The Official *England to Grand Slam Glory 2013* Thread

[Duty281]

First topic message reminder :

“It is not enough that we do our best; sometimes we must do what is required.”
Winston Churchill

In just over 4 weeks, Stuart Lancaster's England will start their quest for Grand Slam glory. It has to be said that this is England's best chance since 2003 for a Grand Slam. Really, for the Northern Hemisphere's biggest Rugby nation not to have clinched a Grand Slam for 10 years is a poor return. That will surely change on the 16th March.

“My tastes are simple: I am easily satisfied with the best.”
Winston Churchill

This amount of optimism stems from a hugely encouraging 2012 for the English rugby team. 4 wins out of 5 in last year's Six Nations with a fairly new team, then a character-building tour to South Africa, running South Africa and Australia close at the home of Rugby, before ending the year by beating the World Champions and running in 3 tries against them. 2013 will be the year that it all comes together for England.

"The English have an extraordinary ability for flying into a great calm."
Alexander Woollcott

2013 for England will start with a game home to Scotland. Unless there's a downpour, Scotland have little hope. Expect England to rack up 25+ points and a multitude of tries against inferior opposition.

"Let not England forget her precedence of teaching nations how to live."
John Milton

Then, away to Ireland. Often, the Irish are seen as a bogey team for England but let's be rational. England are better in every department as they proved in 2012. I'll be looking for a very very good result from England in this game.

"You must hate a Frenchman as you do the devil."
Lord Nelson

The third game will be the biggest of the lot. Home to the French at Twickenham. Beaten by England in Paris in 2012, France will be beaten by England in London in 2013. No mistake though, this game will be the toughest challenge that England will face in the 2013 Six Nations. I expect England to just about edge out the French.

"We few. We happy few. We band of brothers."
William Shakespeare

On the 10th March, England will be on the home straight. Home to Italy, mere cannon fodder against the mighty mighty England. 4 wins out of 4, Grand Slam in sight.

"Ever the faith endures, England, my England."
W.E. Henley

The crowning glory will be against England's little brother, Wales. No doubt they'll be up for this game, they love a game against their bigger brother and the chance to upset the odds. What is it Wales, 7 losses out of 7 since last year's Grand Slam? After a tough 20 minutes, England's superiority and class will show. Grand Slam clinched.

“You ask, what is our aim? I can answer in one word. It is victory, victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory, however long and hard the road may be; for without victory, there is no survival.”
Winston Churchill

[Taffineastbourne]

Farrell Out, Croft Returns

Great to see Croft come back. Fingers crossed that Farrell will be OK for the Welsh game!

If you are to have any chance against us you will need Farrell deffo!!

[majesticimperialman]

Ok Farrell is out.

Flood takes the 10 shirt.

But who is England back up 10? Will Burns be on the bench?

[Cyril]

Farrell Out, Croft Returns

Great to see Croft come back. Fingers crossed that Farrell will be OK for the Welsh game!

If you are to have any chance against us you will need Farrell deffo!!

Why's that then?

[Morgannwg]

Because Farrell is your best fly-half. Flood could do the job though.

[Cyril]

Because Farrell is your best fly-half. Flood could do the job though.

Quite. We could win with either. I was just questioning the 'if you are to have any chance' bit.

[100%beefy]

Flood Care or Flood Youngs?

[gregortree]

Start with Youngs, sub out at 50 for Care.

[Duty281]

5 Changes for England

All change please, for the game against Italy. Vunipola gets his first start replacing Marler, T Youngs is back in the side for Hartley, Haskell replaces Lawes after the failed experiment against France, Care replaces B Youngs at scrum-half, and Flood is in for the injured Farrell. Forward we go, 160 minutes from the Grand Slam!

"Perish the man whose mind is backward now!"
William Shakespeare

[Luckless Pedestrian]

You might need to swap your chariot for a snowmobile for this one...

[thomh]

Flood started at the MS two years ago. I would rather Farrell played but I wouldn't exactly panic if Flood was starting.

Care deserves the start because of his club form, but I'm not 100% that his passing is as good as Youngs'. At Quins his game is more about sniping around the fringes and linking up with guys like Easter and Robshaw, which suits him perfectly. We don't spread it fast and wide, and his passing for England this season has looked a little loopy. If we can't get good lineout ball to the back again then we might suffer.

