The rules of this have existed for a long time. I don’t pick individuals, I pick units, so a front row, locks, etc. and I pick groups that have been together for as long as possible. When there’s a grand slam winner, I need excellent reasons NOT to pick a group from that winning team.
This time I’m going to add a bit of commentary in some places though.
Front Row: France - Baille, Marchand, Antonio. No one really troubled these three, their replacements are not as dominant and need to get better before the RWC. The Irish front row was the only other one in contention.
Second Row: France - Woki and Willemse. The Irish (Beirne and Henderson) and Welsh (yes the Welsh, Beard and Rowlands) locks made this pair wobble at lineout time. Itoje was his cheating self and had one really poor game, one mediocre game but three really quite decent ones. But for all round performance as a unit, this pair really had it all.
Back Row: France - Cros, Jelonch, Aldritt. If the Welsh backrow of Davis, Navidi and Faletau, who gave these three a really torid time, had played more than two matches I might have picked them. The Irish backrow (Doris, van der Flier and Conan) was good against everyone else, but was totally dominated against the French. On an individual basis Lamaro was brilliant for Italy. He might be shining in a sea of relative mediocrity but he has had a really good championship
Half Backs: France - Dupont and Ntmack. I can’t go any further than Dupont, although JGB was good for Ireland and Randall for England had his moments. Ntmack comes with him. I think Ntmack is a solid test player but the weakest of the French backs. This year, I would put any of Biggar, Garbisi or Russell ahead of Ntmack. Next year I would hope to add Smith to that list - this year he just doesn’t have the experience (or, to my mind the support in terms of players around him and systems from the coaches).
Midfield: France - Danty and Fickou. Really this was only a contest between France and Ireland (Aki and Ringrose), although I was impressed with Watkin for Wales. But in their head to head… the French pair came out on top.
Back Three: France - Penaud, Villière and Jaminet. Adams, Cuthbert and Williams pushed them close, but didn’t play enough games. Steward for England impressed at 15, the wingers less so. The Irish wingers (Lowe and Hansen) impressed too. But as a unit, these three for France were imperious. Jaminet could do with working on his goal kicking, but over the whole tournament he had a good return.
I think that’s the first time I’ve ever picked a complete side from one country. The second row was the place I wavered the most. I nearly picked the Irish duo over the French pair but, in the end, the two in blue edged them out - if they wobbled a bit at lineout time on occasion, they were stronger at scrum time and around the park. And their lineout wobbles were never too severe. Those dual tie-breakers of winning the head-to-head and winning the grand slam certainly didn't hurt either.
Comments
Post a Comment