I wouldn't have Harinordoquy in that group...he's had a good year though. He spends the majority of most matches recieving treatment from the physio, that's why he looks good. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/9177377.stm
What English players are of a higher quality to the ones i have listed? Not that i really need to prove anything. I think you've lost any credibility you had on union with this fail of a thread. How establishing that 3-4 players out of 15 are better than their All Black equivalents constitutes a hammering i will never know.
Fucking southern hemispherers Consistant ability to completely overrate all of their national teams regardless of which country they actually come from
Fucking northerners Consistant ability to completely overrate all of their premeir leagues defense regardless of which country they actually come from
Yeah, it's a massive conspiracy. Everyone is biased against England. There's obviously not chance that you, an England fan, could be biased towards England. No, it's those evil, pesky New Zealanders who just love Australian sport so god damn much.
Way more than 3-4 players are better than their All Black equivalents, but that's not how you'd compare the teams anyway. The ABs had probably at least 13 or 14 players better than their French equivalents in the final, but were still outplayed. I didn't say that English players were of a better quality than the ones you just listed, just that England are better than Australia. Or perhaps a slightly different suggestion...if England were to play Australia tomorrow, we'd smash them. Again.
the whole tight 5, bar maybe the hooker the number 9 and possibly a wing so 7 at most imo. probably more like 6
I'd have Roberts in too Also, in the positions where there isn't necessarily a better Lion equivalent, I think there are British players that could match them. For example, I think that at this moment in time, Sam Warburton is every bit as good as Richie McCaw.
Go on then bold the players you think are better. 1.Tony Woodcock- Jenkins 2.Kevin Mealamu- Ford 3.Owen Franks- Jones 4.Brad Thorn- O' Connell 5.Sam Whitelock- Lawes 6.Jerome Kaino- O' Brien 7.Richie McCaw- Warburton 8.Kieran Read- Faletau 9.Piri Weepu- Phillips 10.Daniel Carter- Hook 11.Richard Kahui- Ashton 12.Ma'a Nonu- Roberts 13.Conrad Smith- Tuilagi 14.Cory Jane- North 15.Israel Dagg- Foden That was the french, a team known for their ability to rise to the occasion and they did so in a world cup final atmosphere. There's no parallel between the two. That's not even considering the talent we had on the side line due to injury that night. Perhaps you are forgetting the last time we played the Lions with Carter.. You beat them once in a meaningless game ages ago, congratulations. The current Australian team is far more cohesive and settled. The team that won the Tri Nations and showed up to the world cup would easily beat the England team that nearly lost to Argentina and Scotland. Then you got knocked out by an average France team that was widely regarded as the most undeserving finalist in rugby world cup history before their spirited performance in the final itself.
Ok, going back to my initial post, this is how I think a match would pan out. I think the Lions would have a bit of advantage in the front 5...the ABs are technically very good at scrum time, so I reckon there'd be no advantage there (except later on once subs and depth come into play), but the pick and drive play from the Lions side would do some damage, and the Lions lineout would be marginally stronger. In the back row, I think Warburton would achieve parity with McCaw at the breakdown (Warburton > Dusatoir FTR) and the ball carrying/general dynamism of Kaino and Read would be matched by Faletau and O Brien. If you were to play a very tight game, you could play Croft at 6, perhaps conceding a slight advantage in terms of carrying ability, but gaining an extra lineout option. At 9, Phillips would monster Weepu. At 10, Carter would be a huge threat, so I'd pick Lions 10 with good tackling rather than an O Gara type ladyboy. In the centres, Roberts and O Driscoll would neutralise the ABs. If Smith was playing 13, you'd be looking at getting Tuilagi on there to smash him because he can be a bit fragile. Henry often dropped him against physical sides to protect him. On the wings, both teams have threats, but in the sort of tight game you'd expect, I think the ability of North to bosh it down the middle of the park effectively would be a huge bonus. At fullback, Dagg does have a gun of a boot though. I think in general, the All Blacks have a kicking advantage, but this isn't so important if you view their lineout as weaker, which I definitely do.
Not if that shambles of a team from the RWC turned up to play. Here's a suggestion, maybe you'd get hammered if you came down under to play? Mind you, I do reckon you'd have more of a chance now that Lewis Moody has retired.
The line out is the only area where the ABs are noticeably weaker. Good scrummaging hookers, but the hooker/lock combinations don't work too well at the line out. North better than Cory Jane? Rubbish. Right now, anyway. Kaino and Read are better than O'Brien and Faletau too IMO. Ashton I've not been too impressed by against the better teams, though he does have that X Factor.
North isn't better then Jane Jane is the best wing in the world atm solid both defensively and on attack I'll give you that roberts might possibly be better than nonu atm.
With Faletau, I'm being a bit of a hyprocrite, in that I'm accusing others of being fickle based on the World Cup only, and Faletau seems to be having a massive purple patch at the moment. However, with O Brien, I genuinely believe that he's every bit as good as Kaino (who is indeed awesome). He's the best player in Europe, tbh. Ashton isn't that skillfull, but he's fast, his league background gives him good tackling, and most importantly he has an awesome knack of being at the right place at the right time. In terms of the direct player to player comparison, I think his pace would put him ahead of Kahui, who has only been shunted onto the wing because the ABs have such a ridiculous amount of talent in the centres.
I disagree with both of those suggestions. I think North is as good as Jane, albeit different, and I don't think that Roberts is better than Nonu.
Yeah. Ashton vs. Kahui is a pretty tough comparison. Not similar players at all, and either could outperform the other on their day. Ashton is clearly a better out-and-out Winger though, but I'm not necessarily sure that Kahui would be chosen out there anyway. It could be a form choice between about 3 or 4 players. O'Brien's a great player, but Kaino is probably NZ's best at the moment. I'd put Kaino ahead, but that's not putting O'Brien down at all.
I thought we were talking about now rather than history? Don't think your RWC XV would stand a chance in Australia.
Well, aren't both our teams very similar to what they were then? I'd take our pack above the Aussie pack, I'd take their backline above us, but i'd take an advantage in the pack above an advantage in the backs...Pocock would be an issue though. Depending on who we put in at 7, he could kill us on his own.
