[RWC2019][Semi-Final 1] England vs. New Zealand (26/10/2019)

[Bada-Bing!]

What happened to the Kiwi prop who was an ex bouncer who played against England at in the AI's?

Big Karl T didn't make the final squad. Not exactly the most mobile in the loose to be a carrying threat to suit the AB game plan.

 

[Grizwald]

Big Karl T didn't make the final squad. Not exactly the most mobile in the loose to be a carrying threat to suit the AB game plan.

Cheers I was being lazy and could have googled. He seemed to come from nowhere and was much maligned.

 

[james5000]

Getting a little bit less confident today

Only 75% sure of victory now haha

60% we win 12 & under
15% 13+

20% Eng win 12 & under
5% 13+

80% confidence in a close game!


Actually think SA is more likely to beat Wales tbh

 

[Umaga's Witness]

Who does this help more?

Training usually helps, so england. Edit: I thought this was the one with the roof, I'm pretty sure I was wrong.

I heard it was decided by boundaries scored

Too soon mate.

Kick and press
This is not about 19th-century-style rugby and not being willing to play. This is about the very honest realisation that if you play from deep against New Zealand then you invite trouble, and more importantly, England would not be playing to their strengths.

England have great collective organisation and a brutal level of physicality, an awesome line-out and quality wingers in the air. Why ignore these match-winning strengths when you don't have to? No one is suggesting that they kick the leather off the ball all the way up the park or ignore space if New Zealand have eight men on the floor. But in a World Cup semi-final, when England are playing up to their own halfway line, their priority should be to manipulate the Kiwi back three in order to create space to kick into and either get the oval ball bouncing or English players catching it.

Once England get close to the halfway line, they should focus on more attacking cross-field kicks or kicks in-behind as out-and-out attacking plays. But from restarts and further back down the field, the skies and the touchline can be England's friend.


Go long and right with restarts
England need to kick long to the right of the field because New Zealand are loaded with right-footed kickers. Going long right, into the opposition's bottom left-hand corner of the field, makes it much harder to box kick and much harder for a team's fly-half to get their clearing kick away.


For a right-footed fly-half in your own bottom left, you must swing your right leg across your body well out in front of you, with no protection of the kicking foot. In the other corner, a right-footed kicker can tilt their body sideways, swing around the ball dropped behind their hip like a goalkeeper and keep the kicking foot further away from any potential charge-down players. This allows their hips, shoulder and body to create a barrier before any chasing player can get a realistic chance of a charge-down.

Classic charge-down territory for a right-footed-fly half is along the left touch line. It is just as hard for the scrum-half, who has to swing the foot around to the openside of the breakdown much closer to the defenders, with the ball in full sight the whole time.

Aaron Smith has wobbled when England have played the All Blacks in previous years. Smith is a beautiful rugby player but I would lay a hefty bet now that England will charge down one of his kicks during this game, especially with big men like Maro Itoje and Courtney Lawes around the fringes. If they are to win, then England need to get into New Zealand and mess with their supply lines. They need to spread panic and chaos in the ranks, and get the All Blacks scrabbling to maintain the ball. If you are the underdogs in a match, which England are, then you need to create mayhem and break the communication chain of the favourites.


Loose, bobbling balls are always the friend of the unfancied side, so do not let Smith get one box-kick away without him feeling some heat. If they pass back to Richie Mo'unga, then England need to know that he has an issue - neither of his centres kick. They may say they do, but they won't want to.


The centres will not kick well if Mo'unga has to shift the ball to them - they will want to force another pass to Beauden Barrett. But two passes in your own 22, even by a team as good as New Zealand, should be an open invitation for carnage.

How do England make that happen? They need to be creative and create a one-man mission for their fastest player. Most teams use the opposite scrum-half to put the pressure on their opposite number when they kick - Faf du Klerk for South Africa or Gareth Davies for Wales are great examples. They are sprinters over the short distances, starting behind the ruck, jogging into it from behind the defensive line and, as soon as the ball has been lifted by the opposing scrum-half, they set off for the No 10 and that right foot again, attacking the space where the swinging right foot will be.

