I miss Charlton vs Barnsley - Charlton win I attend France vs England - England lose Im other news I am officially attending all the remaining Wales games.....
I miss Charlton vs Barnsley - Charlton win I attend France vs England - England lose Im other news I am officially attending all the remaining Wales games.....
let;' hope that Wales lose the lot and Charlton win the lot on the corresponding dates ((:>) .. enjoy the games
Jones got his selection wrong, probably took the French too lightly .. How Ben Youngs has got nearly 100 caps is beyond belief .. England's bench had three or four who should have started .. the French wanted it more but now the other teams will see them coming and will know not to take them lightly .. the wet weather was a big factor but should really have expected it to suit England more than France .. poor, perhaps complacent England will need to buck up to do the Scots next weekend .. France could be on a roll if their young players can keep it up
I read your preview and you got quite a bit spot on. I agree with what you say about Ben Youngs, who kicks 90% of the time when often there's a better move on. The opposition just know what to expect. I thought Willi Heinz looked a better player when he came on (as he did during his cameos in the World Cup) but I didn't realise he was 33 years old.
And yes, France had some great young players and Shaun Edwards has done a great job sorting out their defence. They never seem to get the two sides of the game working together; always known for their flair but generally not supported with a strong defence. They probably won't win the 6 Nations but it's a young team now and I liked the look of a couple of their replacements. They'll only get better.
another thought .. presumably Youngs kicks an awful lot as do Farrell and Ford, to follow the tactics drawn up by the coaches/managers
Our handling and turnovers were atrocious, can’t remember seeing so many mistakes from an England side. The French played well enough but to be honest weren’t fantastic, they didn’t have to be, they just gratefully capitalised on our stream of fuck up’s. In a nut shell, it was a very bad day at the office!
I was really impressed with Ellis Genge, Jonny May is impossible to dislike in an England team, always turns up. I thought we did as much as I expected us to do in the second half. Always going to be tough covering that deficit and France were very good first half and did just enough second half
Scrum half is a position we need to make a decision on, I'd have stuck with Danny Care over Youngs years ago but Youngs seems to he the preferred choice. They are both now in the autumn of their professional careers and Heinz whilst capable isn't the future
I was really impressed with Ellis Genge, Jonny May is impossible to dislike in an England team, always turns up. I thought we did as much as I expected us to do in the second half. Always going to be tough covering that deficit and France were very good first half and did just enough second half
Scrum half is a position we need to make a decision on, I'd have stuck with Danny Care over Youngs years ago but Youngs seems to he the preferred choice. They are both now in the autumn of their professional careers and Heinz whilst capable isn't the future
I agree about Care, although he does like to go off script sometimes, taking quick pens etc .. Jones likes England to play to a set structure, I won't say that he always picks 'yes men' but there is a lack of spontaneity in England's play and this is true to a certain extent of the other sides and at club level .. As a coach Jones is very good at getting players super fit. I have doubts about his current team selections and tactics. The other countries have caught up and what can you do when playing the Springboks ? .. not so much large antelopes as mad elephant bulls .. Jones needs to get it right against Scotland
Maro Itoje gave a very uninspired performance, almost certainly his poorest performance in an England shirt. Usually one of those that you can rely on to shine and give a stand out performance. He didn’t turn up!
Jones got his selection wrong, probably took the French too lightly .. How Ben Youngs has got nearly 100 caps is beyond belief .. England's bench had three or four who should have started .. the French wanted it more but now the other teams will see them coming and will know not to take them lightly .. the wet weather was a big factor but should really have expected it to suit England more than France .. poor, perhaps complacent England will need to buck up to do the Scots next weekend .. France could be on a roll if their young players can keep it up
I read your preview and you got quite a bit spot on. I agree with what you say about Ben Youngs, who kicks 90% of the time when often there's a better move on. The opposition just know what to expect. I thought Willi Heinz looked a better player when he came on (as he did during his cameos in the World Cup) but I didn't realise he was 33 years old.
