The Rugby Union Thread

koneguitarist

           15:Kearney 28        11:Bowe 30     8:Heaslip 31   4:O`Connell 34      12:Darcy 34 not exactly youngsters.

 Compare with opposites on Welsh and English teams ?

Wales 15: Halfpenny 25     11:North 21    8:Faletau 23    4 Wynn-Jones 29  12:Roberts 27

Only our front row is old with Adam and Gethin.

England 15:Brown 28         11: May  23    8: Vunipola 21  4: Launchbury 22   12: Twelvetrees  25

Generally I think the average age of English squad is older than the Welsh squad surprisingly enough.

 

Main point is, that some of the irish players, should have been used less allowing youngsters to gain valuable experience.

part of the reason Ireland have done so well compared to other teams is the lack of injuries to key players over the years.

So they look more settled, and more consistent.

 

tbm

koneguitarist said:

           15:Kearney 28        11:Bowe 30     8:Heaslip 31   4:O`Connell 34      12:Darcy 34 not exactly youngsters

Main point is, that some of the irish players, should have been used less allowing youngsters to gain valuable experience.

part of the reason Ireland have done so well compared to other teams is the lack of injuries to key players over the years.

So they look more settled, and more consistent.

Firstly, 28 isn't old. Paul O'Connell is in fantastic form. Heaslip is also in brilliant form and outplayed pretty much every 8 he encountered this year. D'arcy plyed more then was planned as Luke Marshall (23, played v Scotland) picked up yet another concussion in training.

You're also ignoring Dave Kearney, Conor Murray, Peter O'Mahony, Iain Henderson, Marty Moore, Jack McGrath, Ian Madigan, Paddy Jackson. All young and used in this campaign either as starters or replacements, most of them making 6Ns debuts. Our replacement front row had the England pack going backwards in the scrum when they come on. Iain Henderson ate up the yards anytime he got the ball. Joe Schmidt used the bench well throughout the campaign and save for the last few minutes against France, they generally picked up where the starters left off.

Asfor being without injuries:
Tommy Bowe
Donnacha Ryan
Simon Zebo
Sean O'Brien!!!!!!
Luke Fitzgerald
Stephen Ferris
Luke Marshall

Nobody, and I mean NOBODY would have had our starting wings as Trimble and Dave Kearney before the championship. They would have been 5th/6th in the pecking order.

Like I said, lazy journalism. Focusing in on 'elder statesmen' becuase we have a few high profile ones and ignoring the fact that plenty of young lads togged out for Ireland in this tournament. We have some older players. Our overall age profile is higher then some other teams becuase of that. Ireland are not an 'old' or 'aging' team.

tbm

Found a game for you @koneguitarist

http://flappybod.com/

koneguitarist

tbm said:

Found a game for you @koneguitarist

http://flappybod.com/

) brilliant, well done. 

I would have had Trimble and Bowe all being fit! But not Dave Kearney. 

when I say injuries I mean to front line players, of which I would say Sean O'Brien definitely, Tommy Bowe, yep, Ferris not so sure, been out a long time and not even sure he was in that great a form anyway, last in good form around 2009 if I remember rightly. Yes you have a few injuries now and even then not really a huge amount, but compared to what Wales have had over the years and still have, pretty small. 

For example last year we were without Bradley Davies, Ian Evans, Luke Charteris if you remember we were trying to get locks from anywhere, even Coombs from the Dragons got in. Plus Lydiate Ryan Jones Etc.

Most of our injuries have been forwards where we have so little cover, even this year now at the end of the six nations, we are awaiting news on Sam Warburton, possibly out for rest of the year, Ryan Jones still ain't back fit, Ian Evans is still banned, Leigh Halfpenny is out for rest of the year. Beginning of the six nations we didn't have any fit centres( mind you the way Roberts plays, still not sure on that one) 

Ireland do have some pretty good players, and the future is looking better, with replacements for  the front row, which you did not seem to have last year. You have always had good 2nd and back rows to call on.

Just remember when you pushed England around in the scrum, they were without Corbisiero and Cole, their first choice guys, no one pushes them around in the scrum.

I do worry about our front 5, Adam Jones ain't the force he was, Jenkins never could scrummage, Hibbard can't throw as well as Tom Youngs which is really saying something, and successive Welsh coaches cannot seem to work out why our line out is so shit, unless we have our first choice guys available and they have a good day, even then we only get parity. 

