tightheads in the world, the first-choice England half-back pairing and the only fit OC and two remaining props we've got, when hindsight would have told you that they wouldn't gel?"

Better question for me would be "why not have most of the returning internationals on the bench for a hell of an impact selection?"

But then I'm sitting on my aris kibitzing away and preparing to do some more sitting on my aris in front of the telly watching 30 blokes do stuff much better than I ever could, while Cockers et al are thinking about how to play for keeps against a potentially very dangerous Sale side next Saturday. If they need my expert advice, they'll have to buy me a beer to get it.

[Easty]

Gate, are you publishing the book? "How to kill a thread in one easy post"

Loved it

[Smurphswillgetya]

Gate, dont always agree with some things you say but spot on with your post

[westwinds31]

It doesn't matter which XV is picked, if your playing a form team like Newcastle, then it's always going to be difficult, and so it proved.

[Oadbywonder]

No Gate i didnt mean to say that! i said what i meant, why change a team thats just won its last 5 games( one away only the third this season )
Newcastle where on a run they but lost last week to Bath, we should have kick them while they where down
we would have looked better with a bench full of retuning internationals
which some one else pointed out , who could see the logic as well

[Oadbywonder]

Gate, dont always agree with some things you say but spot on with your post

Just how many minutes did GM play winning his grand slam
How many minutes as MC played in the last 6 weeks
It was HE who was concussed for 20 minutes last week wasnt it ?
Was TB taken off or subbed in every England game
From the 5 match winning team there where 8 player/postional changes
I ask again WHY ?

[Smurphswillgetya]

Oadbywonder spot on
Back to you Gate

I'm loving this

Personally because of injuries etc I would have only brought Castro, Croft and Corry into the starting line up. All the rest should have been on the bench to come on as impact players. We do need to bring the internationals back in and playing the new style ready for the run-in. It's a no win situation.

[Gate]

In the starting line-up, the changes from last week (bear in mind the team wasn't static for those five matches being referred to) were, I think:

Stanko for Ayerza - injury?
Castrogiovanni for Cole - tough on Cole, who is coming on very nicely indeed, but this is Castro we're talking about.
Croft for Woods - top-notch player in top form, brought back into his position to replace good player out of position
Woods for Herring - Good player returns to best position, replacing injured(?) player
Corry for Pienaar - Captain Courage, club captain, raring to go, replaces promising youngster who has made a good job of the role
Ellis for Dupuy - returning international replaces top-notch player who has been on fire. Contentious, but I think Dupuy was being rested because of the knocks he's had recently
Flood for Vesty - returning international replaces February's player of the month who appears to have been a catalyst for recent revival. Contentious.
Erinle for Hipkiss - injury. OC cupboard is a bit bare.
Hamilton for J Murphy - possible signing of the season replaces also excellent player, as a result of change at fullback
G Murphy for Hamilton - the George Best of rugby pushes Hamilton to the wing. And why not?

I'd say out of those the half-backs were the contentious change, particularly Flood for Vesty. But I don't think any of those changes was the reason for the team playing like drains, and the bad luck of injuries is just bad luck. And I think Cockers will have been trying to integrate the returners back as soon and smoothy as possible - I don't think it was a bad call, although with all the ageless wisdom a man accumulates from sitting on his aris drinking beer while yelling "every time, ref", I'd personally have gone for the big-name bench option to do that. Cockers didn't, and I'm not going to tell him he's wrong because he'd probably nut me.

[G.K]

Cockers - can I say on Gate's behalf: "You were wrong - you should have benched the returning internationals". Feel free to discuss this with him in the manner he indicates.

[Oadbywonder]

Come on Gate where’s your " injury " proof that you state 3ish times , I know sitting watching TV can haggle your brain but let’s stick to facts
You don’t change a team’s style of play while the 6Ns are on and you’ve your club captain benched and then through them all in , and expect them to adapt, on certain points we agree Croft would be the first name I put on the team sheet
Castro as just played for a International team that’s not won a game since last year, he should have been on the bench with MC to come on with 20/30 mins to go to scare the s**t out of them and build confidence
Come on man if you want to argue get of the sofa and stand up and say what you mean
“I'd personally have gone for the big-name bench option to do that. Cockers didn't, and I'm not going to tell him he's wrong because he'd probably nut me.”
which is what i said
Go do the washing up

[me2]

Where's the "injury" proof?


How about here: http://www.leicestertigers.com/news/13093.php

"Ayoola Erinle starts at centre after Dan Hipkiss picked up a knock in the win over Saracens last weekend"

"Marcos Ayerza (neck), Benjamin Kayser (neck), Matt Smith (ankle), Marco Wentzel (knee), Jordan Crane (knee), Brett Deacon (foot), Seru Rabeni (knee), Lewis Moody (ankle), Richard Blaze (foot) and Craig Newby (hamstring) are unavailable for selection due to injury."

The knock that Ben Herring received, especially following the newspaper article earlier in the week saying that one more knock could force him to retire, strongly suggests that he too was rested due to "injury".



Are those facts enough for you Oadbywonder?

[Oadbywonder]

O look is this team close to the one from the week before last ???
over to you Gate

[smalldell]

The simple fact is we lost at Newcastle because we do not play well on Friday nights, especially away from home.

We were terrirble against Bristol and when we played our other Night games:-

Home to Wasps (lost)
Home to Northampton (won)
Home to Sale (EDF) (Won)

We were not at our most brilliant.

Next season we will not see any clashes with Football as the police have said it will not be allowed so we could face more Night games.......

[Gate]

O look is this team close to the one from the week before last ???
over to you Gate

Well, apart from the eight differences.....