Canes V Tahs

[chiselhead]

The Canes are likely to make a statement as potential title contender in 2009. The Tah pack won't have the grunt to match the fire. The Tah lineout is likely to disintegrate. Big Al will stare hard at scrum time..........and do nothing.

[waratahjesus]

al will show why he is the most capped prop in australian rugby history and dominate. as long as mumm and caldwell stay healthy our lineout is in safe hands. palu will make a huge impact off the bench and our backline is humming. should be a cracker of a game, tend to lean towards the hurricanes at home but will be supporting the nations heros as they try to bring the trophy to gods country!

(p.s chis, if the tahs pack will struggle why are the force bothering to turn up to play at all?)

[chiselhead]

The Force backrow is better. The Force locks are better. The Tah frontrow scares nobody although ours isn't rated. Bring it on

[waratahjesus]

the tahs front row is the australian front row, it scares plenty
we have two hookers rated above your first choice,
dean mumm is world class both at lock and in the back row
palu is the best back rower int he country and phil waugh is a dead set champ,
the only person from your backrow i would look at is pocock, he is awesome, but i dont think brown has the impact that he has been built up to have and really, besides sharpe whos career peaked a few years ago, there isnt anything to write home about, if you got rid of mitchell and sheps and used the money to recruit a few good forwards you would be favourates to wint he comp

[Burgs]

It scares me that they are suppossedly the best we have

[chiselhead]

the tahs front row is the australian front row, it scares plenty

I'd like to get a kiwis, South Africans, Welsh, Irish and English opinion on that. I think they wouldn't be able to speak for the laughter bellowing from their lungs

[waratahjesus]

why dont you get the forces front row opinion, i reckon they would have a fair bit of respect and fear!

as for the five above national teams, well at one time and another, the underrated australian front row has bettered all of them at one time or another. for a group of guys that everyone claims are hopeless, thats a fairly big thing to be able to say!

[chiselhead]

the tahs front row is the australian front row, it scares plenty

nope

we have two hookers rated above your first choice,

We're a bit thin here although the kid in the Force academy could be anything. Watch this space (can't remember his name.....anybody help out here?)

dean mumm is world class both at lock and in the back row

Dean Mumm is a big girls blouse.

Palu is the best back rower in the country and phil waugh is a dead set champ,

Waugh is finished. He's bulked up and is slower than my old mum. Arise Sir David (Pocock) The king is dead, long live the king.

I dont think Brown has the impact that he has been built up to have

Brown has come on in leaps and bounds. He has a high workrate and excellent breakdown statistics. He's a worker and a different style of player to Palu. We'll play a big 6 to compensate. Brown will have developed a lot on the European tour and will be a standout this season. Palu is great one week then goes missing for a month

Sharpe is huge. He lays down the smack down, takes it up all day and dominates in lineouts. Our lineout is very functional due to his imposing presence and his organisational skills. The tah lineout is being thrown to by blind Freddy. There is a lack of tall timber at the Tahs. We'll rip you a new one

Bring it on

Force by 10

[chiselhead]

why dont you get the forces front row opinion, i reckon they would have a fair bit of respect and fear!

as for the five above national teams, well at one time and another, the underrated australian front row has bettered all of them at one time or another. for a group of guys that everyone claims are hopeless, thats a fairly big thing to be able to say!

There have been one or two scrums over the last 5 years that Al Baxter hasn't collapsed. Our front row doesn't get pushed over our locks quite as frequently as 2 years ago.......but we don't scare anybody. I hate the word parity and we rarely get that

[The Lone Hydrangea]

Dribble, Trestle is shite and always has been shite. How many times do we need to repeat ourselves?....

[James]

Chis: Ben Whitaker.

Fact: The two best players in the Tahs side are now long gone. Waugh has been upstaged by Pocock and you picked up because he wasn't enough to contain Richard Brown. Palu's laziness and lack of jumping ability limit him as a player and frankly without Elsom and Vickerman there is a big fat hole right where he is standing.

[chiselhead]

Chis: Ben Whitaker.

I'm hearing good things about him

[waratahjesus]

Chis: Ben Whitaker.

Fact: The two best players in the Tahs side are now long gone. Waugh has been upstaged by Pocock and you picked up because he wasn't enough to contain Richard Brown. Palu's laziness and lack of jumping ability limit him as a player and frankly without Elsom and Vickerman there is a big fat hole right where he is standing.

waugh hasnt been upstaged by pocock, i agree pocock has passed him in test selection but only cos he needs to be blooded, he isnt in george smiths league yet.

and i dont understand the "picked up because he wasnt enough o contain richard brown" call, richard brown does have a high work rate, but as an eight he doesnt have the impact play that palu does. palu was the standout aus player of the tournament last year. brown gets to alot of rucks but he desnt poach or cause as many turnovers as waugh. as for palu in lineouts, he isnt required to jump and statistic wise look at his metres gained and tackles made last international season, even when he only played twenty minutes in the last bledisloe he is still near the top in both. brown is a fat centre.

elsom & vics are massive holes that cant really be "filled" but as we come back to the pack in our forwards, the backline looks alot better and stronger this year

[James]

waugh hasnt been upstaged by pocock, i agree pocock has passed him in test selection but only cos he needs to be blooded, he isnt in george smiths league yet.

and i dont understand the "picked up because he wasnt enough o contain richard brown" call, richard brown does have a high work rate, but as an eight he doesnt have the impact play that palu does. palu was the standout aus player of the tournament last year. brown gets to alot of rucks but he desnt poach or cause as many turnovers as waugh. as for palu in lineouts, he isnt required to jump and statistic wise look at his metres gained and tackles made last international season, even when he only played twenty minutes in the last bledisloe he is still near the top in both. brown is a fat centre.

elsom & vics are massive holes that cant really be "filled" but as we come back to the pack in our forwards, the backline looks alot better and stronger this year

Sorry my bad- it was supposed to read 'picked up Fava'.

Pocock is fast getting into Smith and McCaws league. I know its a big call but these days he is just plain everywhere like McCaw is and experience is the only thing that sets them apart. I think his 3 (almost 4) tries against the Reds show the improvements he's made since last season.

[Burgs]

I think you are looking at the wrong player if you are calling Brownie a fat anything!
Turinui is a fat Centre (and yes I know he is with the Reds).

I know logical hasn't got a high place in these debate threads however I would suggest that Palu and Brown are two very different styles of the same position.
Bit like you have running Flyhalves and passing Flyhalves.

Palu is certainly good for a decent hit up but we have the best Lock at doing that in Australia for that role, so we can afford to have a lighter big Openside to back up Pocock but also take a pile of lineout possession.

I hope that your Coach and squad dismiss Brown as much as you but I somehow doubt it.