England v Australia

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England v Australia
29 November 2014
KO 14:30
Twickenham
Referee: Jérôme Garcès (France)

*****
Well 3 down - one to go. And this is a biggy. World Cup group rival....a win would be a nice mental strengthener.

So who do we start.

Have the coaches learned some lessons?...Farrell is not in form and not fit.
Also having a playmaker at 10 opens options up.

Can they issue glue to all the players so they can actually catch the ball...specifically in try scoring situations.

Just watched saints v Sarries. Calum Clark looked good

Just noticed Bill Vunapola is out of the Australian game due to concusion. which is fair enough. But what as happend to Ben Foden? why is he being snubed in favour of Alex Goode?

IF Mike Brown gets injured i would rather rely on Ben Foden to take over than Alex Goode.

Got to say England should stuff the Aussies and stuff them well, Barnes and co along with 606 fans have told us over the last two years England have the best pack in Europe,fearsome,huge,mobile are lots of words being thrown round about this English pack so on that basis i see England bullying them into submission at scrum time and then tearing them a new one in the second half,then the demons of the 2003 final will creep up on the soft under belly of the Aussies.
England by 30 or more Points the Chariot lives.

LondonTiger wrote:Just watched saints v Sarries. Calum Clark looked good

He did indeed. He also fits the 6/7 role Lancaster likes.

I wouldn't be surprised to see the exact same side as last week, Lancaster usually likes to give players at least a run of two games to see if they can make it work better or turn around the previous week's perfromance if they weren't judged to have performed to ability. The one exception may be that he goes for Burrell instead of Twelvetrees if he's happy Farrell at 12 isn't a complete disaster.

Lancaster tends to prefer players to have trained in the squad for a number of weeks before selecting so that they know the systems well, but I do wonder if he might go for Waldrom on the bench. Morgan lasted the whole match against Samoa, but wasn't at the forefront in the last quarter and the Australia game will be much faster paced.

DeludedOptimistorjustDave wrote:Got to say England should stuff the Aussies and stuff them well, Barnes and co along with 606 fans have told us over the last two years England have the best pack in Europe,fearsome,huge,mobile are lots of words being thrown round about this English pack so on that basis i see England bullying them into submission at scrum time and then tearing them a new one in the second half,then the demons of the 2003 final will creep up on the soft under belly of the Aussies.
England by 30 or more Points the Chariot lives.

Cyril wrote:I think Ford was always going to start against Samoa even if Farrell (and England) had played a blinder against NZ and SA.

It will be a bit of a statement who plays 10 against Aus. If Farrell remains at 12 I just think it's muddying the water and not helping either player really.

If Farrell starts vs Aus, we (England) have serious problems with either SL or those advising him, (which means we have serious problems with SL). He has been below par for 9 months, to keep playing him is not going to do England any good and more importantly, it will not do him any good, mentally or physically. Wood has not been as good as last year, he gets dropped to the bench, BV out of the squad, DC the same, what makes OF any different. He is playing worse than any of the others but manages to retain his place when there are three other players all playing better then him (Ford, Cips and Myler).

How the hell can Goode get into the squad ahead of Ben Foden, he offers nothing more in defence and much less in attack or versatility. I can think of three other 15s that I would prefer to Goode who for me offers nothing other than good defensive positioning and catching. I often think I could do better ( well 40 years ago) and I was a backrow forward, I reliable under the high ball, could kick off either foot, (not that far but safe), and I was both bigger and much, much faster. I may not have had his shimmy, but 17st moving at 22mph tends to make ground most of the time.

BamBam wrote:

DeludedOptimistorjustDave wrote:Got to say England should stuff the Aussies and stuff them well, Barnes and co along with 606 fans have told us over the last two years England have the best pack in Europe,fearsome,huge,mobile are lots of words being thrown round about this English pack so on that basis i see England bullying them into submission at scrum time and then tearing them a new one in the second half,then the demons of the 2003 final will creep up on the soft under belly of the Aussies.
England by 30 or more Points the Chariot lives.