And yes, France had some great young players and Shaun Edwards has done a great job sorting out their defence. They never seem to get the two sides of the game working together; always known for their flair but generally not supported with a strong defence. They probably won't win the 6 Nations but it's a young team now and I liked the look of a couple of their replacements. They'll only get better.
another thought .. presumably Youngs kicks an awful lot as do Farrell and Ford, to follow the tactics drawn up by the coaches/managers
I realise this kicking game as a tactic is used a lot nowadays and used by coaches who have forgotten more about the game than I will ever know, but my reasoning regarding this (particularly when you are chasing the game), is quite simple. If you don’t have possession of the ball you cannot score......if the opposition does, they can.
Furbank; May, Joseph, Farrell, Daly; Ford, Heinz; M Vunipola, George, Sinckler, Kruis, Itoje, Ludlam, Underhill, Curry
Replacements: Dunn, Genge, Stuart, Launchbury, Lawes, Earl, Youngs, Devoto .. taken from BBC
I am not too sure about this team .. in danger of being done in the set scrum, short of power in the backs, though the wings can be very dangerous. Cowan-Dickie who must surely get a start soon is away on paternity leave and Curry is a 6 or 7, not an 8, but I hope that I am wrong .. only two backs among the replacements, and one, Devoto, should be starting in place of Ford with Farrell back at 10. Anyway, enough moans. It will be a difficult game even for the most experienced. @LenGlover will be well pleased that his favourite, Joe Worsley is back in favour, almost
Ben Youngs at last is 'rested', lets hope that his replacement Willi Heinz is full of beans (sorry, it HAD to be said)
Furbank; May, Joseph, Farrell, Daly; Ford, Heinz; M Vunipola, George, Sinckler, Kruis, Itoje, Ludlam, Underhill, Curry
Replacements: Dunn, Genge, Stuart, Launchbury, Lawes, Earl, Youngs, Devoto .. taken from BBC
I am not too sure about this team .. in danger of being done in the set scrum, short of power in the backs, though the wings can be very dangerous. Cowan-Dickie who must surely get a start soon is away on paternity leave and Curry is a 6 or 7, not an 8, but I hope that I am wrong .. only two backs among the replacements, and one, Devoto, should be starting in place of Ford with Farrell back at 10. Anyway, enough moans. It will be a difficult game even for the most experienced. @LenGlover will be well pleased that his favourite, Joe Worsley is back in favour, almost
Ben Youngs at last is 'rested', lets hope that his replacement Willi Heinz is full of beans (sorry, it HAD to be said)
Didn't mind Joe Worsley as it goes @Lincsaddick but yes I am an unashamed Joe Launchbury fan. In Charlton terms he strikes me as a bit of a Kishishev in that his role is often not fully appreciated.
Furbank; May, Joseph, Farrell, Daly; Ford, Heinz; M Vunipola, George, Sinckler, Kruis, Itoje, Ludlam, Underhill, Curry
Replacements: Dunn, Genge, Stuart, Launchbury, Lawes, Earl, Youngs, Devoto .. taken from BBC
I am not too sure about this team .. in danger of being done in the set scrum, short of power in the backs, though the wings can be very dangerous. Cowan-Dickie who must surely get a start soon is away on paternity leave and Curry is a 6 or 7, not an 8, but I hope that I am wrong .. only two backs among the replacements, and one, Devoto, should be starting in place of Ford with Farrell back at 10. Anyway, enough moans. It will be a difficult game even for the most experienced. @LenGlover will be well pleased that his favourite, Joe Worsley is back in favour, almost
Ben Youngs at last is 'rested', lets hope that his replacement Willi Heinz is full of beans (sorry, it HAD to be said)
Totally agree re Devoto. The good news is Mako is back....I can’t be having Marler at all. And you are right, Cowan-Dickie can’t be far off at all.
Furbank; May, Joseph, Farrell, Daly; Ford, Heinz; M Vunipola, George, Sinckler, Kruis, Itoje, Ludlam, Underhill, Curry
Replacements: Dunn, Genge, Stuart, Launchbury, Lawes, Earl, Youngs, Devoto .. taken from BBC
I am not too sure about this team .. in danger of being done in the set scrum, short of power in the backs, though the wings can be very dangerous. Cowan-Dickie who must surely get a start soon is away on paternity leave and Curry is a 6 or 7, not an 8, but I hope that I am wrong .. only two backs among the replacements, and one, Devoto, should be starting in place of Ford with Farrell back at 10. Anyway, enough moans. It will be a difficult game even for the most experienced. @LenGlover will be well pleased that his favourite, Joe Worsley is back in favour, almost
Ben Youngs at last is 'rested', lets hope that his replacement Willi Heinz is full of beans (sorry, it HAD to be said)
Didn't mind Joe Worsley as it goes @Lincsaddick but yes I am an unashamed Joe Launchbury fan. In Charlton terms he strikes me as a bit of a Kishishev in that his role is often not fully appreciated.
