Team v Scotland - Announced!

[Puja]

Marchant, no?

Nope, Marchant was involved in the last passage.

Puja

Marchant 75mins

Huh. I was watching on a small screen, so when the commentators said Marchant carried it up, I believed them. They must've got confused with two players of a similar skin tone.

Puja

[Timbo]

Anyone know who Lawrence came on for? The only back I can't account for is Steward, which would seem to be a weird decision on tactical (especially given Steward's international try scoring record against resolute defences). Was he injured?

Puja

Marchant, no?

Nope, Marchant was involved in the last passage.

Puja

I thought the Backline at the end was; Youngs, Smith, Watson, Farrell, Lawrence, OHC, Steward.

[p/d]

Marchant, no?

Nope, Marchant was involved in the last passage.

Puja

I thought the Backline at the end was; Youngs, Smith, Watson, Farrell, Lawrence, OHC, Steward.

It was Watson for OHC. Just a shame it wasn't Smith, Watson, Farrell, Lawrence, Watson, Steward.

[Timbo]

Nope, Marchant was involved in the last passage.

Puja

I thought the Backline at the end was; Youngs, Smith, Watson, Farrell, Lawrence, OHC, Steward.

It was. Just a shame it wasn't Smith, Watson, Farrell, Lawrence, OHC, Steward.

Smith, Watson, Lawrence, OHC, Steward

[fivepointer]

On replacements. I felt Genge and Sinckler subbed far too early, likewise JVP who was in a different class to the plodding Youngs. How George stayed on for the 80 mystified me. Vunipola and Isiekwe merely confirmed to me that they shouldnt have been there to start with.

[p/d]

I thought the Backline at the end was; Youngs, Smith, Watson, Farrell, Lawrence, OHC, Steward.

It was. Just a shame it wasn't Smith, Watson, Farrell, Lawrence, OHC, Steward.

Smith, Watson, Lawrence, OHC, Steward

So confused. OHC went off for Watson, so Malins was still on.............. I think

[Shiny]

*thoughts shaded and tempered by Schnapps consumption.

Overall I thought thank god we still didn’t have Uncle Eddie, it would have been a whole lot worse.

Liked the attitude of the players, finally a head coach they follow not because they are scared but because he is an inspirational leader.

Everything else will fall into place.

Would prefer Simmons, Ludlum or Earl over Dombrandt.

Quirke, Mitchell, or even my grandma (and she’s dead) over Youngs on the bench. Adds nothing except slowness when we chasing the game.

Lots to work on and this isn’t our World Cup, but the next one is…….

[Timbo]

It was. Just a shame it wasn't Smith, Watson, Farrell, Lawrence, OHC, Steward.

Smith, Watson, Lawrence, OHC, Steward

So confused. OHC went off for Watson, so Malins was still on.............. I think

Yea, of course Malins was still on as he was riding the big Bok wing over the line at the end wasn’t he.

Must have been; Young, Smith, Watson, Farrell, Lawrence, Malins, Steward?

[Puja]

On replacements. I felt Genge and Sinckler subbed far too early, likewise JVP who was in a different class to the plodding Youngs. How George stayed on for the 80 mystified me. Vunipola and Isiekwe merely confirmed to me that they shouldnt have been there to start with.

I am going to see about doing a minute-by-minute if I can, so I'll see if I was right, but I think I saw Mako walking a lot of the time towards the end, which is just not acceptable.

Puja

[Mellsblue]

Question to Tigers fans, should we see Steward's last line of defence as a concern.

Potentially. It's definitely not a strength of his and he's made a few very poor ones of late, including a shocker against Ospreys that cost us the game.

Puja

Yep, recurring theme. He’s flawed in many facets but the upsides are very, erm, up. He’s also very young. I think he’s a good fit for the current setup.

[stepsider]

My comments now clouded by several glasses of Merlot. But that was a mess at the end. Usually one can identify the moment when games are decided, yet I'm struggling to find one. So feeling unclear about what/who to change.

Except that Youngs, Farrell add zero (+ classic BY 'where's the ball' moment while Scotland nabbed it). Smith seemed uncertain on several occasions. Steward was one dimensional. OHC faded (hardly surprising on cap #1). Chessum looks a great prospect, Ludlum tried hard but the rest of the pack failed to make dents + lost a few lineouts. Itoje not as effective as before, same with George. Curry overpowered.

