Australia v England #2

[Peat]

My ratings would be

Payne - 6 - On top at the scrums, useful in the loose, bit silly at times
Thompson - 8 - Few loose throws aside he's beginning to look like a world class player again
Cole - 7 - On top at the scrums and more than useful in the loose
Palmer - 7 - Great hands for Ashton's try, useful in general
Lawes - 8 - Watching Lawes think about whether to take it in, then taking it in, then making 5 yards with 4 or so Aussies hanging off him is going to stick in the memory.
Croft - 8 - Good ball carrier, good line out jumper, good rucker, good support runner... great steal at the end too
Moody - 7 - Tried and harassed and gave his all
Easter - 7 - A few silly moments aside, he was a rock of certainty
Youngs - 9 - Scored the try at a vital moment, turned over ball when they were on our line and constantly kept things moving. Should be World Class
Flood - 7 - Did everything he needed to
Ashton - 8 - Great chasing, great try
Hape - 6 - Defensive alignment poor, some great offloads though
Tindall - 6 - Uhm... tackled ok... clearly lacking a bit of pace... went forwards ok... ok
Cueto - 6 - Did what he had to do and came looking for work but never that effective
Foden - 9 - Looked special. Great counter-attacking, so hard to turn over, secure under their kicks

Subs
Chuter - 6 - Did ok in his time
Wilson - 6 - Did ok in his time
Shaw - 7 - Made an impact when he came on
Care - 7 - Should never have came on, but was a lot livelier than usual when he did. Needs to under SHs bully forwards, not the other way round
Wilkinson - 6 - Did ok I guess
Armitage - 5 - Not great to say the least

 

[shtove]

Hape would lose a point or two from me just for almost gifting Australia the game, tackling Giteau off the ball (it's just a good job he was having a nightmare at the tee)

After the match Johnson said "if you'd seen what happened, it shouldn't have been a penalty" - I think that's the penalty he was talking about. Anyone got info? It looked really stupid from Hape, and if there wasn't provocation his card might be marked on future selections.

Anyway, nice one England. Only saw the second half, so hope all the satisfaction with the way they played in the first is justified.

Wonder why they subbed Youngs. Was it to do with Flood going off injured? The only outstanding thing Care does is boxkick, but Youngs was doing that really well from what I saw of the highlights.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

I think rather than tackle Giteau, Hape ran forwards when the ball came out the ruck, didn't look where he was going and charged over him. Don't think the intent was there, but it happened so the penalty was justified

EDIT: Just watched a highlights thing and saw it again. Hape was looking at the ruck while moving forward, as was Giteau, and they collided, and Hape pushed Giteau away/over. At 4:25

 

[admartian]

I think rather than tackle Giteau, Hape ran forwards when the ball came out the ruck, didn't look where he was going and charged over him. Don't think the intent was there, but it happened so the penalty was justified

EDIT: Just watched a highlights thing and saw it again. Hape was looking at the ruck while moving forward, as was Giteau, and they collided, and Hape pushed Giteau away/over. At 4:25

Agreed. I think it was one of those things like, 'get out of my way' as opposed to it being malicious.

Giteau pulled some soccer-hollywood there to milk a crucial penalty. Which he got.

Too bad karma had other ideas and he missed the goal.

 

[Ostrayian]

England deserved the win. Well done.
I felt the officiating at scrum time was poor and at times and england were offside more then i can remember but in the end you play to the whistle of the ref and adjust.
Wallabies as usuall believed their own media and thought they were gonna win just by turning up.
That english halfback and fullback were excellent and the other winger(not cueto) has got some serious toe. Croft and that other big darkie were pretty good as well.

 

[Wally]

England were like a different team last night. Youngs and Lawes look like they have a great future in the game. I'll eat my pie, well done.

 

[durbutter]

after the match johnson said "if you'd seen what happened, it shouldn't have been a penalty" - i think that's the penalty he was talking about. Anyone got info? It looked really stupid from hape, and if there wasn't provocation his card might be marked on future selections.

