Heroes & Villains, the Aston Villa fanzine
Off Topic => Sports Arena => Topic started by: cheltenhamlion on January 28, 2011, 07:19:58 PM
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Starts on Friday and Wales v England is first up. Its going to be very tight this year.
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Come on Scotland!
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Come on Scotland!
Seconded.
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Come on England, and I'm optimistic this time, although that has been tempered by losing Lawes, Croft and Moody. We actually played some good stuff in the autumn.
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I don't understand it, but hasn't rugby become rubbish? I thought everyone was up in arms about a new rule that meant you weren't allowed to touch the ball unless you shouted "HOOF!" and booted it away again as quickly as possible?
Could be Scotland's year.
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As much as I don't want it to happen, but I think France will win it.
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"come on Scotland"............irony,aint it great.Who for the wooden spoon?Italy or Scotland?gonna be tight that one for sure.
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I think the only irony I have noticed in this thread is that the first poster to use the word doesn't know what it means. :-)
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Sorry on second thoughts I mean that using Scotland and rugby in the same sentence is the true sense of the word oxymoron,with no offence intended.
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I reckon Scotland will do alright this year. No chance at Twickenham or Stade de France but three wins is possible. The World Cup's later this year isn't it?
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England for me.
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yup world cup year, england should do well this year and are probably favourites this.
Ireland looked a bit weak in the autumn (but munster and leinster have started to improve since so they might give a better showing for this).
France are very hit and miss this season, none of the french sides have looked great (despite 4 qualifying for the quarters) and their pack looked suspect in the autumn.
Scotland and Italy both lack punch, they don't do anything fundamentally wrong but just don't have anyone to regularly break the line and get them going forward so they tend to be playing for mistakes.
Wales are in a mess, terrible autumn, disappointing club form in the heineken cup and quite a lot of injuries around the squad, They might turn it around as plucky underdogs but I'd say they're the weakest side of the 6 going into the tournament.
As for england great autumn other than letting south africa bully us, should've beaten new zealand (and would've if the aussie game had come before it). We desperately need to find some craft in the centres to replace Tindall and Lawes is going to be a big loss but otherwise this is the strongest england side since 2003 and it's the best squad we've ever had. Moody and Croft out is a shame but wood and dowson can come in and cover for them without too many problems (wood is probably the best player in the premiership on current form). Ashton and Foden being in means we're always going to be a threat, particularly in broken play and the front row are powerful enough to ensure we boss the scrum. The only worry is that Hartley isn't the greatest throwing into the line and without croft we'll be relying on Wood coming in and organising that too, lot to ask of a debutant.
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England: B Foden (Northampton Saints); C Ashton (Northampton Saints), M Tindall (Gloucester, capt), S Hape (Bath), M Cueto (Sale Sharks); T Flood (Leicester Tigers), B Youngs (Leicester Tigers); A Sheridan (Sale Sharks), D Hartley (Northampton Saints), D Cole (Leicester Tigers), L Deacon (Leicester Tigers), T Palmer (Stade Francais), T Wood (Northampton Saints), J Haskell (Stade Francais), N Easter (Harlequins).
Replacements: S Thompson (Leeds Carnegie), D Wilson (Bath), S Shaw (Wasps), J Worsley (Wasps), D Care (Harlequins), J Wilkinson (Toulon), M Banahan (Bath).
England team for Friday night.
Delighted that Wood has come in, like him a lot and he will provide the line out option that was misxing without Croft. Still not too sure on the centre combo, but they did play well in the Autumn. My Dad is Welsh, so this game is massive for me, England have to win. Simple as.
Enjoy all
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Happy enough with that, but I don't rate Deacon at all.
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Nice article in the Telegraph yesterday by my old rugby clubmate, Steve James
Difficult week this. Wales play England at rugby on Friday night. I live in Wales, my wife is Welsh, both my children are Welsh, and, because I played cricket for Glamorgan for about 20 years and my surname hardly suggests otherwise, everyone assumes I’m Welsh too.
But I’m not. I was born and brought up in Lydney, a small town nestled on the outer fringes of the Forest of Dean and alongside the River Severn. It is very close to the Welsh border, but not close enough. It is in England.
