Rugby - 6 Nations, Heineken Cup, You Can't Beat A Northern Hemisphere Winter!

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We didn't get coverage of Scotland-Fiji. We had, unsurprisingly, Italy-v-All Blacks. ABs were, I suppose, competent with a selection of midweek players onboard. Looks like they might have turned up some backup for Carter in the form of Delaney. He's a class above Donald. Italy, as always, defended hard and kicked a lot. Craig Gower, who actually has ball skills, kicked the polish off his boots. Obviously under orders.

Italy should have had a penalty try awarded in the closing minutes after a farcical series of eight or nine reset scrums on the AB 5 metre line. The AB scrum - under serious pressure throughout the whole match, Crockett in particular - was penalised three consecutive times, including a yellow card. Why no penalty try?

England were, well, England. Dire, lumpy, incompetent. Again, only Moody and Wilko looked anything like Test standard. Squeaked a win against a team containing two or three amateurs. The worst thing that could have happened. Later, J**** actually said, "Well, a win is a win". Pfffft.

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That's a loss that will haunt the Wallabies. A draw, but, given their complete domination in all but two areas, it has to count as a loss. Certainly they will see it as such. They lost the lineouts, but that was to be expected. But, crucially, they lost the backline battle. The Irish backs rarely saw the ball, but when they did, they were mighty dangerous. The Wallaby backs (a) didn't see enough of the ball because of the odd choice to kick so much (and often so pointlessly); and (b) when they did see the ball, there simply wasn't enough cunning. In those terms, BOD was the difference. Today, we saw the many sides of Quade Cooper - at times excellent, at times too clever for his own good, at times terrible. Still, he's 21 years old. Credit to Ireland for never giving up. They were rusty, they will get better.

Regardless, David Pocock looks to be coming of age and the scrum hasn't looked better in eons.

I couldn't be bothered mentioning the ridiculous yellow card on Cliffy Palu and the simply wrong decisions from Kaplan that handed Ireland a couple of their early penalties.

[kittenOFchaos]

I too was watching a so-called game of rugby on Saturday...England Vs Argentina.

Don't give any credit to Argentina, they didn't turn up to play rugby and England were but for brief flashes totally disorganised. Monye at 15 was a repeat of the nonsense of Balshaw at 15 - wingers aren't naturally adept at taking the highball, the key role of that position. Balshaw is fanastic on the wing, at 15 he looked like a clown. Monye, abit better, but ultimately very poor at the job.

The backline was in some regards better than against Australia (less miss-passes for no reason) as they were drawing the tackler better, but most of the time they punted the ball away, usually as part of the stupid up and under which is a curse to enjoying modern rugby. Also, our players aren't running onto the ball...they're taking it standing or behind them far too often...this should ever be the case and is one of the reasons virtually all backs move it turning to ****.

So Johnson needs to get the backs from kicking the ball away and getting the ball moving at pace. He needs to start playing people in position. Croft was doing well at 8, now he ain't there and wasn't up to much...stop doing that. Similar with Monye at 15, pointless, especially when Cueto has played 15 and done it well. A similar issue with Geraghty who is a 10...playing out of position when he should be sat on the bench instead of Goode to replace Jonny as and when his style of running the team is not what is needed...I'd also get rid of Hipkiss...we need speedsters.

The positives...

As a team? Tackling is good, turnovers have been plentiful and the lineout is operating well and in the tight things weren't bad at all...

Moody - he is as good as ever, but now isn't giving penalties away, this is fantastic.

Wilkinson - apart from his kicking from hand, which has been dire, he is playing really well and has given a defensive backbone to the English backline. He is also passing well, doing great drop goals and kick-offs (which England are often reclaiming).

Cueto - his is extremely busy. I didn't realise Hipkiss was playing till the second half, as that player was so inactive...but Cueto was all over the place, tackling, kicking and running it. His work rate was more than Hipkiss and Geraghty combined and he helped Monye out often.

Banahan - far better this game, not only with a try which was the result of a good passage of play, but he looked more comfortable and got involved.


