Rugby 2019 Discussion

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Continuing on from here!
https://www.redcafe.net/threads/rugby-2018-discussion.436116/page-34

Anyone know what the story is with the Challenge Cup this year? None of the games are televised and some are available on awful streams on the ERC website. Such a shame because my team (Connacht) had another really nailbiting game today against Sale but the official stream kept constantly crashing.
 

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In other news, it's looking like another seriously great weekend in Europe for Irish teams. I'm still getting some sneaky little hunch that Leinster aren't going to do it this year. They're still looking superb but I just wonder if back to back is too much of a stretch.
 

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Super Rugby starts in a month, Blue Bulls have made some high profile signings with Duane Vermeulen and Schalk Brits joining. Going to be interesting to see how Pote Human does as coach, I'm not enthusiastic about his tenure. The Lions' squad looks pretty thin. Hopefully things get a bit more competitive this season and the likes of the Sharks build on the successes of last year.

Also WC to come. NZ massive favourites still imo. I know Ireland are everyone's darlings atm but I think the All Blacks will get things together this year. The Bokke have a slim chance if Marx can fix his lineout woes and we can get more consistency out of that backline and avoid injuries to the key players, Etzebeth, De Klerk and Marx.
 

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Six Nations squads starting to be announced...

France Six Nations Squad 2019
Forwards (17): Dorian Aldegheri, Gregory Alldritt, Uini Atonio, Demba Bamba, Pierre Bourgarit, Yacouba Camara, Guilhem Guirado (capt), Arthur Iturria, Felix Lambey, Wenceslas Lauret, Bernard Le Roux, Julien Marchand, Louis Picamoles, Jefferson Poirot, Dany Priso, Sebastien Vahaamahina, Paul Willemse

Backs (14): Mathieu Bastareaud, Anthony Belleau, Geoffrey Doumayrou, Antoine Dupont, Gael Fickou, Wesley Fofana, Yoann Huget, Camille Lopez, Maxime Medard, Romain Ntamack, Morgan Parra, Damian Penaud, Thomas Ramos, Baptiste Serin


Read more at https://www.rugbyworld.com/news/france-six-nations-squad-88063#9THHtmz5qio0jL49.99

Italy Six Nations Squad 2019
Forwards: Simone Ferrari, Andrea Lovotti, Tiziano Pasquali, Cherif Traore, Giosuè Zilocchi, Luca Bigi, Leonardo Ghiraldini, Dean Budd, Federico Ruzza, David Sisi, Alessandro Zanni, Marco Barbini, Maxime Mbanda, Sebastian Negri, Sergio Parisse (c), Abraham Jurgens Steyn, Jimmy Tuivaiti

Backs: Guglielmo Palazzani, Tito Tebaldi, Tommaso Allan, Carlo Canna, Ian McKinley, Giulio Bisegni, Michele Campagnaro, Tommaso Castello, Luca Morisi, Tommaso Benvenuti, Angelo Esposito, Jayden Hayward, Edoardo Padovani, Luca Sperandio


Read more at https://www.rugbyworld.com/news/italy-six-nations-squad-88206#RcCcEbS3vM05ULml.99
 

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Being left out at the weekend and now not even in the 6N squad is a serious fall from grace for Teddy Thomas. Has he been injured or just out of form?

Otherwise there is some serious talent in that French squad! I quite fancy them to have a big tournament this year.
 

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Being left out at the weekend and now not even in the 6N squad is a serious fall from grace for Teddy Thomas. Has he been injured or just out of form?

Otherwise there is some serious talent in that French squad! I quite fancy them to have a big tournament this year.
Pretty Sure Thomas is injured. Happy to be corrected though. I thnk he'd easily be in the squad otherwise.
 

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In other news, it's looking like another seriously great weekend in Europe for Irish teams. I'm still getting some sneaky little hunch that Leinster aren't going to do it this year. They're still looking superb but I just wonder if back to back is too much of a stretch.
Leinster Vs Toulouse was a good game to watch. That Toulouse team will be something in a couple of years I think. Leinster were a bit lucky with knock ons a crucial times for Toulouse. Carberry is gelling well in that munster team too and I can see Addison making a big difference in the irish set up this year.
 
