Team for Italy

[p/d]

Ten of the starting XV have over 20 caps and Freeman has 18. It’s not exactly a young / newbie team. 8 of them have 30 caps plus. And of those between Mitchell is 27 and Chessum 24.

And we’ve dropped Slade who has 69 caps.

This whole ‘new England’ / ‘young side’ kind of irks me.

This.

Also in 4 games we have made unforced changes at hooker, 6, 8, 10, 11, 12 and 15 (3rd person now been given a go).

Not sure what to read into that but a betting man would wager changes v Wales

If we are confused, what about the players?

not confused - in isolation each change has merit- just feels unsettled. Ditto coaching team.

[Banquo]

Ten of the starting XV have over 20 caps and Freeman has 18. It’s not exactly a young / newbie team. 8 of them have 30 caps plus. And of those between Mitchell is 27 and Chessum 24 (age not caps).

And we’ve dropped Slade who has 69 caps.

This whole ‘new England’ / ‘young side’ kind of irks me.

yep, queried that before. Backs are relatively young, but a very grizzled hard core of the pack.

[Oakboy]

Ten of the starting XV have over 20 caps and Freeman has 18. It’s not exactly a young / newbie team. 8 of them have 30 caps plus. And of those between Mitchell is 27 and Chessum 24 (age not caps).

And we’ve dropped Slade who has 69 caps.

This whole ‘new England’ / ‘young side’ kind of irks me.

yep, queried that before. Backs are relatively young, but a very grizzled hard core of the pack.

IFW is one of the youngest but he hardly looked raw and out of his depth. What is 'young' in international rugby terms anyway? To imply that 20 year-olds are automatically out of consideration is daft if they are good enough and big enough. 23 of them might not be ideal obviously.

[Mikey Brown]

Matt Gallagher starts on the wing for Italy, with Capuozzo shifting to 15, which seems a bit strange. Just trying to counter Freeman under the cross kick maybe?

[jngf]

We might suffer a bit in lineout, Italy have 5 players around 6’3” or more in pack - we only have 3 if you count T Willis and I’m not sure he’s a jumper as such?

[Puja]

We might suffer a bit in lineout, Italy have 5 players around 6’3” or more in pack - we only have 3 if you count T Willis and I’m not sure he’s a jumper as such?

Lineouts aren't really about height - 90% of the time, they're about movement. If you're having to have an even jump-off with another player, then you've already fucked up the lineout.

Puja

[jngf]

We might suffer a bit in lineout, Italy have 5 players around 6’3” or more in pack - we only have 3 if you count T Willis and I’m not sure he’s a jumper as such?

Lineouts aren't really about height - 90% of the time, they're about movement. If you're having to have an even jump-off with another player, then you've already fucked up the lineout.

Puja

I guess as a pack we are pygmies - comparatively speaking - our tallest lock is 6’7” Itoje at 6’5” is on the short end of the lock spectrum - T Curry and Ben Early are 6’1” tops. Compare that to France with 6’5” props let alone locks then this is where I’m coming from. To put it further into perspective our average lock pairing height from 40 years ago was taller than what we have now.

[twitchy]

[FKAS]

Surprised Lorenzo Cannone is on the bench. Vincent is a quality player but not as physical.

Gallagher onto the wing could be a hint that they were hoping to kick to compete in this one.

Varney at 9 and Capuozzo at 15 with Vincent at 8. Will we see a higher tempo from Italy in this one?

[Danno]

We might suffer a bit in lineout, Italy have 5 players around 6’3” or more in pack - we only have 3 if you count T Willis and I’m not sure he’s a jumper as such?

Lineouts aren't really about height - 90% of the time, they're about movement. If you're having to have an even jump-off with another player, then you've already fucked up the lineout.

Puja

I guess as a pack we are pygmies - comparatively speaking - our tallest look is 6’7” Itoje at 6’5” is on the short end of the lock spectrum - T Curry and Ben Early are 6’1” tops. Compare that to France with 6’5” props let alone locks then this is where I’m coming from. To put it further into perspective our average lock pairing height from 40 years ago was taller than what we have now.

Now I really want to see Uini Antonio taking a double top throw

[Mellsblue]

Lineouts aren't really about height - 90% of the time, they're about movement. If you're having to have an even jump-off with another player, then you've already fucked up the lineout.

