Trends

[ronk]

Beirne joined the worst province for getting gametime at 6. He's a specialist lock at provincial level now.

[hugonaut]

Beirne joined the worst province for getting gametime at 6. He's a specialist lock at provincial level now.

I think Beirne will move to No6 next season, O'Mahony moving to No7. Snyman and Kleyn will play in the row together.

Van Graan has been trying to implement Rassie's gameplan without the personnel - he will make a better go of it next season with a huge starting pack and then Wycherly [lock], O'Donoghue [No7] and O'Sullivan [No8] on the bench.

[LeRouxIsPHat]

Peceli Yato, Pablo Matera and Michael Leitch are all very good blindsides who would make every team in the Six Nations bar England [Curry is playing amazing rugby, out and out blindside or not]. Arthur Iturria should be a cert on the blindside for France – I'm not sure what the issue is with him.

Tadhg Beirne has the ability – in my opinion – to be the outstanding blindside in the Six Nations. It's a huge pity that he is not available for selection for this tournament. While he has lots of similarities with Itoje and Nakarawa in terms of his all round game – running, jumping, tackling, handling, jackalling – I don't think he has their out and out strength. I think he's better suited to the backrow than the second row.

There are some good ones of course, although I wouldn't include Yato. Phenomenal player but he's not the defensive workhorse and lineout expert that I think of when I'm talking about blindsides.

If you think of all the major countries, very few of them actually have one. NZ and Australia don't, England only have Mark Wilson who's an excellent player but has been overtaken by the Underhill and Curry combo and given that he's 30 and injury prone it's hard to see him ever making that jersey his own. Wainwright is excellent for Wales but he can play openside as well so is more of a hybrid. I do like the look of Jamie Ritchie for Scotland, think he'll be very good.

Rhys is the our best blindside IMO but he hasn't even made the Irish squad.

It was my favourite position to play so I've a bit of a soft spot for the intelligent players who do the dirty work and don't get the credit they deserve instead of the big ball carriers or flashier Curry types we see now If I had my way every 6 would be in the style of Juan Smith or Jean Bouilhou.

[ronk]

The rise in hybrid 4/6s and the previous rise of the tighthead lock have led me to stop thing about the tight 5 and the loose forwards.

It's often better to thing of a tight 4 with a loose 4.

Even when we see 2nd rows like Ryan and Toner playing together they tend to share or have one doing more of the loose work.

[LeRouxIsPHat]

The drop goal is back, delighted to see it. Not entirely sure why it's making a comeback in NZ but my guess is that the pace of games down there is so high that teams don't just want to endlessly go end to end and see it as a good way to take a breather and keep the scoreboard ticking over when play does slow down the odd time. As much as well all got frustrated with Joe's pick and go tactics in the 22, if you've gone from one end to the other and play slows down then sometimes you can push things too much to get the full reward.

I think I already mentioned this before the break but short passing seems to be very much the focus of a lot of teams, especially the Crusaders. Their backs don't often play deep or throw long passes, they keep going straight up the pitch and just throw little pop passes in the face of the defender. It sounds simple but their skills are exceptional and they get to the edge an awful lot as a result.

A lot of teams (in Oz too based on this weekend) seem to be getting the ball to their wingers as a way of working play back inside to their support players as opposed to getting into space and making a lot of yards. So players like Callum Clarke are getting on the outside but not taking the defender on the outside but taking contact and offloading back inside to trail runners like Ioane. Lowe and Stockdale would both be great at this for Leinster and Ireland.

Half backs seem to be playing more direct too, they're really attacking the space around the ten channel to try and punch a hole that sucks players in and then using those simple hands to move the ball to space. That might not sound revelatory but if you're defending a lineout then there's a big difference between expecting Smith/TJP/Weber to come full tilt on an arc around the back of it compared to a Laumape on the crashball at 12. They're not just getting the ball and having a cut if there's space, they're more direct than that and it's hard to stop.

I've mentioned the out to in run becoming more important recently and it really is getting used a lot now. It's pretty much impossible to defend against and could change how the first two or three defenders line up.

[hugonaut]

Bomb-tackle-jackal.

[johng]

Bomb-tackle-jackal.

Do the Bomb-tackle-jackal till the dance hall full up

I say the Bomb-tackle-jackal it the brand new style

[Dave Cahill]

Bomb-tackle-jackal.

Do the Bomb-tackle-jackal till the dance hall full up

I say the Bomb-tackle-jackal it the brand new style

I and I lovin' the bomb tackle jackal

Dread and baldhead doin' the bomb tackle jackal

bomb tackle jackal take the idren iya

nice up the dance with the bomb tackle jackal

[LeRouxIsPHat]

This might be a good place to discuss the new laws being trialed.

