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Disciplined for 'breaching team protocol'. Whatever that means. Pete Horne's time to shine....
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Jan 23, 2020 14:11
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Communist Bear posted:There's a new Rugby game out! Why have new games when you can just play Jonah lomu rugby?
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Jan 23, 2020 14:13
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HappyCamperGL posted:Why have new games when you can just play Jonah lomu rugby?  Fond memories of that game. Think it's abandonware on pc now.
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Jan 23, 2020 14:28
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I'm struggling to think of many other instances of players being disciplined/kicked out of international camps. Andy Powell and his late night sandwich run comes to mind, along with Mike Phillips and the McDonald's bouncer. But apart from that?
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Jan 23, 2020 14:29
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HappyCamperGL posted:Pete Horne's time to shine.... Oh no
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Jan 23, 2020 14:30
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It seems to me that the Saracens were like the kid who knows his friends changed a couple of Ds to Cs and one or to Cs to Bs. Maybe the occasional A- instead of a B. He decides he's going to do the same thing and changes all his grades to A+ and come shone wondering why his parents think he's a lying little poo poo.
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Jan 23, 2020 14:39
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Kitchner posted:It seems to me that the Saracens were like the kid who knows his friends changed a couple of Ds to Cs and one or to Cs to Bs. Maybe the occasional A- instead of a B. It seems like they thought they could just walk in and go "ah... But technically, we didn't pay them..." and expect it to work. The payments by MBN to Itoje for (not) appearing at hospitality events are a good example. The company is run by Nigel Wrays daughter, and it's a subsidiary of a company owned by Nigel Wray. It has a contract to run all hospitality for Saracens. It's head office is literally the Saracens stadium. But for some reason they claim they believed it didn't fall under the rules. Simply checking the contracts with the salary cap officer would have given them cover, but they didn't do that. They didn't even have a written contract apparently, they just gave him £30k a year on a verbal contract. All above board /s stavros880 fucked around with this message at 14:52 on Jan 23, 2020 |
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Jan 23, 2020 14:48
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Kitchner posted:It seems to me that the Saracens were like the kid who knows his friends changed a couple of Ds to Cs and one or to Cs to Bs. Maybe the occasional A- instead of a B. So Im reading this a little different, seems like everyone in Saracens eyes are using the Co- Investment and wanted if they were to be audited that everyone else should because they know everyone else is up to their eyes in it.
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Jan 23, 2020 14:48
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stavros880 posted:It seems like they thought they could just walk in and go "ah... But technically, we didn't pay them..." and expect it to work. This is the thing though, my career means I've dealt with plenty of tax and "restructuring" experts in my time and that in tax terms would be called an "aggressive tax position" which is code for "this is some dodgy poo poo with a high risk of it exploding in your face if you get challenged". I can't even begin to comprehend what financial professionals were giving them advice other than "don't do that you idiot, it's obvious and against the rules and you'll draw attention to yourself if you keep winning". MonkeyLibFront posted:So Im reading this a little different, seems like everyone in Saracens eyes are using the Co- Investment and wanted if they were to be audited that everyone else should because they know everyone else is up to their eyes in it. This is standard though. It was VW who were caught rigging their cars to pass emissions tests and then spew out pollutants when actually driven in real life. Were they the only ones? Lol gently caress no, were they even the worst? Who knows? What happens is though if you're the first to get the attention and get caught you're going to be the bad guy, and even though all your competitors are doing the same thing, they will shut their mouths and keep their heads down. None of them will defend you or even respond to allegations that they were doing it too. They will all be quiet and hope the powers that be become satisfied making an example of you so that everyone can move on and put the whole business behind us. So the Saracens were in that position, they were caught, everyone else shut up and said nothing for the most part. However, this is mostly their fault because they did it so obviously that it was obvious they were going to be the ones pulled up on it. Then after they frankly got a slap on the wrist, they did poo poo all about it and were over the cap again lol. They can bleat about everyone else doing it all they want but they brought it on themselves, whereas at least VW was caught by accident.
