General rugby thread
Discussion
Smollet said:
DodgyGeezer said:
Kermit power said:
Smith getting picked for England is probably the worst thing to have happened to him!
Not only has he not been great for England, he seems to have lost a little of his purely instinctive edge playing for Quins as well.
probably EJ's insistence on zero mistakes - the problem being playing naturally (a la Smith, Cips, Campese etc) does ,by it's very unpredictable, nature mean that mistakes will be made. Arundel is another one - instinct player and picked because of that and EJ's giving it "...he's someone we can coach..." and from what I can see the England idea of coaching is to go for regimented play by numbers and a playbook. Poor bloody Smith is having zero mistakes coached into him which then takes away a chunk of his USPNot only has he not been great for England, he seems to have lost a little of his purely instinctive edge playing for Quins as well.
DodgyGeezer said:
well, let's see how this lot fare at the weekend...
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/62075049
same 10/12 axis but 'big Joe' and Marchant both dropped. Care on the bench with Underhill replacing Curry.
Joe was underutilised and/or rubbish, but Marchant should rightly feel pretty gutted.https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/62075049
same 10/12 axis but 'big Joe' and Marchant both dropped. Care on the bench with Underhill replacing Curry.
DodgyGeezer said:
well, let's see how this lot fare at the weekend...
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/62075049
same 10/12 axis but 'big Joe' and Marchant both dropped. Care on the bench with Underhill replacing Curry.
Lots of tinkering still. Its a real shame Jones has struggled to find a cohesive back line, chasing the dream of a fit Tuilagi, then looking for a similar unique player to fill the gap always seems to be a fools errand. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/62075049
same 10/12 axis but 'big Joe' and Marchant both dropped. Care on the bench with Underhill replacing Curry.
Not expecting any wins from this series now, however, hope to see the new young uns get a good run out, and perhaps some idea of shape for the World Cup.
Smollet said:
Challo said:
Would it not help Smith to have a proper inside centre next to him, rather then Farrell? While a safe and steady number 10, he isn't the most dynamic and perhaps this is restricting Smith?
This. Farrell is the cork in the bottle. Outside of the two 9s, only one player on the park passed more ball than Farrell last weekend - and that was Smith. Smith passed 23 times, Farrell 18. Sure he doesn't run much, but there are plenty of running threats around him that just aren't getting used properly.
I'm more convinced the problem is coaching. I just don't see what patterns/tactics they are playing when the game opens up.
C70R said:
Smollet said:
Challo said:
Would it not help Smith to have a proper inside centre next to him, rather then Farrell? While a safe and steady number 10, he isn't the most dynamic and perhaps this is restricting Smith?
This. Farrell is the cork in the bottle. Outside of the two 9s, only one player on the park passed more ball than Farrell last weekend - and that was Smith. Smith passed 23 times, Farrell 18. Sure he doesn't run much, but there are plenty of running threats around him that just aren't getting used properly.
I'm more convinced the problem is coaching. I just don't see what patterns/tactics they are playing when the game opens up.
Smollet said:
C70R said:
Smollet said:
Challo said:
Would it not help Smith to have a proper inside centre next to him, rather then Farrell? While a safe and steady number 10, he isn't the most dynamic and perhaps this is restricting Smith?
This. Farrell is the cork in the bottle. Outside of the two 9s, only one player on the park passed more ball than Farrell last weekend - and that was Smith. Smith passed 23 times, Farrell 18. Sure he doesn't run much, but there are plenty of running threats around him that just aren't getting used properly.
I'm more convinced the problem is coaching. I just don't see what patterns/tactics they are playing when the game opens up.
Challo said:
C70R said:
He's been incredible for Saracens this season since coming back from injury.
But has he been playing for Sarries as a 10 or 12? Just this not just boil down to EJ continuing with his philosophy of wanting to play players in positions they do not play for their club?
It's too simplistic to place the burden on one player. It's a systems and coaching issue. England score so few of their tries from open play because their attack coaching and shape is just poor. That's been the case whether Farrell was playing or not (see the disastrous 6 nations campaign without him).
I’ve listened and read a fair bit on the subject of where England and Eddie are going and I’m getting more confused every day.
The apparent and stated goal for the team is the World Cup; even post selection this week EJ has spoken about building towards this goal and has essentially labelled this tour as little more than a training run.
He also talks about building an understanding between players but constantly changes pairings. He talks about fast ball, then kick chase, then power power power. He talks about bedding Smith in at 10 but in his 11 starts he’s had 9 different centre pairings and 4 different 9’s.
He clearly makes stuff up for the press to get them off his back which I guess is fair but his actions do not give you any confidence that behind it all is a plan beyond it’ll be all right on the night.
I still believe that England have the players to put together a world beating team with the right plan and coaching. Each time they play I watch with the hope that I’ll see a repeat of the World Cup semi final performance against NZ. You never know, come France 2023 we might have that team but I’m not sure it’s worth the 4 years of garbage in between?
The apparent and stated goal for the team is the World Cup; even post selection this week EJ has spoken about building towards this goal and has essentially labelled this tour as little more than a training run.
He also talks about building an understanding between players but constantly changes pairings. He talks about fast ball, then kick chase, then power power power. He talks about bedding Smith in at 10 but in his 11 starts he’s had 9 different centre pairings and 4 different 9’s.
He clearly makes stuff up for the press to get them off his back which I guess is fair but his actions do not give you any confidence that behind it all is a plan beyond it’ll be all right on the night.
I still believe that England have the players to put together a world beating team with the right plan and coaching. Each time they play I watch with the hope that I’ll see a repeat of the World Cup semi final performance against NZ. You never know, come France 2023 we might have that team but I’m not sure it’s worth the 4 years of garbage in between?
)towser said:
Couple of shockers for both sides....Ire should have had a penalty try for off the ball tackle on Ringrose, AB red card was pretty harsh - seemed like the players just ran into each other.
That was as red a red card as you'll see under the new laws. The tackler was upright and led with his head. It's the kind of tackle that causes brain injuries, and it's the kind of tackle that needs a red card to remove it from the game. C70R said:
towser said:
Couple of shockers for both sides....Ire should have had a penalty try for off the ball tackle on Ringrose, AB red card was pretty harsh - seemed like the players just ran into each other.
That was as red a red card as you'll see under the new laws. The tackler was upright and led with his head. It's the kind of tackle that causes brain injuries, and it's the kind of tackle that needs a red card to remove it from the game. Ireland really bossed it today. Their recycling speed was superb.
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