Puja

I guess as a pack we are pygmies - comparatively speaking - our tallest look is 6’7” Itoje at 6’5” is on the short end of the lock spectrum - T Curry and Ben Early are 6’1” tops. Compare that to France with 6’5” props let alone locks then this is where I’m coming from. To put it further into perspective our average lock pairing height from 40 years ago was taller than what we have now.

Now I really want to see Uini Antonio taking a double top throw

lol

[Mellsblue]

It’ll be 100 caps for Jamie George. He seems like a top bloke and will be a nice little fillip after losing the captaincy.

[Spiffy]

Surprised Lorenzo Cannone is on the bench. Vincent is a quality player but not as physical.

Gallagher onto the wing could be a hint that they were hoping to kick to compete in this one.

Varney at 9 and Capuozzo at 15 with Vincent at 8. Will we see a higher tempo from Italy in this one?

Gallagher is in fine form for Benetton. He has found a new lease of life in Italy. I watched him sprint in a long range try against Ulster when he out gassed everyone in sight with speed I never saw from him at Munster or Bath. Good footballing skills too. He may surprise some who have not seen him play for a while.That Italian back division could be quite potent if they click on the day. Italy should keep this one fast and loose and a avoid a grind up front.

[francoisfou]

Surprised Lorenzo Cannone is on the bench. Vincent is a quality player but not as physical.

Gallagher onto the wing could be a hint that they were hoping to kick to compete in this one.

Varney at 9 and Capuozzo at 15 with Vincent at 8. Will we see a higher tempo from Italy in this one?

Gallagher is in fine form for Benetton. He has found a new lease of life in Italy. I watched him sprint in a long range try against Ulster when he out gassed everyone in sight with speed I never saw from him at Munster or Bath. Good footballing skills too. He may surprise some who have not seen him play for a while.That Italian back division could be quite potent if they click on the day. Italy should keep this one fast and loose and a avoid a grind up front.

With a back three of Capuozzo. Ioane and Gallagher it should indeed be fast and loose!

[Oakboy]

It’ll be 100 caps for Jamie George. He seems like a top bloke and will be a nice little fillip after losing the captaincy.

I did not have you down as a sentimentalist, MB.

[Mellsblue]

It’ll be 100 caps for Jamie George. He seems like a top bloke and will be a nice little fillip after losing the captaincy.

I did not have you down as a sentimentalist, MB.

I have my moments, unlike Henry Slade

[Danno]

It’ll be 100 caps for Jamie George. He seems like a top bloke and will be a nice little fillip after losing the captaincy.

I did not have you down as a sentimentalist, MB.

I have my moments, unlike Henry Slade

Brutal

[Oakboy]

It’ll be 100 caps for Jamie George. He seems like a top bloke and will be a nice little fillip after losing the captaincy.

I did not have you down as a sentimentalist, MB.

I have my moments, unlike Henry Slade

You'll be pining for Farrell next.

[Mikey Brown]

Damn. Really thought this game was today for some reason.

[Danno]

Damn. Really thought this game was today for some reason.

Ireland France should compensate a bit

[twitchy]

Good to see it's not only the english forwards that do braindead things.

[FKAS]

Good to see it's not only the english forwards that do braindead things.

The Irish ones seem to get away with an awful lot of their dumb stuff. How they've only picked up the one card is mystifying.

[Danno]

Good to see it's not only the english forwards that do braindead things.

The Irish ones seem to get away with an awful lot of their dumb stuff. How they've only picked up the one card is mystifying.

PoM should have two for no arms, Doris doesn't seem to know which side of the ruck is the right one.

[Mr Mwenda]

Good to see it's not only the english forwards that do braindead things.

The Irish ones seem to get away with an awful lot of their dumb stuff. How they've only picked up the one card is mystifying.

PoM should have two for no arms, Doris doesn't seem to know which side of the ruck is the right one.

They are very good at what they do. When I saw Beirne go in on Dupont I thought immediately that everyone's favourite Frenchman was in trouble.

[Charlatan]

POM should absolutely have been pinged twice. Also was a bit suspicious of how DuPont got injured as well tbh tho perhaps on the replay at half time it is accidental.