England vs Crusaders

First topic message reminder :

So what team do we want or expect to see in this one then?

I'd like to see:

1. Mullan
2. Ward
3. Brookes
4. Slater (c)
5. Attwood
6. Johnson
7. Kvesic
8. Haskell
9. Dickson
10. Cipriani
11. Pennell
12. Eastmond
13. Trinder
14. Forden
15. Goode

Bench: Catt, Gray, Thomas, Patterson, Vunipola, Youngs, Myler , Burrell.

Not much umph in the centres but the Crusaders won't be able to offer th any space as if they get in behind then it's try time. Give a few players a chance to stake a claim. Be interesting to see how Slater and Eastmond perform as they have a lot to potentially gain given the performance of their positional colleagues today.

Can't remember the squad exactly so might have to change it of I've missed any obvious omissions.

Presume we'll have Wood at 6 again then, I think that's a mistake, we could do with Haskell's dynamism.

Is this a throw of the dice to see who starts: Vunipola or Morgan and who is the bench option? Those two or Haskell?

12 - 7.

Easy game for England. Pity we dont get these with fuller squads. DC could have played- got through half a club game on Saturday!

Taylorman wrote:Easy game for England. Pity we dont get these with fuller squads. DC could have played- got through half a club game on Saturday!

Ah I remember reading about that. Apparently thousands of people turned out to see him play at a small local club game?? That's brilliant. How did he go?

7-26
Tries for gray foden barrit and Goode
Ht

Anybody watching the game? How is Slater playing?

ach didn't know this was on. Watching the second half now, seems promising in the first half.

killer938 wrote:Anybody watching the game? How is Slater playing?

doing well. not hugely noticeable but a couple of really powerful carries.

I see that the BBC site that is reporting the live scores has Cipriani as a prop.

Quite a bold experiment what?

I can understand having Goode, Trinder and Foden as a highly mobile back row, but can't see what Danny brings to the front row.


http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/match/ru3712825

TrailApe wrote:I see that the BBC site that is reporting the live scores has Cipriani as a prop.

Quite a bold experiment what?

I can understand having Goode, Trinder and Foden as a highly mobile back row, but can't see what Danny brings to the front row.


http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/match/ru3712825

they saw Wilson's kicking game on Sunday and thought it could work having someone slightly more used to doing it?

they are also missing watson from the team sheet on the bbc.

entertaining game but very comfortable for england so far.

quinsforever wrote:

killer938 wrote:Anybody watching the game? How is Slater playing?

doing well. not hugely noticeable but a couple of really powerful carries.

How is the lineout going? Not enough to challenge for a spot on the bench on Saturday though?

sinckler coming on at 9

have been surprisingly few lineouts. crusaders like to keep it on the park. some good driving mauls but very aggressive maul defence from crusaders. no real screw-ups so far at lineout. scrum looks very very solid

quinsforever wrote:they are also missing watson from the team sheet on the bbc.

entertaining game but very comfortable for england so far.

No he's there in the 2nd row!

watson, awesome break and try. brilliant!

Is he on the wing or at FB?

wing

england looking very comfortable without the ball, soaking up pressure. crusaders will be very uspet they havent crossed the line with all the possession they have had in englands 22

barnes complimenting slater

england have the last word w a try after the hooter.

very very strong performance, even if against 2nd rate opposition. nice confidence booster for the squad and those players who started and benched today.

38-7 final score. 6 tries no penalties.

and they finish with a flourish. Baritt with a lovely grubber through and Pernell dots down, England win 38-7.

Very strong defense in the second half, breakdown work a little sloppy at times (didn't clear out well enough), but that's a good performance, and a good win.

quinsforever wrote:barnes complimenting slater

So he is doomed?

haskell did come across really well in that interview. very mature and a great attitude. has a bit of perspective too which is probably important when things get too serious in and around the england camp...just stay away from dwarfs and waitresses...

Why do New Zealanders seem to act in defeat like Tigger after he sampled the delights of Eeyore's thistle patch?

Good riposte to the reporter's loaded, bitter questioning.

What was said, won't get to watch it until this evening?

Kvesic impress? I've been waiting for him to do mature into that fetcher role for England.

Attwood improve his chances of moving from bench to start?

Kvesic was Lancaster's MOM

Dickson got the tempo going. Prefer him to young's if care isn't fit. Watson took his try really well, thought pennell played well too and deserved his try.

Decent showing, I'm a little confused with the Kvesic motm as I hardly noticed he was playing.

Dickson, Slater, Waller & Cips did themselves no harm in the fight for a bench spot. Disappointed with Attwood, he may have slipped back in the pecking order.

quinsforever wrote:sinckler coming on at 9

Similar to Wales them aka Phillips

Sgt_Pooly wrote:Decent showing, I'm a little confused with the Kvesic motm as I hardly noticed he was playing.

