The Official English Rugby Thread

[sockwithaticket]

Ford in the England camp. Something grimly amusing about 3 years of ‘rugby 2.0’ when we could start basically an identical XV two world cups running

Unfortunately, we mostly saw rugby 0.5 in those 3 years, so reverting back to 1.0 for stability makes sense.

[Brazil]

Ford in the England camp. Something grimly amusing about 3 years of ‘rugby 2.0’ when we could start basically an identical XV two world cups running

With Smith injured, it's a no brainer. Ford's a great player.

Disagree. He's been out of action for over half a year and hasn't been near the camp, plus the consensus is that after his last televised performance Farrell is on fire and has to captain and if that's the case he has to start at 10. Far, far better for Ford to get back to form playing for his club for the rest of the season and to be brought in for the warm ups whilst somebody more familiar with the England set up can serve as the bench option. Furbank say, or JVP after his successful cameo there last weekend.

[ASMO]

Ford in the England camp. Something grimly amusing about 3 years of ‘rugby 2.0’ when we could start basically an identical XV two world cups running

With Smith injured, it's a no brainer. Ford's a great player.

Disagree. He's been out of action for over half a year and hasn't been near the camp, plus the consensus is that after his last televised performance Farrell is on fire and has to captain and if that's the case he has to start at 10. Far, far better for Ford to get back to form playing for his club for the rest of the season and to be brought in for the warm ups whilst somebody more familiar with the England set up can serve as the bench option. Furbank say, or JVP after his successful cameo there last weekend.

One ray of sunshine a summer does not make, that performance against a pretty poor team was by far the exception, most of his other performances have been ordinary at best, and he is too petulant a child to be a captain of anything.

[petej]

Ford in the England camp. Something grimly amusing about 3 years of ‘rugby 2.0’ when we could start basically an identical XV two world cups running

With Smith injured, it's a no brainer. Ford's a great player.

Disagree. He's been out of action for over half a year and hasn't been near the camp, plus the consensus is that after his last televised performance Farrell is on fire and has to captain and if that's the case he has to start at 10. Far, far better for Ford to get back to form playing for his club for the rest of the season and to be brought in for the warm ups whilst somebody more familiar with the England set up can serve as the bench option. Furbank say, or JVP after his successful cameo there last weekend.

I would be tempted to post something similar if Ford was still at Tigers.

I suspect Sale will get more value from Ford than Tigers will from Pollard.

[Kawazaki]

Marler had an epiphany;

"Fuck, I really am an unfunny prick"

https://archive.ph/ZdCHl

[sockwithaticket]

With Smith injured, it's a no brainer. Ford's a great player.

Disagree. He's been out of action for over half a year and hasn't been near the camp, plus the consensus is that after his last televised performance Farrell is on fire and has to captain and if that's the case he has to start at 10. Far, far better for Ford to get back to form playing for his club for the rest of the season and to be brought in for the warm ups whilst somebody more familiar with the England set up can serve as the bench option. Furbank say, or JVP after his successful cameo there last weekend.

I would be tempted to post something similar if Ford was still at Tigers.

I suspect Sale will get more value from Ford than Tigers will from Pollard.

That'll be true even if he never takes the field. Sale's attack looks miles better and from a couple of interviews he's given, Sanderson seems to attribute a lot of that to Ford.

[Paddington Bear]

With Smith injured, it's a no brainer. Ford's a great player.

Disagree. He's been out of action for over half a year and hasn't been near the camp, plus the consensus is that after his last televised performance Farrell is on fire and has to captain and if that's the case he has to start at 10. Far, far better for Ford to get back to form playing for his club for the rest of the season and to be brought in for the warm ups whilst somebody more familiar with the England set up can serve as the bench option. Furbank say, or JVP after his successful cameo there last weekend.

One ray of sunshine a summer does not make, that performance against a pretty poor team was by far the exception, most of his other performances have been ordinary at best, and he is too petulant a child to be a captain of anything.

You’re admirably consistent, but Faz has been superb for Saracens this year and there’s very little debate about it.

[Kawazaki]

Disagree. He's been out of action for over half a year and hasn't been near the camp, plus the consensus is that after his last televised performance Farrell is on fire and has to captain and if that's the case he has to start at 10. Far, far better for Ford to get back to form playing for his club for the rest of the season and to be brought in for the warm ups whilst somebody more familiar with the England set up can serve as the bench option. Furbank say, or JVP after his successful cameo there last weekend.

One ray of sunshine a summer does not make, that performance against a pretty poor team was by far the exception, most of his other performances have been ordinary at best, and he is too petulant a child to be a captain of anything.

You’re admirably consistent, but Faz has been superb for Saracens this year and there’s very little debate about it.

Saracens 11 wins from 12 games this season - all done with a crap flyhalf. It makes you wonder why they simply don't save themselves the £700k a year they pay to employ a rubbish 10 and use the money to recruit a good one.