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Jan 23, 2020 16:13
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A number of Prem teams were caught doing dodgy salary cap poo poo in 2015 and told to knock it the gently caress off. Sarries didn't stop and Wray just tried to brass neck it out on the back of being a rich dude and thinking he was untouchable. Then they got caught doing it again and are somehow surprised when the PRL threw the book at them. In other news, With Finn Russell's departure from the squad, NASA are now using the burning wreckage of Scottish Rugby to signal life on other planets. (Rumours from sources in the camp are that Finn may have been told to go home by the senior leadership team, hopefully to cool off or sober up, either way he's unlikely to be back for Ireland.)
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Jan 23, 2020 16:19
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I think also Sarries were a particular blend of stupid in that they got caught along with a bunch of other people, and then just signed a shitload of amazing players and won the league three times. They were loving Ziggy buying a fur coat the moment he started drug dealing and consequently deserve everything they get.
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Jan 23, 2020 16:20
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Did Finn leave because he got a protocol breach, or is the protocol breach because he left? Either way, lol, Scotland.
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Jan 23, 2020 18:05
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At this rate, I'm expecting to have been caught with someone's wife because that'd be the Full Scotland of in-camp gently caress ups.
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Jan 23, 2020 18:13
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So it looks like the squad went out for drinks on Sunday and he didn't stop. Missed training on Monday and spat his dummy out when told he wouldn't be selected against Ireland. Rather than stay and train with the squad he hosed off back to Paris. No news on whether golf buggies were involved. stavros880 fucked around with this message at 21:48 on Jan 23, 2020 |
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Jan 23, 2020 21:46
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Good stereotypes. A+
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Jan 23, 2020 22:33
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Has anyone played Rugby 20 yet? I was looking forward to trying it yesterday but then found I need to own a controller to play it on my PC so now sitting here waiting for that to arrive before I can give it a blast.
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Jan 24, 2020 14:07
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stavros880 posted:I'm struggling to think of many other instances of players being disciplined/kicked out of international camps. Aaron Cruden got on the piss and subsequently missed a flight to Argentina in 2014, which opened the door for Beauden Barrett to start next few AB games and then hold the starting position going forward.
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Jan 24, 2020 22:01
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Matt Henjak in 2005, when the Wallabies did a pre-Tri Nations 2-test series against the Springboks while the Lions Tour was going on. He was the first Wallaby in 40 years to be sent home for discipline issues, and that pretty much killed his international career dead before it really had a chance to blossom. A couple of years later Rugby Australia just had enough of his bullshit after a whole host of disciplinary issues and terminated his contract, pretty much exiling him to Europe. There was James O'Connor as well, who got kicked out of Perth Airport in 2013 during a brief break in the Rugby Championship, when he and his girlfriend at the time were to fly to Bali. O'Connor got drunk, got violent and when he was stopped at the boarding gate due to his drunken state, threw a fit and apparently shouted something along the lines of "don't you know who I am." It's not for the All Blacks, but technically it was an overseas trip for a team, but Ali Williams got sent home from the Blues touring squad in the 2007 Super Rugby competition by then-coach Dave Nucifora for disciplinary issues. Williams was part of the reconditioning programme so he missed a chunk of the tournament, during which time Greg Rawlinson and Troy Flavell turned out to have great chemistry in the second row and had developed a strong partnership. Nucifora was starting games with them, putting Williams on the bench so Ali decided it was appropriate for him to go around poo poo-talking Nucifora in the press like an entitled loving baby. While it's not revealed exactly what it was, his conduct prior to the play-off game in South Africa warranted him being kicked out. He then rage-quit and joined the Crusaders for the 2008 season. Kitchner posted:Has anyone played Rugby 20 yet? Apparently it sucks. edogawa rando fucked around with this message at 02:00 on Jan 25, 2020 |
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Jan 25, 2020 01:53
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Not a huge surprise that Ali "Bolivian Marching Powder Aficionado" Williams would get punted for being a massive bellend.
