England vs. New Zealand - Match Thread

[francoisfou]

What was the reasoning for Youngs' disallowed try? I couldn't understand what my froggie commentators were saying (neither did they, probably!).
From what I saw, the ball was being gradually worked back in the maul without any passes, so why were the forwards penalised?

[Freddo]

What was the reasoning for Youngs' disallowed try? I couldn't understand what my froggie commentators were saying (neither did they, probably!).
From what I saw, the ball was being gradually worked back in the maul without any passes, so why were the forwards penalised?

Apparently it went forward between players in the maul but Jamie George's hand never let go of the ball. Could have gone either way really.

[Insouciant]

On the Farrell subject, stats from ESPN scrum, he made 15 tackles, missed 6. Ford made 15, missed 1. Itoje and Underhill also in doublr figures, possibly Billy too.

[p/d]

On the Farrell subject, stats from ESPN scrum, he made 15 tackles, missed 6. Ford made 15, missed 1. Itoje and Underhill also in doublr figures, possibly Billy too.

Apparently Curry made 5 missed 4. Hard to believe

[Mellsblue]

With his kicking off the tee and those tackle numbers, I look forward to everyone discussing whether Ford is the best flyhalf in the world.
Edit: not to mention the strip tackle.

[Mellsblue]

TW = turnovers won.

[p/d]

With his kicking off the tee and those tackle numbers, I look forward to everyone discussing whether Ford is the best flyhalf in the world.
Edit: not to mention the strip tackle.

You don’t want your 10 making that number of tackles

[Danno]

Curry's stats look way off, although he did seem to be the second man in a fair bit.

[Mellsblue]

With his kicking off the tee and those tackle numbers, I look forward to everyone discussing whether Ford is the best flyhalf in the world.
Edit: not to mention the strip tackle.

You don’t want your 10 making that number of tackles

Couldn’t agree more The wider rugby community seem to view it differently.

[Mikey Brown]

I should probably clarify Farrell is not “an absolute spastic” and I am slightly prone to exaggeration. He looked totally fucked but I sincerely think he’s one of the bravest, most strong willed players I’ve ever seen. He does have an affect on the team, but purely as a player (and certainly minus his goalkicking) he is regularly one of the least effective guys on the pitch.

He made a bundle of mistakes but often in the act of almost doing something fantastic (quite like Slade tends to be for England, oddly) so they are slightly more forgiveable.

He gets it worse than he should on here perhaps, and I may be the worst offender, as overcompensation for the media hype, granted. Ditto Ford, but the other way round.

I’d say he’d get a 5 as a player today, but I do believe he lifts the team in a way that also lifts his own worth. 7 for Farrell. Ford however was just incredible in everything outside of a few ropey kicks for territory. A 9 for me.

I don’t know. I thought his decision making in the final 3rd of the game was spot on. Perhaps because Ford took all the playmaking off him. And I therefore thought it was possibly one of his most effective performance at 12.

A solid 7 for me.

That’s fair. I was such a mess at that stage it’ll be hard to say anything for sure without watching back.

I just felt without everyone else around him being so absurdly dominant we would be looking at those mistakes as crucial missed opportunities right now.

[Galfon]

Squeeky-bum time x2..
off to Hosp. for uncomfortable camera work..
(All ok when I leave the contest..don't disappoint please!)

Hope all goes well mate.

Ta dood,
It seems the match went better than well - credit must go to EJ (& players) for addressing what appeared to be timeless obstacles in time (fitness, defensive organisation, petulance, silly pens., play-maker at 10, team harmony, back-row. for starters..)
He''s almost hit the jackpot with getting top players back
to peak fitness at the right time, and no major crocks yet.
(hope May / Faz ok to play a part in the final)

Had double-whammy, top n'tail..no seds./entonox & took 1 for the team..(ouch..)no sign of WT's tapeworm/GoPro combo which was a relief. AOK so on to next hurdle..