Anyway, nice one england. Only saw the second half, so hope all the satisfaction with the way they played in the first is justified.

Wonder why they subbed youngs. Was it to do with flood going off injured? The only outstanding thing care does is boxkick, but youngs was doing that really well from what i saw of the highlights.

sthove come back we miss youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu

 

[Loane]

Well done Poms - outsmarted and outplayed us in all facets of the game. Great game from Youngs - impressive firt run on performance. great work at the breakdown and defence from England - they made us look like a very sedentary unit - which we were last night. Don't these Wallabies want to win FFS?

 

[coonor]

I was impressed by England yesterday. It was really a must win game as England had virtually their strongest squad while Australia didn't. England learned from their loss the week before and they looked mch more dangerous with the ball. Youngs really did well, I didn't think that he had the nerve t play at this level but he really looked like he had been a pat of the team for years (he has a sense of stringer in him) Tom Croft was also very impresive, cleaning up the lineout and making ground and tackles. Lawes was also very good in the lineout and in open play. Easter looked so much different form last week cleaning up scraps. I did find Tindall lacked flare in attack he was out of place in the backs. Personall I think Thomson was far to hot headed at the start of the game. I felt Flood has also been off his best during these tests.
All in all a great win for England this is where Johnson must properly asess his team and see that the young and new talent yesterday was probally the reason why they won te game.

 

[Haysie]

From what I saw, Chris Ashton had a good game... he seems to be very strong in his running, which is probably why he won try of the year at Saints I'm guessing! I only saw the last 30 mins of the match, can anyone confirm or deny?

Also I have to say that while England played an expansive game last night, I'm terribly afraid they will go straight back to their NH mindset and stop running the ball. I predict a crappy, slow and laborious match against whoever it is they play next.

 

[SelimNiai]

What is going on with English sport, the footballers play like utter morons and suddenly the Rugby side, who up till now played like utter morons, are beating the Aussies in their own back yard.

 

[Peat]

From what I saw, Chris Ashton had a good game... he seems to be very strong in his running, which is probably why he won try of the year at Saints I'm guessing! I only saw the last 30 mins of the match, can anyone confirm or deny?

Also I have to say that while England played an expansive game last night, I'm terribly afraid they will go straight back to their NH mindset and stop running the ball. I predict a crappy, slow and laborious match against whoever it is they play next.

Yes, Ashton is a runner definitley seems to be taking to test rugby.

And while I fear you're right, I've got slightly more hope you're wrong. Previously, England's attempts at expansive rugby were largely fed by opposition mistakes and turnover ball. This time, we have a genuinely dynamic front five who could secure quick ball and a scrum half with quick service for the first time in ages - and that I feel made a huge difference. You could see the difference when Wilko and Care came on. However, Lawes, Youngs and Flood have all made big strides towards being first choice in their shirts and if they are, I think we might genuinely see sustained good rugby from England.

Fingers crossed...

 

[Jer1cho]

HA! Again my argument about a good goal kicker being SLIGHTLY more important than anyone else comes into play. Nice kick Gitteu. Thanks for proving my point...

 

[Teh Mite]

God Dammit Australia, it's all your fault!

