Andrew Sheridan

[LeRouxIsPHat]

This should possibly be in the general rugby section but it is Lions related too....just wondering am I the only one who thinks he's absolutely useless? To my mind he has no talent for rugby whatsoever apart from his scrummaging (although i think his ability there is overhyped by people like Stephen Jones because it's quite rare that he ever puts in the effort to actually destroy a scrum the way he can). Elsewhere his positional sense is laughable,he rarely gets on the ball and when he does he looks clueless and his hands are pathetic. But apart from that he's not bad i suppose......and if you want someone to stand beside a ruck then he's your man!

[tackle-bag]

I've always thought he's slightly over-rated but I think you might be exaggerating a tad. You're pretty close to the money when you suggest that he looks disinterested a lot of the time - he can be a seriously destructive force in the scrum when he wants to (remember that game v. Australia when both Dunning and Baxter had to leave the pitch injured having already conceded a penalty try for repeated collapsing) but on other occasions he has been content just to hold his own.

However, if all of this is directed towards his performance on Saturday, I think all sides (Saffers included) completely accept that Jonker absolutely shafted the Lions at scrum-time. They should have had at least half a dozen more penalties for collapsing.

[LeRouxIsPHat]

I've always thought he's slightly over-rated but I think you might be exaggerating a tad. You're pretty close to the money when you suggest that he looks disinterested a lot of the time - he can be a seriously destructive force in the scrum when he wants to (remember that game v. Australia when both Dunning and Baxter had to leave the pitch injured having already conceded a penalty try for repeated collapsing) but on other occasions he has been content just to hold his own.

However, if all of this is directed towards his performance on Saturday, I think all sides (Saffers included) completely accept that Jonker absolutely shafted the Lions at scrum-time. They should have had at least half a dozen more penalties for collapsing.

Oh no it's not all about Saturday (in fairness his scrummaging was decent) but i was just looking at the team for tomorrow and thought about how good Jenkins is compared to the other props we have and thought about it. There were at least 2 occasions on Saturday when he tackled someone without the ball purely because he can't read a game of rugby and it annoys me that someone who does that kind of thing manages to be a Lion. Although i'll admit that his scrummaging can be very good i wouldn't count the Aussie example on the basis that Dunning and Baxter were atrocious at the time.

[tackle-bag]

Yeah, I agree with what you're saying. Although, if we want to talk about tackling people off the ball, how about Shane Williams managing to do it twice in the one move (including one spear-ish tackle) without getting pinged.

As for Dunning and Baxter, you're right. Both sh!t players. Dunning is arguably the fattest, most dimwitted (see his drop goal on youtube) piece of excrement ever to take to a rugby field. He's basically Martin Prince from the Simpsons, if he were an international prop.

[LeRouxIsPHat]

Yeah, I agree with what you're saying. Although, if we want to talk about tackling people off the ball, how about Shane Williams managing to do it twice in the one move (including one spear-ish tackle) without getting pinged.

As for Dunning and Baxter, you're right. Both sh!t players. Dunning is arguably the fattest, most dimwitted (see his drop goal on youtube) piece of excrement ever to take to a rugby field. He's basically Martin Prince from the Simpsons, if he were an international prop.

Williams is another player i don't really rate...actually a thread named "players i don't rate" could be very entertaining now that i think of it! To be fair to Dunning at least he adds something in terms of entertainment value...i assume he doesn't actually take himself seriously as a rugby player either!

[gfo]

Gotta love a prop who gets 3 points from a droppie he intended to miss

overrated lions? worsley, croft, flutey, monye. all ridiculously overhyped by the english media, and could (should) have been left at home for better players from the england squad (cueto, tait, borthwick, moody)

[hugonaut]

Worsley and Flutey were form choices. Many people seem to doubt it, but Worzel Melon-Head had an excellent 6 Nations once he got in [as the world's slowest openside] against Wales. In fairness to him, he went from strength to strength once he was there, and more to the point, he has also performed very well in pretty much every big match he's played [2 Heineken Cup Finals, 1 RWC Semi and 1RWC Final]. Not many people rate him, but to give him his due, he's a big game player. He was, however, absolutely sh¡te in the first Lions game of the tour.

