Why Thomas Young should, at least, be in the 23 for Wales v England
I agree with those who champion a back row of Josh Navidi at 6, Justin Tipuric at 7, and Ross Moriarty at 8 and even with those who laud Aaron Wainwright’s grunt as a bench option in response to England’s bosh merchants. Yet, were I Warren Gatland, I’d be tempted to give Thomas Young the back row bench spot because of his breakdown prowess and his carrying ability or, perhaps, even to start him at 6 with Tipuric at 7 and Navidi on the bench. I doubt Gats will take my advice but here’s the match day 23 I’d pick (at this very moment):
15. Liam Williams
14. George North
13. Jonathan Davies
12. Hadleigh Parkes
11. Josh Adams
10. Gareth Anscombe
9. Tomos Williams
1. Rob Evans
2. Ken Owens
3. Tomos Francis
4. Cory Hill
5. Alun Wyn Jones
6. Josh Navidi
7. Justin Tipuric
8. Ross Moriarty
16. Elliott Dee
17. Wyn Jones
18. Samson Lee
19. Jake Ball
20. Thomas Young
21. Gareth Davies
22. Dan Biggar
23. Owen Watkin
Jones starred in Scotland's victory over England in the Six Nations and Amos could have a similar effect at No.13
I see Andy Howell’s point but I think I’d ease Amos back into the side by putting him on the bench, where he can cover 13-15. To provide some contact for my perspective, this is the side I’d pick for Wales against Italy:
Rob Howley revealed the governing body admit a mistake was made in the Six Nations clash against England
Would the correct decision have resulted in a Welsh victory? Not necessarily (e.g. England might have played more rugby and scored more tries despite the excellence of the Welsh defense) but the correct decision would likely have changed this game in one way or another. Moreover, it would have been the correct and the just decision and that, presumably, is the basis of the respect that we afford officials in rugby--the presumption that their authority is deserved because their decisions will be competent and worthy of respect.
Does anyone seriously view Jonathan Joseph as a lock-defender?
Eddie Jones' deployment of Jonathan Joseph sets a trap for Rhys Patchell http://www.telegraph.co.uk/rugby-union/2018/02/08/eddie-jones-deployment-jonathan-joseph-sets-trap-rhys-patchell/?WT.mc_id=tmgliveapp_iosshare_AqLT9HwkFrTN
Not that anyone, especially Warren Gatland, will note, much less accept my unsolicited advice but were I charged with selecting the Welsh side to face everybody’s Caledonian darlings at the Principality Stadium on Saturday, I’d pick:
Inside the scrum: How does it feel being 'squeezed in a big vice'? http://www.telegraph.co.uk/rugby-union/2017/07/06/inside-scrum-mike-ross-front-row-battle-could-define-lions-decider/?WT.mc_id=tmgliveapp_iosshare_ApFsmzYjG3n4
The Scotch You Should Be Drinking Now - The Daily Beast
This idea has merit, especially if you live in the south. There are few things better than a fine dram of single malt but a tongue warmer is not really what’s required during the cocktail hour (at least not in Dixie). To these suggestions, I might also add the Black Grouse and Black Bottle, which are fine, reasonably priced blends for those whose tastes in single malt tend toward Islay. The stone fence (scotch, cider, & bitters) and the whisky mac (scotch & ginger ale or green ginger wine) are excellent ways to quaff your favorite blend when you’re too thirsty for a dram of malt with a few drops of water, as I find myself at present ...
The leader in realism for Online Baseball simulation games from the designer of Pursue the Pennant. Become the GM and Manager of your own team in a continuous Fantasy Draft league.
This is not the Cardinals team I would’ve handicapped to have won this sort of speculative competition but they were resilient, there’s no doubting that.
Mack Rhoades isn’t a despicable villain, and he’s no victim. He’s an athletic director in the modern...
I’d hoped, upon returning from my recent travels, to start posting again to this forum with far more regularity and focus. To that end, I’d planned to comment on much of what I saw/heard/said during those aforementioned travels (especially Wales’ unprecedented success at Euro 2016). Yet, circumstances compel me to offer my thoughts on the latest tribulations at my alma mater and I could not put it any better than Bernie Miklasz has done herein. To wit, calm the hell down, Tiger faithful, we don’t actually need to hire any new coaches just now, so, I think we can survive with Wren Baker for a bit ...
Simon Thomas argues the decision not to punish the England prop for striking Rob Evans and racially insulting Samson Lee does huge damage to the game
I’ve been rather fulsome in my congratulations to my English friends. England were better than Wales for all but about five or so minutes last Saturday at Twickenham, so, Wales have nobody to blame for their loss and the loss of a possible 6 Nations championship but themselves. Nevertheless, Simon Thomas is spot on here, though, understandably, he may not have taken his argument far enough. There is no reasonable rationale by which Marler could have been let off while Tomos Francs was banned for eight weeks after scraping the nose of Dan Cole while trying to clear him out from one of the numerous rucks on which he laid without supporting his body weight. If you need proof that it was Cole’s nose rather than his eyes that was aggrieved, you need only watch the video of his beak-gripping reaction while marching off after having been sent off for repeated infractions at the breakdown. This combination of miscarriages of pitch justice, when taken in concert with the pat on the head Mike Brown received after kicking Ireland’s Connor Murray in the head, cannot but suggest a serious bias toward the red rose on the part of the 6 Nations ...