THE rest of the rugby world is cursing Australia today, the rest of the world that had bottled up England so well since the last World Cup. Since Martin Johnson took over as England manager 2 1/2 years and 23 Tests ago, England has won only one Test away from home, an epic 17-12 victory over Italy at Stadio Flaminio on Valentine's Day this year.
Some massacre.
Everyone else has played their part in the blockade - Argentina, Wales, Ireland, France, even Scotland. And for good measure the Springboks, All Blacks and Pumas all dropped in on London to inflict a bit of home ground grief on England at Twickenham. Forget the schmaltzy anthems. This truly was the world in union, working as one to contain a common enemy.
Peace in the rugby universe depends on keeping the English depressed and introspective and it has to be said they do both better than most. Despair and self-doubt are the almost constant companions of England rugby players, and if they cannot get there on there own, they only need to read what is written about them by the English rugby press.
t all sounds grim but, curiously, this is the way it is meant to be. If England rugby was supposed to be sunny, the country would have embraced global warming as a national project. But no, it loves living under a grey cloud, constantly reassuring itself with the notion that into each life a little rain must fall.
Since the last World Cup, bucketloads have fallen on Johnson's team and its careworn supporters. And the funny thing was, they were happy. Truly they were.
And then what did the Wallabies go and do at ANZ Stadium on Saturday night? They went and broke the Wally Grout Rule - they gave a sucker an even break.
That explosion of steam that greeted the arrival of Rocky Elsom and his players on to the ground wasn't part of the pre-game mood-building. No, that was the genie being let out of the bottle. Now that it's out, it's going to be a devil of a job getting it back in again.
There is, it seems, no middle ground where England rugby is concerned. Either it is wringing its hands, despairing at its own pathetic condition, or it is thumping its chest and making ambitious war plans.
Why the Wallabies should have felt the need to feed this beast is beyond understanding. They, more than anyone else, have been its victims.
There now have been six World Cup tournaments played, with Australia winning two of them. That means another four that the Wallabies lost - and in three of those tournaments, in 1995, 2003 and 2007, it was England who destroyed their dreams. This is all just arcane history to Robbie Deans. It is something he would be aware of but it would have no visceral impact on him. To experience what Australian rugby fans feel when they close their eyes and think of England, he would as a New Zealander need to re-open the rawest wounds of his own country's World Cup history, the 1991 and 2003 losses to the Wallabies, the 1999 and 2007 defeats at the hands of France.
Had Deans lived Australia's World Cup history rather than merely read about it, there is no way he would have handicapped the Wallabies by selecting an all-rookie front row in the two Tests against England. Ben Daley, Saia Faingaa and Salesi Ma'afu all are outstanding players with long Test careers stretching in front of them, but it was madness to expose them all at once.
Daley should have been blooded alongside Steve Moore and Ben Alexander, Faingaa between Alexander and Benn Robinson, Ma'afu, in company with Robinson and Tatafu Polota-Nau. It should have been done in an orderly fashion to ensure the rookies all had experienced players around them.
When a catastrophic front row injury toll made that process impossible, the sensible option should have been to backtrack - as embarrassing as that might have been - on the decision to consign Al Baxter and Matt Dunning to the scrapheap and use one or both of them as a short-term expedient solution to a temporary crisis.
No doubt many will argue that the scrum was not the reason Australia lost on Saturday night. Certainly the Wallabies' set piece was a massive improvement on the Perth Test, but it still was on the back of scrum penalties that England clawed its way from 15-20 to 18-20 and then, ultimately, to 21-20 - the final score.
Two of the five tries Australia scored in this Cook Cup series came directly from scrums. It is from set piece plays that Quade Cooper is most dangerous, working set piece Reds moves with Digby Ioane.
Yet only rarely was the Australian scrum able to deliver usable ball. By shutting it down, either in the front row or by using halfback Ben Young to apply pressure to Will Genia at the scrum base, England was able to destabilise Australia's best attacking platform.
After that, quirky things - like Matt Giteau missing a penalty goal shot he could kick in his sleep - start to come into play.
England is on the march again, chest puffed out once more, its confidence revived if not yet fully restored.
Had the Wallabies won on Saturday, England would have been plunged back into a whole new cycle of angst-ridden introspection. Its whole 2011 World Cup build-up would have been consumed by doubts about Johnson, his coaching staff, the team he has selected, the path he has chosen.
But this victory confirms that all is well and so England will spend the next 15 months building itself up, not tearing itself down.
The blockade has been lifted. The blame is Australia's.

No holding back now, England shall rule the world and it's all your fault! :lol:

 

[lynam1104]

Engaland win one game and now they are an unstable force who are going to win the world cup... somehow it just doen't make sense

 

[Haysie]

...by one point

 

[Duckdee]

Just leaving room for false hope amongst the SH.

 

[lynam1104]

who is that artical by?

 

[Haysie]

Wayne Smith of "The Australian" fame.