Lewis Moody has been a quality player for a long time [and a better player than Worsley, IMO] but has just been devastated by injuries over the last couple of seasons. He's hardly played for England, can't get his place for Leicester, and has a lot of miles on the clock. I couldn't see him lasting the tour. On this year's form, you'd have to go with Worsley if it's between the two of them.

Flutey was the joint leading try scorer of this year's 6 Nations. I've never held any grá for him, but again in fairness to him, when he plays well, England play well. D'Arcy's best game of the year was the HEC semi-final [which was after the initial squad announcement], Jamie Roberts showed mixed form after a great set of AIs and a fine opener against Scotland in the 6N and Matthew Tait can't necessarily get his game at the moment with Sale. He's also trying to establish himself as an out and out 13, and lose the utility back tag. Flutey and Roberts were chosen as 12s, Shanklin as a 12/13, Drico as 13, Earls as a 13/Back 3 in the initial squad. I think you could argue for Tait over Earls if you were so minded [Tait has played and excelled at the highest level - remember his phenomenal break in the RWC07 final? Against that, he's not in any sort of form], but I can't see the argument for bringing him ahead of Flutey.

Borthwick is just average as an international. Not a Lions calibre player, even if he seems like a nice bloke. I would rather have had Ian Gough or Nick Kennedy if you were going to leave another second row out. Not surprised he's not on the stand-by panel.

I'd agree that the Cueto/Monye call was odd. Cueto has buckets more experience, has been a Lion before and can cover anywhere in the back 3. He's recently been in pretty sharp form, and has always been a good finisher, good kicker and had a good determined mindset. I was impressed by Monye for Quins against us, and he has real sprinter's speed: clocked between 10.6 in school [source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ugo_Monye ] and 10.4 [source: http://www.ercrugby.com/eng/152_1789.php]. That's really the only thing he has over Cueto, although I'm looking forward to seeing him this evening.

Oh, and if you hadn't heard, Tom Croft is The Second Coming ...

[combatlogo]

He made his tackles on Saturday and to be fair, it was a bloody good move, well-executed where he tackled the wrong fella.

[thecoolfreak]

He made his tackles on Saturday and to be fair, it was a bloody good move, well-executed where he tackled the wrong fella.

Very true. I don't think there are too many players who wouldn't have got sucked in by that move

[jezzer]

Posted this somewhere else, but I have the niggling suspicion we're a bit light on mad b$&%@#ds. I just feel we're going to have to launch ourselves into the tackle zone like headcases to win this - aggressive rucking along the lines of Leinster in Croker but at twice the pace. Sheridan is a classic example of a guy who is just not going to do that for you. Your props should be grizzly warriors and he looks a bit of a ruck inspector to me. Even the good linebreakers like Croft, Heaslip, Wallace are tough lads but not going to fly into rucks with no personal safety in mind. You look at the forward squad for raw, toe-to-toe aggression and I just don't see it there in sufficient number.

[Danthefan]

I thought Vickery and Jenkins were both very good tonight.

[Donny B.]

I thought Vickery and Jenkins were both very good tonight.

They were. But the scrum looked even better when Murray came on.

Murray will probably start on Saturday against the Cheetahs.

[RoboProp]

Sheridan is an exceptionally strong ba$tard with near Olympic competion levels of strength don't think he brings much else to the dance to be honest.

[suisse]

Sheridan is an exceptionally strong ba$tard with near Olympic competion levels of strength don't think he brings much else to the dance to be honest.

Did you Mike Ross on Sunday? Where is he off to next year?

[ceemec]

Sheridan is an exceptionally strong ba$tard with near Olympic competion levels of strength don't think he brings much else to the dance to be honest.

Did you Mike Ross on Sunday? Where is he off to next year?

Eddie Rockets in Donnybrook I fear.

[RoboProp]

Sheridan is an exceptionally strong ba$tard with near Olympic competion levels of strength don't think he brings much else to the dance to be honest.

Did you Mike Ross on Sunday? Where is he off to next year?

He's coming here by all accounts.