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He has due to the upcoming cup game for Toulon clashing with the BaaBaas game in HK for the Lions. He will appear later in the tournament when Sexton gets injured.. again.
Outside on JW, the squad picked by Gatlan IMHO is appalling. Its predictable in centers, the Fly Halves will be "dears in the headlights" at times, there are almost no hard men picked and frankly the mention of Vunipola and Steves makes me cringe. Richie Gray will be injured most of the time, Heaslip does not deserve the jersey and to cap it off the idiot picks a captain that does not like being captain and has never won in Aus.
Another Kiwi Manager messing with a non Kiwi team - when will people learn?
Sad to say but 2-1 to Aus..... it should never be.
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'Rugby and sex are the only things you can enjoy without being good at them.' -anonymous
15 Welsh
9 English
9 Irish
3 Scotish
Squad of 37
80 Minutes, 15 Positions, No Protection, Wanna Ruck?
Ruck Me, Maul Me, Make Me Scrum!
Education is Important, but Rugby is Importanter!
On paper it looks ok but the problem is that they will start Roberts and Tuilagi who are both predictable crash and bash centers. North will hardly see the ball as these tow don't pass very often. BOD is a legend and IMO should have been tour captain as he is an inspiration on and off the field baring his recent stamping tanty.
I think the biggest issue is the on field leadership. I just don't think Warburton can cut it and frankly I am not sure he should be in the starting XV.
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'Rugby and sex are the only things you can enjoy without being good at them.' -anonymous
Yeah I agree with you re Warburton. It will be a mistake to have Roberts & Tuilagi together. I wouldn't necessarily call Tuilagi a 'crash & bash centre', he does have a tendency not to look for the pass and crash it up, but as you saw what he did against the ABs last year he can be pretty devastating in attack. I'd like to see Tuilagi partner BOD, but they are both 13s and also with BODs aging body, realistically I can't see him being there for all 3 tests.
I think if Dean's picks the right side we should have them covered. We have been very slow getting started the last few seasons when the internationals have come around but if we can take the form of the reds and brumbies into the first test we should be ok.
With the exception of Tuilagi I think our backs are more dangerous but if we get smashed up front that won't count for much.
Impressive squad on paper. The difficulty will be getting them to gel as a team. Hopefully the Force can disrupt their preparations by giving them a towelling !
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Any news on that Barbarians line-up? Maybe some Aussie upstarts like Mogg, Foley, Godwin, Toomua? Or will it be a star-studded SA-NZ line-up?
Japan and the Pacific Islands for Aussie Super 9's!
Let's have one of these in WA! Click this link: Saitama Super Arena - New Perth Stadium?
http://www.barbarianfc.co.uk/news/54...r-summer-tour/
Gloucester and England centre Mike Tindall has been invited to assist David Young in the coaching team for this summer's tour matches against England and the British and Irish Lions.
Tour manager Derek Quinnell said: "Mike played for us for the first time last year and made a big impression both on the field, where he started against England, Ireland and Wales, but also off the field. He is now doing very well as a player/coach with Gloucester and we have asked him to fulfil a similar role with the Barbarians in May and June."
Quinnell also confirmed that All Blacks' fly-half Nick Evans will become a new Barbarian whilst Italy's hooker Leonardo Ghiraldini will also feature on the tour.
Last month, the Barbarians announced the first batch of names for what is shaping up to be a world-class squad. Sergio Parisse, who led the Barbarians to victory over Wales and England two years ago, returns to Baa-Baas' colours.
Other debutants for the famous touring club include Samoan scrum-half Kahn Fotuali'i and France number 8 Imanol Harinordoquy.
Springbok Jaque Fourie, who helped the Barbarians to beat New Zealand in 2009, is named at centre.
Derek Quinnell said: "This year's summer tour is a very important one for our club. It is a great honour to play the Lions as well as England and we are very conscious of the need to invite the strongest possible squad to do justice to two great fixtures.
"As the weeks go by and national squads are selected and domestic cup and league competitions reach their final stages, we are monitoring who will be available to us. We then decide on the best balance of our squad in all positions and will make further announcements in due course."
With Parisse, Harinordoquy and Kahn Fotuali'i, its not going to be an easy match
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'Rugby and sex are the only things you can enjoy without being good at them.' -anonymous