I’ve had this draft hanging around since shortly after the final whistle sealed Wales dramatic come-from-behind victory over England at Twickenham last Saturday. So, as Wales are now just about to kick off against Fiji at the Millennium Stadium, I cannot let the moment pass without marking what I now rate as one of the five greatest matches/games I’ve ever witnessed in any sport. Wales won the day over their old enemy in much the same way they have lost so many times, in recent years, at the death to the likes of Australia. To be fair, England were very good, even approaching dominant, for large portions of the first sixty minutes but Wales’ resilience, given their apparent problems at the scrum and the mounting injuries in an already depleted squad, are the measure of this match’s greatness, at least from my admittedly biased perspective. England may have given Wales the chance but Gatland’s happy few hung around, largely on the back of their fitness and sheer belief, and took their chance when it appeared. Long may they continue to play this way, beginning today, at home, against their bogey side from the last time the RWC was played in the northern hemisphere ...
Gareth Bale's late header secured a 1-0 win in Nicosia that means victory over Israel on Sunday will confirm qualification
I really don’t care very much about soccer but I’m really happy for the Welsh team (e.g. it’s nice to see a player of Bale’s caliber, perhaps, avoiding George Best’s fate in a Northern Ireland jersey) and their fans. Ymlaen, Cymru!
I so enjoyed the version of this argument, which Richard Utz delivered at the most recent International Congress on Medieval Studies at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo in May, that I didn’t even mind that it began at the indecent hour of 8 AM. In fact, I might go so far as to contend that it was not only the most compelling thing I’ve ever seen at K’zoo but that it may well have been the most important plenary ever offered at the Congress. I’m no fan of the Babel Working Group or many of those approaches to Medieval Studies so heavily indebted to Postmodernism but a broader, more self-conscious, even, perhaps, more inclusive, approach to studying the Middle Ages and its influences upon post-Medieval culture(s) may well be necessary from here on out. The Historians and stodgier scholars of Anglo-Saxon literature among us may grouse but I doubt their academic posts are in danger from the members of the SCA or any of the aspiring brewers of medieval mead and beer recipes. Conversely, if we stand on ceremony and prestige too long, we may face a Shaker-esque doom.
Richard is a savvy scholar and a very nice man to boot (N.B. as a former postdoctoral fellow at Georgia Tech, i was very pleased to see him take the position of LMC Chair). His reasoning is largely sound, though the limitations imposed on his argument by the parameters of publication in this venue (i.e. the Chronicle, which ought to be less afeared of publishing longer arguments, given the makeup of its readership--it’s not as if the Chronicle needs to take Utz’s advice and appeal to the masses) hinder its clarity and, ironically, undercut its authority relative to its overriding point. As it stands here, the editors have done it and the important question at issue Utz addresses little good. For example, Utz writes:
One way to do this is to intervene aggressively in the media when the French National Front appropriates Jeanne d’Arc, New Hampshire legislators feel textually beholden to the Magna Carta, British politicians combat contemporary jihadism with a late medieval treason law, or Prince Philip is appointed to a knighthood of the Order of Australia, a title the illustrious heritage of which dates back to ye olde 1975.
The truncated form of this essay does not, presumably, allow Utz to elaborate on these remarks as he might (N.B. I cannot recall whether or not he did so when delivering his plenary lecture at Kalamazoo but I also cannot recall having noted this point with the concern that I have upon reading this condensed version of it). If he we able to do so, I presume he might well elaborate on what he considers sufficiently aggressive intervention as well as the need for such intervention, which he seems only to presume. Wouldn’t it be a bit ironic to chide New Hampshire legislators for their appropriations of the Magna Carta, no matter how ham-fisted, out of one side of one’s mouth while singing the praises of Medievalism out of the other? The vagueness of this passage suggests that certain political perspectives are either self-evident or hegemonic or, worse, both. Such presumption would, ironically, echo the aloofness of those traditional medievalists whom Utz so wisely criticizes herein. Yet, it is unclear if it is the author or the editor who is to blame here though I would like to give a scholar as thoughtful and thought provoking as Utz the benefit of the doubt.
I don’t intend this slight quibble with the editing of Utz’s commentary as any sort of backsliding in my general support of his exhortation of (a) Medieval Studies more open to Medievalism and other, more public and less exclusively academic, manifestations of the discipline(s). Yet, it seems incumbent on any of us who take up this flag to articulate our (re)new(ed) extroversion with (even) great(er) precision and commitment to our interest(s) in the Middle Ages above any and all post-Medieval political interests (save where those are purely the objects of our studies).
Film about 2013 Solid Sound Festival features performances from Wilco, Yo La Tengo, Foxygen, Reggie Watts, and more
If this--i.e. requests for covers of the ilk of Pavement’s greatest hit--is what it takes to get Wilco to more consistently resemble the rock band we all know they can be, then I’m all for it. Well done, Wilco fans!
Organization will be tainted by hacking scandal for a long time. Fans of other teams will justify losses to St. Louis by blaming it on Cardinal sins and corruption.
This seems, pretty much, to be the long and short of it (at least as it stands now, outside of the LA Times offices anyway) ...
Morne Steyn kicks Parisians to French title glory as Clermont suffer heartbreak in yet another major final.
Are Clermont the Buffalo Bills of professional rugby? Or, would it be better to ask if the Buffalo Bills of the early 90s were the Clermont of the NFL? It was agonizing to watch Clermont’s ball carriers repeatedly tackled into touch whenever they started to build any offensive momentum, though, perhaps not so agonizing as watching Bristol’s last minute collapse at Worcester in the Championship final a couple of weeks ago ...
Watching Other People Exercise @gwylio - Tumblr Blog | Tumgag