So forwards wise you seem to be in much better shape than us, although I think our back row is better, just ! 

Let's hope for some cracking games !

tbm

In no surprise at all, Brown gets player of the tournament.

Gassage

LOL.

In other news, this poster has his Level 4 finals this weekend.

koneguitarist

Gassage said:

LOL.

In other news, this poster has his Level 4 finals this weekend.

I have no problem with Brown getting it, stand out player for the English. 

The final votes finished Mike Brown BOD Trimble Sexton Kearney Denton.

How Bod and Kearney got there is probably down to the Irish Winning, Irish Flanker Could have got in top 5, but also so could Huget, Campagnaro,Danny Care and Sam Warburton. 

Glad Denton and Trimble got in.

koneguitarist

And Best of luck to you this weekend. Let us all know how you got on ok. 

digitalscream

Interestingly, only a couple of Welsh players got into the BBC's team of the tournament even though it was a Welshman doing the picking...

koneguitarist

Only one for me was Warburton, worked his socks off even if others didn't. Consistency is lacking too much to say any played really well for Wales.

tbm

Yeah Brown was by a country mile the best player over the five rounds. BOD had a very good tournament but I'd have had Care, Kearney and Trimble ahead of him. Robshaw and Devin Toner too probably.

Best of luck @Gassage!!!

Gassage

And after a right grilling by Mr S Lancaster, I have passed the last module of my Level 4

VimFuego

awesome news. Does this mean you're of a level to coach lower level club rugby, or even the Scottish national team?

digitalscream

Gassage said:

And after a right grilling by Mr S Lancaster, I have passed the last module of my Level 4

Nice one, fella

koneguitarist

Congratulations,did my level one at Bryanston in Dorset, far as I wanted to take it.

Not good or dedicated enough to go further. Hats off to you !

Gassage

VimFuego said:

awesome news. Does this mean you're of a level to coach lower level club rugby, or even the Scottish national team?

Applied for Scots job. Turned down as I was over-qualified.

Gassage

Thanks all- enjoyed it. I did a piece on out of balance fitness/weight/circuit training as part of my last module- my theory being that static lifting does not replicate match situations therefore more training in out of balance but loaded positions is beneficial to replicate the application of power from an unstable base.

That was received quite well.

koneguitarist

That's a good point, as too often players are lifting/pulling//pushing from angles that you would not do in a gym. More people seem to hurt them selves lifting a light weight from an awkward angle than a heavier weight  balanced etc.  

I do notice that so often over last few years Judo moves and holds are being used to tackle and restrain  players near rucks, often targeting the head which if stood up in a tackle would be a yellow, but as part of a ruck seems to be let go.

Players seem to come in at speed target the tackler or player going for jackall and grab around neck and tackler has to go with angle of new tackle or risk serious injury. This is where the likes of MaCaw,Pocock and Broussard are so good as they get so low and make themselves less of a target with head tucked in out of harms way. 

My only surprise is the low amount of serious injuries to neck and spinal areas. 

It would be interesting to see a debate regarding the tackle area at rucks.

koneguitarist

Did anyone see the London Irish Bath game yesterday, as there was an interesting developement, which I had not seen before regarding the maul that Bath utilised. Effectively they were using a very long maul which seem to be like a conga line rather than a maul, this efectively stopped LI breaking the maul, much to the disgust of LI who tried to go up the side of maul as they could not go through a single player only between them. This meant that it was unfair as they could not stop maul legally which is against the whole ethos of the game. Any thoughts ?

Gassage

koneguitarist said:

Did anyone see the London Irish Bath game yesterday, as there was an interesting developement, which I had not seen before regarding the maul that Bath utilised. Effectively they were using a very long maul which seem to be like a conga line rather than a maul, this efectively stopped LI breaking the maul, much to the disgust of LI who tried to go up the side of maul as they could not go through a single player only between them. This meant that it was unfair as they could not stop maul legally which is against the whole ethos of the game. Any thoughts ?

Kone- in the 6N's in my column I talked about 'posting length at ruck and maul'- this is precisely what I was trying to verbalise.

In a maul, it has to be fully connected, and that means ball carrier in contact with both shoulders on two players, otherwise it's truck and trailer.

At ruck time, it's all about using body length to change to proximity of the ball.