On the Eastmond thing - in the NH we always laud the SH for doing the basics well.
Ignore Kyle's running thread for a moment.... what does he do? He commits a defender and gives a pass that puts whoever is outside him in the best position to make ground.
Those are the simple things done consistently well - the only times I've seen him struggle to do that are when the opposition has a very intense blitz defense.
I don't mean to say that Farrell had a bad game per se... but it was all a bit meh.
The yellow was very harsh though - that was a maul all day long.
Yarde needs to work on his kicking and his defensive positioning - although the latter is possible down to inexperience than intellect.
agree with all of that Rats, especially the basics done well... we can do all the front door back door options ou want, but a simple 2vs1 execution is the best attacking weapon in modern rugby.
Nothing that the AB's do is complicated, it's just accurate. All of those trys were simple 2 vs 1 execution, suck in defenders then be accurate with your passing and running. People are talking about their running lines and so on, but there is nothing magical about them they just run into space.
The best ting about these AB players is their ability to make the correct decisions consistently over 80 minutes - and it comes down to two things Fitness, and individual accuracy.
If you have 15 guys who all do the simplest things well they will trump a team with the most complex of attack patterns and brusing of defensive strategies.
it's very very simple rugby done accurately. They run deep attacking lines and pass once the man is commited, they defend with a simple drift defence meaning defenders seldom get isolated.
I've felt for a while that England are too lateral in attack, and it doesn't need a bulldozing runner to straighten it needs a player who can just old a defender and pass before the drift can move.
So Eastmond.
Thats the definition an average winger, if that is all they do. I think Tony's point was that was *all* Ashton did and usually all he does. He stays in space and wait for the rest of the team to do the work. That is fine except that both Yarde and May can do that AND do a load of extra work and making things happen from nowhere.
To use your soccer analysis, a striker can score goals by goal hanging but if thats all they do then compared to a striker who scores a few through goal hanging, a few from the set piece and a few through individual brilliance, and who works hard in defense as well, who is the better player?
The other issue I have with Ashton is that he very rarely shows his best form against big teams. He broke the HCup scoring record this year (in a group containing Connacht and Zebre) but where was he in the final? Or the Premiership final for that matter.
yeah, i mean i was being a bit obtuse with the definition thing, but primary skills need to be the to the fore then everything else is a bonus... it's hard to argue that May is better at the primary winger objective of getting into a scoring position, wheras Ashton is often on the end of a move.
I like Ashton, i think he has played well the end of the season - i thought he made an impact when he got on - even if it was for a brisk cameo. I won't cry if he isn't picked though.
The thing i would say is he did exactly what you are saying may and yarde do in the Sarries semi - but england don't employ their winger like that.
Ollecrab and Austingir really letting the NZ fans down today . Probably just 13 year old kids that just found out their balls have dropped ........
just block them.