BamBam,

It's in the name.

I just have the middle bit to handle.

WELL-PAST-IT wrote:

Cyril wrote:I think Ford was always going to start against Samoa even if Farrell (and England) had played a blinder against NZ and SA.

It will be a bit of a statement who plays 10 against Aus. If Farrell remains at 12 I just think it's muddying the water and not helping either player really.

If Farrell starts vs Aus, we (England) have serious problems with either SL or those advising him, (which means we have serious problems with SL). He has been below par for 9 months, to keep playing him is not going to do England any good and more importantly, it will not do him any good, mentally or physically. Wood has not been as good as last year, he gets dropped to the bench, BV out of the squad, DC the same, what makes OF any different. He is playing worse than any of the others but manages to retain his place when there are three other players all playing better then him (Ford, Cips and Myler).

How the hell can Goode get into the squad ahead of Ben Foden, he offers nothing more in defence and much less in attack or versatility. I can think of three other 15s that I would prefer to Goode who for me offers nothing other than good defensive positioning and catching. I often think I could do better ( well 40 years ago) and I was a backrow forward, I reliable under the high ball, could kick off either foot, (not that far but safe), and I was both bigger and much, much faster. I may not have had his shimmy, but 17st moving at 22mph tends to make ground most of the time.

That's bang on WPI.

If Farrell starts at 10 over Ford then I have to seriously worry about where Lancaster is taking England. If Farrell was fit and in top form then fine he could have an argument but he's not yet still starts????

Kurtley Beale most likely into the starting lineup with Kuridrani out with an ankle injury.

I understand the concern from posters regarding England's selection dilemmas/loss of form in recent games - but the 2nd half (and early part of the 1st) performance from the Wallabies against Ireland is also a major concern for us. We simply can't get caught out like that and concede early points - regardless of the capacity to come back and then get within striking distance of a win.

You have to give a lot of credit to Ireland for their ferocious display in that last 40 mins. Our blokes simply had no answer - yet again.
It was certainly a game of two halves... or if you break it down further; four quarters in which we lost 3 out of 4. It was good to see quicker and cleaner ball from us but Ireland had the numbers in their defensive wall and were very successful in snuffing out any repeat of the late surge in the 1st half. England would do well to try and replicate this totally committed defensive approach (who is best for the job?); but that then may diminish their ability to strike back unless you are gifted more intercepts and our defence is thrown into disarray yet again.

I'm still unhappy about the way our blokes seem to get in each other's way under the high ball (ffs... what are they doing that for... who is giving the call?), throw passes at ear level from 3-4m away and generally are susceptible to the chip into space behind the defensive line (can't understand why we don't do the same) or cross-field kick - which left us embarrassingly exposed and on several occasions. That happens quite a lot now and must be addressed by Cheika immediately. Full marks to Sexton though; for being so astute and aware... and being able to deliver the goods so effectively.

On the plus side, it was good to see a little improvement on the set pieces (some were purely errors from Ireland though) but can they now do something similar and gain the odd advantage at times v England?

I'm not so sure. I guess that will depend on Garcès to some extent. Which is a minor worry to say the least!

There are still far too many errors and turnovers happening (even if we also put opposition carriers under pressure too) - so my main concern comes down to losing any potential gains by giving the ball right back too frequently and too easily (usually right in the next play) and then getting punished for it; thus nullifying any hard-earned advantages.

My two choices for the midfield are Ford/Burrell/Barritt and Ford/Twelvetrees/Burrell. I think the second one is a better option for this match, but as Burrell is likely to be our first choice 12 (with Tuilagi at 13) come the Six Nations, I'm not sure if giving Ford a run with Burrell at 12 wouldn't be better, and give us an option to hit the ground running in the spring to help build our momentum into the World Cup. Barritt is no Tuilagi, but he can crash it up and lead the defence, helping the combination inside bed in.