Ben Youngs used to be a wizard at this but his pace isn't what it was. My rogue thought, my creative version for England, would be to give Jonny May, the lightning fast left wing, free rein to hunt down Mo'unga from the first ruck at every restart or after every New Zealand defensive set-piece. England would then need to shift out defensively: Manu Tuilagi to wing; Owen Farrell to 13; George Ford to 12. The thinking behind this is simple - don't waste your speed on returning a bad kick that may not happen. Shut off the good clearance kicks at source and try to make all of the clearance kicks bad.


May can stand in the starter's blocks at first receiver or tucked in behind the defensive line just as Bryan Habana would occasionally. May with a rolling start can cover 10 metres in under a second, but try getting that kick away with him breathing down your neck. England's defensive system can cope with one player being given a one-man marking mission. It becomes 14 v 14 for the rest, with players who know how to defend in wider channels. This is not reinventing the wheel but it gives a view on the thought process behind everything England must do to beat the All Blacks - they need to change the picture. Don't let New Zealand see things that they are expecting. They are masters of understanding what they need to do when they have time to react, prepare and execute. But they are human like everyone else if they see things they were not expecting to see. May hunting down charge-downs would put the fear in to any kicker.


Cross-field kicks can be an awesome way to attack
With the ball and possession, once England get into attacking areas, the cross-kick can be their friend. The two match-ups are Anthony Watson v Sevu Reece and Jonny May v George Bridge. The clear and obvious example in terms of a mismatch in height and aerial play is the former.


Reece is an absolute marvel with the ball in hand and with time and space, but what he cannot do is grow a foot in height by Saturday evening. Watson is world-class at attacking the flat cross-kick. These are not high hang-time kicks, these are more the low flying type, the fizzed, classic three-iron cross-kick. There is less of an advantage for May against Bridge because the All Black is excellent in the air.

Even so, England should use the cross-field kick early on in the game because they need to have both New Zealand wings worried about the cross-kick and the need to have their full-back, Beauden Barrett, worried about it, too.

England need to separate the New Zealand full-back from standing behind the midfield and controlling his players in the same way that Smith controls his players from scrum-half around the ruck. England need to remove some comms from their system and spread out the All Black defence.

Once that happens, the big English runners can find gaps and elbows, not shoulders and hard hits. Put distance between Barrett and his wingers and when England go to their classic play book - the double pull-back ball, behind Vunipola and Tuilagi, from the line-out or behind Slade and Tuilagi from scrums - then they have the chance of seeing a disconnect between the All Black midfield and the wings.


That is exactly what England want. This will allow the flyers of Watson-Daly-May from the right-hand side and May-Daly-Watson from the left-hand side to sweep round and be the ball players, picking off a disjointed defensive system.

he hot his matchup wrong, amateur. Bridge and may are both left wingers.

Cheers I was being lazy and could have googled. He seemed to come from nowhere and was much maligned.

Also he had viral meningitis which meant at the time of the naming he'd played a couple of rugby games in the last several 4 months or so.

 

[mustardcharlie]

Can't see that one team out-classes t'other in any department. It'll be down to who makes the least mistakes. NZ make less mistakes than Eng in general. Therefore NZ are slight favourites.

 

[Umaga's Witness]

Just watching the 2014 Eden park match and saw the best sign in the crowd ever : Danny cipriani listens to nickelback.
BURN!

and that's after the first five burns, Freddy getting the starting spot.

 

[Pom in Exile]

Just watching the 2014 Eden park match and saw the best sign in the crowd ever : Danny cipriani listens to nickelback.
BURN!

BB listens to Spin Doctors!

 

[Umaga's Witness]

BB listens to Spin Doctors!

Farrell listens to Bieber!!

 

[Pom in Exile]

Farrell listens to Bieber!!

Sam Cane listens to Hank Williams.

 

[Pom in Exile]

Farrell listens to Bieber!!

I'll get them all out of the way.
Retallick listens to Beyonce.
Whitelock listens to Mr Big.
Read listens to U2.
Smith listens to 2 Unlimited.
Goodhue listens to Extreme.
TJ listens to OMC.
SBW listens to Europe.
Jordie Barrett listens to 5SOS because One Direction are on a break.

 

[Umaga's Witness]

I'll get them all out of the way.
Retallick listens to Beyonce.
Whitelock listens to Mr Big.
Read listens to U2.
Smith listens to 2 Unlimited.
Goodhue listens to Extreme.
TJ listens to OMC.
SBW listens to Europe.
Jordie Barrett listens to 5SOS because One Direction are on a break.