[dragonbreath]

Farrell Out, Croft Returns

Great to see Croft come back. Fingers crossed that Farrell will be OK for the Welsh game!

If you are to have any chance against us you will need Farrell deffo!!

Are you mad? I am praying that Farrell is fit. He does not pose anywhere near the same level of threat as Flood, who can actually use Ashton. Farrell is a one trick pony who if we are disciplined and do not present him with kickable penalties will have no influence on the result. Can't believe the hype aroung this pretty ordinary player.

Get him fit for Cardiff and our chances of winning immediately improve

[lostinwales]

Its a 23 man game. I dont think the position (starting or on the bench) gives an indication of who is rated highest, especially for this match.

[Duty281]

England winning the Six Nations the right way
Selection Trial for England
England must fear Italy
Rack up the points!
Italy Fearful
Tom Croft's Comeback
Italy don't have the tools to trouble England
Lancaster wants stylish England
England wary of slip-up

Caution abounds. This is a game England know that they should win. A game that will make it 4/4 on the Grand Slam road. Perhaps, a win that will all-but guarantee the title, should enough points be scored. But it certainly is a potential banana skin.

"Life is divided into three terms - that which was, which is, and which will be."
William Wordsworth

[tatterd]

3 of my favourite years are: 1999, 2000, 2001.................what price 2013???
Happy days are here again
The skies above are clear again
Let us sing a song of cheer again
Happy days are here again..........

[senghenydd1913]

crap saes

[tatterd]

i hope you mean dooty............

[Guest]

Will be a devalued win anyway, all teams are off form and have injuries and so on

[Duty281]

3 of my favourite years are: 1999, 2000, 2001.................what price 2013???
Happy days are here again
The skies above are clear again
Let us sing a song of cheer again
Happy days are here again..........

Yes it must be difficult being a small nation. The only real achievements you get is from watching your (not ours) biggest rivals lose.

[tatterd]

3 of my favourite years are: 1999, 2000, 2001.................what price 2013???
Happy days are here again
The skies above are clear again
Let us sing a song of cheer again
Happy days are here again..........

Yes it must be difficult being a small nation. The only real achievements you get is from watching your (not ours) biggest rivals lose.

Quite correct. And your problem with that is??

[Duty281]

3 of my favourite years are: 1999, 2000, 2001.................what price 2013???
Happy days are here again
The skies above are clear again
Let us sing a song of cheer again
Happy days are here again..........

Yes it must be difficult being a small nation. The only real achievements you get is from watching your (not ours) biggest rivals lose.

Quite correct. And your problem with that is??

I'm just glad that I'll never be that sad.

[tatterd]

3 of my favourite years are: 1999, 2000, 2001.................what price 2013???
Happy days are here again
The skies above are clear again
Let us sing a song of cheer again
Happy days are here again..........

Yes it must be difficult being a small nation. The only real achievements you get is from watching your (not ours) biggest rivals lose.

Quite correct. And your problem with that is??

I'm just glad that I'll never be that sad.

True Duty, true. You'll never have the experience of banding together against a common foe as I do with my celtic cousins against you. You will always stand alone, as everyone enjoys beating you due to the fact that you lack any kind of humility and have no respect for other nations

[mystiroakey]

sad comment tatterd. very sad.. I feel for ya

[tatterd]

sorry mysti - i was goaded!

[mystiroakey]

thats ok.

[Duty281]

3 of my favourite years are: 1999, 2000, 2001.................what price 2013???
Happy days are here again
The skies above are clear again
Let us sing a song of cheer again
Happy days are here again..........

Yes it must be difficult being a small nation. The only real achievements you get is from watching your (not ours) biggest rivals lose.

Quite correct. And your problem with that is??

I'm just glad that I'll never be that sad.

True Duty, true. You'll never have the experience of banding together against a common foe as I do with my celtic cousins against you. You will always stand alone, as everyone enjoys beating you due to the fact that you lack any kind of humility and have no respect for other nations

I'd rather be English and stand alone. I don't mind everyone wishing to beat us, it shows a sign of inferiority on their part. If you don't like England, don't play our sports.

[tatterd]

3 of my favourite years are: 1999, 2000, 2001.................what price 2013???
Happy days are here again
The skies above are clear again
Let us sing a song of cheer again
Happy days are here again..........

Yes it must be difficult being a small nation. The only real achievements you get is from watching your (not ours) biggest rivals lose.