However, saying that, having Twelvetrees in the centres might allow us to use our wingers more than we did in the first two games (and as we did with Farrell there against Samoa). Either way, I'd have Farrell on the bench and one of Barritt/Twelvetrees to miss out completely.

Who would be a selector?

The Loaded Dog wrote:

I understand the concern from posters regarding England's selection dilemmas/loss of form in recent games - but the 2nd half (and early part of the 1st) performance from the Wallabies against Ireland is also a major concern for us. We simply can't get caught out like that and concede early points - regardless of the capacity to come back and then get within striking distance of a win.

You have to give a lot of credit to Ireland for their ferocious display in that last 40 mins. Our blokes simply had no answer - yet again.

What do you think about the balancing act that Cheika will increasingly bring to the Australian party in terms of increased 'dog' as they say?  
I mean club is one kind of physical but International is another.  
Cheika seems to be intent on making Australia a much more confrontational, physical team - even perhaps domineering and intimidating.  But attritional rugby works both ways and risks both ways and brings certain structural changes that sometimes deprive the flyers of the fly stuff.  So will Cheika have a tough time making Australia more seismic and yet still keeping with the players who can cut loose from anywhere at anytime.  Bang, Bang, bang can kill the ardour in any desire to run and evade.

I was just very impressed with the work Australia made us do in the close - it wasn't all fringe running pressure.  It very much was a typical Cheika brawn statement too.  But will he find the right balance without risking too many injuries to central stars into the future?

GeordieFalcon wrote:

WELL-PAST-IT wrote:

Cyril wrote:I think Ford was always going to start against Samoa even if Farrell (and England) had played a blinder against NZ and SA.

It will be a bit of a statement who plays 10 against Aus. If Farrell remains at 12 I just think it's muddying the water and not helping either player really.

If Farrell starts vs Aus, we (England) have serious problems with either SL or those advising him, (which means we have serious problems with SL). He has been below par for 9 months, to keep playing him is not going to do England any good and more importantly, it will not do him any good, mentally or physically. Wood has not been as good as last year, he gets dropped to the bench, BV out of the squad, DC the same, what makes OF any different. He is playing worse than any of the others but manages to retain his place when there are three other players all playing better then him (Ford, Cips and Myler).

How the hell can Goode get into the squad ahead of Ben Foden, he offers nothing more in defence and much less in attack or versatility. I can think of three other 15s that I would prefer to Goode who for me offers nothing other than good defensive positioning and catching. I often think I could do better ( well 40 years ago) and I was a backrow forward, I reliable under the high ball, could kick off either foot, (not that far but safe), and I was both bigger and much, much faster. I may not have had his shimmy, but 17st moving at 22mph tends to make ground most of the time.

That's bang on WPI.

If Farrell starts at 10 over Ford then I have to seriously worry about where Lancaster is taking England. If Farrell was fit and in top form then fine he could have an argument but he's not yet still starts????

Gents,
I doubt we will see Farrell starting in the 10 spot.  The question is whether he will be penciled in at 12, which we all agree is not a good idea.  He is not right and needs time off.  And, hopefully not on the bench either.   Agree that would point to a big SL problem.
I presume Goode is 10 cover in case Ford damages his manicure and has to come out.  Gives an extra bench spot for the backs.  Of course, that strategy fails if Goode gets hurt.  I also would rather see Foden at 15 because he is a slipperier runner, has more pace, and has the advantage of playing very well right now.  

I wouldn't mind seeing a midfield of either Twelvetrees (12) and Burrell (13) or Barritt (12) and Burrell (13).  
I like seeing Watson on one wing, but not sold on May on the other side.  But, wtf, leave May there for now.  But he better tackle because he will have a lot of traffic coming his way, methinks. Besides, SL won't change him now.  

Less than a year to go before the RWC and this is feeling just like the one year lead-up to the 2007 RWC and the 2011 RWC.  
Buggeration.