That all said. Keep things in perspective...according to the rankings, Argentina were above England...they showed nothing to justify that. They just looked like a better version of Italy...not really deserving or capable of winning, but able to turn a game into the Somme and England won and for most of it, looked the only team capable of winning.

[kittenOFchaos]

Oh yeah...I liked the purple strip, that was cool with the white socks

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Don't give any credit to Argentina, they didn't turn up to play rugby

Were we watching the same game? With their very limited resources - six amateurs in the 22 and a total of six caps experience between the 9, 10, 11 and 12 - the Argies looked better moving the ball than England did. They tried to run the ball and actually made some coordinated breaks. England put together one credible movement for the match and it won them the game.

So Johnson needs to get the backs from kicking the ball away and getting the ball moving at pace.

First and foremost, there needs to be an overall strategy. Anything. At the moment there's none. There isn't the slightest indication that any player is thinking beyond the moment. I think this team has been coached into the ground but with a negative, defensive, don't-lose mentality. Add to that a severe lack of confidence and you end up with the mess on display.

Wilko will never ignite a backline. He never has. It's not his style. That reduces Geraghty's potency. Geraghty could be very effective at 12 if he weren't positioned so deep. His best work is done on or close to the gain line, challenging defences, creating doubts. Standing as deep as he is, he's impotent. But, of course, this involves attacking strategy, and there's obviously no coaching in this area. I saw a BBC online headline that said "Smith quits". I thought it was Brian Smith quitting out of frustration. Turned out to be the England L***** coach.

He needs to start playing people in position. Croft was doing well at 8, now he ain't there and wasn't up to much...stop doing that.

Monye was the only one playing out of position. Utter stupidity. As I said last week, why play someone out of position - and who's proven to be shaky under the high ball - against a team that will launch bombs?

Croft at 8? When? Anyway, poor Tom is superfluous to this team's needs the way they're being coached to play. Look at how the Lions used him. This mob doesn't know how. Not his fault.

Dan Hipkiss is another victim of the complete absence of any attacking strategy. He's given the ball to take it into a wall of defenders. End of story. I remain to be convinced that he's a Test class 13 but, to be fair to him, I'd like to see him given an opportunity to be other than a battering ram.

The positives...

None. It was a step backwards from the effort against the Wallabies. Lewis Moody aside. He was, again, the best England player by a mile. You know why? Because he's barking mad. He plays purely on instinct. And he's the only one. The others, if they ever had any instinct, have had it coached out of them by the management troglodytes.

That all said. Keep things in perspective...according to the rankings, Argentina were above England...they showed nothing to justify that. They just looked like a better version of Italy...not really deserving or capable of winning, but able to turn a game into the Somme and England won and for most of it, looked the only team capable of winning.

We were definitely watching different games.

Oh, and they looked like Cadbury chocolates in the purple strip. The ones with the soft centres.

[LDiCesare]

They just looked like a better version of Italy

Considering quite a few Italian players are actually argentinans, it shouldn't be that surprising.
Argentina lost a few key players after the world cup, in particular A. Pichot. Now their only playmaker is Hernandez. I'm not even sure if they still have a dangerous full back with Corletto gone.

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In several words, no they haven't. Without Hernandez and Contepomi they have an outstanding #8 in skipper Lobbe and a great front row. Beyond that, they have enthusiasm. Something England lacks.

[Havak]

I have to say here Finbar is spot on - England are not using the talents of either Croft or gergathy becuase of how they are playing.

I've never seen them play so badly and win - and that is a lot of bad games they were competing against!

Over-coached to the nth degree (did you see them looking to the bench constantly), playing a very simple structure (2-4-2 forwards across the paddock), kicking the ball to the oppo backline or boshing it up route one.

Moody is playing for a place right now and it shows - few coaches would tell a young player to play the way he does - he was everywhere on Saturday. he has never been a great linking 7 but has done a pretty reasonable job there for two weekends and has been fantastic in the field. But against McCaw - even with the ABs limping along - he is outclassed as a 7.

A real clean sweep is needed - is Eddie Jones available? I'm convinced an external perspective is now needed. Did anyone see the Banahan interview after the game? Talk about DENIAL!

[finbar]

You can rest easy. Simon Shaw will be back. All will be well with the England rugby world.