Six Nations 2019 Fixtures

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Six Nations fixtures (Times GMT)

Friday 1 Feb

France vs Wales, 20:00 (BBC and S4C)

Saturday 2 Feb

Scotland vs Italy, 14:15 (BBC)

Ireland vs England, 16:45 (ITV)

Saturday 9 Feb

Scotland vs Ireland, 14:15 (BBC)

Italy vs Wales, 16:45 (ITV and S4C)

Sunday 10 Feb

England vs France, 15:00 (ITV)

Saturday 23 Feb

France vs Scotland, 14:15 (BBC)

Wales vs England, 16:45 (BBC and S4C)

Sunday 24 Feb

Italy vs Ireland, 15:00 (ITV)

Saturday 9 Mar

Scotland vs Wales, 14:15 (BBC and S4C)

England vs Italy, 16:45 (ITV)

Sunday 10 Mar

Ireland vs France, 15:00 (ITV)

Saturday 16 Mar

Italy vs France, 12:30 (ITV)

Wales vs Ireland, 14:45 (BBC and S4C)

England vs Scotland, 17:00 (ITV)
 

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Wales V Ireland looks like being a very tasty game , possible championship decider.
It'll probably be a strange championship with an eye on the world cup. I think Ireland are probably in a healthier position than people would have predicted in the past when there was a stereotype of Schmidt always sticking with his tried and tested people. The squad is well-developed now with cover and competition for most positions.

And just as I write that, Luke McGrath is ruled out of the 6N :D :( Wonder will Caolan Blade get a go?

 
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It'll probably be a strange championship with an eye on the world cup. I think Ireland are probably in a healthier position than people would have predicted in the past when there was a stereotype of Schmidt always sticking with his tried and tested people. The squad is well-developed now with cover and competition for most positions.

And just as I write that, Luke McGrath is ruled out of the 6N :D :( Wonder will Caolan Blade get a go?

Honestly think Luke McGrath is a tad overrated, especially by Leinster supporters.Blade well worth a look.
 

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Honestly think Luke McGrath is a tad overrated, especially by Leinster supporters.Blade well worth a look.
There'll probably be no choice now given that Cooney had an injury concern too. I'd have every confidence that Schmidt is one step ahead of everyone though - he's integrated people into the extended squad extremely well in the past.
 

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Honestly think Luke McGrath is a tad overrated, especially by Leinster supporters.Blade well worth a look.
He's not that highly rated by Leinster fans, a lot would have Gibson-Park ahead of him. He's a good player, brave in defence and runs excellent support lines but the speed and quality of his pass isn't great. The scrum half options below Murray are not that good but Marmion, when fit, is number two following the New Zealand while Cooney is rightly third choice. I guess Blade will be included in the squad but unless there's more injuries he won't have any involvement.
 

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He's not that highly rated by Leinster fans, a lot would have Gibson-Park ahead of him. He's a good player, brave in defence and runs excellent support lines but the speed and quality of his pass isn't great. The scrum half options below Murray are not that good but Marmion, when fit, is number two following the New Zealand while Cooney is rightly third choice. I guess Blade will be included in the squad but unless there's more injuries he won't have any involvement.
Any Leinster man I know believes Luke should be no.2 to Murray and I know a good few as I’m based in Dublin.
 

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He's not that highly rated by Leinster fans, a lot would have Gibson-Park ahead of him. He's a good player, brave in defence and runs excellent support lines but the speed and quality of his pass isn't great. The scrum half options below Murray are not that good but Marmion, when fit, is number two following the New Zealand while Cooney is rightly third choice. I guess Blade will be included in the squad but unless there's more injuries he won't have any involvement.
The thing is though, the injuries have already happened. McGrath out for sure, Cooney injured too and Marmion not back to full contact training yet.

I thought McGrath did well when he came on against NZ by playing to his strengths - he kicked much better than Marmion did. Cooney damaged his chances by a poor day out against USA when he got the chance. Marmion is a solid no.2 though, he's never let Ireland down when called on.
 

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I'm delighted to see Tom Farrell get called up ahead of Scannell or McCloskey. It's well deserved on form but I didn't see it happening to be honest.

Carty ahead of Ross Byrne, O'Brien ahead of Leavy and Dillane ahead of Roux are all notable calls from Joe but the standards are so high these days that there'll always be notable decisions to be made.
 