Some indications on where selection is leaning:

“Our options surround Billy and Owen at 12,” Lancaster said. “Owen did provide an extra voice and George benefited from having someone like Owen alongside him.

“Billy impressed me from the bench. He brought good energy to the team. He has worked hard on the feedback we gave him when he first came back into camp and he is a genuine prospect for us at 12.”

“Tom’s line-out option is one to consider because of the pressure we feel we can put on the Australian set piece,” Lancaster said. “It helps selection when you give someone else an opportunity and you get a reaction as we did from Tom, who never likes missing a minute of training never mind international rugby. A fired-up and motivated Tom Wood is pretty useful in your armoury.”

Three players have been released back to their clubs to prepare for the Aviva Premiership match on Friday night between Bath and Harlequins at the Recreation Ground – the Bath backs Semesa Rokoduguni and Kyle Eastmond, and the Quins’ scrum-half Danny Care.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/rugbyunion/international/england/11251617/England-v-Australia-George-Ford-to-take-Red-Rose-reins-again-in-final-game-of-QBE-series-with-Wallabies.html

Its not the players that need to be changed all the time so much as the game plan and coaching to evolve a bit more.

Ford is obviously going to play 10. Equally there's zero chance Farrell will be dropped from the matchday 23 - SL sees him as an absolutely key player running into the WC. I suspect he'll be bench cover for 10 an 12, with Twelvetrees the starting IC.

I'm more worried about OC. I really hope it's Burrell and not Barritt.

Here's my opinion after our guys played them. I thought Australia were really good against us. Scored three tries and the third was absolutely sublime. They could have had four, if not for a brilliant interception from Bowe giving a 14 point swing. Ireland played territory much better in the 2nd half and kept the Aussie's out. But even then it was a pretty dodgy penalty call from the ref which gave Ireland the winning kick.

The silky skills didn't surprise me. The way in which they smashed us back with their tackling did. To come back from 17-0 down to take the lead shows character. I know there's been a lot of negativity around the Wallabies so I wasn't expecting them to be so good. I also think they will have been targeting the English game as the big one of this tour. England will have to put in their best performance of the series.

DaveM wrote:Ford is obviously going to play 10. Equally there's zero chance Farrell will be dropped from the matchday 23 - SL sees him as an absolutely key player running into the WC. I suspect he'll be bench cover for 10 an 12, with Twelvetrees the starting IC.

I'm more worried about OC. I really hope it's Burrell and not Barritt.

A whole new midfield was never likely or a particularly great move for the last match, too much disruption for such a recently configured backline.

Twelvetrees is acceptable, but in a choice between him or Burrell coming into the side I would have preferred the latter. With Ford starting the backline is more in need of what Burrell brings at the moment than a 2nd FH type centre.

Lancaster will go with the 2nd play maker at 12 again as that's his preferred option. The fact the Twelvetrees offers the carrying option is a great bonus and should work well off Ford. For me Burrell has to start at 13 given he is the nearest thing we have to that powerful strike option at 13.

Twelvetress and Burrell went well in the 6Ns and should be given another go.

On another note, what about the backline bench options for England? He'll pick Wigglesworth and Farrell at 9 and 10 no doubt, which is very pragmatic, but what about the other slot? Personally I think he should go for Nowell, he showed well again at the weekend and also provides cover on the wing as well as fullback rather than Yarde who just covers wing. Also I have to say that Yarde hasn't really impressed me with his cameos off the bench, and was also exposed in the summer. Think England have got a good balance in the back three at the moment (although I do wish Brown would attack the line more when we go wide), and if May can sort out his high ball technique then we should be good. Would like to see Watson or Nowell given 10 mins or so at 15 for Brown depending on how the game is progressing.

jamesandimac wrote:(although I do wish Brown would attack the line more when we go wide),

Pretty much every time he has joined the line in regular play he has dropped the pass to him.

He's dropped a few LT. All in potentially try scoring opportunites.

So did Attwood and a few others.

