Six Nations 2012: who will tour with the Lions?

So I’ve been keeping an eye on the ongoing ups and downs of the home nations throughout this six nations and I think I should really come up with a half-term touring party for the Lions. I’m not sure how big the squad will be, so I’m going to guess 45 — which is bound to be on the large side but will ensure that all the contenders are covered! Maybe I’m just hegdging my bets; maybe I just have very little faith in Warren “Actually-it-was-my-plan-all-along-to-use-novice-flyhalves-and-wings-at-the-RWC” Gatland and his selectorial abilities (although he is better than Andy Robinson, who I personally believe is the best forwards coach in the hemisphere).

Anyway (Players in bold as probable Test match starters):

Props: A Jones, A Corbisiero, G Jenkins, D Cole, C Healy, E Murray
Hookers: R Ford, R Best, D Hartley
Locks: P O’Connell, R Grey, AW Jones, C Lawes, D Ryan, G Parling
Flankers: S Warburton, R Rennie, D Lydiate, S O’Brien, C Robshaw, J Barclay
No8: D Denton, T Faletau, J Heaslip

Scrum Halves: M Phillips, E Reddan, M Blair
Fly Halves: J Sexton, O Farrell, R Priestland, T Flood
Centres: B O’Driscoll, M Tuilagi, J Davies, G D’Arcy, B Barritt, J Hook, J Roberts
Wings: T Bowe, L Halfpenny, G North, C Ashton
Full Backs: R Kearney, S Hogg, B Foden

What do you reckon?

Six Nations 2012 Lions Watch: round 2

At the end of last week’s games, I had tentatively suggested the following Lions XV (and near-misses):

1. G Jenkins
2. R Best
3. A Jones
4. R Grey
5. P O’Connell
6. C Robshaw (he’s never a seven)
7. S Warburton
8. T Faletau
9. M Phillips
10. T Flood (again by default)
11. G North
12. M Tuilagi
13. B O’Driscoll
14. M Evans
15. R Kearney

Narrow misses/bench from:
R Ford: solid if uninspiring
A Corbisiero: has the edge over Rhys still
D Ryan: I would like to see him start for Ireland
C Lawes: just not enough outstanding second row performances to displace him
D Denton: If he kicks on …
S O’Brien: the question is, where should he play?
C Murray: no other scrum-half shone, and Youngs went backwards fast
J Davies: it strikes me that he offers more than Jamie Roberts
R Priestland: I don’t think the Lions will want a 10 who won’t take conversions
J Sexton: needs to up the ante a little
B Foden: nothing wrong, but not as imposing as Kearney.

Before diving in to the next round too deeply, I did want to briefly discuss some of these positions and placings, particularly around the centres. I know people think it may be a little unfair of me to have Tuilagi-BOD (and for that matter, Flood at 10) given that they are not currently playing. However this tour is not going to happen for another year and I feel that there should be a certain lassitude for players who are likely to be playing then (even if they are not playing now). Given that none of the contenders have upped their games sufficiently to force their ways past these players in particular, I feel that they still offer the best midfield for the Lions.

However I will admit that my choice of props did cause me a slight pause. Propping is one area of the game I know very well, and I have my doubts about G Jenkins’s long-term fitness and A Jones’s technique: Adam Jones in particular seems to only boss the scrums when he is allowed to bind illegally, and I fear that against a top front row and with sharper refereeing he could be pinged into penalty oblivion. However there is no one else stepping up to replace these two, so I feel they deserve to keep their places.

On to the second, and shorter (silly FFR), round of matches:

England
Going up:
A Corbisiero: very solid in the tight — in my personal propping opinion, Castro didn’t really dominate him fully. Useful around the park.
D Cole: again solid in the scrum, winning the occasional turn-over in the loose. Good stuff for a tight-head.
C Robshaw: again doing the work of three players in the back row. I will have to blog further on his “shocking” metres/carry stats though…
B Barritt: glimpses of attacking potential to couple with his defensive prowess.
L Dickson: excellent distribution. Remember this is the man who stopped Foden from becoming a scrum-half at Saints.

Going down:
T Croft: again largely anonymous, although marginally less so than last week.
B Youngs: who is this imposter?
B Foden: more a case of trying too hard, but given that his name was in the mix for the captaincy you would hope for more composure and thought.

