Team v Italy

[Donny osmond]

I dont think wilson is an 8. 6 maybe as he (usually) makes his tackles and a nuisance of himself at rucks, and his lack of physicality doesnt usually count against him, whereas I feel it would be a serious hindrance at 8.

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[Cameo]

I dont think wilson is an 8. 6 maybe as he (usually) makes his tackles and a nuisance of himself at rucks, and his lack of physicality doesnt usually count against him, whereas I feel it would be a serious hindrance at 8.

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I sometimes agree but I still think he is usually the best of our 8 options (though I do rate Strauss). His support play is good and he gets through a lot of work. I'd love an 8 who can carry in traffic better but I'm not convinced we have one. Denton to me just isnt an explosive enough carrier at the moment to make up for his alround averageness. I think given the workrate of Barclay and Watson and our hookers we could carry a massive ball carrier at 8 but that is not the option we are looking at here

[whatisthejava]

I think Wilson stays until Bradbury, Richie, fagerson take the shirt.

[Big D]

I think Wilson stays until Bradbury, Richie, fagerson take the shirt.

I was thinking about this the other day with Barclay coming back up the road. I rate all our young back rows. When all fit Wilson and Barclay may struggle to get a game as 1st choice for their clubs in a season or 2 if the young crowd kick on. Cockerill and Rennie won't be afraid to drop them.

Clearly depends of form and fitness (Ashe I'm looking at you son) but:
Edinburgh: Ritchie, Crosbie, Carmichael, Bradbury are young and promising. Mata is proving valuable too.

Glasgow: Ashe, Fagerson, Smith, wynne and flockhart are all good and young too.

Townsend shouldn't be afraid of giving the young guys a whirl in North America. Fagerson will go with the under 20s but I'd be excited to see our younger guys have a real crack.

[hugh_woatmeigh]

None of those Glasgow 'younger' guys are yet good enough for the summer tour except Fagerson IMO.

Ritchie and Bradbury sure. Carmichael at lock depending on who we leave at home.

[Big D]

None of those Glasgow 'younger' guys are yet good enough for the summer tour except Fagerson IMO.

Ritchie and Bradbury sure. Carmichael at lock depending on who we leave at home.

Referrenced the Glasgow boys with regards to my point about Wilson's place potentially being under threat in a year or two. Ashe if he stays fit and Fagerson especially will be putting him under pressure. Not sure why you had younger in inverted commas. The Glasgow boys listed are 20-21 except Ashe who in rugby experience terms is a young 24 year old due to injury limiting his game time.

The Edinburgh guys are ready for a go especially as Barclay could do with a rest and Watson needs to be wrapped in cotton wool. I've seen rumours Crosbie will tour if he's fit.

GT needs to look at other options. The three picked may be the 3 best players but just doesn't mean they are the best combination available.

[af73]

Watched the game again and on 2nd viewing.....it was as poor as the initial impressions

Just a flat performance overall - save for the last 20 minutes where they seemed to realise the criticism that would come their way if they didn't get their sh1t together.
Seemed like a last day of school term effort. Perhaps effort is the wrong word as I don't believe they weren't trying, rather their approach was almost as if the outcome wasn't in their own hands.

Italy played with the belief they always seem to have against us that its a game they can win, and with good reason. If we are questioned why we only seem to turn up against England the same could be asked of Italy.

The fixture list should be acknowledged as well as this was the 7th time we have faced Italy in the final round. They wan't to go out on a high, salvage some pride whereas our highs and lows (in our minds) have likely already occurred. It's an easy option for the schedulers/broadcasters. A chance of an upset to create some interest and maintain Italy's relevance and a schedule filler on the last day before the "important" games.

Next year we have Italy first up, for only the second time. Ireland, incidentally, have opened up against Italy 7 times - very favourable given how important it is to establish momentum in the tournament.

With 2 more home games to follow we have no excuses for bad performance followed by "the boys were hurting" reaction the next week. It should be a dress rehearsal for the World Cup. Each game a must win. Each performance better than the last with your very best performance coming in the last game.

[Big D]

The thing with Italy is usually how well we start against them. The previous 2 years we've started well (2 tries up in 15min in 2016) or well enough (kept them pointless) to stamp our authority on the match.

When we give them a sniff they make it hard for us.

[whatisthejava]

England v Ireland as a first up game is hard on Ireland. Reckon England will be back on the up curve and Ireland may well have peaked.