[Digby]

I would wonder again how many rucks the two sides hit in the lead up to this game, on attack and defence. As I once again ponder did Eddie go with a kicking game not just to exploit space but also with playing 5 games in 5 weeks in mind (albeit a nice Typhoon knocked us down a match)

[Galfon]

It did appear Eng's tougher run-up to this match held them in good stead physicality/intensity wise.
AB's,for once, did not seem ready for what was coming.

[Danno]

I would wonder again how many rucks the two sides hit in the lead up to this game, on attack and defence. As I once again ponder did Eddie go with a kicking game not just to exploit space but also with playing 5 games in 5 weeks in mind (albeit a nice Typhoon knocked us down a match)

It's an intriguing idea. If we win the thing you'll probably find out in the book-laden aftermath

[Beasties]

Gotta praise Eddie for getting that performance out of the boys. We've all had our issues with him, rightly in the most part, but fair play that was superb. There's no doubt he lost his way and maybe some of the players after the first two years, he kept picking older players when he clearly needed to be trying others because they were obv declining. But we've arrived at the WC with two fantastic young flankers (and two more almost as good) and most of the right calls squadwise have been made. He's had some luck injurywise and young players maturing at the right moment without doubt. We can still quibble about some stuff in the morning but right now I'm thrilled he's got our players playing like that. That was awesome. Fully deserved that result and the scoreline flattered NZ which says it all really. Now for a glass of red.

[richy678]

What was the reasoning for Youngs' disallowed try? I couldn't understand what my froggie commentators were saying (neither did they, probably!).
From what I saw, the ball was being gradually worked back in the maul without any passes, so why were the forwards penalised?

"...NIGEL....Nigel...Marius here - as TMO can I just draw your attention to the fact that New Zealand are losing..."

[Raggs]

What was the reasoning for Youngs' disallowed try? I couldn't understand what my froggie commentators were saying (neither did they, probably!).
From what I saw, the ball was being gradually worked back in the maul without any passes, so why were the forwards penalised?

"...NIGEL....Nigel...Marius here - as TMO can I just draw your attention to the fact that New Zealand are losing..."

[Adam_P]

So do we think Care/Spencer/Robson are going to be flown out this week for Heinz, or will we see the crazy selection of Ford at 9?

[Beasties]

The Wiggler. Box kicking is the name of the game innit.

[richy678]

The Wiggler. Box kicking is the name of the game innit.

Ahhhh - but will the replacement be kicking towards Liam Willams?

If Care was on stand by I would still go for him as a "Finisher".

Dont think I would go for Foden.

[Beasties]

The Wiggler. Box kicking is the name of the game innit.

Ahhhh - but will the replacement be kicking towards Liam Willams?

If Care was on stand by I would still go for him as a "Finisher".

Dont think I would go for Foden.

Good point, Barrett's shit isn't he? Will Williams be fit enough in a week's time?

[Mellsblue]

The Wiggler. Box kicking is the name of the game innit.

Ahhhh - but will the replacement be kicking towards Liam Willams?

If Care was on stand by I would still go for him as a "Finisher".

Dont think I would go for Foden.

Good point, Barrett's shit isn't he? Will Williams be fit enough in a week's time?

Going by this, I guess not.

[Stom]

The Wiggler. Box kicking is the name of the game innit.

Ahhhh - but will the replacement be kicking towards Liam Willams?

If Care was on stand by I would still go for him as a "Finisher".

Dont think I would go for Foden.

Good point, Barrett's shit isn't he? Will Williams be fit enough in a week's time?

Let’s just say we’re more likely to be kicking to Willi...e le roux

[Which Tyler]

"Generations from now they will still be talking about some of those tackles. The All Blacks’ grandchildren will still be telling their kids to behave or else Sam Underhill will come and get them."

[Danno]

Potential injury list is a big concern of mine:

May clearly isn't right
Nowell would have been on the bench at least, if fit, for this game based on the manner in which we played, so must be crocked
Farrell carried a knock for about an hour
Sinckler was limping shortly before he was subbed
Heinz

So a SH and TH are ideally packing bags for an early Sunday flight right now. Worst case scenario I reckon we will be alright (at least) with Ford-Tuilagi-Joseph and Coka on the wing.

On the plus side, Slade looked alright.