6 Nations 2017 General Discussion Thread

Bridge93 · 01-03-2017 11:58PM

Dickie10 wrote: »

i predict ireland to beat wales 28-19 with three tries scored. england will beat scotland 22-14 so the game with ireland v england will be ireland on 14 points and england on 17 points. so in this likely scenario what happens if ireland beat england by less than 7 points?? were both oon 18 points

We will win the championship on points difference

awec · 02-03-2017 12:44AM

Am I right in saying that the last time Ireland won a six/five/home nations when they were playing at home on the final day and were confirmed winners on the final whistle was 1896?

Every other time we've won it we've either been away for the last match, haven't played on the last weekend or there have been matches after ours that could affect the end result, unless I've misread the history.

irishbucsfan · 02-03-2017 12:47AM

awec wrote: »

Am I right in saying that the last time Ireland won a six/five/home nations when they were playing at home on the final day and were confirmed winners on the final whistle was 1896?

Every other time we've won it we've either been away for the last match, haven't played on the last weekend or there have been matches after ours that could affect the end result, unless I've misread the history.

Buer you've accidentally logged in as awec here, fyi

Bazzo · 02-03-2017 11:39AM

Billy Vunipola could be playing this weekend, bad news for Ireland if he's fit for the last game, Nathan Hughes hasn't been great.

http://www.the42.ie/billy-vunipola-injury-boost-england-ireland-six-nations-3266806-Mar2017/?utm_source=twitter_self

CMOTDibbler · 02-03-2017 12:18PM

Bazzo wrote: »

Billy Vunipola could be playing this weekend, bad news for Ireland if he's fit for the last game, Nathan Hughes hasn't been great.

http://www.the42.ie/billy-vunipola-injury-boost-england-ireland-six-nations-3266806-Mar2017/?utm_source=twitter_self

Excuse my laziness, but what was his injury again?

He's been out a long time, He might not be selected and if he is, it might well be an advantage for us.

shootermacg · 02-03-2017 12:37PM

CMOTDibbler wrote: »

Excuse my laziness, but what was his injury again?

He's been out a long time, He might not be selected and if he is, it might well be an advantage for us.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/rugbyunion/article-3978516/She-s-beauty-England-No-8-Billy-Vunipola-shows-pictures-scar-operation-knee-injury.html

Buer · 02-03-2017 01:38PM

CMOTDibbler wrote: »

Excuse my laziness, but what was his injury again?

He's been out a long time, He might not be selected and if he is, it might well be an advantage for us.

That has struck me also. He's someone that has struggled with fitness and carried too much weight in the past. 3 months out won't have helped that in any way. He'll need to have been extremely disciplined during his recovery.

Best case scenario is that he gets back playing but isn't up to speed come the Irish match and the surely frenetic pace will have him breathing out his arse after 20 minutes.

Unfortunately, he seems much more mature now than he was 2-3 years ago and I expect he has been keeping a tight rein on himself.

He was omitted from the England training squad so I would imagine he almost certainly won't be involved in the Scotland game.

b.gud · 02-03-2017 02:23PM

Buer wrote: »

That has struck me also. He's someone that has struggled with fitness and carried too much weight in the past. 3 months out won't have helped that in any way. He'll need to have been extremely disciplined during his recovery.

Best case scenario is that he gets back playing but isn't up to speed come the Irish match and the surely frenetic pace will have him breathing out his arse after 20 minutes.

Unfortunately, he seems much more mature now than he was 2-3 years ago and I expect he has been keeping a tight rein on himself.

He was omitted from the England training squad so I would imagine he almost certainly won't be involved in the Scotland game.

Talk about Billy Vunipolas size always reminds me of this pic of him and his U11 team mates

Or this one of him beside his coach, I think this was also U11s

vunipola-brown4-large_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqpJliwavx4coWFCaEkEsb3kvxIt-lGGWCWqwLa_RXJU8.jpg

vunipola-brown4-large_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqpJliwavx4coWFCaEkEsb3kvxIt-lGGWCWqwLa_RXJU8.jpg

sydthebeat · 02-03-2017 02:27PM

b.gud wrote: »

Talk about Billy Vunipolas size always reminds me of this pic of him and his U11 team mates

Or this one of him beside his coach, I think this was also U11s

Giz a look at that birth cert again?

02-03-2017 02:30PM

b.gud wrote: »

Jesus Christ.

Those are awful sandals.

Buer · 02-03-2017 02:32PM

He must have stopped growing when he was 13 or 14. He's a big lad but he looks like he was set to be 6'8" in those pics rather than 6'3".

elefant · 02-03-2017 02:39PM

Buer wrote: »

He must have stopped growing when he was 13 or 14. He's a big lad but he looks like he was set to be 6'8" in those pics rather than 6'3".

Wow.

Is it correct that they have weight categories in NZ for underage rugby?
I'm imagining the next Jonny Wilkinson being pulverised by Big Billy at 11 years old, and deciding to stick to soccer!

Bridge93 · 02-03-2017 02:54PM

elefant wrote: »

Wow.

Is it correct that they have weight categories in NZ for underage rugby?
I'm imagining the next Jonny Wilkinson being pulverised by Big Billy at 11 years old, and deciding to stick to soccer!

Vunipola would've grown up playing in Wales. Think they go by age like us. Many men in their mid twenties still potentially bearing the scars of this

irishbucsfan · 02-03-2017 03:04PM

elefant wrote: »

Wow.