Repeating earlier comments, SB and his team have a much bigger task ahead than I thought.

[Mellsblue]

My comments now clouded by several glasses of Merlot.

As with playing pool after several beers, this is normally the sweet spot.

[morepork]

From a non partisan perspective that was a lovely game of running test rugby to watch. Scotland deserved the win and I’m glad to see them re emerge as a side as good as they were in the 80s/very early 90s

From England point of view thought back row went very well and all deserve to keep their places for Italy test. Ludlum’s carrying and link play was superb and the contest between him and Willis looks mouth watering for that 6 shirt (no need for a lock there with these options). Willis has that X factor on fetching but arguably Ludlum has the better game in the loose?

Yeah, nah.

[Stom]

After some time away, here's what I think...

We did some really good things, imo. When we upped the tempo, we looked really good, but we made too many stupid mistakes.

Let's start with the players.

Genge was good. He carried strongly, made yards, and offered himself consistently. He could have stayed on longer.
George was not. His throwing was not up to his standards, and while he did pop up with a few carries, it wasn't worth the set piece wobbles.
Sinckler was also good. Like Genge, but not quite as good.
Itoje was mainly good, but also not amazing, imo. Solid.
Chessum was good. He carried very well, actually, but why he did 80 is beyond me. He was really blowing.
Ludlam was our best player. He hit Russell about 20 times, it was like watching a young Moody. Pleasantly surprised with him.
Curry was fine. Made some nice contributions, but struggling to remember any telling ones except the missed tackle...
Dombrandt, on the other hand...I remember all his contributions, for good and bad. Very visible. His lines were excellent, but the mistakes...oof.
JvP was generally good. No more comment.
Smith was good, imo. I thought he took control well. He tried to force it sometimes. When he forced a pass, it went wrong, but when he carried, he carried well.
OHC was not the right pick, imo. Murley was the right pick. Sorry, didn't think he was up to it.
Farrell was utter crap. Flew up out of the line, missed tackles, carried poorly, passed staticly, missed 2 kicks. Not good enough.
Marchant was not up to his usual standards. Didn't see enough of the ball, and wasn't used on restarts for some unknown reason (he's insanely athletic, why wouldn't you?)
Malins was surprisng in a good way. Still don't think his 1v1 defence is good enough.
Steward was good, again. Ditto on 1v1.

As a team, our wide defence was not good enough. Conceded way too many points out wide against a team known for getting the ball wide. Narrow.

Subs weakened us. Not a good look. Earl had his best performance in a white shirt, though.

We need to get shot of Farrell asap.

[Epaminondas Pules]

From a non partisan perspective that was a lovely game of running test rugby to watch. Scotland deserved the win and I’m glad to see them re emerge as a side as good as they were in the 80s/very early 90s

From England point of view thought back row went very well and all deserve to keep their places for Italy test. Ludlum’s carrying and link play was superb and the contest between him and Willis looks mouth watering for that 6 shirt (no need for a lock there with these options). Willis has that X factor on fetching but arguably Ludlum has the better game in the loose?

Yeah, nah.

I’m with you. Was a bit second rate in many facets. Both teams a country mile from the top teams.

[Peej]

Farrell got an 8 in the Guardian somehow. I thought he was awful.

Pleasantly surprised by Ludlam. Dombrandt and Curry were poor. I'd have Willis, Ludlam and Earl next week.

[jngf]

Farrell got an 8 in the Guardian somehow. I thought he was awful.

Pleasantly surprised by Ludlam. Dombrandt and Curry were poor. I'd have Willis, Ludlam and Earl next week.

With regards to B Curry I think he’s much better as a linkman than as a carrier (something he shares with this brother imo)

[p/d]

Farrell got an 8 in the Guardian somehow. I thought he was awful.

Pleasantly surprised by Ludlam. Dombrandt and Curry were poor. I'd have Willis, Ludlam and Earl next week.

With regards to B Curry I think he’s much better as a linkman than as a carrier (something he shares with this brother imo)

Agree. To be fair it looked like XV excited schoolboys chasing the ball in the first half. Seemed a bit muddled resulting in poor play and unforced errors. That said we started to put some shape to the game which was generally undermined by poor kicking and/or aggressive Scottish defence. I would have kept Curry on to see how we looked with him alongside Earl and LudlAm

[morepork]

Farrell got an 8 in the Guardian somehow. I thought he was awful.

