England vs Barbarians

[Danno]

Goode versus Brown makes this quite interesting!

Goode vs. Evil?

https://goo.gl/images/4z2PRD

[Scrumhead]

Given eddie's history - probably injured in training

Joking aside, the amount of injuries seems to be reaching ridiculous levels ...

I'm assuming (hoping) that the injuries are all minor knocks otherwise Eddie will end up naming a completely different squad on Monday.

I remember someone saying that we could/should have also had a Saxons tour this year. I think the past couple of weeks underline why that would never have happened.

[Digby]

Yikes

I'd still agree with him now, what Hansen perhaps didn't see coming was just how quickly those kids would grow up. I saw both the Villa Vs Man Utd games that season and it was after what I remember as the opening day defeat to Villa that Hansen made that comment and that day Villa did bully Utd, in the return leg Villa tried very much the same things and Utd weren't remotely bullied.

England will not be bullied though, they have co-captains, Eddie saying it's important with so many kids around to split the roles of forwards/defence and backs/attack, I still don't understand why one would think of attack and defence as divisible in such fashion, and I bet we could add another 30 kids and Eddie wouldn't think his own authority should be shared. But whatever, it's a near nonsense game which one simply hopes the crowd enjoys and there aren't any injuries.

[Eugene Wrayburn]

BARBARIANS (v England, Twickenham, May 28, 3pm)

15 Alex Goode (Saracens & England) 21 caps
14 Timoci Nagusa (Montpellier & Fiji) 24
13 Yann David (Toulouse & France) 4
12 Frans Steyn (Montpellier & South Africa) 53
11 Adam Ashley-Cooper (Bordeaux-Begles & Australia) 116
10 Ian Madigan (Bordeaux-Begles & Ireland) 30
9 Kahn Fotuali’i (Bath Rugby & Samoa) 31
1 Mikheil Nariashvili (Montpellier & Georgia) 41
2 Richard Hibbard (Gloucester & Wales) 41
3 Census Johnston (Toulouse & Samoa) 59
4 Patricio Albacete (Toulouse & Argentina) 57
5 Jeremy Thrush (Gloucester & New Zealand)12
6 Thierry Dusautoir (Toulouse & France, captain) 80
7 Steffon Armitage (Pau & England) 5
8 Facundo Isa (Lyon & Argentina) 25

Replacements

16 Schalk Brits (Saracens & South Africa) 10
17 Ben Franks (London Irish & New Zealand) 47
18 WP Nel (Edinburgh & Scotland) 15
19 Joe Tekori (Toulouse & Samoa) 34
20 Gillian Galan (Toulouse)
21 Ruan Pienaar (Ulster & South Africa) 88
22 Robbie Fruean (Bath Rugby)
23 Horacio Agulla (Castres & Argentina) 63

That's as good a BaaBaas side as we've seen in this fixture for a number of years.

Not as scary as it could have been though. Also, don't they have two tightheads on the bench? Can one of Nel or Franks play 1?

Puja

Franks. I thought it was his better position.

[Lizard]

I don't if Franks ever got a cap wearing 1. He mostly wore 17.

[Eugene Wrayburn]

I don't if Franks ever got a cap wearing 1. He mostly wore 17.

In my head I remember the Franks boys starting a test together. I certainly seem to remember them propping against each other when Ben was at the Canes.

[Peat]

Goode versus Brown makes this quite interesting!

Goode vs. Evil?

Goode vs Angry?

Hmm...

Not Test Level Player vs Test Level Player? Ah yes...

[Digby]

Not test level player Vs might once have been a test level player

[Mikey Brown]

Not test level player Vs was clearly a fantastic test player for a good period, assuming your memory goes back more than a year

There you go.

[bruce]

Team announced:

Genge
Singleton
Collier
Ewels
Isiekwe
Robshaw
Underhill
Beaumont

Care
Ford
May
Lozowski
James
Earle
Brown


McGuigan, Harrison, Ford-Robinson, Ellis, B Curry, Wilson, Wigglesworth, Haley, Spencer, T Curry

Ah surely England could have picked a fullback called Jones? Feel the force Eddy, I am your father.

[kk67]

Oof ... that's one hell of a side for such a green team to be taking on!

Fecking A. I'd like to see Ica.........but that is proper Steele-Bodger.

[Digby]

Not test level player Vs was clearly a fantastic test player for a good period, assuming your memory goes back more than a year

There you go.

It's not a claim I'm buying, he was better for a while than I thought he'd be, and it's not all on him that not enough people in the side could and would pass. But he's not been fantastic as a test player, in the same time period fantastic belongs to the likes of Smith not Brown. Brown's more a solid (which given it's test level is still rather impressive)

[twitchy]

Any one have a link for this please?

[16th man]

So which poster do we reckon is going to be first to make a sweeping judgement about one of the new "caps" proving they're not up to international rugby in this scratch, knock about friendly?

[TheNomad]

They're all over us - we can hardly get our hands on the ball

[bitts]

Any one have a link for this please?

http://www.vipbox.live/rugby/480185/1/e ... nline.html

[morepork]

A back line with Goode and Steyn in it is going to struggle to put the wind up the opposition....

[bitts]

poor Nathan Earle... really should have got that try.

Big hit on Goode was fun though.

[twitchy]

Any one have a link for this please?

http://www.vipbox.live/rugby/480185/1/e ... nline.html

Thanks. Just in time for the try.

[morepork]

Very nice work from the England 14 keeping the defense off there.

[16th man]

May and Earle the fastest England wing combo ever?

[Joz]

I would just like to point out that that try started with Mike Brown passing which I have been assured never happens...

[morepork]

Crowd have a sterling golf clap going.

[twitchy]

I would just like to point out that that try started with Mike Brown passing which I have been assured never happens...

It's a unicorn.

[Mikey Brown]

My god Earle is erratic, but I can see the potential. Not sure why they're bigging him up quite so much. James did very well off a terrible drifting run/pass by Earle to gift him a try.