6 Nations

Hitch-Hiker

Wales are goin to surprise us all. they'll definitely be top 3. Ireland will suck, but not quite as badly as they did in the world cup. We'll be 3rd or 4th. Scotland are improving, but they haven't got what it takes just yet. Themselves and Italy will be scrapping for the wooden spoon.

Here's my final predictions

France
Wales
England
Ireland
Scotland
Italy

I hope Ireland do better, but I just can't see it happening.

Edit: Actually, looking at it again it really is all up in the air this time. The teams are far more evenly matched than usual as a whole. Should be a good competition.

Hitch-Hiker

pirlo21 wrote:

NZ for all their talent seem to have a mental block at World Cups.
Man-for-man, they were by far the best side at the WC, but failed once more.

Slightly worrying for me as a Welshman, we've just employed a New Zealander as Head Coach !!

I wouldn't worry. Warren Gatland is the reason Irish rugby is where it is today (just ignore the world cup performance ) He's the one who put all the structures in place and built up the team from scratch. Eddie O Sullivan just fine-tuned it. You'll do well with Gatland.

redrock

Heineken Helen wrote:

Starts next week... who else is really looking forward to it?

Me of course!!! What's the name of the sexy blonde hunk again? Which team does he play for? :D:D

chinobaeza

redrock wrote:

Me of course!!! What's the name of the sexy blonde hunk again? Which team does he play for? :D:D

Sebastien Chabal ?

redrock

chinobaeza wrote:

Sebastien Chabal ?

He's not blonde :rolleyes:

jamie uk

Hitch-Hiker wrote:

Wales are goin to surprise us all. they'll definitely be top 3. Ireland will suck, but not quite as badly as they did in the world cup. We'll be 3rd or 4th. Scotland are improving, but they haven't got what it takes just yet. Themselves and Italy will be scrapping for the wooden spoon.

Here's my final predictions

France
Wales
England
Ireland
Scotland
Italy

I hope Ireland do better, but I just can't see it happening.

Edit: Actually, looking at it again it really is all up in the air this time. The teams are far more evenly matched than usual as a whole. Should be a good competition.

I think you're flattering us. Wether we like it or not, England are only catchable by France, remember England put 60 points past Wales just last summer, we aint made that much ground up.

Heineken Helen

Hitch-Hiker wrote:

I wouldn't worry. Warren Gatland is the reason Irish rugby is where it is today (just ignore the world cup performance ) He's the one who put all the structures in place and built up the team from scratch. Eddie O Sullivan just fine-tuned it. You'll do well with Gatland.

absolutely... he did a brilliant job with us. Wales have a few good players and always have the potential to surprise us all... look at the grand slam year, where the fuck did that come from? :eek:

And yep, I agree with ya about being much more evenly matched than usual. England pulled off a miracle in the world cup... but I think it flattered them slightly. France, well France are France . I hate writing Italy off... well obviously they're not gonna win it but they're getting better and better and are gonna be harder to beat.

catefrances

Heineken Helen wrote:

LMFAO... this is why everyone hates Australian fans when it comes to rugby... this is a thread about 6 nations, nothing to DO with Australia... and here's a post saying Australia's the best country in the world and spouting off years 1991 and 1999... it's only the last result that counts sadly for you.

everyone hates me? :( :(

Heineken Helen

catefrances wrote:

everyone hates me?

I think we clarified coming up to the world cup that Aussie rugby fans are even worse than English soccer fans :(

Sorry, nobody hates you... just tone it down a bit when it comes to announcing that you're gonna beat the entire world and that everyone else is crap especially when ya can't do it :eek:

catefrances

Heineken Helen wrote:

I think we clarified coming up to the world cup that Aussie rugby fans are even worse than English soccer fans :(

Sorry, nobody hates you... just tone it down a bit when it comes to announcing that you're gonna beat the entire world and that everyone else is crap especially when ya can't do it :eek:

tone what down hels? i havent said a damn thing about the 6 nations.
but now that you mention it....

Heineken Helen

catefrances wrote:

tone what down hels? i havent said a damn thing about the 6 nations.
but now that you mention it....

Lmao... come on... let's see what you've got!

catefrances

Heineken Helen wrote:

Lmao... come on... let's see what you've got!

oh come on you know i'll be supporting ireland. then wales cause they have the best flag in the world. then scotland cause... well... just cause. forget england. as an aussie with iriah heritage, i can never support england, especially when it comes to sport cause theyre bastards. after that i just dont care.

Heineken Helen

catefrances wrote:

oh come on you know i'll be supporting ireland. then wales cause they have the best flag in the world. then scotland cause... well... just cause. forget england. as an aussie with iriah heritage, i can never support england, especially when it comes to sport cause theyre bastards. after that i just dont care.

but don't ya just love how Italy try and try and try so hard and always lose... but they still come back and try even harder? :( bless em!

catefrances

Heineken Helen wrote:

but don't ya just love how Italy try and try and try so hard and always lose... but they still come back and try even harder? :( bless em!

well lets face it it couldnt be 6 nations with just 5 countries now could it?

Heineken Helen

catefrances wrote:

well lets face it it couldnt be 6 nations with just 5 countries now could it?