Quite correct. And your problem with that is??

I'm just glad that I'll never be that sad.

True Duty, true. You'll never have the experience of banding together against a common foe as I do with my celtic cousins against you. You will always stand alone, as everyone enjoys beating you due to the fact that you lack any kind of humility and have no respect for other nations

I'd rather be English and stand alone. I don't mind everyone wishing to beat us, it shows a sign of inferiority on their part. If you don't like England, don't play our sports.

fair dues doot perhaps we should revisit this after super saturday

[gregortree]

Duty, stop nibbling

[Duty281]

Duty, stop nibbling

It's great having a little nibble!

[Duty281]

Playing poorly is a sign of champions. Winning 5 games in a row is also a sign of champions. 10 years without a Grand Slam ends in 6 days time.

[Morgannwg]

Wales U20s to take the slam. Wales to win the tournament after beating England by 8 points (but it will probably be 20 points).

[Guest]

I see Tom Wood has resorted to the "It's always all about us" sterotype by saying Wales would rather stop an English slam than win the championship themselves.
Yep sure Tom the current Champs don't want to retain their title

Wales wanted to beat Martin Johnsons England with Hill , Back, Thompson and Wilkinson so please don't confuse their History as yours.

[Luckless Pedestrian]

Playing poorly is a sign of champions.

If that was true, the '80s and '90s were a golden age for Welsh rugby.

[Guest]

I love how this was spun as a positive for England, all this they showed guts from Woodward and Dallagio!
No they didn't a combination of Italy failing to finish and Clancy allowing England to kill ball illegally is why they won,
No guts,infact they looked pretty spineless at moments.

[100%beefy]

If they do win a Slam after that performance I wll revise my opinions on devalued Slams

[majesticimperialman]

I love how this was spun as a positive for England, all this they showed guts from Woodward and Dallagio!
No they didn't a combination of Italy failing to finish and Clancy allowing England to kill ball illegally is why they won,
No guts,infact they looked pretty spineless at moments.

And i guess Wales look like World Champions right.

[gregortree]

Welcome back Viewtothechampionship.

[Guest]

Welcome back Viewtothechampionship.

[Duty281]

I love how this was spun as a positive for England, all this they showed guts from Woodward and Dallagio!
No they didn't a combination of Italy failing to finish and Clancy allowing England to kill ball illegally is why they won,
No guts,infact they looked pretty spineless at moments.

5 wins in a row.

[100%beefy]

England's hide is about as thick as it could be and that may be their undoing....before the game it was 20 points at least and 5 tries and by the end they were lucky to in at all and made a mess of it throughout. Wales will not be as forgiving as a superb Italy and since England seem averse to scoring tries and Wales don't concede them whilst regularly scoring themselves and off the back of 3 away wins are well within a 6 Nations defence at home, its patently obvious where the smart money goes

[Guest]

So a good team wins even if playing poorly, even thou at home and won because Italy missed kicks!
Wales away from home won a fifth away game in the six nations scored a try kicked some points and never looked like losing are considered as poor and boring!

Am i missing something

[mystiroakey]

Yeah what your missing is the full story. You pick the parts you want to maintain anger and a victim mentality.

Good to see back btw dude..

[Guest]

Good to be back,i needed some time out. Will stay on tonight then leave it till Saturday night.
A wum must know his limits and if i stay on here all week i sense a ban,it's all about peaking at the right moment

[gregortree]

See ya then View , I don't think you'll be back.

[Guest]

Don't worry i have more come backs than Dr Dre.

[mystiroakey]

Aye- Its a very dodgy time to be a welsh wum at the moment

[Guest]

[100%beefy]

england are the Masters of Spin, they went into this game expecting a cricket score to buffer their PD so that next week woudl only be abut a win of any kind, now they stuff up with an experimental side and leave themselves a huge task to achieve just to no win the Championship. Even in the ignominy of a barely won game they now spin it that it is good prep as it will wake them up. Really, why woul danyone accuse England of arrogance and actually, it's not arrogance but ignorance

[mystiroakey]

half full glass mate.

that can be acheived when you win games..

Its that simple really- no ignorance, no arrogance

[100%beefy]

thank you strokey for illustrating my point so concisely

[mystiroakey]

Firstly who is spining this as good prep? You have taken one look at a possible positive as ignorance..

secondly how have i proved anything?

thirdly why are you so sensitive to this?

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