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Jan 25, 2020 15:01
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Feels so good watching the Sarries get demolished on and off the pitch 
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Jan 26, 2020 17:42
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I have to say I've been playing Rugby 20 today and I don't think it's that bad. The biggest problem seems to be that you play rugby as its sort of intended rather than as it is in reality. Scrums can't collapse and its fairly easy to win them off your opponents. It's also super easy to win turnovers. These things can hopefully be adjusted though. It's not a "good" game by any means. The most annoying feature they probably can't easily address is the shite commentary. It's basically Fifa 99 all over again when it's like "Looks like THE BLUES have won a penalty" "Wow, that was an amazing turnover by THE DRAGONS". The rest I think is basically able to be improved upon. Right now the feature that probably is least like real life is the fact it's stupidly easy to win turnovers in rucks, so there's no downside in just repeatedly kicking the ball up field because you just tackle the catcher, steal the ball and repeat. Oh, actually no, the biggest annoying feature is if you buy it on the PC you can't play without a controller.
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Jan 28, 2020 02:18
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Kitchner posted:Right now the feature that probably is least like real life is the fact it's stupidly easy to win turnovers in rucks, so there's no downside in just repeatedly kicking the ball up field because you just tackle the catcher, steal the ball and repeat. What happens when THE TOYOTA FREE STATE CHEETAHS play against THE ISUZU SOUTHERN KINGS? Idk how you can possibly game-ify the breakdown. Rugby Challenge just did away with it altogether, by letting you choose how many men you send into the ruck, and randomly deciding when turnovers happened, based on how many you committed. It forced you to choose between keeping a better defensive line, or having a slightly higher rate of turnover. In reality, player fitness and modern coaching (especially the 3-man pod system) means that most rucks at a professional are secured long before the defending team has any chance to interact with them. I have no idea how you can make that into an interesting game, when the standard of coaching is so high, that turnovers realistically only happen as the result of a big hit, or a dropped ball. The only solution I can think of is that you make a game that emulates 'schoolboy rugby', rather than the professional game, and have situations where runners routinely attempt to make solo runs at each other without having any support, and then routinely just give the ball to the other team by have the tackler roll to his feat, and jackling on his own. It kinda sounds like that's what they went with?
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Jan 28, 2020 03:43
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Tyma posted:The only solution I can think of is that you make a game that emulates 'schoolboy rugby', rather than the professional game, and have situations where runners routinely attempt to make solo runs at each other without having any support, and then routinely just give the ball to the other team by have the tackler roll to his feat, and jackling on his own. It kinda sounds like that's what they went with? Sounds like the rugby sevens mode in the Mario and Sonic at the Tokyo Olympics game is — for as arcadey and over-the-top it is — is probably the top rugby game out there, then.
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Jan 28, 2020 04:17
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Tyma posted:. Sort of, apart from the fact that one on one it's pretty hard to make a break for it, so really it's still about stuff like kicking for space, trying to pick up and go between gaps, stuff like that. The biggest areas where it's like "school rugby" is the scrum and mauls. Mauls don't form often to be fair but when they do you're basically guaranteed to drive forward, gain ground, and then extract the ball. With scrums they never collapse and its a text book scrum where either side can push the other over the ball. The game has had some great moments for me, squeezing through gaps and getting lucky when someone drops the ball or whatever that feels like professional rugby. There's also been moments like the Cardiff Blues taking a scrum 5m out, pushing the Dragons back close to the try line and the number 8 just grabbing the ball and scoring a try. In theory this can happen and probably does at an amateur level but the idea a professional team can do this to another professional team just isn't realistic. I think my favourite moment was when a guy behind his own goal posts tried a clearing kick and the wind blew it I to the goal post and it bounced back and off the field. Again, can't imagine a professional doing that but it made me laugh. It's not a professional rugby simulator in the same way I suppose Fifa isn't a professional football simulator when with enough skill you can happy feet your way half way down the field and score a belter of a goal. It's a game that leans more towards game than simulator I guess.