Dickson, Slater, Waller & Cips did themselves no harm in the fight for a bench spot. Disappointed with Attwood, he may have slipped back in the pecking order.

Thats what they said about Richard Hill   

I've felt that Kvesic has been over-hyped quite a lot, but I was impressed with him today - generally in the right position and went in for the ball when it was on.

Entertaining little cameo from Sinckler - good in the scrum, never seemed to bother with running but popped up in the right place on several occasions. Shame he got isolated on his break. We will see more of him.

Overall, a pretty good run out by England but not really of consequence in the grand scheme of things.

Kvesic has fallen off the radar quite a bit since his move to Gloucester.

GeordieFalcon wrote:

Sgt_Pooly wrote:Decent showing, I'm a little confused with the Kvesic motm as I hardly noticed he was playing.

Dickson, Slater, Waller & Cips did themselves no harm in the fight for a bench spot. Disappointed with Attwood, he may have slipped back in the pecking order.

Thats what they said about Richard Hill   

Its a conspiracy theory, coaches like to pick players you don't notice in the game... To demonstrate they have a greater understanding of the game than the rest of us. They probably have a point too!

Greenwood was making a similar point about brad barritt in the post match discussion... He never makes teams in 'pub selections' because his defensive solidity and all round game gets trumped by others who have a 'game breaking' attribute or showy skills. In other words, you plebs who haven't played international rugby know nothing!

Why is the 7 (the master of the dark arts ) always invisible?

Stefon Armitage is a master of them and he's very visible on the pitch.

You notice a good 7 imo, it's a showcase position.

Kvesic is not a good 7 imo, he'll mainly make his tackles, like today. But rarely dominates at the breakdown, doesn't carry particularly well and doesn't really link play.

I think something has to be said that some players are naturally more noticeable. You'll notice when Richie Gray gets involved as you would Armitage.

Richie Gray is a 6'9 bleach blonde second row. Not a 7

Its because Armitage is the only bloke on the pitch wider than he is tall

GeordieFalcon wrote:Kvesic has fallen off the radar quite a bit since his move to Gloucester.

Same with Burns and most other Glaws players to be fair. For whatever reasons Gloucester was a shambles last season, and it's damaged the international prospects of a fair few of their players. I realise that it's possible to shine in a rubbish side (Pennell is a fine example), but more often then not mediocrity is contagious (Sean Maitland in a Scotland jersey is a good example).

Didn't see the game, but it sounds like a fine performance. Pleased that Cipriani is now being talked about for all the right reasons. He's a very talented player, and he a Burns present two very handy options for Lancaster. If Burns plays as well as or better than he did in the first test, and pushes on in a Leicester jersey next season, I think Farrell's grip on the England 10 jersey will slip. He could become a solid option off the bench, rather than the pivot for the backline.

I thought Kvesic had a good game, certainly showed up well in open play in the second half.

Sinkler and Pernell did well when they came on. Thought Dickson and Cipriani did well enough. Forwards generally did fine without anyone particularly standing out as being particularly bad or good. Good work out for the team but it must have been one of those odd occasions when the players were desperately hoping they were going to get taken off after about 50 minutes, meanng they were in with a shout for the 3rd test.

The thing about Burns is that in the Leicester squad now they have a famously tough physical training sessions.

That could really toughen Burns up...and adding that to his ability could really make him quite a prospect.

Ill be very interested to watch his performance this weekend.

BamBam wrote:Its because Armitage is the only bloke on the pitch wider than he is tall

Apart from Bastareaud. I find I often confuse them when watching Toulon.

With ya there pourfour i get confused between them.

GeordieFalcon wrote:Richie Gray is a 6'9 bleach blonde second row. Not a 7

Damn you know what, I never knew! My point being You're going to notice Armitage more as he doesn't fit the default setting for your average 7, same as Gray got ntoiced more in another 'hidden' position'.

What's the default setting for a 7?

No 7&1/2 wrote:

GeordieFalcon wrote:Richie Gray is a 6'9 bleach blonde second row. Not a 7

Damn you know what, I never knew! My point being You're going to notice Armitage more as he doesn't fit the default setting for your average 7, same as Gray got ntoiced more in another 'hidden' position'.

Well im glad i was able to point that out to you   

Sgt_Pooly wrote:What's the default setting for a 7?

In what regards Sarge?

GeordieFalcon wrote:

No 7&1/2 wrote:

GeordieFalcon wrote:Richie Gray is a 6'9 bleach blonde second row. Not a 7

Damn you know what, I never knew! My point being You're going to notice Armitage more as he doesn't fit the default setting for your average 7, same as Gray got ntoiced more in another 'hidden' position'.

Well im glad i was able to point that out to you   

Ha!

Sgt, was talking in physcial terms so not a short stout black guy. I'm struggling to think of another like him in the back row of any team.