NH teams

Ireland and Wales were dispatched with ease by the WB.
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Ireland (on a very off day) yes. Wales, hardly.

And what is your opinion of the Ireland v All Blacks game please?

Typical Aussie balanced view on things - a chip on both shoulders.

Whilst perhaps not put in the most subtle terms Ithink you have a point, the SH big 3 are the top 3 in the world and their record in the AIs - very good and they were too - was case in point with just one defeat.

There were several close calls and heroic failures, but ultimately failures is what they were. On the BBC an All Black fan stated that "wales play better rugby, but England are the onlyones who can beat us" I think by us he meant the SH big 3, rather than New Zealand specifically, and I'd like to get Mr Genia and Coopers thoughts on this before I'm accused of England bias.

Years ago I remember an Alll Black, possibly Sean Fitzpatrick, saying that the way to beat Australia in the late 80s and early 90s was to drag Nick Farr Jones into every ruck and bury him at the bottom. England showed that the way to beat this Australia was very similar, to drive back the scrum into Genia and shut the half backs out of the game, thus denying Cummins, Folau et al the ball. Given that I couldn't understand what Ireland and especially Wales were trying to do, apart from commit ritual suicide.

As to Cooper himself, he was and is what you'd call mercurial, allusions to liquid most definitely intended, I did wonder if he was finished but my god has he been good, especially against the Welsh. Did you see that underhand bass that ended with Genia dropping the ball with the line at his mercy, underhand yet dipping under the Welsh defenders arm, yet straight to hand absolutely wonderful!

The role of the fly half seems to be changing from the sort of player who would literally kick the opposition to death typified by Jonny Wilkinson, to more of a play maker a la Quade Cooper, and it will be interesting to see howthis develops

If you haven't already could I ask the original poster to contribute to Aristodemus' article above, your thoughts would be very valuable I think

I think the big four in the 6N (sorry Scotland) can all beat the SH big dogs, at home anyway. I expect Wales and England will have very tough tours next year though.
I agree though SARS, Cooper has been quality pretty much since EM was put in charge. They have alot of players missing too.

Oz are coming good as they always do.In the run up to a WC. it's freaky really. Must really annoy the New Zealand Fans.

With respect. Wales are back to back champions in the 6N and there is a fair amount of Chicken counting going on Re: England. Being a good team is one thing. But you need to be a great team to win the WC. And despite the recent good work going on in England they are not a great team and not even the best in Europe.Therefore i suggest not capable of winning the WC. In fact this coming WC, as it stands, looks like it's destined to end up in the SH again.

However. France are so mercurial you can't ever discount them. Wales are the best team in Europe by far but may be on the down side of a peak. And England the opposite are not the best in Europe but are on the upside of a peak.

So for me. Right now. No chance for any team in Europe, but in a season and a half it could be right on schedule for an England side to come from left field and peak at the perfect moment.

P.S.
I'm not going to comment on Ireland as it would be a bias opinion. But that said. I find the attitude of the OP to be particularly distasteful. Not worthy of this forum.

Also just to add. Cooper's ability has never been questioned. His attitude is what i personally always questioned and still do. His ability to cokc things up is just as prevalent as his ability to do something outstanding.

That said. He was fantastic in on this tour and deserves to be applauded for that. And I do.

Wales are not the best team in Europe Ding, you might say it is bias but it is true.
The three SANZAR sides fans pretty much all consider that to be England and I wonder why it isn't the case in the NH. They have won the 6N twice, beaten England into second but that is not the be all and end all of European ranking. Italy were above France this year but they are not a better team.
Anyway, despite our ever expanding injury list I expect us to beat Wales at home this coming 6N. At home we can beat anyone and if the WC started tomorrow we would be one of the favourites. We are nowhere near this teams "peak" either.

Ye Aristo. Im going on current form really. And certainly i don't know all the fans from the 3 SANZAR teams but i doubt they are sitting around camp fires talking about England to be honest.
Wales never play well in the Autumn ints' but then they Turn up big time for the 6 Nations. And last year was a hell of a surprise because historically when they lose first up in the Six nations they tend to capitulate badly. But not last year which showed they had grit beyond what we have seen from them before.

That said. I really do agree that England are on the up. No doubt about it. Great manager. Great attitude. Monumental forwards. Best in the world for my money but they are not quite there yet. But as i said. They could peak at the perfect moment which looks very likely. all the pieces look to be falling into place nicely.

Well we differ on that then. Not for the first time, not for the last time

The SANZAR fans most definitely are not concerned with England I agree, but out of the NH nations England are the ones they look at as the toughest to beat.
As for Wales, I don't think they are as good as they think and Gatland (and fans) blaming the Aussie loss last weekend on Barnes just sums it up. Quality is shown in consistency, and Wales like France are not consistent. Simple as that in my opinion.
So... Lancaster. I'm not convinced to be honest. I am envious of your manager^^ His backline selection has been horrible and while he has brought in alot of players quite rightly, people such as Waldrom, Johnson, Tomkins, Barritt and Goode have done nothing to earn the caps they have. Tuilagi has done most of the damage himself. I want England to have backs that teams don't want to kick to, the fear that opens up gaps and causes mismatches. We could, we have awesome players to pick from.

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