It is also deep in rugby country. Its rugby-playing inhabitants support England with ferocious enthusiasm. When my father and his mates went to watch a home Five Nations match, they would drive west to Chepstow, into Wales indeed, but then take a left turn over the Severn Bridge and the long trip along the M4 to London, rather than the right towards Cardiff and a far shorter journey.
I went with them in 1980, squashed into the boot of the family estate car. Wales’s Paul Ringer was sent off and we (England) smashed them (Wales) 9-8. It was the most joyous occasion of my young life.
It has always been unfathomable to me how such a strong national allegiance can be altered. And, goodness, I’ve given it some thought. I once very nearly threw my hat into Zimbabwe’s ring when Test cricket there seemed an easy option. There have been times when it has just seemed easier to admit being Welsh.
My maternal grandmother was from Kenfig Hill, near Bridgend. There is so much about Wales and its people I adore. But when Simon Hughes interviewed me upon the morning of my Test debut and asked how nice it was for two Welshmen to be playing (Robert Croft was also appearing against South Africa), I could not lie: “I am not Welsh,” I stammered. I had better not repeat the contents of one letter I received from a Glamorgan member in the days that followed.
And when I was asked to captain Wales against England in a warm-up match in 2002, I initially expressed reservation. When it was pointed out that the South African Jacques Kallis was appearing as a guest, and he hardly passed the residency qualifications, I felt more comfortable. And we (Wales) did hammer them (England) that day, by eight wickets.
But this is not a simple business. For while sport might be a major carrier of national identity, it is also a carrier of opportunism and, at times, downright mercenariness.
Increased globalisation and intercontinental travel mean qualification rules are now used as lubricant for shrewd career moves that oil bucketloads of lucre.
England’s cricket team are the most obvious example. There are a few South Africans in it. England’s rugby team on Friday will be little different.
There will probably be a couple of New Zealanders in Shontayne Hape and Dylan Hartley, possibly a South African in Hendrie Fourie. Also in their squad they have the young Wasps scrum-half, Joe Simpson, who was still supporting the country of his birth, Australia, in the 2003 World Cup final.
It will be to Wales’s credit that they will be homegrown. Yes, their coaching staff won’t be (Kiwi Warren Gatland and Englishman Shaun Edwards), but that is different. Thankfully these days the team can sing Land of my Fathers with a clear conscience. Land of my Grandfathers, Maybe always sounded a little weird, in the days of Shane Howarth and Brett Sinkinson.
Not, of course, that confused loyalties are a new thing. Fourteen cricketers have appeared in a Test for more than one national team, and only one of them, Kepler Wessels (who played for Australia during apartheid and then South Africa upon readmission), can really claim politics demanded so.
One of them was the only other cricketer born in my neck of the woods who also represented England; a chap called Billy Midwinter, born in the village of St Briavels.
But, having moved to Australia aged nine, Midwinter represented his adopted country first in 1877 before switching sides four years later, and then back again in 1883. He was also kidnapped by W G Grace to play a game for Gloucestershire, but that’s another story.
For now there is only one story. Wales versus England. Not even a ridiculous train strike planned for Friday can change that. In cricket the Ashes this winter was, and always is, enthralling, but the truth is that local derbies provoke the strongest emotions.
This is bigger.
It's not often that Lydney makes the back page of the Telegraph sports section, let alone St Briavels getting a mention !!
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I'll be curious to see Wood at International level.
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Got tickets for England Scotland. Not seen the Scottish play before. Should be great to see England win the trophy v the Auld enemy
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With the two props out we need to take advantage at the scrum tomorrow. Good early set piece control will knock them onto the back foot. I still don't think we have enough in midfield with the two centre's we are starting and it's about time Simpson-Daniel was thrown on the bench as well.
It won't be a runaway win for anyone tomorrow night but, as long as we have a steady staret, then I fancy England.
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Right then. The taffs are starting with the following:
J Hook Ospreys; M Stoddart Scarlets, J Roberts Cardiff Blues, J Davies Scarlets, S Williams Ospreys; S Jones Scarlets, M Phillips Ospreys; P James Ospreys, M Rees (c) Scarlets, C Mitchell Ospreys, B Davies Cardiff Blues, A-W Jones Ospreys, D Lydiate Newport Gwent Dragons, S Warburton Cardiff Blues, A Powell Wasps.
