slobber says...

@Nic22bro...

A good shout for NH team to play your SH team would be:

15.Byrne, 14.Bowe, 13. O'Driscoll, 12. Jauzion, 11. Ashton, 10. Jones, 9. Youngs, 8. Harinordoquay, 7. Dusautoir, 6. Ferris, 5. Lawes, 4. O'Connell, 3. Castrogiavanni, 2. Servat, 1. Jenkins

Posted 14:00 12th January 2011

Nic22bro says...

I know this is a world xv but I'm jus gonna throw this out there for anyone to chew on. What about a N.H vs S.H match? I know it's been spoken about before and it's unrealistic but hey I find it an interesting subject. My S.H team would be 15.Beale 14.Jane, 13.Smith, 12.Nonu, 11.Mitchell, 10.Carter, 9.DuPreez, 8.Read, 7.McCaw(C), 6.Kaino, 5.Matfield, 4.Thorn, 3.Franks, 2.Hore, 1.Woodcock, reserves Genia, Slade, JSmith, AWilliams, Mealamu, Franks.

Ok it's heavy on kiwi's but hey I'm kiwi so naturally and this only my S.H team. I know there is some positions that are debatable but oh well! Now I don't know enough about the N.H players to select a squad so would someone with the knowledge kindly do so.

Posted 16:05 11th January 2011

scotch13 says...

people seem to be taking this far too seriously. what part of "opinion" don't you understand lads? also, i'm a die hard ABs fan but all this talk about not enough kiwis in the XV and they deserved more because they dominated is (i think) just a tad misguided. ABs dominated based on team not on individual brilliance. think about this; there has been debate about Mils being the best 15 in NZ, but do we think that ABs are a better TEAM with Dagg in the 15 shirt? my answer: nope. why? simple, Dagg (in my opinion the best back three player in the world right now) needs the ball to shine, give him the pill and watch him go, so to speak, but starved of the ball he doesn't run the lines that Mils runs (this should be remedied after a season with the 'Saders, remember he previously played for Highlanders and Hawk's Bay where he was the #1 playmaking option) Dagg just needs to learn not to overplay his position, to play off the ball, as this is what makes the ABs so strong. to sum up; ABs could have got Kaino in at 6, Gear at 11 and Nonu at 12 but PR's opinion is that they didn't, simple really. oh and for the record; i disagree with a lot of your picks PR but i'm mature enough to not whine about it like a 12 year old. sorry for posting such a long one. Happy new year everyone

Posted 00:17 04th January 2011

KiwiLad says...

I guess we can pull the above team apart as much as we like,

but reality is that there is not a team on the planet currently that would beat it, would be a pleasure to watch.

Posted 22:52 01st January 2011

suzy says...

"but we tried our best to reflect on the whole year not just last month's Tests"

looks like you have only reflected last month's tests, the 6N, and anything non international...

I hope you watched the 3N, there was some great rugby talent.

Or is this a 'mediation' team to limit banter?

Adam Jones? Really? Not sure if he would make the reserve bench for any 3N team. Ok maybe Australia. Ok definately Australia.

But Jauzion had a great year for his country, Toulouse? beating Nonu due to Nonu's forgettable Super 14 start?

Great work PR

Posted 02:11 31st December 2010

mlbp says...

I love French rugby (when they are not throwing away matches like they did against Australia in November) and as much as I like Jauzion I think that he only stood out until June. Later he was just another ordinary number 12 and did not show all his great talents. My choice was Ma'a Nonu for that reason, because he was consistent all year.

Harinordoquy was great until June, too. Monsieur Lièvremont did not let him play in November as much as he deserved and that is why I voted for Kaino, because again we are choosing the best of the best for the year 2010 and he was rock solid all the season. Juan Smith did not play in the Tri Nations and that should have counted against him. He had a fantastic end-of-the-year tour but so did Kaino, plus a great Tri Nations and Super 14. I admit that overall Smith is a better all-around blindside flanker but Kaino did all he had to do and more, so he deserves the number 6 spot. Maybe Smith or Harinordoquy should be on the bench instead of Pocock (Imanol can play anywhere in the backrow, he's more versatile).

I still think Thomas Domingo should have had a crack at making the loosehead prop berth his own, but again we did not see much of him in November. Steenkamp did not play in the end-of-year-tour either, and Domingo was better in the loose and in the scrum. That is where my vote went.

Anyway, those who chose this team know much more than I do and watched a lot more rugby than I did this year.

Posted 14:27 30th December 2010

thewanderer says...

Mils had a good international season, but what about Beale? I' torn...

Steenkamp ahead of the Beast? Spot-on!

As for the rest, good choices! What a team this would be...

Posted 11:35 30th December 2010

aweblax says...

You are kidding right, no really you have to be, because if Genia is your 1st choice half, Coopers your 2nd choice flyhalf, and 2 Aussie wingers who got stood up by props, loosies and their opposite numbers can make this team, then by goodness World Rugby is in a hell of a lot of trouble.

Aw C'mon your either kidding or Australian, now that I would understand!!!!!.

Posted 09:06 30th December 2010