That's true

In fairness though, Italy are by no MEANS a walkover these days... they can come pretty close to us on one of our bad days. They've accomplished Scotland and Wales. They've got some pretty fantastic players.

Hitch-Hiker

Chabal has been dropped from the French Sqaud. Idiots.

Heineken Helen

Chabal's pretty overrated... when you've seen how our forwards can make shite of him, I dunno why the other teams are so afraid of him. Ok, I'd probably run a mile if I met him in a dark alley somewhere... and he seems to be of the inspirational kind... getting the team and the fans going and stuff... and that's not a small thing.

catefrances

'twill be good watching the games and not really giving a rat's who wins.

Hitch-Hiker

Heineken Helen wrote:

Chabal's pretty overrated... when you've seen how our forwards can make shite of him, I dunno why the other teams are so afraid of him.

Try to avert your eyes from the washboard stomachs for a moment during a game and watch the man play. Chabal is a superb back row. Never misses a tackle, strong as an ox, a better runner than anyone in our pack. And like you say, he has that talismanic quality about him too.

Heineken Helen

Hitch-Hiker wrote:

Try to avert your eyes from the washboard stomachs for a moment during a game and watch the man play. Chabal is a superb back row. Never misses a tackle, strong as an ox, a better runner than anyone in our pack. And like you say, he has that talismanic quality about him too.

He was up against our forwards 3 times last year... and at least TWICE he was substituted cos he couldn't get anywhere against them. Against lesser forwards he can look better but not when he's up against quality.

Hitch-Hiker

Heineken Helen wrote:

He was up against our forwards 3 times last year... and at least TWICE he was substituted cos he couldn't get anywhere against them. Against lesser forwards he can look better but not when he's up against quality.

Well, to my knowledge we only played them twice in the last year. But anyway Chabal was the 3rd highest try scorer in the last 6 nations, and I doubt he was substituted because he almost always comes on as an impact sub for France. It Generally takes at least 2, if not 3 players to take him down too. He's easily a match for our back rows. Nothing against them by the way. We do have a solid pack. But saying Chabal is overrated is just plain wrong.

Heineken Helen

Hitch-Hiker wrote:

Well, to my knowledge we only played them twice in the last year. But anyway Chabal was the 3rd highest try scorer in the last 6 nations, and I doubt he was substituted because he almost always comes on as an impact sub for France. It Generally takes at least 2, if not 3 players to take him down too. He's easily a match for our back rows. Nothing against them by the way. We do have a solid pack. But saying Chabal is overrated is just plain wrong.

We only played against France twice but he played against Munster too... and they made shite of them and he was DEFINITELY taken off at least twice.

Hitch-Hiker

Heineken Helen wrote:

We only played against France twice but he played against Munster too... and they made shite of them and he was DEFINITELY taken off at least twice.

Show me the team lists for the matches and I'll believe you.

Heineken Helen

Hitch-Hiker wrote:

Show me the team lists for the matches and I'll believe you.

he started in croke park

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?xml=/sport/2007/02/06/urfran06.xml

He started in the world cup

http://www.rugbyworldcup.com/home/fixtures/round=100/match=10095/announcementa.html#france+team+ire

i'll have to find the other one... maybe he didn't start but he was shite. I know he was taken off in the world cup against us anyway... and he was definitely taken off in croke park too... cos I remember slagging all the french lads behind us cos they were shouting for him the whole time and he was taken off quite early.

oil alternative

The problem here is that your are all wasting your breath!
England are gonna run away with the lot this year and you know it!

Irish Al

I can't wait

Heineken Helen

here's a nice one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VzExIqWZXYI&feature=related

actually, I seem to have been wrong... it was January 2006... but as far as I'm aware, it's the only 3 times he's been up against the Irish forwards, and lost each time.

Irish Al

Heineken Helen wrote:

here's a nice one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VzExIqWZXYI&feature=related

actually, I seem to have been wrong... it was January 2006... but as far as I'm aware, it's the only 3 times he's been up against the Irish forwards, and lost each time.

In fairness Helen, he was wrapped up by 7 Munster players and got absolutely no support from his own players.....even you couldn't have withstood that onslaught (refrains from any sexual jokes)

Hitch-Hiker

Ok, he was taken off in the world cup game, but htere's nothing n the 6 nations article that says he didn't finish the game. And even if he didn't, 2 slightly below par performances is hardly enough to say he's overrated, and seeing as you're going on 6 month and year old memories too, it's hardly enough to go on. His good..nay, brilliant performances for both club and country far outweigh his bad ones. He is one of the best back-row forwards in the world today, and that is an indisputable fact. Now get back to work! you're getting paid for this.

Heineken Helen

Irish Al wrote:

In fairness Helen, he was wrapped up by 7 Munster players and got absolutely no support from his own players.....even you couldn't have withstood that onslaught (refrains from any sexual jokes)

I sure could

If you watch the repeat... you'll see O'Connell already had him running backwards before the rest made him look like a fool.

Hitch, I can see that for some reason, you're taking this personally... I'm just saying anytime he's been up against us, our forwards have sorted him out. Other teams with lesser forwards may have something to fear from him but we don't. We can handle his kind