2014 Six Nations: England vs Ireland (Round 3)

[mstar]

I agree great game great game.

Both teams were very close. I just think the organisation of Englands defence and game management in the end won them the game.
Lawes and Joe L got through great amount of work, having those mobile locks just makes the opposition panic a lot more as they so quick off the line and agile.
Joe L's tap tackle in the end when he was exhausted was fantastic. AGain care had a good game he is starting to be a out first choice now. I agree Brown, Nowell and May were very dangerous and the ireland team were always wiry of them and its fair to say Englands backline were more dangerous and effective then Irelands.

12T i said it so many times he goes into contact a little to often to me when he could pass it. Burrell played well he was not caught out in position and in this game he can't let rip and take risks into space as he was up against fantastic ireland centres and he nullified the centre threat well.
Robshaw was fantastic his work rate and the options he gives others and he rarely makes a mistakes he is just so Solid nothing flash but does the hard graft. Credit due he kept his team together with 3 points lead and kept things simple.

Not sure but was Wood replaced because he was injured?

 

[Bada-Bing!]

It's an ankle injury rather than knee but yes I hope it's nothing big. Last thing we need are even more injuries, although I wouldn't be too worried about Morgan taking over at 8.

Unfortunately the way he landed on it makes me think it could turn out to be ankle ligaments; he was on crutches afterwards. I winced when I saw the replay, as that was 20 stones of weight being put on that left ankle and his foot landed quite awkwardly, as his right foot was being held by the Irish tackler. Two weeks will be a big ask to get that 100% right and I'm not holding my breath.

Morgan is a good replacement but he can't last 80 mins. What does that mean for the bench replacement: Dave Ewers or Sam Dickinson? I was thinking Matt Kvesic, but that would mean bringing of Robshaw and that is not going to happen. The thought of Tom Wood going to 8 for 20 mins is also not appealing after what happened last year in Cardiff; England need a big ball carrier at 8.

 

[Maverick1987]

I think Dickinson is our man if billy v is injured . He was superb off the bench against the wolfhounds

 

[goodNumber10]

was a good game, best of the weekend in any competition not just 6nations.

Thought Ireland discipline in the red zone was fantastic, Kiss has got them ticking over amazingly well. Thought they showed a lot of creativity in attack.

Likewise i think england are starting to get a new dimension to their attack, Farrell struggled against the Irish defence early but settled down the work he's been doing with Mike Catt on his attacking game is really starting to pay off, and it was right not to bring Ford into that.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Yeah, I'd call up Dickinson too.
Harsh on Kvesic and Johnson but our pack needs a big hitting 8, and Wood/Robshaw ain't that.
Launchbury and Lawes can cover flanker from the pitch in an emergency.


I really hope that Eastmond gets some gametime at some point - I'm a big fan of 36 but he's not bringing his best form to England, just sort of bumbling along averagely.

 

[ratsapprentice]

I wouldn't have Dickinson in.

 

[mstar]

Dickinson isn;t ready for quality team like Wales.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

So you'd throw Kvesic on at 60?
Morgan doesn't have 80 in him, whoever's on the bench is getting game time.
Johnson is the other EPS flank (well and Slater, I guess) - not a game changer.

 

[Rich Taff]

I'm surprised to find that I'm surprised that there was a small article in the Daily Mail, where Woodward described what England had to do, and they did it. That guy really knows his stuff.

 

[Mumbles119]

Loved (and hated due to nerves) watching this great game between two deserving sides. Brown was exceptional. But really starting to love the Launchbury and Lawes combined impact, with the not so small impact Attwood brings off the bench.

From an English point of view, it is confidence inspiring for how the squad can adapt and succeed in the future, to see something like Launchbury move from second row late in the game to back row and still be great.

I wouldn't have Dickinson in.

Why not Dickinson Rats? Who would you have?

Maybe Lancaster would not bring Ewis or Dickinson in due to not being experienced in the England Senior systems and game plans. And he would prefer to rely on a Tom Johnson or even Kvesic who have taken part in England camps before now.

Edit: forgot about adding Slater too

 

[TRF_Olyy]

I really hope Lancaster doesn't bring Ewis in to the side
He'd just spend all day in the gym taking photos of the players and commenting on their thickness/mass.

 

[Mumbles119]

I really hope Lancaster doesn't bring Ewis in to the side
He'd just spend all day in the gym taking photos of the players and commenting on their thickness/mass.

Ahh. Thanks, good spot there. Sorry. Meant Ewers not the singular Ewis

 

[ratsapprentice]

Kvesic needs game time... it is entirely unlikely that both Wood and Robshaw are going to get injured at some point and we need to give him a little bit of game time.

