In so far as this is a week off from 6 Nations, this could be considered a relatively quiet week. There is still Aviva Premiership, Rabobank 12 and Top 14 rugby mind, so there will be plenty to occupy the Rugby nut's minds this weekend.
France and Ireland seem unilaterally unhappy with the staging of their cancelled game on Sunday March 4th. Ireland say this doesn't give them enough turn-around before their next game, while the French League are unhappy as they have to release their players for an additional game. 'Sacre bleu!' I guess if they're both unhappy, that's OK, but seriously, the way people are stressing that "this means 4 games in 4 weeks for the players" you would think that this is some superhuman task, when actually New Zealand, France, Wales and Australia played 7 games in 7 weeks back in the Rugby World Cup, and some of the players would be playing for their clubs anyway during that weekend 'off' so I fail to see the issue.
The weekend off allows England's wounded more time to prove their fitness to Stuart Lancaster. Toby Flood, Manu Tuilagi and Courtney Lawes all put in a shift for their club sides while England were stuttering and spluttering in Rome (all in losing causes coincidentally) and have re-joined the squad at Pennyhill Park for the remainder of the tournament. Serious selection headaches for Lancaster? Maybe. Any additional impetus prior to the Welsh game though is welcome, given the stop-start nature of their campaign so far.
Jonathan Davies has said that Wales "might stuff England" in ten days time. As I've said, that may be the case, but then again it may not. I used to like Davies as an expert. He used to be insightful, gave a great view on what players were thinking and, most importantly, was fair. Now though, his totally biased and openly fervent favouritism of Wales, and his seeming boiling hatred for anything in a red rose, does him no favours on TV. He is fast becoming a caricature of himself as can be seen when Wales lose and he sits in the studio like a brooding 13 year old who has had his mobile phone taken off him, been grounded and had the controller to his X-Box 360 simultaneously ungrafted from his hands.
Best XVs
I thought, given the break, I'd try to pick my ideal XV for each of the Home Nations, and consequently for the British Lions too. I have assumed full fitness and availability for all, and current form, rather than historical form, has also been used to select people where appropriate. If you agree or disagree, join the debate, or more accurately probably start the debate, at the bottom of the article (Click on Comment, then Comment - doddle)
Here we go:
England
Corbisiero, Hartley, Cole, Lawes, Botha, Wood, Robshaw (capt), Morgan, Dickson, Farrell, Barritt, Tuilagi, Ashton, Sharples, Foden
Talking points:
10: Farrell, Flood or Hodgson - all have plus points, but the goal is 2015 and Farrell should be the man them (unless George Ford grows into senior rugby as quickly as Farrell has done)
12: Barritt or Farrell - decisions, decision. Pass me the coin
14: Strettle or Sharples - Sharples got my nod for the same reason as Farrell at 10. If we are going to build towards 2015, let's build to 2015
Ireland
Healy, Best, Ross, O'Connell, Ryan, O'Brien, O'Mahony, Heaslip, Murray, Sexton, McFadden, O'Driscoll (capt), Trimble, Bowe, Kearney
Talking Points:
6: Ferris or O'Brien - to pick Ferris, you need to play O'Brien at 7, and that isn't working consistently
7: O'Brien or O'Mahony - O'Mahony needs to be given a go with 2015 in mind
9: Murray or Reddan - Murray is still raw but I believe can grow into a Mike Phillips type player
12: McFadden, D'Arcy, Earls, Trimble, anyone? - Lots of names, but 12 is Ireland's biggest problem
Scotland
Murray, Ford, Jacobsen, Gray (capt), Hamilton, Strokosch, Rennie, Denton, Cusiter, Weir, S. Lamont, De Luca, Hogg, Evans, R. Lamont
Talking Points:
9: Cusiter, Blair or Laidlaw - tempting though it was to throw Laidlaw in there, I like Cusiter and thought he did well against Wales till the second half kick-off
10: Jackson, Laidlaw or Weir - I am always impressed by everything Weir does
Captain: While Ford has done little wrong, I think Gray could be the sort of inspirational leader Scotland have always required to take it to the next level
Wales
Jenkins, Rees, Jones, Wyn Jones, Charteris, Lydiate, Warburton (Capt), Faletau, Phillips, Priestland, Roberts, Davies, North, Halfpenny, Byrne
Talking Points:
2: Rees or Owens - Without Rees Wales' line-out has been nothing short of abysmal, though Owens improved things second half against Scotland
14: Cuthbert or Halfpenny - I'm convinced Halfpenny is a better bet on the wing than at 15
15: Halfpenny, Hook or Byrne - Byrne has always been strong under the high ball, quick and has a massive boot. Very similar to Kearney, I pick him every day of the week
Flexibility - Wales have 'ruined' players in the past by throwing them in at different positions (Hook springs obviously to mind). They need to avoid doing the same with halfpenny and Priestland. Pick them in their best positions and be done.
British and Irish Lions
Corbisiero, Best, Jones, Gray, O'Connell (capt), Lydiate, Warburton, Morgan, Phillips, Sexton, Roberts, Davies, North, Halfpenny, Kearney
Front Row:
Corbisiero edges out Healy and Jenkins, while Best is the first name on the teamsheet currently. Cole and Jones is a close call at 3, but I see Cole returning to his best and he could edge out Jones by the end of the season
Second Row:
Picks itself at the moment, with maybe Wyn Jones, Lawes and Ryan forcing their way into the reckoning
Back Row:
Given a run at 6 for Ireland, it is feasible that O'Brien could nudge out Lydiate at 6. Warburton is up there with Best as the first name on the sheet, and Morgan edges out Denton at 8.
Half Back:
Phillips has no real competition at the moment at 9, while at 10 there is an interesting battle between Sexton, Priestland and Farrell brewing
Centre:
How can you split up the pair of Roberts and Davies at the moment? O'Driscoll back to fitness and form could fight Davies for a place, and Tuilagi will be in the mix, but current form sees me keep these two together
Back three:
North is a shoe-in, with the other position being more open. I'd take Halfpenny's dancing feet and secure kicking game and defence on that wing at the moment, with Kearney seeing off Foden at full back.
That would mean 8 Welshmen, 4 Irishmen, 2 Englishmen and 1 Scot at the moment; and people say I lack in objectivity....
Right. Over to you? Wherever you're reading this you must have an opinion on at least one of these teams. So get commenting and discussing this. I expect to see at least 4 stand up rows brewing within a day, either here or on Twitter, where you can find me as @theeggchaser
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