These have to stick this weekend.

GeordieFalcon wrote:He's dropped a few LT. All in potentially try scoring opportunites.

So did Attwood and a few others.

These have to stick this weekend.

And while we can slag off the coaches - it is interesting to think just how many basic errors have been made by the players when under no pressure. With the exception of SBW, who has looked extremely rusty, we tend not to see these unforced errors from New Zealand.

Actually in the 1st half the ABs made a surprisingly high number of handling mistakes last Saturday (some due to the Welsh pressure).

What amazes me about Brown is that one moment he can take a difficult high kick, on the hoof, under pressure, with ease. And next, drop a standard pass that his grannie would take.

Secretfly I can't quote on my phone but have to say, I love the way you write.
'But attritional rugby works both ways and risks both ways and brings certain structural changes that sometimes deprive the flyers of the fly stuff.'

Reading the papers the probable side will be:

Marler
Hartley
Wilson
Attwood
Lawes
Wood
Morgan
Robshaw
Youngs
Ford
Watson
Twelvetrees
Barritt
May
Brown

LondonTiger wrote:

GeordieFalcon wrote:He's dropped a few LT. All in potentially try scoring opportunites.

So did Attwood and a few others.

These have to stick this weekend.

And while we can slag off the coaches - it is interesting to think just how many basic errors have been made by the players when under no pressure. With the exception of SBW, who has looked extremely rusty, we tend not to see these unforced errors from New Zealand.

Agree with this. Team selection was rubbish but that does not excuse unforced errors from certain players.

Barney McGrew did it wrote:Actually in the 1st half the ABs made a surprisingly high number of handling mistakes last Saturday (some due to the Welsh pressure).

What amazes me about Brown is that one moment he can take a difficult high kick, on the hoof, under pressure, with ease. And next, drop a standard pass that his grannie would take.

You left out managing to start a fight with himself in a phone booth...

My guess is that the team will be the same as it was for SA (Wood and Hartley recalled) but with the Ford/Faz combo continuing. I feel a little for Roko, he didn't get the ball against NZ but did well defensively and kept the best winger in the world quiet. A couple of semi competent performances from May and Watson later and he has gone from 1st choice to 4th, I'm not quite sure what Yarde has done in the meantime to leapfrog him.

Did anyone see that SL described the breakdown of his job and actual coaching was only 20% or so? Which means that really Faz senior and Rowntree are actually the real drivers behind the current tactics, or lack of. Despite Catt's involvement its hard to believe he has much impact on the team at all, unless his coaching style is a completely different one to his playing one.

Catt is attack coach - so personally I assign the style of play, looking to have a second playmaker as down to him 100%. Certainly everything suggests he was the key driver behind ford/Farrell at 10/12. Barritt at 13 may well be the compromise offered to defence coach Farrell.

As SL is effectively equivalent to a DoR, I would love them to be able to bring in Wayne Smith as head coach with key responsibility for attack. Rowntree and Farrell could stay as forwards and defence coaches but their roles and areas would be subordinate to attack. SL then has to co-ordinate the whole thing ands take ultimate responsibility.

Right now I suspect that the set piece, going well, and defence, going ok, hold sway.

LondonTiger wrote:Catt is attack coach - so personally I assign the style of play, looking to have a second playmaker as down to him 100%. Certainly everything suggests he was the key driver behind ford/Farrell at 10/12. Barritt at 13 may well be the compromise offered to defence coach Farrell.

As SL is effectively equivalent to a DoR, I would love them to be able to bring in Wayne Smith as head coach with key responsibility for attack. Rowntree and Farrell could stay as forwards and defence coaches but their roles and areas would be subordinate to attack. SL then has to co-ordinate the whole thing ands take ultimate responsibility.

Right now I suspect that the set piece, going well, and defence, going ok, hold sway.

