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England 2024/25
- Thread starter TRF_Olyy
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A lot of people want no subs available (Or only for injury with a mandatory missing of the next match to prevent abuse). The Bomb squad is seen a heightening the danger of the game.
I think that boat has long sailed by.
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Participation numbers at youth level will be one big concern. The traditional core of Middle class educated parents are less and less keen on their kids playing a sport with a measurable risk of having dementia at 40.
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Not if court cases are won by those having Brain damage and participation numbers drop. And the general affect of multiple well known names dying very young from brain related conditions. The likes of Steve Thompson and Ryan Jones are already suffering horrible fates
I don't think banning non injury subs is going to be the answer to that though....not even close.
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It probably won’t but it’s certainly something that some people back and could get more support over time.
The figures don't currently support that as far as I know. Biggest growth area for amateur rugby is pre-teens and women's teams.
AngloScotsHybrid
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In my opinion Farrell was a good fly half but not a great fly half. He didn't have the running game to make him a great fly half, and his tackle technique is questionable.
What really irritates me is that coaches deemed Farrell to be undroppable no matter how badly he was playing, no matter how negative the impact he was having on the style of play of the general team. He was so undroppable that they moved him to inside centre to accommodate him, when a much better option would have been to have Ford at fly half and an inside centre that could burst through a gap.
Sure Farrell deserved a lot of England caps but not as many as he got.
The very worst moment was when England had a midfield of Ford, Farrell and Henry Slade which made no sense as they were all kickers and passers not runners. The sensible decision would have been to put put a more powerful player instead of Faz at inside centre.
Coaches have given Farrell a status much higher than he deserves. He has never been in the Carter/Wilkinson league. He didn't deserve being given so much leeway. He has been given special treatment. Getting selected on this Lions tour when he was so bad for his club side sums up his career.
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The big question is why multiple coaches view him this way.
I'm pretty sure I've given my speculative answer for this before.
Coaches love Farrell - because he doesn't deviate from the gameplan, which means that if it goes wrong, it can't be Farrell's fault, and if the gameplan is inappropriate to what's happening on the pitch, it's not Farrell's fault.
If the playbook says that in this phase of play, in this quarter of the game, in this position on the pitch, the balkl is kicked high, to land 10m out from the R touchline, 23m out from the tryline; then that's what he'll do - 5 on 2 overlap with half the width of the pitch be damned!
The coaches see him making the decision he was told to; the fans see it being the wrong decision (and poorly executed even then)
He motivates, and he leads, and he never EVER makes a decision that the coach hasn't told him to make in that situation. Compared to that, the capacity to execute a skill under pressure is irrelevant*. Deviation from the game plan is a droppable offence for many coaches, and a severe bollocking if it comes off.
*ETA: And to be fair, his ability to execute a skill doesn't drop when the pressure is on - hence Test Match Animal - his ability to execute is never less than 7/10 (unfortunately, it's also never higher than 7/10)
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Joe Heyes has been been voted player of the Summer Tour in the official fan vote.
That's.......a surprise
Scrum went well, so no real arguments - I would've thought Ford would be a shoe in tbh
Atkinson would've been deserved too
Scrum went well, so no real arguments - I would've thought Ford would be a shoe in tbh
Atkinson would've been deserved too
Right call in my unbiased opinion
He still needs to add 5-10kg in my eyes.
I’d have given it to Willis.
I’d have given it to Willis.
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I'm not sure I would have voted him the best, but I'm not at all unhappy with it. He was very good.
Probably would have gone for Baxter.
It's a good sign that people are saying different names, means we had a good number of youngsters really stand up in a tough place to go....and Ford of course 
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Definitely. Lots of positives to take away from the tour. Argentina may have rested a few but they won’t have wanted to lose two on the spin at home. These kind of tours are really important for development.
Was Faz really out at 12 to facilitate having him on the pitch or does it come down to lack of options outside of Mark Atkinson I can’t think of many English qualified 12s anywhere near putting there hands up at the time, it’s one position most clubs recruited for from over seas.
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