Six Nations 2012

[PaulWinch again]

I've seen enough improvement from game to game, Lancaster should get the job permanently.

[richard moore]

I'm hoping Youngs being dropped will regain his focus and he'll come back, because I think he's a top player.

I don't think he should get anywhere near any England rugby squad. He was dire yet again today - more of his usual headless chicken antics and woeful decision making -  when he came on. Ashton and Foden need to take a serious look at themselves too, I would be very tempted to make changes in both positions, certainly Ashton's.

[Dave Summers]

I've seen enough improvement from game to game, Lancaster should get the job permanently.

Two wins against Italy and Scotland away should not get him the job.  We played well today, bloody well, but ultimately I think the use of our bench cost us.  As Richard said above, Youngs was dire when he came on and in hindsight (I know a great science) he is playing so poorly he shouldn't have even been on the bench.  Same with Flood, bottled the situation at the end of Leicester's game with Sarries last week and his captain bailed him out.  Both of these characters need to go back to Leicester and play themselves back into form and come again in the summer in South Africa.  They are both world class players, they will come again, but no harm in taking the out of the firing line.   

Contrast this with Gatland, first time I can remember Jones and Jenkins completing 80 mins, because he knew if he took  one of them off, then we may get an upper hand in thr scrums.

I also agree about Ashton, again he needs to play himself into form.  There are a number of back three players who can take the place of both wingers, May, Sharples and Sinbad from Gloucester alone.   I don't believe Lancaster has done that much that has been radical and that different to what Johnno would have done.   Easy to drop Tindall and Cueto and make yourself look good, bit harder to leave players out who aren't on form and are younger.

Sorry if I appear harsh, but I want England to be number 1 in the world, standing toe to toe with NZ and beating all three Tri Nations on a regular basis and winning Six Nations titles regularly.  In my opinion the stand out candidate is Nick Mallett and we should pay whatever it takes to get him in.   Lancaster is a nice man and well suited to the Saxons and Development post that he used to do.

[richard moore]

Completely agree Dave, Mallett is the man to take us forward. I would drop Ashton until he has moved to Saracens next season and then see what impact that has on him. He has reached a plateau for now and need to get off it. I would like to see Brown get a decent slice of action at full back. Not too sure about Strettle too, again some poor decision making yesterday

[paul_e]

Completely agree Dave, Mallett is the man to take us forward. I would drop Ashton until he has moved to Saracens next season and then see what impact that has on him. He has reached a plateau for now and need to get off it. I would like to see Brown get a decent slice of action at full back. Not too sure about Strettle too, again some poor decision making yesterday

Ashton and Foden probably need to be put under more pressure but I don't think Brown is the answer, he's very good against poor defenses but I've never seen him play a big part in a close game.  Johnny May would be my choice to have a stint either wing or full-back.  He's clearly the form player in the league, we need to be seen to award good performance.  The other player who should be there is christian wade, really unfortunate he got his injury when he did.

I think the key for backs is you want players who have a good change of pace, either to step beyond the tackle or to barge through the man.  Manu does the latter as well as anyone in the world and Foden is capable of the former but the rest of the backs don't do it.  May uses his pace superbly as does Wade, both deserve a chance at the highest level.  I'd also like a little more dynamism at 10 and/or 12.  Personally I'd give Burns a few games with Farrell outside him.

Oh and Dickson has to tstart the next 2.  Our game fell to pieces as soon as Youngs came on.  Youngs is a good player and will be a great option but his passing and general awareness is miles off being good enough at the minute.  Watch the highlights, every pass he threw on quick ball was off target, meaning the reciever was basically stationary when the tackler hit them.  Contrast with Dickson who was bringing the man onto the ball and we were hit the tackle at pace, the change totally nullified our fringe forwards.  It's the first major error Lancaster has made and I hope he's learned from it.

[PaulWinch again]

It's interesting those who criticised us against Scotland should watch them against France, they're playing well.

[richard moore]

May scored a stonking try for Gloucester this weekend, what pace he has. And talking of bringing players on to a good pass, Myler at Northampton was superb at that this weekend too. He threw some superb passes against Irish

[Dave Summers]

May scored a stonking try for Gloucester this weekend, what pace he has. And talking of bringing players on to a good pass, Myler at Northampton was superb at that this weekend too. He threw some superb passes against Irish

Didn't he just?.  Saw it on the Irish v Northampton game yesterday.  Myself and I think Cheltenham Lion have been banging on about May for a couple of months now.   Not sure what his best position is, but he has to be in the Senior squad quickly.   As I said above, I think if he was Welsh then Gatland would have had him in, but being English he is nowhere to be seen at the moment.   Alex Cuthbert being the obvious example of someone thrown in after a handful of games.

I think that he would be the perfect outside back on the bench able to cover centre, wing and full back with equal ability.

When all is said and done though, unless there are injuries I don't think he is allowed to bring in players from outside the EPS, so we are stuck with what we have.   I would be picking Sharples for France away, but probably in place of Strettle rather than Ashton, as I just don't rate the guy at all.   If I could have carte blanche to pick anyone though, I would be having Sharples and May as wings with Foden at full back and Sinbad on the bench.

The Villa are so dire at the moment that I think with all this Glaws bias I am going to have to go and sample the delights of "the shed".  Only about an hour from Northfield too :-).  That's the plan.  If McClueless is manager next year, off to see a bit of rugby for me !!!

