ninehertz

1. • bad admiral
   • any thoughts?
     
     i reckon france are gonna own this. their line out is shit but every other phase of play is like fucking poetry.
     
     wales have lost lots of their joneses and therefore, lots of their magic, despite playing some of the greatest, balls out rugby i've ever seen last weekend.
     
     ireland have just lost the plot
     
     scotland need to stop relying on 2 players.
     
     italy are coming on nicely but still a work in progress.
     
     england are gonna do what they always do: 1st game fine, 2nd game unconvincing, 3rd game a bit better, 4th game a bit worse, 5th game amazing.
     
     meaning england/france should be an absolute blinder!
   • [19:38 on 15/02/10]
2. • pull-my-plonker
   • bad admiral says:

     any thoughts?
     
     i reckon france are gonna own this. their line out is shit but every other phase of play is like fucking poetry.
     
     wales have lost lots of their joneses and therefore, lots of their magic, despite playing some of the greatest, balls out rugby i've ever seen last weekend.
     
     ireland have just lost the plot
     
     scotland need to stop relying on 2 players.
     
     italy are coming on nicely but still a work in progress.
     
     england are gonna do what they always do: 1st game fine, 2nd game unconvincing, 3rd game a bit better, 4th game a bit worse, 5th game amazing.
     
     meaning england/france should be an absolute blinder!
     
     
     Rugby, ehhhhhhhhhhhhh...
     
     I missed Fra v Ire, but Wales v Scotland was a belter. I have no time for the Scottish, but I must admit they played as well as they could have possibly done then pissed it up the wall like Paul Gascoigne trapped in courtyard. Amazing game. out of interest, who are the two players they rely on? Paterson is a fantastic goalkicker, but to say he has 100 caps, he sucks balls compared to the back-3s of any of the other nations.
     
     Richy baby, I kinda agree with you - England sucked more than Ben Affleck's lifetime does on Sunday, yet we stil got the win and live to fight another day. On the plus side, line-out was solid enough and we looked good running with ball in hand. I can see that game pattern emerging again though.
     
     France seem to be the team to beat now, though don't discount Wales as a dark Jonesy horse. Ballsy ball-carrying with balls.
     
     For now, France have my bet, but if England can sort out the kicking game, force the issue at the breakdown without giving away 452 pens and attack through Monye/Cueto/Tait, we could 'ave 'em.
   • [00:57 on 16/02/10]
3. • bad admiral
   • i've never rated monye and i would like to give banahan a run out. i reckon that he could shut bastareaud down effectively in midfield. he's angry. his grandad was in a war or something.
     
     the thing i noticed about the french is how few men they committed to infringements and the strength and mobility in the pack. that's the winning of a game right there. their line out sucks balls, but that doesn't matter. they don't seem to really contest, they just clatter the fuck out of the guy with the ball. they're identified the weak link and got round it.
     
     scotland reply on pattinson and that other one who kicks with the nasty little sideburns. once these players are shaded out of the game (which isn't hard) there's not a whole bunch of substance. i think wales with a point to prove are fucking deadly, but their lack of joneses in the pack has cost them dear. the girls out back don't fare much better and they seem disorganised and fretful. even though he's a twonk, henson is a stunning midfielder who marshalls a line well and draws men...get him back in!
     
     i also cannot believe the irish hooker managed to stay on after his little exhibition on saturday afternoon. i fucking FELT that on my sofa. such play hasn't been allowed since the mid 70s when most rugby players were pilots, welders or lawyers.
   • [17:40 on 16/02/10]
4. • pull-my-plonker
   • I'm the other way around - Banahan to me is very over-rated, he's not even fast! Monye didn't convince me at first, but I think with experience, he's showing his class way more.
     
     Agree about Bastareud - he's a tough cookie, and a good midfielder. France are definitely big strong and direct this year, more so than before. I noticed the lack of numbers at the breakdown too, good tactic if you have a mobile backrow and a number of possible scrum-halves for quick ball. However, England may be able to exploit this by FORCING numbers at the ruck and slowing the French ball down.
     
     Line-out if definitely a big 'un, and if Wilko can force us into the corners enough, we could be deadly.
     
     Scotland are shit. End of.
   • [20:42 on 16/02/10]
5. • bad admiral
   • i'm not convinced that we have the the whereforall to punch holes in the french defence. i can see us getting shafted down the pitch, even on a lineout on the 5m line. thien-duc is as cool as a fucking cucumber under pressure as well and offers a very comprehensive second stage defence with that hoof of his.
     
     i dig banahan. speed is fine, but a powerful, slower back who can read a game well, bounce tackles and draw defence is worth his weight in gold. not neccessarily to score points, but to create space for faster players to fly. hopefully, lewis moody will do a number on the french no. 8 (and not get sin-binned) too.
     
     i think we should hook up for a couple of bevvies...when is super saturday? we can talk about doom and then argue each other into a stupor on the finer points of the rolling maul and what "liquid rugby" actually is.
   • [22:02 on 16/02/10]
6. • pull-my-plonker
   • Definitely!! Sat 20th March is SuperSaturday, and I'm well up for it!
     