I thought that Catt was titled 'attacking skills' coach. Doesn't really bode well for him given the number of dropped catches and missed opportunities. But makes it sound like the strategy and selection is happening elsewhere. Agree on everything else though.

hugehandoff wrote:Reading the papers the probable side will be:

Marler
Hartley
Wilson
Attwood
Lawes
Wood
Morgan
Robshaw
Youngs
Ford
Watson
Twelvetrees
Barritt
May
Brown

I think most people can live with that.

Will Twelvetrees take the >40m penalty shots?

Twelvetrees is also able to be second receiver - if Ford is about to be hit, Youngs can pass to Twelvetrees who can kick well - so a nice option to have.

Barritt is there for his defence. He hasn't done much wrong, but I think most would prefer to see a threat there - like JJ or Burrell (or of course, Tuilagi when fit).

Bathman_in_London wrote:

Barney McGrew did it wrote:Actually in the 1st half the ABs made a surprisingly high number of handling mistakes last Saturday (some due to the Welsh pressure).

What amazes me about Brown is that one moment he can take a difficult high kick, on the hoof, under pressure, with ease. And next, drop a standard pass that his grannie would take.

You left out managing to start a fight with himself in a phone booth...

My guess is that the team will be the same as it was for SA (Wood and Hartley recalled) but with the Ford/Faz combo continuing. I feel a little for Roko, he didn't get the ball against NZ but did well defensively and kept the best winger in the world quiet. A couple of semi competent performances from May and Watson later and he has gone from 1st choice to 4th, I'm not quite sure what Yarde has done in the meantime to leapfrog him.

Did anyone see that SL described the breakdown of his job and actual coaching was only 20% or so? Which means that really Faz senior and Rowntree are actually the real drivers behind the current tactics, or lack of. Despite Catt's involvement its hard to believe he has much impact on the team at all, unless his coaching style is a completely different one to his playing one.

I'm not sure either. I can only assume it is his strike rate. His defence is overlooked. Against Samoa he was still rushing out of the line like he did in the 3rd Summer test and resulted in us getting completely overrun out wide. He does't appear to have learnt anything! 

He completely and utterly blew the late opportunity against Samoa by delaying the pass. Brown's anger was completely justified. 

Yarde is great ball in hand, but his defence and decision-making is well below par. I'd have Roko above him. I have to admit though, I am really liking the looks of May and Watson. I knew that May would eventually come good, and even though they haven't been complete performances, he's taking his opportunities well.

bluestonevedder wrote:

Bathman_in_London wrote:

Barney McGrew did it wrote:Actually in the 1st half the ABs made a surprisingly high number of handling mistakes last Saturday (some due to the Welsh pressure).

What amazes me about Brown is that one moment he can take a difficult high kick, on the hoof, under pressure, with ease. And next, drop a standard pass that his grannie would take.

You left out managing to start a fight with himself in a phone booth...

My guess is that the team will be the same as it was for SA (Wood and Hartley recalled) but with the Ford/Faz combo continuing. I feel a little for Roko, he didn't get the ball against NZ but did well defensively and kept the best winger in the world quiet. A couple of semi competent performances from May and Watson later and he has gone from 1st choice to 4th, I'm not quite sure what Yarde has done in the meantime to leapfrog him.

Did anyone see that SL described the breakdown of his job and actual coaching was only 20% or so? Which means that really Faz senior and Rowntree are actually the real drivers behind the current tactics, or lack of. Despite Catt's involvement its hard to believe he has much impact on the team at all, unless his coaching style is a completely different one to his playing one.

I'm not sure either. I can only assume it is his strike rate. His defence is overlooked. Against Samoa he was still rushing out of the line like he did in the 3rd Summer test and resulted in us getting completely overrun out wide. He does't appear to have learnt anything! 

He completely and utterly blew the late opportunity against Samoa by delaying the pass. Brown's anger was completely justified. 

Yarde is great ball in hand, but his defence and decision-making is well below par. I'd have Roko above him. I have to admit though, I am really liking the looks of May and Watson. I knew that May would eventually come good, and even though they haven't been complete performances, he's taking his opportunities well.