 

[Maverick1987]

Kvesic needs game time... it is entirely unlikely that both Wood and Robshaw are going to get injured at some point and we need to give him a little bit of game time.

Who plays 8 then ? Morgan can't play 80 . Please don't say wood ......

 

[ratsapprentice]

8's should be able to play the entire game - if they can't then they get replaced by a flanker.

Playing with an 8 on the bench is fairly unusual. Replacing an 8 with a flanker is more common.
Starting with a flanker who clearly isn't capable of filling the role of an 8 is stupid as it was with Wood.

 

[Crapspray]

Can't Morgan play eighty? He first did against South Africa in the autumn of 2012. He had no problem with seventy in Argentina last summer. It might be a concern if Wales had a heavy bench and England a light one, but with Vunipola, Attwood, and Youngs there's plenty of impact still. Kvesic vs Tipuric would be a good measure of the former's potential.

 

[Big Ewis]

I really hope Lancaster doesn't bring Ewis in to the side
He'd just spend all day in the gym taking photos of the players and commenting on their thickness/mass.

well mass or force or whichever nominal entity you could possibly want to ever pick, call it what you will, *THAT* is England's saving grace. They force their way frontally against the opponent, whether it's up front or even some of the backs.
I'm not one to admire other men though, but I suuure would love to talk to Lancaster about his schemes and his job as a whole. As fans we know so little of what really goes on at int'l level in terms of coaching and tactics and all.
We sit and watch and say a coach is a dumbass or a coach is a miracle worker but it's very hard to judge most of the time on what *actually goes on*...I'd love to know how much of a team's success/failure is the coach's, how well they really understand managing a team.

I'm sure I'd be very surprised: either I'd be blown away by how complex it really is, or I'd be shocked by how simple Rugby schemes really are and would've expected much more.

Regardless I'm amazed at how France play as a team these days. I think PSA is an absolute disaster although I quite like the guy aside from coaching my national fkng team. I bet I; yes me; would do a much better job at coaching than him. There's no way my team would look clueless. I can't understand he hasn't come up with a simple enough standard plan that we can always implement against anyone. Basic movements, pick n go, one-pass ruck patterns that create a simple rhythm where our guys know exactly where to stand and can play fast come game-time. That works EVERY TIME, no need to think all the time or look for individual solutions.
Basic backs designs like what we call "passe redoublée" when a guy passes to someone, runs behind him and gets the pass back. What's this called in Eng ?
Practice skip passes a lot more so that it becomes automatic come game-time, and implement immediate repositioning that is systematically the same every time smt goes wrong.
Point out basic flaws in your specific opponent, tell each player specifically what to work on and watch tape yourself as a coach as to how you can give the right advice. Have some fkng authority, no need to yell at players, but just let them know how vital this is. A team at this point should be damn good, especially the players of the XV de France, it's not like PSA has Malaysia to work with...

 

[Crapspray]

Basic backs designs like what we call "passe redoublée" when a guy passes to someone, runs behind him and gets the pass back. What's this called in Eng ?

A loop pass. (The ball goes in a loop.)

It seems France are the opposite of England. One is a collection of very good individuals, less than the sum of their parts, and the other a team of good players. The coaching would be the first place I'd look to spot the difference. It's blatant with PSA.

 

[Big Ewis]

A loop pass. (The ball goes in a loop.)

It seems France are the opposite of England. One is a collection of very good individuals, less than the sum of their parts, and the other a team of good players. The coaching would be the first place I'd look to spot the difference. It's blatant with PSA.

right, a loop pass, thanks.
And yes you're right. It's funny because he blamed the players for the first time this weekend, and wants them to "play with fire in their bellies" in two weeks in Murrayfield. That's like a math teacher who looks at his students and goes "go on, do math !!!".
We are most definitely a collection of players. 5 of our 6 tries this year are off pure individual brilliance.

And:

Can't Morgan play eighty?

no no no....he plays no.8.

 

[j-dawg]

well mass or force or whichever nominal entity you could possibly want to ever pick, call it what you will, *THAT* is England's saving grace. They force their way frontally against the opponent, whether it's up front or even some of the backs.
I'm not one to admire other men though, but I suuure would love to talk to Lancaster about his schemes and his job as a whole.

Mate you're talking ********. Irelands pack looked alot bigger than ours, came on top of the scrumbattle and generally looked beefier with guys like healy and oconnell. This is the most streamlined english pack for years and that is why it is doing well in open play.

To reiterate; shut up about any of the following...
- mass
- size
- force
- power
- mass
- england
- forwards
- packs
- mass
- comparison with france
- MASS

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