England v SA- same larger squad

[Mellsblue]

Strong argument that the spider cam has been our best player.

[Mr Mwenda]

Outstanding defensive read from the bok wing there

[Mr Mwenda]

So the England innovative attack is being kept under wraps again...

[FKAS]

I don't think the TMO checked the JVP attempt for the line and maybe he should have.

[FKAS]

So the England innovative attack is being kept under wraps again...

Or last week was a fluke. Smith got hurt after that break and wasn't really in the game thereafter and has now gone off so doubt we'll see it.

[Oakboy]

How many touches has Tuilagi had?

[Mr Mwenda]

I don't think the TMO checked the JVP attempt for the line and maybe he should have.

It's a submissive TMO this week.

[Mellsblue]

Ffs Youngs.

[Which Tyler]

Good break, but a real winger would have gone way further

[Oakboy]

With 8 minutes left, Farrell still takes his 55 seconds to kick off the tee. Wanker.

[Mellsblue]

Who is shouting “get off”?!?!

[badback]

Bleh

[FKAS]

Why are we messing around in our 22? Stupid and predictably we knock it on. There was 8 mins left, boot it out on halfway and play. As it is we've wasted 3 mins in our own 22.

[Mellsblue]

Stuart collapsed in a bad position and the officials let them scrummage on…

[Mr Mwenda]

Oh Stuart, what rotten luck.

[Mellsblue]

Slade. All the notes but…

[Oakboy]

Our dilemma was summed up for me by the camera on Jones near the end of the 1st half. Body language and facial expression screamed, "I haven't got a clue!"

[Mellsblue]

Jonny Hill. None of the notes…

[badback]

Terrible game.

Not enough power in front row

At least one brainless second row

Not enough speed and savvy back row

Fly half and inside centre don’t work

No real fear factor in back 3

Problems everyone seems to be aware of.

Positives? Itoje looked better as a second row. ?

[Shiny]

E. Jones Esq was quoted as saying…….
“It’s all part of the plan maate. We are lulling them all into a false sense of security so at the World Cup we can put out a team of 15 second rows. We can definitely win the 2031 World Cup”.

[SouthFalcon87]

Time for the players who haven’t been in form for a long while to be dropped rather than be guaranteed selections in the 23. Especially the captain. Itoje and Curry get all the hype but recent performances don’t back it up. Hill, well we all agree on that one. Vunipolae, May, Nowell etc.

We fired Robinson at this point before a World Cup…

[Which Tyler]

Flashbacks to 16 years ago, almost to the day.

Hyperbolic flashbacks, but flashbacks nonetheless.

[TheNomad]

Soundly beaten in every department. They look stronger, bigger, quicker, better drilled and more cohesive.

We also can’t seem to maintain discipline - removing Hill would be a start here.

Jones should go. We’re going nowhere.

[fivepointer]

SA won that with something to spare. They could afford to lose a player for the last 15 mins and still finished comfortably on top. They were brutal and highly efficient.
I'm not sure where we go from here. If you cant compete up front with a set piece and maul that can at least gain parity, you are going to struggle. If we had brilliant instinctive, quick backs it might compensate. But we dont. Our backs look disjointed even when they had some ball to work with.
A depressing all round experience.

[Mikey Brown]

Flashbacks to 6 years ago, almost to the day.

Hyperbolic flashbacks, but flashbacks nonetheless.

Yep. Who could have known the impact of a weakened scrum against a fired up South Africa. After all of Jones’s worries about the lineout I still don’t understand how he looked past that. Or was that some sort of boom or bust test for Mako?