Coached into the ground is one of the keys. But coached in the wrong way, in the wrong direction. It doesn't help, either, that many of the Guinness premership teams play the same dour, conservative, let's-not-lose game, so that's what many of the players are used to. The diference is that, at Test level, a lot of the opposition will cut that approach to shreds.

Oh, and I forgot to mention that I've developed a soft spot for Leicester since I noticed that the coaching staff use real computers on match day.

[Havak]

Sponsored kit.

They have secretly had Windows 7 put on them all I bet.

[Havak]

Croft has occassionally covered 8 at Tigers but his position is six. Though whilst a team delivers and recycles ball as turgidly as England his stand out abilities - pace and dynamism - are quite wasted. I wouldn't be surpised to see Haskell - not even in the same class - talk his way into Tom's shirt ("Brand Haskell" prefers Six).

Cleverly coached sides - say Australia and the ABs - would build a gameplan around their players strengths. I wonder how the ABs would use Tom - not by ploughing the route one furrow all the time and letting the scrummy have a cup of tea before passing the ball that is for sure.

Finbar has pointed out Geragthy does his best work on the gain line - and again England aren't able to take advantage of that.

Dan H might not be a test 13 - but he is better than he is currently being made to look. The constant ploughing into contact instead of trying to create and work space is wasting most of the backs to be honest.

And who thinks Monye is a fullback? I mean really thinks that? Except Jonno? Decent winger, Z class fullback. At best.

I'm expecting Andydog to appear on Monday. I ought to go on vacation for a month?

[Havak]

South Africa are not having a great tour are they?

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They have secretly had Windows 7 put on them all I bet.

Speaking of which, our neighbour didn't have an internet connection. Just a fairly ancient PC running XP. We run wireless, they're well within range, so I bought an adapter for their PC and set it up to access our wireless network. All of which only confirmed for me that Windows is cumbersome, convoluted and, all in all, a heap of sh*t.

That aside, Tom Croft would fit the ABs like a glove. They recycle and offload at such speed that he would be in his element. Geraghty, too. The ABs play flat and on the gain line. As, for that matter, do the Wallabies when playing well. Quade Cooper, despite some of his blemishes, is only doing what Geraghty is capable of doing.

Matty Tait is back. On the bench, no doubt, coming on too late in the match to be of any use. Given the stupidity of their thinking thus far, presumably Shaw will take Deacon's spot, Deacon to the bench, Lawes out of the 22. The ABs are vulnerable in the locking department. You attack them. But England won't. The Times website is also saying Erinle in for Geraghty and Worsley for Croft. Dear God, no. No. No.

No.

No.

South Africa are not having a great tour are they?

And again, no. Though it was basically a Bok fest, after all. The Bok 3rd 22 beat the Bok 2nd 22.

[Havak]

And yet yes. Erinle (primarily an outside centre incidentally) at 12? I'm trying to understand, I really am - but I can't. It's not even desperation - it is simply clueless.

Can the veteran Shaw compensate for the fact Borthers isn't international class
? I like Deacon but he had about two club games before his call up after a very serious injury -and he looks well off the pace still. And Lawes goes without having done anything wrong? How many times does Bothwick have to prove he doesn't warrant a place and cannot skipper a side to save his life? Has Nick Kennedy threatened Martin's family or something?

I'm fearing chirpy triumphant Kiwis savouring a record win.

*edit* Oh and when you get used to it XP is merely pretty awful.

[finbar]

Nick Kennedy will have to wait till Borthwick dies before taking his deserved spot. They're too similar - though Kennedy is streets ahead in quality - and need a muscular partner. At least Shaw is muscular and a serious trier. He will probably offer more than the undercooked Deacon, but, at his age, and coming off the lay off, how long will he last? How long before Deacon is on in his place and everything's back to square one.

Presumably Erinle is meant to counter Nonu's strength. Beaut. Erinle's big weakness has always been defence. If they wanted Erinle's size and speed, why not drop Hipkiss - who can tackle - into 12 (where he has at least played for Leicester) and start Erinle at 13? Even then, Conrad Smith is about the most slippery 13 in world rugby. Tst. Beats me.