Wales
Going up:
G North: more wow. Composure, hands, power, pace.
G Jenkins: good to see him back on the park. However I feel that he was very lucky not to have been pinged in the breakdown more often (particularly at the end of the first half).
J Davies: great lines and pace. Sound in defence. But he’s not better than BOD for that 13 shirt.
D Lydiate: excellent work against an extremely sound Scottish back row.

Going down:
J Roberts: to my mind he is becoming increasingly one dimensional and wouldn’t look out of place in an England midfield.

Scotland
Going up:
D Denton: massive performance from the new No8. Fast, good hands, and always making up ground.
R Rennie: (whisper it, but) would’ve waltzed into the Welsh team on the back of this performance.
S Hogg: Excellent outing for the new boy — unlucky with the disallowed try. Only 19!

Going down:
C Cusiter: lost that zippy, zero-step pass that got him into the 2005 squad. Plus brain-fart.
(There were a few poor performances from Scotland, but many of those players aren’t in consideration for the Lions, so I will leave those for now.)

Give them a passport
If Denton keeps improving then we may not even need Sergio’s magnificence!

So my new Lions XV looks like:

1. G Jenkins
2. R Best
3. A Jones
4. R Grey
5. P O’Connell
6. D Lydiate (as a full time blindside I think he edges Robshaw)
7. S Warburton (being run close by Rennie — let’s see how he does when he’s fit again)
8. D Denton (nothing against Faletau, but I think Denton is getting better at a faster rate)
9. M Phillips
10. T Flood (again by default)
11. G North
12. J Davies
13. B O’Driscoll
14. L Halfpenny (he’s an excellent winger)
15. R Kearney

Near misses/bench from:
A Corbisiero: really holding up well
C Robshaw: one hell of an engine.
R Rennie: he’s really very, very good. And Andy Robinson will make him better.
T Faletau: starting to look like a shoot-out between him and Denton for No8.
G Laidlaw: useful as cover for both 9 and 10?
B Foden: the most in danger here — both within England (Brown is on superb form) and for a Lions spot (Hogg is only 19 and looked hella classy).
R Priestland: harsh not to include him as a starter, but if the Lions are to have a non-kicking fly half he needs to be simply phenomenal everywhere else.

Clashes to look forward to
The Welsh front-row v The English front-row:
This could help settle some debates over propping spots. Sadly with S Walsh refereeing this is going to come down to “who cheats most effectively”.

The Scottish back-row v The French back-row:
A real test for Denton and Rennie in particular against some of the best players in the hemisphere.

Players to watch out for
J Sexton: needs to dominate the game against Italy.
R Best: an excellent chance to see his scrum play under the microscope.
“Whoever covers for BOD” — Earls perhaps? The biggest of shoes to fill.
J Heaslip: being left behind by the other No8s so far
S O’Brien: time for a big game.

S Hogg: surely he will get a start somewhere; let’s see how his composure holds up against the French.

S Warburton: Sam should be back, and needs to put in the sort of performance he did during the RWC to see off Rennie’s challenge.
R Preistland: chance to make the Lions shirt his own against a No10 who will probably be his antipode in terms of skills, style, etc.

B Morgan: can he have the impact from the start as he does from the bench?
L Dickson: can he see off B Youngs for the rest of the Championship if, as expected, he starts?
M Tuilagi: if he’s back, who will make way in the England midfield?
C Ashton: needs to score some tries!

Six Nations 2012 Lions Watch

As ever after the first round of a post-World Cup Six Nations, Lions speculation has started. After all, these are the first proper test matches (ignoring Wales’s transparently money-spinning “Test” against Australia) to be played, and there are a number of players to keep an eye on as they rise and fall, in and then out, of speculation and consideration. Big questions need to be answered: can Sam Warburton lead Wales all the way? How many players will the Scots contribute? And how will the new-look England perform? Is Paul O’Connell nailed on?