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Jan 28, 2020 10:04
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Kitchner posted:I think my favourite moment was when a guy behind his own goal posts tried a clearing kick and the wind blew it I to the goal post and it bounced back and off the field. Again, can't imagine a professional doing that but it made me laugh. But you already said you were playing against the Dragons so...?
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Jan 28, 2020 10:08
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To be honest the kicking is really easy to gently caress up so even though I laughed at that guy on more than one occasion rather than kicking the ball downfield I just blasted it horizontally across the field. A couple of times my penalty kicks or conversions either went to wild it looked deliberate or fell so short you'd just feel sorry for the guy who kicked it if you witnessed that in real life. Either way, if anyone else buys it, let me know and maybe we can do some sort of goon cup/league.
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Jan 28, 2020 10:16
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While this is mostly Rugby League stuff, known shitlord Israel Folau got signed by Catalan Dragons to play in the Super League. Wigan's response? https://twitter.com/WiganWarriorsRL/status/1222139681116172289
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Jan 28, 2020 14:47
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Jan 28, 2020 17:16
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I love everyone taking the piss out of Folau. Also Saracens: Edward Griffiths resigns as interim CEO as club docked further 70 pointsquote:Saracens have been handed a further 70-point deduction by Premiership Rugby to ensure they finish bottom of the table. 
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Jan 28, 2020 20:39
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In other news, the locals Council has requested additional central governments funds to deal with the problem of an increased problem with rats. Early reports suggest they were last seen fleeing the Saracens clubhouse weeks ago for reasons unknown.
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Jan 28, 2020 21:25
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To be honest PRL are looking really amateurish in how they've handled this, the systems in place to combat overspends and general transparency.
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Jan 28, 2020 22:57
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I don't think anyone is looking particularly good but Sarries were explicitly told to contact the regulator if they thought something was dodgy and chose not to. As soon as they released the report, it pretty much buried Saracens as habitual cheaters that acted like total pricks throughout the entire affair.
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Jan 29, 2020 00:30
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Vaders Jester posted:I don't think anyone is looking particularly good but Sarries were explicitly told to contact the regulator if they thought something was dodgy and chose not to. As soon as they released the report, it pretty much buried Saracens as habitual cheaters that acted like total pricks throughout the entire affair. True, sanctions have been handed down in both relegation for this season because of a breach and points and a fine for previous seasons, this 70 points fine seems like it's done out if spite because they don't want them finishing above teams.
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Jan 29, 2020 08:52
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Mostly to add clarity to the situation I think. If they somehow overcame the deficit to sit above another team, there would be a lot of controversy from already myopic Saracens fans. This way removes any doubt and ensures they finish bottom and are relegated as per usual for sides finishing there. I just feel bad for the Championship clubs that have to face Saracens for the next two years. e: Thinking about it, PRL might have a regulation about the 12th team being relegated and without the extra 70 points deducted they could have finished 11th mathematically. Vaders Jester fucked around with this message at 09:38 on Jan 29, 2020 |
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Jan 29, 2020 09:27
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Vaders Jester posted:
Which makes them even more amateur, they should have just slapped the 70 points instead of announcing that Saracens are getting relegated. I can see PRL having a massive shake up, they can't represent clubs, punish them and do it all on votes from other clubs, it needs to be an independent body that conducts any disciplinary action.
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Jan 29, 2020 09:45
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Vaders Jester posted:I just feel bad for the Championship clubs that have to face Saracens for the next two years. I don't think they'll actually play in the Championship. They might field an academy team to try and win the Championship within 2 years, but realistically, they'll make more money by playing weekly "friendly" matches against the Pro 14 teams, and visiting international teams.
