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[November Tests 2016 EOYT] England vs. Fiji (19/11/2016)

Quick run down of the starters from what I remember/ general thoughts on the starters:

Mako - Carried well as always, with a couple of notable tackle breaking bursts. Overall the scrum is still a concern, although I can't remember him specifically giving away any pens on his side. Obstruction led to Hartely's try being ruled out.

Hartley - Solid if not spectacular. Prefer George who has a similarly high alround skill set, but seems to be a bit quicker round the park and more skillful. A fairly easy afternoon for the skipper. Carried okay. Overthrew on a lineout early on, but luckily we regathered. Missed the tackle for Fiji's third try.

Cole - The supposed lynchpin of the scrum. (which was far from convincing) Was lucky to not give away a pen on 30 mins when the touch judge said he had lost his bind. Gives away too many pens in general. He was okay at best.

Launchbury - Good intensity and work rate. Tripled his try tally for England and was solid as a line out jumper. I think he made all of his tackles too. Surely Jones has to find a way of including him in his starting XV. He's not exactly an impact sub. Should Itoje play 6?

Lawes - Was a bit quiet after having a better game last week and again had the tendancy to carry upright. Can't see him making the match day squad when Kruis and Itoje return.

Robshaw - The whole backrow was fairly quiet. Made a good steal at around 20-25 mins. Defending a promising Fiji maul really well just before half time. Tackled hard. Didn't make any notable mistakes.

Harrisson - Some people have been slating him which I think is abit unfair. Made some big hits. Not really a fetcher and I can't remember him making any turnovers, but by no means had a poor game.

B Vunipola - A pretty average game from a guy we're so used to being there or there about in regards to MOTM. Spilt a ball in contact in a very promising position and didn't seem to make as many metres after contact. Contributed to Fiji's third score.

B Youngs - After the heroics of last week it was always going to be hard for Youngs to live up to that. But he was solid. Doesn't seem to be crabbing as much as a few seasons ago (maybe a confidence thing). Distributed well on the whole after quick ball was often generated. Kicking game was solid. As much as I love Danny Care, Young is the in form SH and deserves to stay there for the time being.

Ford - My MOTM. Distribute so well. Took the ball to the line and greated pretty much everything good about England's back play. Controlled the game so so well. What he brings far outweighs his defensive frailties. His partnership with Farell is working really well. The second distributor and kicking option seems to be becoming a common factor among the most successful international teams.

Daly - This guy has some serious class. He looked like an internation winger and took his tries well. I think jones will experiment with him at Centre, Wing and FB and then unfortunately for himslef, have him as a bench utility. Alround very very good.

Farrell - Solid. Was bumped off in a few tackles, including one of Fiji's tries and missed a couple of (difficult) kicks, but overall a good showing. Overall, probably our MVP. If he get's injured it seems like our whole gameplan would have to change.

Jospeh - Seemed to have a point to prove after missing out on selection against the Boks. Danced his way through tackles and looked dangerous with ball in hand. Hopefully Eddie's threat to remove him for Daly will give him the kick up the backside he probably needs. (no more pouring away champagne please Jonathan, this isn't football)

Rokoduguni - The pressure was on, playing against the country of his birth and on the most part he took his chance well. Got MOTM. Looked electric with ball in hand and in my opinion is the most dangerous runner we have, (probably along with Watson). Possibly should have passed after one of his breaks and was caught out position once or twice, but overall a really good performace. Would like to see Roko and May on the wings against Argentina.

Goode - Was alright. . . .
 
I wouldn't mind seeing Daly getting some time at 15

I'd love to see him there. He's too good to be on the bench, but with JJ at 13 I can't see him starting there, and with May, Roko and Yarde as wing options, as well as Nowell and Watson to come back, I can't see him finding a spot for himself in the wing. With Brown's poor form and Goode being nothing more than meh, there is a gaping hole for him to go into at FB. But I can't see it happening unless he consistently starts there for Wasps. With Le Roux, Beale and Miller, that's not gonna happen.
 
I agree with trying Daly at fullback. It's horrible moving him around like this as he is a class player but I guess better moved around with a chance to secure a spot than not at all. His massive kick will be extra beneficial from FB too. The question is if we start playing him there a lot, will he change at club too? I don't think it will do him well to play 1 position for club and another for England.
 
Daly should defo be considered at fullback. The thought of having Watson, roko, JJ, Daly all on the pitch at the same time gives me tingles. All that attacking potential, then you throw in the playmaking of Faz and Ford and that's a pretty deadly backline by anyone's standards. Although I agree that as Daly won't get to play 15 for his club he's unlikely to get the gig for CHI's country even if he clearly has the class to turn his hand to anywhere.
 
Allegedly kicking one of the Fijians in the 2nd minute while going for the ball. Sounds pretty spurious to me

If Launchbury gets banned we really are screwed. With Attwood also injured we'd be looking at:
4. Ewels (5th choice lock)
5. Lawes (3rd choice lock)

19. Beaumont (6th choice lock/4th choice 8)
 
If Launchbury gets banned we really are screwed. With Attwood also injured we'd be looking at:
4. Ewels (5th choice lock)
5. Lawes (3rd choice lock)

19. Beaumont (6th choice lock/4th choice 8)

George Kruis has returned to the England camp- as announced an hour ago. Wonder if that's nervousness about Launchbury getting a ban or just to keep him up to speed.

EDIT: and Tuilagi spotted warming up with the squad before the Tigers game today. Return of the Golden child 4.0 on the horizon?
 
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I don't remember seeing Launchbury do anything even remotely close to wrong the whole game and suddenly this crops up? Let's just say English players have been getting the harsh end of punishments handed out at citings... Still this is weird, most citeable offenses I see in a game and wonder if maybe they will get in trouble but I never saw anything. Some footage would be helpful. Is there an Australian on the citing panel pushing this by any chance?
 
I haven't seen the footage (or the game) but, while I would personally hand out bans like candy for accidental contact with the head at the ruck, precedent says that its not a ban. I think some poor sucker's been got for this, but I can think of at least three recent occasions like this unpunished.
 
Footage here:
https://fat.gfycat.com/ImmaterialFineBoilweevil.gif

Only one angle but to me it looks pretty bad - I wouldn't rule out the kick being deliberate based on that (that's not to say I think it was, but couldn't rule it out). As Peat says though, precedent is that if it isn't intentional there'll be no ban.

Edit: watching again his knee strikes the players back first, was he maybe looking to step over and got knocked off balance?
 
Not sure the game taught us much apart from highlighting the gap between the haves and have nots and how substitutions destroy the flow of the game.

EJ has put a great emphasis on fitness and it was noticeable how fit the England players looked, which is generally great, but....Binny is visibly thinner in the face and we know that Hughes has also shed some bulk; not saying that these 2 are one dimensional but their USPs are running through brick walls and I wouldn't like to see that jeopardised in favour of work rate.

Our scrum wasn't convincing. Cole and Hartley look far trimmer than they have done, we know all about Mako, while Lawes looks positively scrawny. Lancaster got slaughtered for getting the front row conditioning wrong before the RWC. I hope history won't be repeating.
 
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