For reference, my pre-Six Nations Lions XV would look a little something like:

1. G Jenkins
2. R Ford
3. Adam Jones
4. R Grey
5. P O’Connell
6. S O’Brien
7. S Warburton
8. J Heaslip
9. M Phillips
10. T Flood
11. C Ashton
12. M Tuilagi
13. B O’Driscoll
14. T Bowe
15. R Kearney

Narrow misses/bench from:
M Rees: perma-injured Wales hooker — depends how his latest comeback goes
D Hartley: needs to regain form. And Ford is excellent in the loose and probably the top line-out thrower in the Championship
E Murray: won’t play on a Sunday
C Lawes: not convinced he has lived up to the hype as yet
D Lydiate: the cruelest, narrowest miss of all; would get in under normal circumstances
B Youngs: appears to have lost form
R Priestland: Flood is one of the finest game managers, but could yet be displaced by this tyro
J Roberts: I can’t help but feel if he were wearing white he would be dismissed as a bosh-merchant. BOD can make anyone look good.
G North: again a very close call here. If he can keep it going, he will be in the team
B Foden: Class, but becoming a little predictable.

So (first one of these so the format might change) here is an opening weekend assessment of where the teams and players are, and who I think we will see on the field for the first test.

England
Going up:
A Corbisiero: good work in the scrum, excellent work in the loose.
D Cole: very impressed — much improved from previous showings. Another few more games like this …
C Robshaw: Let’s face it he probably won’t make the squad, but top tackling and carrying stats (and covered for the invisible Croft admirably)

Going down:
T Palmer: Ignomiously hauled off at half-time
T Croft: where was he? Hardly any tackles, hardlty any carries — between him and Dowson they left Robshaw to do the work of three back-rowers!
B Youngs: He seems to have put on a few kilos and forgotten his rugby brain.
C Ashton: Not the player he was — seems to have lost his sharpness.

New boys:
O Farrell: Not overly impressed, but excellent in defence and did nothing wrong
B Barritt: If we can see some attack from him, I could see him move ahead of J Roberts (Wales) in the pecking order. I understand he prefers 12.
B Morgan: Great impact

Scotland
Going up:
D Denton: monster. Another excellent forward find from the man who (IMO) is probably the best forwards coach in the hemisphere
R Grey: phenomenal carrier, excellent in the line-out … him and POC would make for one hell of an engine room
M Evans: a live-wire on the few occasions the ball made it out to him

Going down:
E Murray: should have put Corbisiero in his place and didn’t really achieve that
R Ford: more anonymous than usual

Wales
Going up:
L Halfpenny: Always useful to have an extra kicker, but I still see him as more of a wing
M Phillips: excellent tempo and control
J Davies: Nice running, I’d like to see a little more creativity though
G North: wow.

Going down:
None of their Lions contenders had a particularly bad game to my mind.

New boys:
G North: not sure if we should call him a new boy, but excellent work from the young winger
A Cuthbert: promising in parts

Ireland
Going up:
R Best: The more I see of him, the more I think he might actually start the Lions tests
C Murray: Outplayed by Phillips, but a handy player none-the-less.

Going down:
J Sexton: did not really boss the game as he would have hoped.
P O’Connell: maybe I was just expecting too much of him, but I thought he was largely anonymous. Also grabbing a player and shouting “maul” does not a maul make.
G D’Arcy: not the same without BOD next to him.
S O’Brien: didn’t dominate as he did at the RWC.
J Heaslip: Outplayed by Faletau

Get them a passport
T Dusautoir: just phenomenal
V Clerc: fantastic finisher
S Parisse: still excellent

And so my new Lions XV looks like:

1. G Jenkins
2. R Best
3. A Jones
4. R Grey
5. P O’Connell
6. C Robshaw (he’s never a seven)
7. S Warburton
8. T Faletau
9. M Phillips
10. T Flood (again by default)
11. G North
12. M Tuilagi
13. B O’Driscoll
14. M Evans
15. R Kearney

Narrow misses/bench from:
R Ford: solid if uninspiring
A Corbisiero: has the edge over Rhys still
D Ryan: I would like to see him start for Ireland
C Lawes: just not enough outstanding second row performances to displace him
D Denton: If he kicks on …
S O’Brien: the question is, where should he play?
C Murray: no other scrum-half shone, and Youngs went backwards fast
J Davies: it strikes me that he offers more than Jamie Roberts
R Priestland: I don’t think the Lions will want a 10 who won’t take conversions
J Sexton: needs to up the ante a little
B Foden: nothing wrong, but not as imposing as Kearney.