International Rugby

[paul_e]

Itoje out of 6 Nations.

That's a blow, he was immense on Saturday.

From what I cna make out he might well be fit for the last game so, whilst it is shit, at the time I was worried about the world cup squad as it looked like a ligament injury.

It is a ligament injury, but luckily it's his medial and not ACL, which is the one that keeps you out for months.

yeah I meant ACL but i was rushing, also sounds like it's a comparatively minor one, a tear to the medial would still see him struggling to play again this season. I did my ACL about 13 years ago and it was about 7-8 months before I could walk a decent distance without pain, was at least a year before I could run. The worst thing was that it'd feel fine until you pushed too far and then you'd set yourself back. After 18 months I gave up on trying to get back to playing because it was just frustrating me too much. This is my first season back playing again since (I'm 39 and I'm fucked until about Tuesday every week) and it's fine now but I'm still really nervous of even the slightest twinge in it.

[usav]

I did mine when I was 37, even though it was a complete tear I was lucky as I had good stability.   I saw a sports doctor/surgeon (he actually works for the Pittsburgh Pirates baseball team) and recommended I not get surgery because of my age, the increased chance of arthritis if I did, but also the good stability I was showing made me a good candidate to just rehab.   3 months of rehab and some general exercising and I was back playing after 4 months - won the golden boot that first year back!   I realise not everyone is that lucky.   I did wear a full brace for my first year back playing, it ends up being more of a comfort blanket than anything else to be honest.   I'm 44 now and still going strong, although slowing down a bit now :-(      Good luck!

[paul_e]

I did mine when I was 37, even though it was a complete tear I was lucky as I had good stability.   I saw a sports doctor/surgeon (he actually works for the Pittsburgh Pirates baseball team) and recommended I not get surgery because of my age, the increased chance of arthritis if I did, but also the good stability I was showing made me a good candidate to just rehab.   3 months of rehab and some general exercising and I was back playing after 4 months - won the golden boot that first year back!   I realise not everyone is that lucky.   I did wear a full brace for my first year back playing, it ends up being more of a comfort blanket than anything else to be honest.   I'm 44 now and still going strong, although slowing down a bit now :-(      Good luck!

Mine was a bit more complicated because it was a complete tear of the ACL, a partial tear of the PCL and damage to the meniscus. I had 3 operations in total, the first was within a few days of doing it and they thought it would be enough to put it in a cast for a few week but as soon as the cast came off I couldn't put any weight on it. Next op was where the found the PCL damage and the attempt to do physio had reopened the ACL and then about 4-5 months later they had to do a 3rd one (which was minor) to clean up the damage to the meniscus. The doctor I saw the 2nd time (at the QE) was one of the top experts in the country and he said it was as bad as it gets before they start talking about life with a stick.


Worst thing is I don't know exactly how I did it, we went on honeymoon and it was uncomfortable for the entire time, to the point where we only left the poolside for the pre-booked excursions, and then the day after we got back my knee just collapsed as I was walking down the stairs, I fractured my wrist in the fall as well.

[usav]

That's really crappy.  Hope it stays stable for you.

[paul_e]

That's really crappy.  Hope it stays stable for you.

Has been ok for a while and I was able t run on it about 10 years ago but I kept putting off getting back into rugby because I just didn't know how it would hold up to contact. Then in th esummer my kids have started playing and I went along for a few weeks before they asked if I wanted to help with the coaching and within a couple of weeks I got the bug. Only played 8 games so far but has been going well, stopped playing as a centre who filled in on the openside and I've gone back playing 8 or 2nd row because I'm too fucking fat to play in the backs.

[nigel]

Itoje out of 6 Nations.

That's a blow, he was immense on Saturday.

Yes, had a great game, and more than likely his hand under the ball in the photo above.
Oh, well.
We'll just have to put another world class second row in

[paul_e]

Itoje out of 6 Nations.

That's a blow, he was immense on Saturday.

Yes, had a great game, and more than likely his hand under the ball in the photo above.
Oh, well.
We'll just have to put another world class second row in

Sounds like he's potentially only missing 2 games - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/47130799 - that's unfortunate but as you say, we just bring Launchbury into the 23 and Lawes into the team, given Lawes would start for any other team in the world (in my opinion) I'm not going to be too upset over this.

[Dante Lavelli]

Lawes’ tackle, just after coming on, took any remaining wind out of the Irish sails.  Massive hit.

The squad depth, particularly at second row, is phenomenal, second to none.  The big question is how many players can improve to a world class standard in the next 6 months.  In fact considering the time frame, it might be a question of getting enough players in world class form and coherent tactics.

[PaulWinch again]

I think it’s more a case of keeping fingers cross that everyone be is fit come the World Cup. A full strength England can beat anyone.

[dcdavecollett]

Highly unlikely that everyone will be fit bearing in mind the modern game, but we can hope.

[paul_e]

Highly unlikely that everyone will be fit bearing in mind the modern game, but we can hope.

I'd say there's a handful of players we NEED fit and after that we have options.

Mako
Itoje
Billy
Farrell

Those 4 are essential because we lose too much without them then we have a bunch where we have a couple of options:

Curry or Underhill
George or Hartley
Lawes or Launchbury (or Kruis to a lesser extent)
Manu or T'eo (so we can have that big carrier at 12 to force defences narrow)
Youngs or Robson (if w had to go in with a combination of Care and Wigglesworth I'd be nervous, 1 or the other as 2nd/3rd choice is ok)

After that we have 3-4 options at 3 and 6 that are all fairly close so we need a couple of those fit and finally you get to the wings and full back where we have an abundance of riches, I'd want Daly or Watson for Full Back but Coka, May, Nowell, Ashton and Thorley is a fantastic set of wingers and Watson and Daly are both still options there as well.

[PaulWinch again]

I think a fit Manu has a big impact.

[paul_e]

I think a fit Manu has a big impact.

If he can stay fit and can adapt to what he's being asked to do against 'weaker' teams then I agree, he could easily move into the essential group, but I don't entirely trust him not to do something monumentally fucking stupid in the next 8-9 months and end up injured, banned or disgraced.

[Jon Crofts]

Ashton starts and Nowell drops to the bench, strange one that. Lawes replaces Itoje in second row.

Can't wait for Sunday, should be a great game and I have a feeling France are going to get battered.

[paul_e]

Ashton starts and Nowell drops to the bench, strange one that. Lawes replaces Itoje in second row.

Can't wait for Sunday, should be a great game and I have a feeling France are going to get battered.

I suspect the Ashton change is because he's played a year in French rugby fairly recently so they're hoping he'll know how to target the French backline. I don't really agree with it though. There's also changes to the props on the bench with Cole and Moon coming in for Williams and Genge, I suspect this is to give us power in the scrum to counter the weight of the french pack.