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International Test Matches
June International Test: Australia vs. England [2nd Test] (18/06/2016)
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<blockquote data-quote="Prestwick" data-source="post: 804210" data-attributes="member: 13794"><p>1. I think Joubert gets a lot of stick and some of it is warranted (like his great skedaddle in the RWC) but he fared relatively well in this game. England spent most of the game doing what the likes of the ABs do exceedingly well: straddle the line between legal and illegal. At times they did play offside but others they were just on the cusp but were fine. There were times where both teams were diving over the ball. One of the annoying things of this game was watching Slipper endlessly bore into the scrum at an angle which was anything but straight.</p><p>2. This goes back to my point about stepping up and changing tactics. It was something the ABs had to learn after 2007. This isn't Super Rugby. Sometimes you have to get down and dirty when the high flying extravagance doesn't work. Australia should have heeded that lesson but didn't. In any case I feel England's wall would have held strong and if anything would have increased the likelihood of a turnover or knock on.</p><p>3. I feel Australia were trying to get the ball wide when they could but note that throughout the game England were only using one, perhaps two people at the ruck. Sir Ian McGeechan noted just now that this meant that whenever Australia got the ball and pushed it wide, there always seemed to be 13-14 players on the pitch who had all bought into the defensive system. It isn't simply a blitz/rush defence. The first part of it is rush based but then it morphs to envelop the ball carrier with multiple tacklers who always seem to fade away and get back into the line. At times it looked as though the wolfpack was rope-a-doping the Australians and wearing <em>them out. </em></p><p><em></em>4. You're right. They should have kicked. It shows a lack of direction on Australia's part that they were obsessed with getting the try when two penalties could have done it. </p><p>5. You have to take into account the conditions. Wet. Slippery. Surface breaking up. A opposing team who doesn't want to give up possession and is attacking you constantly. England judged the conditions and decided to play defensively and it worked. I'd say that was England's strength for that particular game but as we've seen in the previous game and in the Six Nations they have other strengths as well and can play total rugby.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: silver"><span style="font-size: 9px">- - - Updated - - -</span></span></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Agree. There was a reason why Australia were knocking on and making mistakes: their ability (or lack of) to handle pressure. People seem to assume that a lot of these handling errors are unforced when the exact opposite is true. I think Argentina and New Zealand will be looking over the tapes of these two tests with interest as Australia appear to be fragile under pressure at the moment. </p><p></p><p>As for England right now against the All Blacks, I think it would be exceedingly close. England's defence and counter attacking would force the ABs to reevaluate their strategy but I'd say the ABs would still win at the moment as they don't seem to panic under heavy defensive pressure like other teams do.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Prestwick, post: 804210, member: 13794"] 1. I think Joubert gets a lot of stick and some of it is warranted (like his great skedaddle in the RWC) but he fared relatively well in this game. England spent most of the game doing what the likes of the ABs do exceedingly well: straddle the line between legal and illegal. At times they did play offside but others they were just on the cusp but were fine. There were times where both teams were diving over the ball. One of the annoying things of this game was watching Slipper endlessly bore into the scrum at an angle which was anything but straight. 2. This goes back to my point about stepping up and changing tactics. It was something the ABs had to learn after 2007. This isn't Super Rugby. Sometimes you have to get down and dirty when the high flying extravagance doesn't work. Australia should have heeded that lesson but didn't. In any case I feel England's wall would have held strong and if anything would have increased the likelihood of a turnover or knock on. 3. I feel Australia were trying to get the ball wide when they could but note that throughout the game England were only using one, perhaps two people at the ruck. Sir Ian McGeechan noted just now that this meant that whenever Australia got the ball and pushed it wide, there always seemed to be 13-14 players on the pitch who had all bought into the defensive system. It isn't simply a blitz/rush defence. The first part of it is rush based but then it morphs to envelop the ball carrier with multiple tacklers who always seem to fade away and get back into the line. At times it looked as though the wolfpack was rope-a-doping the Australians and wearing [I]them out. [/I]4. You're right. They should have kicked. It shows a lack of direction on Australia's part that they were obsessed with getting the try when two penalties could have done it. 5. You have to take into account the conditions. Wet. Slippery. Surface breaking up. A opposing team who doesn't want to give up possession and is attacking you constantly. England judged the conditions and decided to play defensively and it worked. I'd say that was England's strength for that particular game but as we've seen in the previous game and in the Six Nations they have other strengths as well and can play total rugby. [COLOR="silver"][SIZE=1]- - - Updated - - -[/SIZE][/COLOR] Agree. There was a reason why Australia were knocking on and making mistakes: their ability (or lack of) to handle pressure. People seem to assume that a lot of these handling errors are unforced when the exact opposite is true. I think Argentina and New Zealand will be looking over the tapes of these two tests with interest as Australia appear to be fragile under pressure at the moment. As for England right now against the All Blacks, I think it would be exceedingly close. England's defence and counter attacking would force the ABs to reevaluate their strategy but I'd say the ABs would still win at the moment as they don't seem to panic under heavy defensive pressure like other teams do. [/QUOTE]
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June International Test: Australia vs. England [2nd Test] (18/06/2016)
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