Is it correct that they have weight categories in NZ for underage rugby?
I'm imagining the next Jonny Wilkinson being pulverised by Big Billy at 11 years old, and deciding to stick to soccer!

In some areas they have weight categories, but its not quite what people generally imagine when they think of it. It's still mostly dictated by age groups.

GShope · 02-03-2017 04:09PM

I think Ireland will beat Wales next week. I expect Wales to be much better than they were vs Scotland but I don't see them winning. People will say there'll be a backlash after the Scotland game, but where was the backlash after the Australia result or the England result or after nearly losing to Japan in the Autumn. Wales have been in poor form for about a year now but everyone expects them to go out and hockey us next week... I don't see it.

FellasFellas · 02-03-2017 04:13PM

GShope wrote: »

I think Ireland will beat Wales next week. I expect Wales to be much better than they were vs Scotland but I don't see them winning. People will say there'll be a backlash after the Scotland game, but where was the backlash after the Australia result or the England result or after nearly losing to Japan in the Autumn. Wales have been in poor form for about a year now but everyone expects them to go out and hockey us next week... I don't see it.

If Wales were coming to Dublin, I'd back us to beat them by 15-20. Just in the Millenium, packed out, Friday night. Could galvanise them finally, playing for RWC seeding. I still expect us to win, just could be a lot closer than we'd hope.

GShope · 02-03-2017 04:17PM

I can understand that viewpoint. Just want to point out though that wales lost to australia 32-8 in that very stadium packed out on a night last autumn :L .

molloyjh · 03-03-2017 12:11AM

GShope wrote: »

I can understand that viewpoint. Just want to point out though that wales lost to australia 32-8 in that very stadium packed out on a night last autumn :L .

They've had issues playing Australia for years though. Not so much us. Plus they feckin' hate us too. If there's a game they'll get their act together for it'll be this one. As it stands I expect us to win, but it wouldn't surprise me one bit if they ended up finding some form against us either.

irishbucsfan · 03-03-2017 12:13AM

molloyjh wrote: »

They've had issues playing Australia for years though. Not so much us. Plus they feckin' hate us too. If there's a game they'll get their act together for it'll be this one. As it stands I expect us to win, but it wouldn't surprise me one bit if they ended up finding some form against us either.

I think its not just Australia, but rather they perform much better during the 6 Nations than they do in the Autumn and Summer.

molloyjh · 03-03-2017 12:22AM

irishbucsfan wrote: »

I think its not just Australia, but rather they perform much better during the 6 Nations than they do in the Autumn and Summer.

Is it time of year or opposition? They routinely struggle against SH sides, but then they play them at the same times every year....

razorblunt · 03-03-2017 08:05PM

Sam Davies playing well for the Ospreys, playing a flat line, setup a beauty of a try for Matavesi.

Buer · 05-03-2017 03:55PM

Didn't see it but game just over in Newcastle. Vunipola played 72 minutes in his first appearance since the autumn internationals. A good run out for him in a fairly low level game. Could be right in the mix for a start against us now.

I'd be surprised if they started him against Scotland but he might feature off the bench.

Granny15 · 06-03-2017 11:25AM

Billy Vunipola is back for Sarries and possibly England.

There goes our chance of beating England.

Granny15 · 06-03-2017 11:27AM

GShope wrote: »

I think Ireland will beat Wales next week. I expect Wales to be much better than they were vs Scotland but I don't see them winning. People will say there'll be a backlash after the Scotland game, but where was the backlash after the Australia result or the England result or after nearly losing to Japan in the Autumn. Wales have been in poor form for about a year now but everyone expects them to go out and hockey us next week... I don't see it.

I think we'll beat them but without a bonus point so we'll be going into last weekend with nothing to play for.

Bazzo · 06-03-2017 11:30AM

Granny15 wrote: »

Billy Vunipola is back for Sarries and possibly England.

There goes our chance of beating England.

He's a good player but he's not going to beat us by himself. If England want to beat us in Dublin there will have to be some major improvements on what we've seen so far right throughout their team. Not saying it's impossible but the further the tournament goes on the better the outcome looks for us if you ask me.

CMOTDibbler · 06-03-2017 11:33AM

Granny15 wrote: »

I think we'll beat them but without a bonus point so we'll be going into last weekend with nothing to play for.

How do you make that out?

If we win without a bonus point and England get a bonus point against Scotland (not by any means guaranteed), we'll face them in the last match just needing to beat them because our points difference (currently 29 more than theirs) should clinch the title for us.

irishbucsfan · 06-03-2017 11:36AM

CMOTDibbler wrote: »

How do you make that out?

If we win without a bonus point and England get a bonus point against Scotland (not by any means guaranteed), we'll face them in the last match just needing to beat them because our points difference (currently 29 more than theirs) should clinch the title for us.

Fake Maths!

Buer · 06-03-2017 11:40AM

Granny15 wrote: »

Billy Vunipola is back for Sarries and possibly England.

There goes our chance of beating England.

Hasn't played in 3 months and has had significant fitness issues in the past due to his weight. Whatever about his destructive ability, he's not going to be a defensive tower of strength for them.

We'll need to make sure he's moved around the pitch as much as possible.

lawred2 · 06-03-2017 11:50AM

There's a game to play this Friday first lads

shootermacg · 06-03-2017 12:01PM

Granny15 wrote: »

Billy Vunipola is back for Sarries and possibly England.

There goes our chance of beating England.

6 Nations 2017 General Discussion Thread

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