call that a senior moment Len, on my part that is .. ((:>)
“SOUTH AFRICA could join the Six Nations after the 2023 World Cup in a stunning move which would change the shape of international rugby. Springboks chiefs are reportedly in negotiations with rugby chiefs and could move into the northern hemisphere tournament from the start of the 2024 season.”
Agree with a lot of the above half back axis lacks flair and just doesn't create space..we should be doing what France are doing and identifying young talent and sticking with it ..also curry isnt a no 8
“SOUTH AFRICA could join the Six Nations after the 2023 World Cup in a stunning move which would change the shape of international rugby. Springboks chiefs are reportedly in negotiations with rugby chiefs and could move into the northern hemisphere tournament from the start of the 2024 season.”
Not sure about this
It’s a ‘hell no’ from me.
In other news, it’s the ‘Owen derby’ today. Someone in our house isn’t going to be happy. COYBIG!
“SOUTH AFRICA could join the Six Nations after the 2023 World Cup in a stunning move which would change the shape of international rugby. Springboks chiefs are reportedly in negotiations with rugby chiefs and could move into the northern hemisphere tournament from the start of the 2024 season.”
I know it would make planning fixtures etc complicated but I have felt for a long time that Italy should play off against the like of Romania, Georgia etc depending on rankings for the final spot. That said it wasn't that long ago Italy beat South Africa! We were living in SA at the time and the result didn't go down too well, lol!
England will have to play a lot, lot better to be in with a sniff of a Triple Crown with them having to play Wales and Ireland. Not saying they won't be can't believe they were World Cup runners up!
Great to beat our 'friends' hahahahahha the scots .. real heathen rugby weather at Murrayfield .. a win but impossible to evaluate England's form, other than that they were dogged and beat an underpowered bunch of scots. My man Heinz didn't look to be a great improvement at s/half .. he just kept making the same mistakes. Ironically England looked better when Youngs came on,(though by then the scots had largely run out of puff) .. he's been playing with Farrell and Ford for years, so that would make sense. Praps being dropped has bucked him up.
Ireland mullered Wales (for those who didn't know, the new Irish coach is the England captain's dad) and they look VERY good, a total recovery from their limp world cup .. Wales were disappointing, totally overpowered .. France should hammer Italy tomorrow .. Ireland next for England, thankfully at Twickenham
b t w .. I'd welcome SA into the six at Italy's expense .. similar latitude to Europe so no time acclimatisation issues, though our winter is their summer .. it would improve the Euro standards, though radically weaken the S Hemisphere competition .. one issue is playing games on the veld, the Boer heartland .. that would give them a BIG advantage .. I have long suspected that SA are a little bit too fond of the old steroids, stricter dope testing could level the 'playing field' ((:>)
Not a great rugby fan but will watch it when it's on. Only seen the highlights of the England game but its unusual to miss 3 penalties isnt it ?? I realise that the weather wasn't good & I'm not blaming Farrell, but just wondered what the usual miss /convert ratio is. In my (very limited) viewing it's usually pretty much 90 -100% success rate.
Not a great rugby fan but will watch it when it's on. Only seen the highlights of the England game but its unusual to miss 3 penalties isnt it ?? I realise that the weather wasn't good & I'm not blaming Farrell, but just wondered what the usual miss /convert ratio is. In my (very limited) viewing it's usually pretty much 90 -100% success rate.
You're right about the kicking percentages in normal conditions. 80% plus for top class kickers and Farrell and Ford are probably 90% or thereabouts being 'top' top class.
The conditions must have been bad for Farrell to kick as badly as he did. Another clue was the now rare (although back in the days of baggy shorts and pre kicking tees it was common) sight of another player lying on the ground with a finger on the ball.