[paul_e]

May scored a stonking try for Gloucester this weekend, what pace he has. And talking of bringing players on to a good pass, Myler at Northampton was superb at that this weekend too. He threw some superb passes against Irish

Didn't he just?.  Saw it on the Irish v Northampton game yesterday.  Myself and I think Cheltenham Lion have been banging on about May for a couple of months now.   Not sure what his best position is, but he has to be in the Senior squad quickly.   As I said above, I think if he was Welsh then Gatland would have had him in, but being English he is nowhere to be seen at the moment.   Alex Cuthbert being the obvious example of someone thrown in after a handful of games.

I think that he would be the perfect outside back on the bench able to cover centre, wing and full back with equal ability.

When all is said and done though, unless there are injuries I don't think he is allowed to bring in players from outside the EPS, so we are stuck with what we have.   I would be picking Sharples for France away, but probably in place of Strettle rather than Ashton, as I just don't rate the guy at all.   If I could have carte blanche to pick anyone though, I would be having Sharples and May as wings with Foden at full back and Sinbad on the bench.

The Villa are so dire at the moment that I think with all this Glaws bias I am going to have to go and sample the delights of "the shed".  Only about an hour from Northfield too :-).  That's the plan.  If McClueless is manager next year, off to see a bit of rugby for me !!!

If you do you'll love it.  The atmosphere at glaws is awesome and they're a genuinely exciting side who are just going to get better.  I firmly believe Burns is going to be the best 10 in the country within the next couple of years.  With lots of pace and skill outside him and the best defensive full back in the league in Ollie Morgan they're going to be a great side.  They just need to get the forward balance right as the front 5 seems weak other than Wood and Hamilton and the backrow is a bit hit and miss (if they do end up with Ben Morgan he'll help out a lot with that).

Back on topic, Johnny May is the form player in the country (and probably as good as anyone in europe at the minute) and he should be in the squad, I think Lancaster wants to show some loyalty and give everyone in the squad a fair shot but in this he's wrong, when you have someone playing on that level you have to back them, I'd definitely have him on the bench in place of Brown at the minute.

[cheltenhamlion]

Shall we organise a day out at the rugby? I will have a nosey at Gloucester's fixture list later and chuck up some suggestions. If you like your rugby, and have never experienced The Shed, then its a must do.

[Dave Summers]

Shall we organise a day out at the rugby? I will have a nosey at Gloucester's fixture list later and chuck up some suggestions. If you like your rugby, and have never experienced The Shed, then its a must do.

Sounds good to me, I'll have to practice my Glaws burrrrr of course, but I am up for that.   I did a little reccy myself yesterday and saw that there were a couple of games, think one was Newcastle that didn't clash with a Villa home game.   

I have been to Kingsholm on a few occasions over the years.  I remember on one memorable occasion I saw the man mountain that is Mike Teague walking into the ground having scored the only try for England in Cardiff the day before.  By god he was big.   Always enjoyed my trips there and definitely up for another.

Glaaaaaaaaarsturrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.  That any good?

[cheltenhamlion]

Don't ask me on accents. I have some garbled mixture of cockney-brummie-plummy-bumpkin thing going on!

Teaguey is a legend in those parts. Surprisingly given his size, if you get close to Sinbad he has thighs like a bloody horse.

Get close to Will James and you just feel inadequate!

[lovejoy]

Exeter 24 March (we're at Arse)
Newcastle 14 April (we're at Old Trafford the next day)
Sale 21 April (clashes with the Sunderland game).

In all fairness they are 3 reasonably unispiring fixtures and should be quite easy home wins.

if you're going you can walk from the train station in 10 minutes. I'd go to the Deans Walk pub first (it has a twenty foot rugby ball in the roof) and enter the ground from that end rather than the main entrance as the shed is always busier near the main entrance.

It's "Gwaaan Glawsterrrr".

[Dave Summers]

Exeter 24 March (we're at Arse)
Newcastle 14 April (we're at Old Trafford the next day)
Sale 21 April (clashes with the Sunderland game).

In all fairness they are 3 reasonably unispiring fixtures and should be quite easy home wins.

if you're going you can walk from the train station in 10 minutes. I'd go to the Deans Walk pub first (it has a twenty foot rugby ball in the roof) and enter the ground from that end rather than the main entrance as the shed is always busier near the main entrance.

It's "Gwaaan Glawsterrrr".

Got it !!!

Glad you think Exeter will be a comfortable home win.  They have had a heck of a season and their pack can match most if memory serves.

I'm up for the Newcastle game, as it won't clash with any Villa games home or away that day.

As someone who works in town and has to bear the brunt of the cross city line, I do not intend taking any trains anywhere on any weekend.  Absolutely despise the things I do, never on time and prices are far too steep for the service provided.   Rant over :-)

In all seriousness I will be driving to Kingsholm when I next go.  Think there is a large pub on the main drag from the M/Way to the town centre and Kingsholm that I normally go in.  Not a scooby what it is called mind.

Embarrasingly for a Rugby fan, I am tee-total so don't have to worry about driving anywhere.  Hope that doesn't preclude me from standing in the Shed mind?

Gwaaan Glawsterrrr

[cheltenhamlion]

I normally train it down. Rugby and beer go together like fish and chips for me. Not drinking doesn't preclude anyone from the shed of course. The Newcastle game might be a good shout. I will see what my usual troops up here think to it.