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I'm delighted to see Tom Farrell get called up ahead of Scannell or McCloskey. It's well deserved on form but I didn't see it happening to be honest.

Carty ahead of Ross Byrne, O'Brien ahead of Leavy and Dillane ahead of Roux are all notable calls from Joe but the standards are so high these days that there'll always be notable decisions to be made.
Delighted for Carty who has improved enormously since I first saw him play.Think Leavy is inured at the moment.
 

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Delighted for Carty who has improved enormously since I first saw him play.Think Leavy is inured at the moment.
Yeah I hadn't read the full comments from Joe at that stage but I think he's going to join up with the squad once he's been assessed and cleared by the Leinster medical team. It's a cracking squad really - loads of quality.
 

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Delighted for Carty who has improved enormously since I first saw him play.Think Leavy is inured at the moment.
Kieran Keane really seemed to do a number on Carty. Totally lost his confidence and kicking went to crap, Ronaldson's too. I was at the Gloucester semi-final last year and it was desperate to watch them both flounder. Delighted to see him playing so well now under Friend, who's been a wonderful breath of fresh air.
 

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England Squad

Forwards: Jack Clifford, Dan Cole, Luke Cowan-Dickie, Tom Curry, Ben Earl, Ellis Genge, Jamie George, Nathan Hughes, Maro Itoje, George Kruis, Joe Launchbury, Courtney Lawes, Ben Moon, Brad Shields, Kyle Sinckler, Jack Singleton, Billy Vunipola, Mako Vunipola, Harry Williams, Mark Wilson

Backs: Chris Ashton, Mike Brown, Joe Cokanasiga, Elliot Daly, Ollie Devoto, Owen Farrell, George Ford, Jonny May, Jack Nowell, Dan Robson, Henry Slade, Ben Te’o, Ollie Thorley, ManuTuilagi, Ben Youngs
 

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Kieran Keane really seemed to do a number on Carty. Totally lost his confidence and kicking went to crap, Ronaldson's too. I was at the Gloucester semi-final last year and it was desperate to watch them both flounder. Delighted to see him playing so well now under Friend, who's been a wonderful breath of fresh air.
The power of positivity! Just like Ole.
 

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The power of positivity! Just like Ole.
Friend and Lam seem cut from the same cloth. Right from the moment he was announced, he started engaging well wishers on Twitter, talking about being excited about the opportunity, the players, the setup. After wins, he always big ups the players and in particular the backroom coaching staff. He's a very good communicator and clearly got everyone onside from the start.
 

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Sad to see the career of a pretty good player end at the age of just 28 in this manner.

 

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Sad to see the career of a pretty good player end at the age of just 28 in this manner.

One of the best talents to ever come out of SA rugby. Was never the same after that first big injury and what a shame. Glad he's taken the step to retire though rather than continuing given the symptoms he's experienced.
 

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One of the best talents to ever come out of SA rugby. Was never the same after that first big injury and what a shame. Glad he's taken the step to retire though rather than continuing given the symptoms he's experienced.
The awful thing is though he might have these symptoms for years to come. Jared Payne still does.
 

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Leinster vs Ulster in a quarter final on the weekend of 29th to 31st March, what could possibly go wrong?
 

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Tadhg Beirne ruled out for the first 2 rounds of the 6N. Quinn Roux called into the squad so Connacht now have 6(!) players in it.
Henderson out for a few weeks as well. That's a pair of locks who would start for a lot of countries.

Having Toner and Ryan with Dillane and Roux still as back up is serious strength in depth.
 

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I'm not sure what to make of this. I'd hazard a guess that they definitely didn't expect this result
https://www.rte.ie/sport/rugby/2019...-tackle-trial-due-to-concussion-rise-reports/
The Rugby Football Union [RFU] have ended a trial aimed at making the game safer by lowering the legal height of tackles after a study revealed that it increased the likelihood of concussion, according to multiple reports in the British media.

The rule change, where the height of a tackle was lowered from the line of the shoulders to above the armpit line, was announced last July and trialled in the second-tier Championship Cup.

Data from 36 matches in November and December showed a 41% decrease in tackles making contact with the head or neck of an upright ball-carrier, but the concussion risk increased when both ball-carrier and tackler were bent at the waist.