[Sandstorm]

Touchy

[SaintK]

Saints have signed former Sale and Worcester hooker Curtis Langdon for next season.
Always thought he was a decent player so could be a good move.

Northampton Saints have confirmed the signing of England international hooker Curtis Langdon.
Langdon, 25, will join the club next season from Montpellier Hérault, having crossed the channel to link up with the Top 14 side earlier this season after his former side Worcester Warriors were placed into administration.

[Brazil]

Saints have signed former Sale and Worcester hooker Curtis Langdon for next season.
Always thought he was a decent player so could be a good move.

Northampton Saints have confirmed the signing of England international hooker Curtis Langdon.
Langdon, 25, will join the club next season from Montpellier Hérault, having crossed the channel to link up with the Top 14 side earlier this season after his former side Worcester Warriors were placed into administration.

Very good signing for Tampon that. He's a great player with a huge amount of potential.

[Oxbow]

Saints have signed former Sale and Worcester hooker Curtis Langdon for next season.
Always thought he was a decent player so could be a good move.

Northampton Saints have confirmed the signing of England international hooker Curtis Langdon.
Langdon, 25, will join the club next season from Montpellier Hérault, having crossed the channel to link up with the Top 14 side earlier this season after his former side Worcester Warriors were placed into administration.

Good signing, I'd imagine one or two hookers will be moving on, Saints are well-stocked there.

[JM2K6]

Marler had an epiphany;

"Fuck, I really am an unfunny prick"

https://archive.ph/ZdCHl

He's always been a pretty honest guy, it's a good read.

For amusement value, 1:20 here



Dean Richards recounting the story of Brian Moore punching Futzy then telling him he fucked his mum...

[Kawazaki]

If it's any consolation, I think Brian Moore is a prick as well.

[fishfoodie]

Marler had an epiphany;

"Fuck, I really am an unfunny prick"

https://archive.ph/ZdCHl

He's always been a pretty honest guy, it's a good read.

For amusement value, 1:20 here



Dean Richards recounting the story of Brian Moore punching Futzy then telling him he fucked his mum...

The Game has changed !

Every weekend we now get to hear commentators a half dozen times a match, apologizing because someone has called another player a bollox, or whatever.

The irony the other weekend would have been if the main feed had picked up Marlers abuse, & then the only person who didn't get an apology, would have been Heenan !

Marler should have just kept it to abusing the player, & not dragging in family; or else just fucking do his job, & keep his mouth shut !

[JM2K6]

Heenan got an apology. A couple of them, I think.

[fishfoodie]

Heenan got an apology. A couple of them, I think.

After it got thru Marlers thick skull that, "Brand Marler", was going to take a hit.

The whole sorry incident won't do Pro Rugby any harm. Players need to realize they're continually under scrutiny, & if the want to ride the whole; "Image Rights", & "Social Media Exposure", train; they have to remember that the game is bigger than just them !

Like everything else; we just want some kind of consistency in application, & clarity as to where the lines are. For stuff like this, I'd like the equivalent of the penalties points system, where if you're a persistent offender, like Marler was, you get done for not learning the lesson.

[Slick]

Marler had an epiphany;

"Fuck, I really am an unfunny prick"

https://archive.ph/ZdCHl

He's always been a pretty honest guy, it's a good read.

For amusement value, 1:20 here



Dean Richards recounting the story of Brian Moore punching Futzy then telling him he fucked his mum...

Marler has done well there. I’d hope he has done a real apology on top of his Twitter one

[Paddington Bear]

Marler had an epiphany;

"Fuck, I really am an unfunny prick"

https://archive.ph/ZdCHl

He's always been a pretty honest guy, it's a good read.

For amusement value, 1:20 here



Dean Richards recounting the story of Brian Moore punching Futzy then telling him he fucked his mum...

The Game has changed !

Every weekend we now get to hear commentators a half dozen times a match, apologizing because someone has called another player a bollox, or whatever.

The irony the other weekend would have been if the main feed had picked up Marlers abuse, & then the only person who didn't get an apology, would have been Heenan !

Marler should have just kept it to abusing the player, & not dragging in family; or else just fucking do his job, & keep his mouth shut !

AIUI it is a legal requirement to apologise for bad language on live tv pre-watershed

[sockwithaticket]

Marler had an epiphany;

"Fuck, I really am an unfunny prick"

https://archive.ph/ZdCHl

He's always been a pretty honest guy, it's a good read.

For amusement value, 1:20 here



Dean Richards recounting the story of Brian Moore punching Futzy then telling him he fucked his mum...

Marler has done well there. I’d hope he has done a real apology on top of his Twitter one

It was reported that he had.

[sockwithaticket]

There's a headline from The Times indicating that Nick Evans will be England's attack coach for the 6N.

[Brazil]

There's a headline from The Times indicating that Nick Evans will be England's attack coach for the 6N.