I admit May and Watson look like they could be worth an extended run in the team. Yarde strikes me as lacking in real rugby intelligence, something I feel Watson has plenty of.

Big wrote:

LondonTiger wrote:Catt is attack coach - so personally I assign the style of play, looking to have a second playmaker as down to him 100%. Certainly everything suggests he was the key driver behind ford/Farrell at 10/12. Barritt at 13 may well be the compromise offered to defence coach Farrell.

As SL is effectively equivalent to a DoR, I would love them to be able to bring in Wayne Smith as head coach with key responsibility for attack. Rowntree and Farrell could stay as forwards and defence coaches but their roles and areas would be subordinate to attack. SL then has to co-ordinate the whole thing ands take ultimate responsibility.

Right now I suspect that the set piece, going well, and defence, going ok, hold sway.

I thought that Catt was titled 'attacking skills' coach.  Doesn't really bode well for him given the number of dropped catches and missed opportunities.  But makes it sound like the strategy and selection is happening elsewhere.  Agree on everything else though.

Yea I get the feeling Farrell is the one in charge, he was brought in before Catt and especially at the beginning you could see his style all over the England side. It's no coincidence that Sarries tactics and players have been in and around the England set up since he came in, even though the current Sarries team have moved on from those same tactics themselves and a fair few players chosen were pretty questionable.

Catt then came in fresh from 1 season coaching the backs at LI who'd achieved nothing with him there.

So it's not really too confusing that the coaches are muddled right now, they're probably well out of their depths, especially Catt who probably feels like the late one to the party.

Agree May and Watson have both shown more than enough to continue their place in the team and that they could offer a lot to England in the years to come.

Bathman_in_London wrote:

bluestonevedder wrote:

Bathman_in_London wrote:

Barney McGrew did it wrote:Actually in the 1st half the ABs made a surprisingly high number of handling mistakes last Saturday (some due to the Welsh pressure).

What amazes me about Brown is that one moment he can take a difficult high kick, on the hoof, under pressure, with ease. And next, drop a standard pass that his grannie would take.

You left out managing to start a fight with himself in a phone booth...

My guess is that the team will be the same as it was for SA (Wood and Hartley recalled) but with the Ford/Faz combo continuing. I feel a little for Roko, he didn't get the ball against NZ but did well defensively and kept the best winger in the world quiet. A couple of semi competent performances from May and Watson later and he has gone from 1st choice to 4th, I'm not quite sure what Yarde has done in the meantime to leapfrog him.

Did anyone see that SL described the breakdown of his job and actual coaching was only 20% or so? Which means that really Faz senior and Rowntree are actually the real drivers behind the current tactics, or lack of. Despite Catt's involvement its hard to believe he has much impact on the team at all, unless his coaching style is a completely different one to his playing one.

I'm not sure either. I can only assume it is his strike rate. His defence is overlooked. Against Samoa he was still rushing out of the line like he did in the 3rd Summer test and resulted in us getting completely overrun out wide. He does't appear to have learnt anything! 

He completely and utterly blew the late opportunity against Samoa by delaying the pass. Brown's anger was completely justified. 

Yarde is great ball in hand, but his defence and decision-making is well below par. I'd have Roko above him. I have to admit though, I am really liking the looks of May and Watson. I knew that May would eventually come good, and even though they haven't been complete performances, he's taking his opportunities well.

I admit May and Watson look like they could be worth an extended run in the team. Yarde strikes me as lacking in real rugby intelligence, something I feel Watson has plenty of.

Yeh, Watson was really impressive against Samoa. His awareness for Brown's try was pretty sublime, as well as the offload itself. A lot of players would have tried finishing that themselves, so it was great to see him selflessly pass.

Bathman_in_London wrote:

Barney McGrew did it wrote:Actually in the 1st half the ABs made a surprisingly high number of handling mistakes last Saturday (some due to the Welsh pressure).

