Rugby - The Game They Play In Heaven II

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More than that, he was the only one who looked like scoring a try against Scotland. To the extent that he did.

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The more Turnip says on the Parks matter, the more he reveals himself to be a self-aggrandising t*rd.

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Mmmm. England unchanged. Another back row full of 6s. If Italy can keep it tight ...

[Havak]

Dont worry, they won't.

And I am worried about Youngs form kOc. But worrying about his form doesn't stop me worrying about Hodgson's temperament or deficincies as both a game runner and tackler.

Flood and Manu are being given another fortnight to prove their fitness which seems fair enough. It would surpise me greatly if neither then featured against Wales.

[kittenOFchaos]

Wales Vs Scotland this weekend at the Millenium Stadium...and the Scots want the roof closed to play running rugby...against Wales.

Why can't we just play in the mud and play to our strengths? Our pack can take on Wales and our backs are defensively pretty good - in cold, wet conditions, Wales will have to slug it out more and we can knock over the penalties and win. All our recent wins against notable opposition have been decided by the boot...given last week there is no reason to think this is going to change.

Last weekend had Scotland played safe on the break, recycled and gone for a few drop goals perhaps we'd have been talking more about why England had so little ball.

[kittenOFchaos]

Charlie Hodgson for his second try to bring England right back into it.

Plenty of sweet passing to accompany his second try of the 6 Nations

Ben Youngs - wtf.

[kittenOFchaos]

Botaz really has been a super-sub.

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Say what you like about Charlie Hodgson, Havak, he's the only Englishman who looks like scoring tries and does. Pity about Botes' goal kicking at the end. He's normally very reliable, a better 10 than Burton, too, even if he plays 9 for Treviso. Why did Masi kick? Why? A side step and he was away.

What a difference Dickson made. Like Ben Youngs used to be. He has to start. As, too, Morgan.

[Havak]

Mainly Finbar because he struggles to bring a backline into the game. Hodgson was however far from the worst player we fielded (there I said it!) though I do feel Flood brings the backs into the game much more effectively still.

Agree on both starters there. Quite telling how Youngs rejected with himself when subbed- he is totally out of sorts and needs time to resolve it away from test match rugby.

And let me preface this by saying that was a poor showing by England. I get the impression Lancasters master plan is to defend solidly and hope to get lucky. Certain coaches will be watching how they fell apart under sustained pressure in that mad period at the end of the first half and thinking how they can exploit it.
But I give them some credit for how they came back by playing simple and direct rugby – territory and possession paved the way in the second half.

Croft stuck to the task at the breakdown much better though not flawlessly – he will look to drift to the wing. And most amusingly Jeremy Guscott forgot to pack his Grecian 2000 and Vainglorious as he was clearly concerned to be salt and pepper. So yes the highlight of the game for me was a BBC pundit being embarrassed.

Ultimately I am also grateful Italy have to rely on tri-nations rejects at fly half. Italian media voted MOTM. Parisse. Not entirely sure that was warranted in this particular game to be honest. I think I would have gone Farrell – remarkable composure for a youngster.

Wales should be rubbing their hands for Twickers but they still shouldn’t take it lightly. And the players won’t of course – even if the fans already have the Slam in the trophy cabinet. Then again as I write they have yet to overcome Scotland.

Now the small matter of France-Ireland if they have thawed the pitch out.

*edit I have a feeling the first win for the Eye-eyes may actually come at HQ. Thirteen in a row they have lost now, having beaten all the other sides. But one thing is sure England's record against them is going to falter at some point.

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I thought CH was far from the worst. He even tackled. I heard Dayglo as a commentator for the first time today. What a one-eyed twayt. Well, I always knew he was a twayt.

You should keep a long-term eye on the Italian 13 who scored the intercept. Tommaso Benvenuti. Turned 21 in December. A special young talent. Mallett blooded him on the wing but he will be a classy 13.

[LDiCesare]

I feel so sorry for Italy. England can definitely thank Hodgson, and indeed Dickson was a class above Youngs. Agree with Morgan too. A pity about Castrogiovanni. He could have made a difference had he remained on the pitch.
France-Ireland will not be played. This would mean the match should be played next week... What a silliness to play matches at night in the first place.

[kittenOFchaos]

No under-floor heating and clearly not enough effort to use heaters until the last moment. You've got to wonder if the French wanted to play in the cold - Clerc was talking about a frozen pitch far earlier in the week.

Jeez Havak, you still can't cut Hodgson some slack.

Poor Ashton, he doesn't seem to have a role in this new England setup.

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Moved to next weekend. Aren't Stade-Toulon playing there next weekend?

They had underground heating. Sarkozy dug it up and sold it to raise the dowry for Carla Bruni.

Ashton doesn't have a role because he doesn't see the ball and poor old Ben Foden only sees it when the oppo boots it to him. As Havak says, the England strategy seems to be to defend like stink and hope for accidents.

[kittenOFchaos]

He used to track...England did break the line on a number of occasions once they had a scrum-half with a pulse and an 8 with the physique of an 8.

[Havak]

I thought I was pretty fair in saying he was far from the worst we fielded given no one starting covered themselves in glory. So I'll be clearer - he was one of our most effective players. The question is how much of an accolade that is given it was another poor team performance. And he cannot spark a backline - I am not going to pretend he has abilities that he does not just because he scores a couple of tries. He worked hard for both and kudos to him for that - I still think Flood is the better fly half option. We will see if Lancaster agrees with me.

Abandoned five minutes before kick off - that will not be a happy ground. However with an air temp of minus five and windchill of minus eleven plus one corner of the pitch frozen then player safety simply has to come first. I tend to agree with LdiC however that rugby is not for the night time!

Exeter maintained their jinx over Tigers tonight - the only positive that Manu and Toby came through okay.