That hurts, it's all too true. Jordie Jordie, tut tut.

I heard that best friends ford and Farrell are in a cover band called jedward juniors, that covers jedward but also s club juniors.

billy v listens to creed
Maro itoje listens to the Jonas brothers because Hansen is "no longer relevant".
This causes angst in the camp as sinkler says "Hansen is a classic".
This riles up Eddie because he thinks they're talking about Steve. He then plays 'wannabe' by the spice girl's to get the team behind him, promote solidarity and national pride.

 

[MarkyH]

5.45 ain't too bad I guess. Nervous, big time x

 

[TommiG88]

5.45 ain't too bad I guess. Nervous, big time x

Same. Ffs

hopefully this morning isn't as bad as last night. I got soaked watching Leicester trounce Saints.

 

[OneBlackEye]

Before this world cup started I said I didn't mind NZ not winning. Honestly I did.

2011 they were desperate, they had to lose the choker tag and it was at home.

2015 was the end of career for a few kiwi legends and if anyone was going to lift it twice in a row I felt the likes of Rchie and Dan etc had earned it. Kiwi bias I know.

This year i didn't mind losing. It's boring for the same team to win everytime.

But first we faced Ireland in the knockouts. Given their recent history they had to win this one to restore some order. I don't mind if the ABs don't lift the trophy, but I really wanted them to put Ireland away. No offense to them, it's more I have a lot of respect for them just now, some total class players and staff, some at the end of their careers. It was a real threat and the makings of a decent rivalry. We could lose the tournament, just not this game.

Now it's England. I don't mind if the ABs don't win the World Cup but I really want them to win this game. Mostly because this English team are terrifying. I know most AB supporters are smug assholes but those of us that love the game relish these kinds of games. I just want to stand up in my seat for two hours and if England fairly win and Curry or Underhill deservedly receives his man of the match trophy for dominating Savea and Cane in the breakdown then I'll be as happy as anyone. Which is also why I do not want the All Blacks to lose this game, this England team seem to be the best. And you want to beat the best.

But if the ABs do manage to get through this class England team, then I don't mind if they lose to Wales or SA.

Maybe. Ask me tomorrow.

 

[MarkyH]

Same. Ffs

hopefully this morning isn't as bad as last night. I got soaked watching Leicester trounce Saints.

Mate. The weathers been horrible, watched the Bath vs Exeter game on tv and it was awful.

At least we have a Mr Bean marathon to look forward to before the game again. And I'm getting used tothe Mark Komodes film reviews on bbc1 at 6 am

Times going way too slow

 

[MarkyH]

Same. Ffs

hopefully this morning isn't as bad as last night. I got soaked watching Leicester trounce Saints.

You a Southampton fan I presume? My son had the game on and i could here the laughing from downstairs. Sorry chap

 

[TommiG88]

Mate. The weathers been horrible, watched the Bath vs Exeter game on tv and it was awful.

At least we have a Mr Bean marathon to look forward to before the game again. And I'm getting used tothe Mark Komodes film reviews on bbc1 at 6 am

Times going way too slow

Im off to the pub for this game, so I get to miss Mr Bean

You a Southampton fan I presume? My son had the game on and i could here the laughing from downstairs. Sorry chap

Yeah, I left at 7-0 haha

 

[MarkyH]

Im off to the pub for this game, so I get to miss Mr Bean


Yeah, I left at 7-0 haha

I really want a beer but I'm going to a gig in Brum later. Enjoy mate! Good luck to us all !

 

[TommiG88]

I really want a beer but I'm going to a gig in Brum later. Enjoy mate! Good luck to us all !

Go to the pub, then nap it off in the afternoon, and then start again. That's my plan!

What gig?

 

[Which Tyler]

5.45 ain't too bad I guess. Nervous, big time x

Yup.
Wide awake before 6. Refuse to get up yet.
Gave it 15 minutes, shit, shower and coffee, took the dogs out,and currently wishing I hadn't and had time to watch an old match first.
Alarm set for 7.45 to start cooking breakfast.

I think a semi-final with no specific jobs this afternoon can justify beer for breakfast?