What amazes me about Brown is that one moment he can take a difficult high kick, on the hoof, under pressure, with ease. And next, drop a standard pass that his grannie would take.

You left out managing to start a fight with himself in a phone booth...

My guess is that the team will be the same as it was for SA (Wood and Hartley recalled) but with the Ford/Faz combo continuing. I feel a little for Roko, he didn't get the ball against NZ but did well defensively and kept the best winger in the world quiet. A couple of semi competent performances from May and Watson later and he has gone from 1st choice to 4th, I'm not quite sure what Yarde has done in the meantime to leapfrog him.

Did anyone see that SL described the breakdown of his job and actual coaching was only 20% or so? Which means that really Faz senior and Rowntree are actually the real drivers behind the current tactics, or lack of. Despite Catt's involvement its hard to believe he has much impact on the team at all, unless his coaching style is a completely different one to his playing one.

I didn't, but are you sure that he didn't mean 20% over the course of a season? England aren't actually together for that much more than that really. I doubt he meant 20% during test weeks.

Yes, it was a pretty deceptive way - perhaps coming from business school - of evading some flak.  'Hey!  I only do 20% on coaching.  The rest of my time is doing the office phones, the coffee and publicity!'

When you say it quick it sounds reasonable.  When you think of a year in Intertnational rugby though, it becomes something every International coach could say.

It concerns me not if we have a DOR or someone who is hands on coaching.

What bothers me is that they are all reading from the same script and that the tactics they are working towards is the correct one.

I know Australia has a history of producing great backs but I wonder is the current crop the most exciting bunch they have ever had. Squad full of flair players, Folau, Cooper, Speight, Toumba, Kurindrani, Genia, Beale etc. Etc. Apologies for spelling.

SecretFly wrote:Yes, it was a pretty deceptive way - perhaps coming from business school - of evading some flak.  'Hey!  I only do 20% on coaching.  The rest of my time is doing the office phones, the coffee and publicity!'

When you say it quick it sounds reasonable.  When you think of a year in Intertnational rugby though, it becomes something every International coach could say.

Probably not long before set-piece coaching becomes known as 'providing platform solutions'

You can almost (not) imagine Rowntree saying it: We are looking to leverage our core competencies to provide on-going horizontally integrated performance platform solutions.

Bathman_in_London wrote:You can almost (not) imagine Rowntree saying it: We are looking to leverage our core competencies to provide on-going horizontally integrated performance platform solutions.

This does have to be vertically integrated with the airborne resource procurement service though, to further enable the delivery of an astute tactical and targeted commodity deployment paradigm.

Australia are F**Ked! - with all this big omenous lingo floating.

If no roko then it would be nice to see Nowell as 3rd choice. Good attitude and good defensively

http://www.planetrugby.com/story/0,25883,16024_9578575,00.html

Looks like its Ford to start at 10 and no Farrell!

any answers to:

Will Twelvetrees take long range penalties (>40m) as apparently he's quite good at this and I think Ford isn't.

So that would suggest:

10 Ford
12 Twelvetrees
13 Barritt

Just thinking.

If Ford can show some consistency, and a good steady flow of game control and to get a backline moving he really coud make that position his own for years.

People arent particularly looking for fireworks...just some intelligence and the physical ability to make the plays that the situation requires.

GeordieFalcon wrote:Just thinking.

If Ford can show some consistency, and a good steady flow of game control and to get a backline moving he really coud make that position his own for years.

People arent particularly looking for fireworks...just some intelligence and the physical ability to make the plays that the situation requires.

But the best thing is that Fordy brings fireworks too! His line break against Samoa was lovely, and every facet of his game bar probably goal kicking was shown to be above Farrell's at the moment.

Exactly Eddie.

I want a 10 who can play intelligently and sensibly. But who has the spark to up the game and perform that magic when required. Make that darting break or miss pass to send Manu through the gap etc. Its not asking for a lot.