Pleasantly surprised by Ludlam. Dombrandt and Curry were poor. I'd have Willis, Ludlam and Earl next week.

It's just pathetic isn't it. The most obvious weak link in England for years yet the Wooden Soldier persists and is seemingly undroppable.

[Banquo]

From a non partisan perspective that was a lovely game of running test rugby to watch. Scotland deserved the win and I’m glad to see them re emerge as a side as good as they were in the 80s/very early 90s

From England point of view thought back row went very well and all deserve to keep their places for Italy test. Ludlum’s carrying and link play was superb and the contest between him and Willis looks mouth watering for that 6 shirt (no need for a lock there with these options). Willis has that X factor on fetching but arguably Ludlum has the better game in the loose?

Yeah, nah.

I’m with you. Was a bit second rate in many facets. Both teams a country mile from the top teams.

yep a lot of mediocrity in which a few good bits of individual play stuck out mainly from scotland- we had a few nice patterns. But we lack top class players- SB cant magic them up- and then when you still have poor discipline, some crass decisions, pathetic midfield defence (no surprise to anyone surely) and a couple of 'form players' not up to the job......winning is tricky; fair play to Scotland, hung in there.

Couple of things- Malins was ok, though DVDM brushed him off easily a few times....but imagine if his fly hack hadnt gone ok...Furbank esque. And whilst Smith was doing the kicking from hand, Faz spent more and more time at first receiver as the game went....Smith out the back was read easily and blunted most things. Faz did a couple of impactful things, but his first up defence remains a huge liability and generally doesnt do much 12 work with the ball.

Disappointing really, esp defence and discipline. Some consolation maybe approach play ball in hand, and territory- but look at the scoreboard!! And we will play better teams.

[stepsider]

A real gasman on the wing (Radwan, Murley?), Lawrence starting, Dan Kelly when fit, maybe Sale's Sam James as an alternative to the current selections, Raffi Quirke, J Willis, Zac Mercer...there are some quality (even potentially top class) options out there, but Youngs and Farrell need pensioning off.

[Mikey Brown]

Well this was certainly an entertaining read, having had my annual step away from England bias.

Really enjoyed that. Of course Scotland weren’t good at all they were only allowed to be slightly less terrible than England because they were off their game and the ref was bent.

I feel sort of bad finding Farrell so hilarious to watch these days. Much like his dad he really should have been a flanker.

I thought there was a lot of encouraging stuff in there for England, but there were an awful lot of changes and expectation on them.

[FKAS]

Why? Another awful decision, this time jvp.

It was a good call, there was no winger and loads of space. Marchant in the winger position doesn't anticipate it so when the bounce doesn't go his way Hogg has all day to let it run. If there's a chase there then suddenly it's an incredible kick.

Smith trying for the corner then Vs three Scots, that was brainlessly optimistic.

Up to JVP to understand if people are in the correct place for the kick chase.
Very happy for Smith to attack the line as when he sees fit… it’s not always about what happens in that particular phase.

That particular phase was the one where Smith ran into three Scottish tacklers and got bundled into touch. It wasn't on and a more experienced flyhalf would have scrapped the idea of going blind and looked to reset.

England did lack patience in attack.

[FKAS]

Really enjoyed that. Of course Scotland weren’t good at all they were only allowed to be slightly less terrible than England because they were off their game and the ref was bent.

Thought bar the last penalty the ref had a good game.

Scotland didn't have to work hard enough for some of those scores for me. A lot of what Scotland did was pretty good but thought we had enough possession and territory to win that if we were more clinical.

England midfield and backrow continue to be the main areas of concern.

[Epaminondas Pules]

Watching again and in the first ten mins, where we play pretty well, there is a glaring difference in ruck clearance and ball presentations. Scotland clear past the ball giving White really clear ball to just get moving on attack, whilst we’re very inconsistent. Ludlum and Itoje both guilty of just meeting their opponent and losing the shoulders so JVP has to dig. Curry on the other hand clears through and JVP can just move the ball without any hindrance.