Have to say, the idea that a team would set out to injure someone from the first minute and be happy to be without someone for 20 minutes seems off the wall to me I'd honestly say that the only way that's likely to happen is at amateur level if two lads have a personal beef and one of them wants to rip the head off the other from the word go, probably a once in a decade kind of thing.

I do have two issues with it though.

1) Applying it for second yellows will mean that players aren't worried about cynical play in the second half. Imagine someone was carded in the first half and their team is 10 points down around the 50 minute mark and defending their line. They'll be far more likely to make a professional foul to stop the game getting away from them.

2) It doesn't seem to matter what the offence is and I think that's wrong, it shouldn't apply for foul play. Massive difference between decking someone and getting a tackle slightly wrong.

[Laighin Break]

This might be a good place to discuss the new laws being trialed.

Have to say, the idea that a team would set out to injure someone from the first minute and be happy to be without someone for 20 minutes seems off the wall to me I'd honestly say that the only way that's likely to happen is at amateur level if two lads have a personal beef and one of them wants to rip the head off the other from the word go, probably a once in a decade kind of thing.

I do have two issues with it though.

1) Applying it for second yellows will mean that players aren't worried about cynical play in the second half. Imagine someone was carded in the first half and their team is 10 points down around the 50 minute mark and defending their line. They'll be far more likely to make a professional foul to stop the game getting away from them.

2) It doesn't seem to matter what the offence is and I think that's wrong, it shouldn't apply for foul play. Massive difference between decking someone and getting a tackle slightly wrong.

Yes I completely agree on the second point. I understand they want to crack down on high hits so I think this could be a fair solution to some of those 'unfortunate reds' we see. But reckless/dirty hits should get the full punishment.

[paddyor]

This might be a good place to discuss the new laws being trialed.

Have to say, the idea that a team would set out to injure someone from the first minute and be happy to be without someone for 20 minutes seems off the wall to me I'd honestly say that the only way that's likely to happen is at amateur level if two lads have a personal beef and one of them wants to rip the head off the other from the word go, probably a once in a decade kind of thing.

I do have two issues with it though.

1) Applying it for second yellows will mean that players aren't worried about cynical play in the second half. Imagine someone was carded in the first half and their team is 10 points down around the 50 minute mark and defending their line. They'll be far more likely to make a professional foul to stop the game getting away from them.

2) It doesn't seem to matter what the offence is and I think that's wrong, it shouldn't apply for foul play. Massive difference between decking someone and getting a tackle slightly wrong.

I think a happy medium might be an orange card but there's problems with that too. As I said elsewhere, this is a nothing tournament(no one will remember this) and it's worth trying new things

[hugonaut]

This might be a good place to discuss the new laws being trialed.

Have to say, the idea that a team would set out to injure someone from the first minute and be happy to be without someone for 20 minutes seems off the wall to me I'd honestly say that the only way that's likely to happen is at amateur level if two lads have a personal beef and one of them wants to rip the head off the other from the word go, probably a once in a decade kind of thing.

I do have two issues with it though.

1) Applying it for second yellows will mean that players aren't worried about cynical play in the second half. Imagine someone was carded in the first half and their team is 10 points down around the 50 minute mark and defending their line. They'll be far more likely to make a professional foul to stop the game getting away from them.

2) It doesn't seem to matter what the offence is and I think that's wrong, it shouldn't apply for foul play. Massive difference between decking someone and getting a tackle slightly wrong.

Yes I completely agree on the second point. I understand they want to crack down on high hits so I think this could be a fair solution to some of those 'unfortunate reds' we see. But reckless/dirty hits should get the full punishment.

The Bundee Aki card.

[ronk]

There are still bans.

But I’m nervous doing this before a Lions tour. That’s the one time you might actually see what was being talked about.

[paddyor]

There are still bans.

But I’m nervous doing this before a Lions tour. That’s the one time you might actually see what was being talked about.

Not for Farrell mind.

[Peg Leg]

https://twitter.com/therugbynetwork/sta ... 16584?s=20
https://twitter.com/i/status/1386786931720216584

Looks familiar!

[Logorrhea]

Bath in the Aviva

[Peg Leg]

Bath in the Aviva

Yup

[cormac]

It was against Cardiff. QF 2012.

[Peg Leg]

It was against Cardiff. QF 2012.

Facepalm!

[Morf]

It was against Cardiff. QF 2012.

One of the very few games Thorn actually played in.