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Jan 29, 2020 10:05
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MonkeyLibFront posted:Which makes them even more amateur, they should have just slapped the 70 points instead of announcing that Saracens are getting relegated. I can see PRL having a massive shake up, they can't represent clubs, punish them and do it all on votes from other clubs, it needs to be an independent body that conducts any disciplinary action. The problem they faced was that there wasn't the regulations in place to do so, they've had to amend the rules recently because the Saracens case is unprecedented levels of cheating by a club. They literally had to write regulations to cover something they never expected to happen because no one has ever cheated on that scale, for so long, before. But yeah, they really need an independent regulator though this has always been the problem with the PRL and RFU. It's a closed shop and no one else is getting a look in due to money.
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Jan 29, 2020 10:40
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Here is your Scotland team to Scotland it up in Dublin. Only a couple of surprises. Nick Haining gets his first cap at 8 as Bradbury is carrying a thigh strain and Huw Jones makes a return at 13 over Rory Hutchison, though I suspect Hutchison will be used as centre and flyhalf cover. No WP Nel either is surprising but he's not the player he used to be 3 years ago. Cornell Du Preez on the bench is good to see after his form with Worcester and coming back from a shattered larynx. 1. Rory Sutherland 2. Fraser Brown 3. Zander Fagerson 4. Scott Cummings 5. Jonny Gray 6. Jamie Ritchie 7. Hamish Watson 8. Nick Haining 9. Ali Price 10. Adam Hastings 11. Blair Kinghorn 12. Sam Johnson 13. Huw Jones 14. Sean Maitland 15. Stuart Hogg Subs 16. Stuart McInally 17. Allan Dell 18. Simon Berghan 19. Ben Toolis 20. Cornell du Preez 21. George Horne 22. Rory Hutchinson 23. Chris Harris
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Jan 30, 2020 12:20
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The Wales team to face Italy was announced. Few real surprises. North at centre as was rumoured, and McNicholl making his debut on the wing are probably the big talking points. 15. Leigh Halfpenny (85 caps) 14. Johnny McNicholl (*uncapped) 13. George North (91 caps) 12. Hadleigh Parkes (25 caps) 11. Josh Adams (21 caps) 10. Dan Biggar (79 caps) 9. Tomos Williams (16 caps) 1. Wyn Jones (22 caps) 2. Ken Owens (73 caps) 3. Dillon Lewis (22 caps) 4. Jake Ball (42 vaps) 5. Alun-Wyn Jones (134 caps, capt) 6. Aaron Wainwright (18 caps) 7. Justin Tipuric (72 caps) 8. Taulupe Faletau (72 caps) Replacements: 16. Ryan Elias (9 caps) 17. Rob Evans (36 caps) 18. Leon Brown (6 caps) 19. Cory Hill (24 caps) 20. Ross Moriarty (41 caps) 21. Rhys Webb (31 caps) 22. Jarrod Evans (3 caps) 23. Nick Tompkins (*uncapped)
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Jan 30, 2020 18:31
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Ireland: J Larmour; A Conway, G Ringrose, B Aki, J Stockdale; J Sexton, C Murray; C Healy, R Herring, T Furlong; I Henderson, J Ryan; CJ Stander, J van der Flier, C Doris. Replacements: R Kelleher, D Kilcoyne, A Porter, D Toner, P O'Mahony, J Cooney, R Byrne, R Henshaw. Not as many surprises as there could have been with Murray retaining his place despite Cooney being in the form of his life - you could call Aki a conservative choice at 12, but with him Henshaw and Ringrose all fit and available for what seems like the first time in ages someone was bound to miss out - Henshaw covers more positions from the bench so it does make sense. For some reason I'm thinking itll be quite tight, might take a while for Farrell to put his imprint on the team. MyChemicalImbalance fucked around with this message at 19:47 on Jan 30, 2020 |
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Jan 30, 2020 19:31
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