General rugby thread
Discussion
Good performance by England which has to be said fielded pretty much a 2nd 15. I thought we'd lose against that Wales team tbh. But fortunately we didn't so lots of positives.
Some interesting selections ahead for EJ ahead of tomorrows team announcement with some late entries maybe!
Lewis Ludlum had an excellent first cap (great emotion at the anthem too). Tom Curry brilliant 30 mins. Looks great depth (if unexperienced) at flanker then depending who keeps fit.
Willi Heinz on the plane imo
Anthony Watson had a sharp game after all his time out
Just need to wrap Billy in cotton wool til September please.
Sure Wales will be better at their gaff on Sat, but Gatland got to be worried about tiring out their 1st 15 before the real show starts.
PS, still a long way to WC2019 but had a few glasses of red so apologies if I might be wearing my rose tinted glasses this evening
Some interesting selections ahead for EJ ahead of tomorrows team announcement with some late entries maybe!
Lewis Ludlum had an excellent first cap (great emotion at the anthem too). Tom Curry brilliant 30 mins. Looks great depth (if unexperienced) at flanker then depending who keeps fit.
Willi Heinz on the plane imo
Anthony Watson had a sharp game after all his time out
Just need to wrap Billy in cotton wool til September please.
Sure Wales will be better at their gaff on Sat, but Gatland got to be worried about tiring out their 1st 15 before the real show starts.
PS, still a long way to WC2019 but had a few glasses of red so apologies if I might be wearing my rose tinted glasses this evening
Trigbert said:
Sure Wales will be better at their gaff on Sat, but Gatland got to be worried about tiring out their 1st 15 before the real show starts.
PS, still a long way to WC2019 but had a few glasses of red so apologies if I might be wearing my rose tinted glasses this evening
Garland's pre-tournament plans are well tried and tested. He slaughters them. Pushes players to their physical limits and then recovers them just in time for the start of the big matches.PS, still a long way to WC2019 but had a few glasses of red so apologies if I might be wearing my rose tinted glasses this evening
Wales weren't rested before today, and it shows. But today was just another Beasting session for them ahead of the WC.
Agree, Wales look very flat and frankly poor. Don’t read too much into that game will be different at WC. Biggest negative was Anscombe’s injury.
Lots of positives for England. JJ and Watson looks sharp to add needed experience back in the squad. Curry was v good-injury didn’t look too bad. Ford played and kicked nicely. Billy was top drawer-if he stays fit and in form England can beat anyone on their day.
Next week will be interesting. I assume Eddie will play more 1st team and Gatts will play some more bench players.
Lots of positives for England. JJ and Watson looks sharp to add needed experience back in the squad. Curry was v good-injury didn’t look too bad. Ford played and kicked nicely. Billy was top drawer-if he stays fit and in form England can beat anyone on their day.
Next week will be interesting. I assume Eddie will play more 1st team and Gatts will play some more bench players.
Is it just me (it could all be in my head) but did Wales always look dangerous when they had their chances, whereas England looked a little fortunate when they had some of theirs?
Granted there were some great highlights for an England showreel but also some real worries when they were on the back foot - that Welsh solo try from the halfway line scrum was disturbingly easy...
The physicality of the game at International is now almost unbelieveable - there were some huge hits and collisions there today - the team lists for a weeks time could be interesting.
Granted there were some great highlights for an England showreel but also some real worries when they were on the back foot - that Welsh solo try from the halfway line scrum was disturbingly easy...
The physicality of the game at International is now almost unbelieveable - there were some huge hits and collisions there today - the team lists for a weeks time could be interesting.
schmalex said:
I’d disagree. To my eyes, Wales looked stagnant and lacklustre. The breakaway try was good individual skill that caught Vunipola napping. Other than that, they really didn’t look threatening at all.
I could not resist sending a supportive email to a Welsh mate. He had it coming after the comments to me after their Grand Slam. I got a 'Yes, but we broke through your line at will'.It was good to see a fast-flowing match, with the England side apparently not worrying about an occasional try against them. The ref seemed inclined to let things go a bit. That was good.
Wales were poor at times though. Defensively they seemed to lack confidence (and for good reason as it turned out) with an extra man coming in, 'just in case' it seemed.
Some good counter-rucking at times. I like to see that.
That overthrow was excruciatingly embarrassing. Still, in my day an opportunistic hooker was . . . well, he wasn't.
My opinion at half time was that the Welsh lacked commitment, the one thing they always bring to Twickenham. I saw nothing in the second half to make me change my mind.
An enjoyable match, but could have done with a bit more buzz from the Welsh.
An all round good showing from the England 2nd XV. They took their chances to shine. I thought we'd lose but by a small margin. Promises well for the future. Our strength in depth must be the envy of other UK/Ireland teams.
Evanivitch said:
The Mad Monk said:
Wales looked poor, and performed badly.
The best player yesterday on the Welsh team is an Englishman. George North.
People in glass houses ..The best player yesterday on the Welsh team is an Englishman. George North.
If, on a wider level, you feel that you should only play for the country in which you are born - with a few specialist exceptions - then I agree with you.
The Mad Monk said:
How many Welshmen in the England side?
Does it really matter Mad Monk? That post about George North is really scraping the banter barrel. So George North could have qualified for England yet chose Wales. This is hardly surprising as his mum is Welsh and he moved to Wales when he was two and spent all his lifetime growing up and playing rugby in Wales. A real stretch to say he's English.Plus I'd pick a couple of other Welsh players ahead of North from Saturday's performance anyway. Anscombe looked good but got injured, plus Davies ran and took his try well. North went over from 1 yard for his try, and I don't feel game a team-leading performance.
.
The Mad Monk said:
Evanivitch said:
The Mad Monk said:
Wales looked poor, and performed badly.
The best player yesterday on the Welsh team is an Englishman. George North.
People in glass houses ..The best player yesterday on the Welsh team is an Englishman. George North.
If, on a wider level, you feel that you should only play for the country in which you are born - with a few specialist exceptions - then I agree with you.
But given that Billy Vunipola (and his brothers) could have played for several other countries, seems a strange stone to throw.
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