Replacements (tbc): R Hibbard Ospreys, J Yapp Cardiff Blues, R Jones Ospreys, J Thomas Ospreys, D Peel Sale Sharks, R Priestland Scarlets, L Byrne Ospreys.
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Come on England, tonight's game will be tough... I suppose it TV has changed it to a Friday night, such a shame that the TV companies change the traditions of so many sports.
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Come on England.
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Any links?
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intense at the moment, we need to weather the storm.
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dreadful pass by Tindall to Ashton.
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Get in!
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TOUCHDOWN!
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We are imploding here.
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emotionally draining half.
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very cynical hack at Ashton.
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Get over!!
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What an engrossing game of rugby and always good to beat the Welsh as my MD is a taff.
I thought we rode our luck at times but Wales did not have enough in their game to capitalise.
Flood was immense and an encouraging debut by Wood.
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Decent game to start the competition. England looked like they deserved to win. Shame they can't play games on the Sunday so I can watch them instead of tomorrow when Villa's on. Egg-chasing bastards.
Come on Scotland!
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Yes get in
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Great result tonight, England quietened the crowd and always had a relatively comfortable lead, bring on the Italians.
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just said to my lad "hope you bring us better luck tomorrow" (he's welsh and dressed in his national shirt)........................he's just swapped it for a villa "young 7" shirt....north stand upper tomorrow, see you there!
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Not the prettiest game but the win was the key. 3 home games now to get the ball rolling on a potential slam.
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I suspect that Johnno might have had a quiet word with Ashton at half time about the way he scored his first try.
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I suspect that Johnno might have had a quiet word with Ashton at half time about the way he scored his first try.
Was a bit unnecessary I thought. Hopefully youthful exuberance rather than piss-taking.
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It was taking the piss but who cares! england!! We win wars against our counterparts!
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I hadn't realised just how close Italy came to beating Ireland
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I suspect that Johnno might have had a quiet word with Ashton at half time about the way he scored his first try.
Why, Shane Wiliams has been doing the same for yearsand I don't recall anyone having a problem with him.
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3 really good games to open up the Championship.
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Time for round two. One would hope that England make lighter work of the Italians today than we did last time.
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Predictions:
England 27 Italy 3
Ireland 17 France 20
Scotland 894 Wales 0
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I suspect that Johnno might have had a quiet word with Ashton at half time about the way he scored his first try.
Why, Shane Wiliams has been doing the same for yearsand I don't recall anyone having a problem with him.
I do. He is a cock.
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Right come on England play expansive and win well.
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Pretty impressive stuff.
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Fucking pathetic Scotland. I've already given up on any chance of competing for the Championship. Just beat England. At Twickenham. I don't care if we lose the other four games. Just beat England at Twickenham before I die. Even Villa have managed to win at Old Trafford in my lifetime. TWICE. Is it too much to ask for one fucking win at Twickenham before I start pining for the fjords?
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It is this season Chris. I fear for you at HQ.
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Well done Chris played well yesterday two wins out of two keep it up England.
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I'm hoping we can finally get the Grandslam after 8 years. Then go down to New Zealand and win the World Cup again!
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The game with France is huge after today. Just have a suspicion we will go to Ireland on a slam and lose, but we shall see.
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Should be a corker between England and France tomorrow.
Seems a bit strange that England are the ones playing with flair and ambition, while the French seem mechanical and methodical.
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I'm pretty nervous about the game tomorrow if I'm honest.
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I've invited a load of frogs round to watch it and I know next to nothing about rugby. What knowledge I lack in rucks, mauls, etc I will overcompensate with rampant xenophobia.
But what are our chances of winning?
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But what are our chances of winning?
Well we have a big man at point guard and should dominate the right quarter but the French are always good in the melee and have a new stickman who could notch a few baskets.
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We're about 2/1 on at betfair which is too short in my opinion. I'd say we are slight favourites as we're at home but we haven't really seen the French at full pelt this season yet. I'm not expecting a classic (even though my ticket was £73).
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It will be close, Tim, but I can see us winning this one.
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But what are our chances of winning?
Well we have a big man at point guard and should dominate the right quarter but the French are always good in the melee and have a new stickman who could notch a few baskets.
Cheers, Dave. That all seems fairly logical. I forgot to say: I need to explain this in French?