Good news if true, though obviously shite for Quins.

[SaintK]

There's a headline from The Times indicating that Nick Evans will be England's attack coach for the 6N.

Interesting. Evans and Vesty are probably the best two Prem attack coaches.
I thought that Gleeson was still in place as he doesn'ty appear to have been paid off like the others last week.

[inactionman]

There's a headline from The Times indicating that Nick Evans will be England's attack coach for the 6N.

Good news if true, though obviously shite for Quins.

Good news for Marcus Smith too, I'd have thought.

[SaintK]

There's a headline from The Times indicating that Nick Evans will be England's attack coach for the 6N.

Good news if true, though obviously shite for Quins.

Good news for Marcus Smith too, I'd have thought.

Times also reporting that Borthwick is after Sarries forwards coach Ian Peel

[sockwithaticket]

There's a headline from The Times indicating that Nick Evans will be England's attack coach for the 6N.

Good news if true, though obviously shite for Quins.

Good news for Marcus Smith too, I'd have thought.

I've not seen anything about the severity of his current injury, but nor have I seen anything about a potential return. He's basically been out since the Autumn series concluded, he may well miss the 6N.

[JM2K6]

Smith's due back imminently.

Heenan got an apology. A couple of them, I think.

After it got thru Marlers thick skull that, "Brand Marler", was going to take a hit

Yeah no, it was after he realised there was more to the reaction than he knew at the time, i.e. after the game which is why he got Heenan's number off the Bristol captain. The facts of all of this aren't in doubt, Marler's been very open about what happened and Pat Lam has confirmed it. No need to spin up extra conspiracy theory when the offence was bad enough to begin with.

[mos_eisely_]

Confirmed that Evans joins England for the 6N

[JM2K6]

Whatever slim chance we had of doing anything this season fucked into a bin then. Oh well, probably better than if we were challenging for the title.

[SaintK]

Whatever slim chance we had of doing anything this season fucked into a bin then. Oh well, probably better than if we were challenging for the title.

I reckon Quins will still qualify for the play offs

[JM2K6]

Whatever slim chance we had of doing anything this season fucked into a bin then. Oh well, probably better than if we were challenging for the title.

I reckon Quins will still qualify for the play offs

We'll be struggling for wins for a while. We only have a couple of real home games left this season and we're having issues with squad depth - injuries are cutting deep. We're got Archie White and Luke Wallace as our starting flankers against Sale

Harlequins Starting XV
1. Fin Baxter
2. Jack Walker
3. Wilco Louw
4. George Hammond
5. Irne Herbst
6. Archie White
7. Luke Wallace
8. Alex Dombrandt – Captain

9. Danny Care
10. Tommy Allan
11. Josh Bassett
12. Andre Esterhuizen
13. Joe Marchant
14. Cadan Murley
15. Nick David

Impact Players
16. Jack Musk 17. Jordan Els 18. Simon Kerrod 19. Charlie Matthews 20. Tom Lawday 21. Lewis Gjaltema 22. Will Edwards 23. Oscar Beard

Sale Sharks Starting XV:

15. Luke James, 14. Arron Reed, 13. Sam James, 12. Manu Tuilagi, 11. Tom O’Flaherty, 10. Rob Du Preez, 9. Gus Warr; 1. Simon McIntyre, 2. Akker Van Der Merwe, 3. Nick Schonert, 4. Cobus Wiese, 5. Jonny Hill, 6. Tom Curry, 7. Ben Curry (C), 8. Jean-Luc du Preez

Replacements:

16. Ewan Ashman, 17. Bevan Rodd, 18. James Harper, 19. Josh Beaumont, 20. Jono Ross, 21. Nye Thomas, 22. Tom Curtis, 23. Joe Carpenter.

Big gulf in the forwards there. Hammond & Herbst vs Wiese & Hill is almost as bad as White & Wallace vs Twindaloo, and Sale can afford to leave Ashman and Rodd on the bench.

[Paddington Bear]

Lol going for the ‘complain about every decision that goes against Gloucester’ approach to commentary tonight I see

[Paddington Bear]

Fiesty game. Faz’s bombs starting to put pressure on Gloucester in what I assume from the place kicking and back 3 work are very windy conditions

[ASMO]

Lewington showing Nowell like pace, he really is jank

[ASMO]

Farrell, cows arse, banjo.

[Brazil]

Farrell, cows arse, banjo.

Ah, but give him a cheap shot and he's a champ.

[ASMO]

Dickson really is a cretin, you can go back for clear foul play and that was a red card offence by Farrell.

[ASMO]

Tough win for Sarries, but Farrell should not be on the pitch.

[Paddington Bear]

Clutch stuff. Good game of rugby. Classy crowd as ever. Dickson a useless ref as ever.

[sockwithaticket]

Very rare you can pin a loss on a ref decision, but not carding him for that hit has cost Glaws badly.