“SOUTH AFRICA could join the Six Nations after the 2023 World Cup in a stunning move which would change the shape of international rugby. Springboks chiefs are reportedly in negotiations with rugby chiefs and could move into the northern hemisphere tournament from the start of the 2024 season.”
Not sure about this
There is a bigger picture afoot here, the TV revenues are drying up for SANZAR with the rise of streaming services driving a stake through the heart of their biggest backer - a certain Mr Rupert Murdoch.
Foxtel in Australia and Sky NZ are both bang in trouble and can't pay what they used to pay for the rights so the Saffers (the poorest of those three markets) need to hedge their bets and look for new $$$ - it always comes down to money in the end.
If they went then that would leave NZ + Australia + Argentina in an unsustainable competition - unless the Saffers got real greedy and tried to play in both competitions which I would not rule out.
Comments
The French played well enough but to be honest weren’t fantastic, they didn’t have to be, they just gratefully capitalised on our stream of fuck up’s.
In a nut shell, it was a very bad day at the office!
Scrum half is a position we need to make a decision on, I'd have stuck with Danny Care over Youngs years ago but Youngs seems to he the preferred choice. They are both now in the autumn of their professional careers and Heinz whilst capable isn't the future
As a coach Jones is very good at getting players super fit. I have doubts about his current team selections and tactics. The other countries have caught up and what can you do when playing the Springboks ? .. not so much large antelopes as mad elephant bulls .. Jones needs to get it right against Scotland
Usually one of those that you can rely on to shine and give a stand out performance.
He didn’t turn up!
If you don’t have possession of the ball you cannot score......if the opposition does, they can.
Furbank; May, Joseph, Farrell, Daly; Ford, Heinz; M Vunipola, George, Sinckler, Kruis, Itoje, Ludlam, Underhill, Curry
Replacements: Dunn, Genge, Stuart, Launchbury, Lawes, Earl, Youngs, Devoto .. taken from BBC
I am not too sure about this team .. in danger of being done in the set scrum, short of power in the backs, though the wings can be very dangerous. Cowan-Dickie who must surely get a start soon is away on paternity leave and Curry is a 6 or 7, not an 8, but I hope that I am wrong .. only two backs among the replacements, and one, Devoto, should be starting in place of Ford with Farrell back at 10. Anyway, enough moans. It will be a difficult game even for the most experienced. @LenGlover will be well pleased that his favourite, Joe Worsley is back in favour, almost
Ben Youngs at last is 'rested', lets hope that his replacement Willi Heinz is full of beans (sorry, it HAD to be said)
Not sure about this
In other news, it’s the ‘Owen derby’ today.
Someone in our house isn’t going to be happy.
COYBIG!
Hopefully at 3-0 up England can do more in the second half with the wind and rain favouring them more than Scotland.
Well done England. Calcutta Cup and one-third of a Triple Crown in one, wet, windy afternoon.
My man Heinz didn't look to be a great improvement at s/half .. he just kept making the same mistakes. Ironically England looked better when Youngs came on,(though by then the scots had largely run out of puff) .. he's been playing with Farrell and Ford for years, so that would make sense. Praps being dropped has bucked him up.
Ireland mullered Wales (for those who didn't know, the new Irish coach is the England captain's dad) and they look VERY good, a total recovery from their limp world cup ..
Wales were disappointing, totally overpowered .. France should hammer Italy tomorrow .. Ireland next for England, thankfully at Twickenham
The conditions must have been bad for Farrell to kick as badly as he did. Another clue was the now rare (although back in the days of baggy shorts and pre kicking tees it was common) sight of another player lying on the ground with a finger on the ball.
Not entirely sure he came across as a particularly intelligent or witty bloke, but was definitely interesting!
There is a bigger picture afoot here, the TV revenues are drying up for SANZAR with the rise of streaming services driving a stake through the heart of their biggest backer - a certain Mr Rupert Murdoch.
Foxtel in Australia and Sky NZ are both bang in trouble and can't pay what they used to pay for the rights so the Saffers (the poorest of those three markets) need to hedge their bets and look for new $$$ - it always comes down to money in the end.
If they went then that would leave NZ + Australia + Argentina in an unsustainable competition - unless the Saffers got real greedy and tried to play in both competitions which I would not rule out.