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It will be close, Tim, but I can see us winning this one.
Sweet. Jingoism all the way! Cheers Stu.
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French rugby fans have been known to release their cocks on the pitch at Twickenham in celebration. In the spirit of hospitality you might want to do the same at your place.
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Cheers, Dave. That all seems fairly logical. I forgot to say: I need to explain this in French?
Say it while smoking a fag moodily and shrugging a lot.
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Just keep saying "bof".
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Don't be surprised to see something resembling a swamp monster rise from their bench with twenty minutes to go either.
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Scratch that. In an attempt to stifle us getting quick ball, the swamp monster is starting at 8.
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Right come on England follow up Villa's display.
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England really below par here.
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Get in much better second half, Grand Slam on.
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Great second half performance from England. We were poor in the first half but the French could not capitalise.
I still think that we make too many silly errors, that said our defence was immense at times today.
60% towards a Grand Slam.
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First half was scrappy from both sides, far too many penaltys.
Second half I thought England were very good. Scoreline flatters France as England had a couple of tries brought back and opportunities for a few more.
Still a fine win and the Johnson revolution continues.
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Another good win. I reckon we will put the sweaties to the sword next time out as well.
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Just watched the highlights and a good performance from the team, let's beat the jocks!
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Round four approaches then. Predictions? I think the Jocks will fight hard to start with and get taken apart late on.
England by around 20 points.
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It'll be tough but I think we'll win, given that we are at home.
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It would be disappointing for England to lose given Scotland haven't won at Twickenham since 1983.
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Brilliant Italy!
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Forza Italia. Brilliant result.
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Well done Italy
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Ireland 5-0 up
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Well done Italy.
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Wales win with a controversial try!
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Certainly shows how good England were against Italy.
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Come on Scotland, prove the doubters* wrong!
* every person in the entire World.
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Right England a nice comfortable victory please.
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Fox on the pitch.
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They are employing foxes? Cheating bastards! A comfy England win to follow Glaws giving the Dragons a hiding would be nice.
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England have been piss poor.
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Its been shite from us first half but if we keep the ball and keep working them they will tire badly.
England by a decent margin but close with twenty mins to play.
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And I always thought Paterson's tackling was what let him down.
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Bugger.
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Finally, get over.
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Fucking hell England.
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Back in it!
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Come on. Enough time left.
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Well thank fuck for that.
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Oh well at least Scotland played a bit better than I expected. Not bad to lose by only six points considering they were playing sixteen men.
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Close but 100% for England
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It wasn't pretty but four out of four.
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Oh well at least Scotland played a bit better than I expected. Not bad to lose by only six points considering they were playing sixteen men.
I wouldn't count Bananaman
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Tindall is no great loss and it may be pushing it a bit but I think if he was marrying plain Jane from maidstone he would have been dropped a while back. he has no pace and his ball carrying very rarely opens anything up, nor does he tend to break the defensive line, or score. Defensively he can put a tackle or two in, but other than that I struggle to see what he brings to the team.
Hape has done better in the last couple of games and Flutey is a miss. Not sure about Banahan either. he's a big ol' tool but just looks like that. He looks like the 14 year-old kid playing with 16 year0olds because he's too big to play with his own age group. Trouble is he's not ready for this level and may never be. i'm still unsure about him.
Maybe a defensive selection but I'd be tempted to put Jonny Wilkinson in the centre next to Hape. He'd do the tackling and would probably get Hape involved on an attacking foot a lot more than Tindall could. He'll also know Youngs/Flood/Foden will be buzzing around him in the centre of the pitch so keep feeding them as well.
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I have said it before, I don't know what Sinbad has to do to get a game.
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Sinbad?
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Sinbad?
James Simpson-Daniel ??
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So do I go the Bartons after the match tomorrow, or to a pub that is showing the Ireland v England game.
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I have said it before, I don't know what Sinbad has to do to get a game.
Exactly particularly with that lump Bananman picked in his place.
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Right come on England, make up for that shower I've just watched.
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Ireland
Right come on England, make up for that shower I've just watched.
The opposite is the case for me....Ireland are cheering me up!
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England taking the lead from Villa, awful.
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England taking the lead from Villa, awful.
It's not over yet. England have more fight than that shown by the villa. Sadly.