     We can resume our discussion on the best Fu Manchu record(s) and pick our starting team for the 9hz 7s team...!
   • [00:03 on 17/02/10]
7. • bad admiral
   • cool. i may have to book it off, but i missed it last year and was GUTTED!
   • [17:56 on 17/02/10]
8. • Big Si
   • Coming into this late - Banahan? BANAHAN? He's like Ben Cohen at his worst. Or another Lesley Vainikolo. He's a failed forward who managed to score a few tries last year by taking people by surprise. He's slow even compared to most international flankers, never mind wingers. Eugh.
     
     If England want to experiment with a big hitter in the centre, then giving Shontayne Hape a shot at 13 would be my call, provided he doesn't crab out of position. He's never an international 12, but he can step and offload which gives him a distinct advantage over, say, Dan Hipkiss. And he can tackle, which gives him the edge on Tait.
     Tait clearly has the attacking game, but I wonder if Flutey just needs someone more physical outside him. Dom Waldouck from Wasps wouldn't be a bad shout either.
     
     As for predictions, France look to have it in the bag as everyone else has been massively inconsistent so far.
   • [22:44 on 17/02/10]
9. • pull-my-plonker
   • Big Si says:

     Coming into this late - Banahan? BANAHAN? He's like Ben Cohen at his worst. Or another Lesley Vainikolo. He's a failed forward who managed to score a few tries last year by taking people by surprise. He's slow even compared to most international flankers, never mind wingers. Eugh.
     
     If England want to experiment with a big hitter in the centre, then giving Shontayne Hape a shot at 13 would be my call, provided he doesn't crab out of position. He's never an international 12, but he can step and offload which gives him a distinct advantage over, say, Dan Hipkiss. And he can tackle, which gives him the edge on Tait.
     Tait clearly has the attacking game, but I wonder if Flutey just needs someone more physical outside him. Dom Waldouck from Wasps wouldn't be a bad shout either.
     
     As for predictions, France look to have it in the bag as everyone else has been massively inconsistent so far.
     
     
     Yeah, agreed about Banahan - strong, yeah, but he's about as quick as a dead snail. Not seen anything of Hape, but have never been impressed by Hipkiss either - not very versatile, or quality enough.
     
     I like Tait, and he's come on leaps and bounds, but he's not huge enough and could still use more experience. Good finish for his try on Sunday though.
   • [23:23 on 17/02/10]
10. • J Parker
    • More people on here should be avidly discussing rugby, the metallest of all sports. With the exception of ice hockey of course. Ps i fear mighty France will put England to the sword
    • [10:02 on 18/02/10]
11. • pull-my-plonker
    • J Parker says:

      More people on here should be avidly discussing rugby, the metallest of all sports. With the exception of ice hockey of course. Ps i fear mighty France will put England to the sword
      
      
      More rugby should be watched whilst listening to The Sword.
    • [18:35 on 18/02/10]
12. • J Parker
    • Some footage of Chabal on the rampage might work well with High on Fire or something
    • [19:26 on 18/02/10]
13. • Gareth
    • It's been about 10 years since I watched 6 nations but remember enjoying it thoroughly. When are the games scheduled for? Might watch some of it, assuming it's not all over.
    • [20:00 on 18/02/10]
14. • bad admiral
    • sebastian chabal = massive hairy pussy
      
      i think i'm on my own with the banahan love.
      
      what ever happened to mr sackey?
      
      i'm working on super saturday, but am totally going to be booking it off. 20th march, right?
    • [20:14 on 18/02/10]
15. • alan
    • It's not *real* rugby though, is it? Two too many players!
    • [13:28 on 19/02/10]
16. • J Parker
    • It has players, that's the difference
    • [14:00 on 19/02/10]
17. • pull-my-plonker
    • Union > League. Simples.
      
      I've seen Chabal live, he's even bigger than he looks on TV!
      
      No games this weekend Gareth, but next weekend it's:
      
      Friday, 26 February 2010
      Wales v France, 20:00
      Saturday, 27 February 2010
      England v Ireland, 16:00
      Italy v Scotland, 13:30
    • [23:56 on 19/02/10]
18. • pull-my-plonker
    • Oh, and Sackey has just announced that he is moving to Toulon in France at the end of the season.
    • [23:56 on 19/02/10]
19. • bad admiral
    • whore. french clubs seem to be chucking money about though and he's a great winger.
      
      league is fucking great!!! those dudes are fucking shithouses! really, really fast shithouses. i remember when union went professional and some league players came over, you could always spot them because they never kicked the ball and were basically monsters. scott quinell came back to union from league and was fucking terrifying.
      
      ah man...chabal is gash. for a second row he's still a tiddler. weak in lineouts and doesn't make a lot of impact in infringements either. if he didn't look like that, no one would give a shit. apparently he's a flanker by trade, but i think he's too damn slow to be effective there as well. poo poo chabal. the french fucking love him though.
    • [09:20 on 20/02/10]
20. • J Parker
    • Oh come on he's had some brilliant moments, mostly its about the stare/beard though. I played against Scott Quinnell once when I was in school in Wales, he ran through our forwards like Jonah Lomu after two big meals.
    • [11:35 on 20/02/10]

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