England World Cup Warm Ups

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Don't expect the snazzy pics produced on better match threads!

England Wales 11th August
Wales England 17th August
England Ireland 24th August
England Italy 6th September.

Squad for the world cup is due 2nd September so theres a chance the 1st 3 could be used for selection purposes and likely to see some combos not considered 1st choice.

BBC saving me typing:

England: Daly; McConnochie, Slade, Francis, Watson; Ford, Heinz; Genge, Cowan-Dickie, Cole, Launchbury, Ewels, Curry, Underhill, B Vunipola.

Replacements: Singleton, Marler, Williams, Kruis, Ludlam, Youngs, Marchant, Cokanasiga.

Wales: L Williams; North, J Davies, Parkes, Adams; Anscombe, G Davies; Smith, Owens, Francis, Beard, Jones, Wainwright, Tipuric, Moriarty.

Replacements: Dee, Jones, Lewis, Ball, Shingler, T Williams, Biggar, Watkin.

Have they said anything about Mako?

Nice seats LT.

TightHEAD wrote:Scotland and Russia will fancy their chances against Ireland.

Peaked too soon, nice effort though.

Does help having a good Ref in charge.

You mean the ref helps your scoreline, yes I guess that would mean a good ref in your book

LondonTiger wrote:Have they said anything about Mako?

scans Monday I read on another forum. Poor lad.

A record win against Ireland soured by Mako limping off.

Eddie Jones has said he is cautiously optimistic, but he often chats "something that rhymes with bit".

My friends were sitting just behind the players benches. This is what one of them had to say:

Mako started crying Farrell Tuilagi and Young's we’re consoling him then he walked through the tunnel and his mum went to see him

I'm not optimistic. It looked like his knee, which is what has kept him out for the last 6 months. If it's the same again he'd struggle to make the Six Nations, let alone the World Cup, and no wonder he'd be upset.

I'll wait for the official report. But yeah, doesn't look good. On the positive side at least he walked off by himself I guess?

More non English posters have posted on this game then English, Irish posters are still drowning their sorrows, I expect them back tomorrow when they at least will be their usual respectful selves. Well most of them.

England crush the side that could have gone to No.1 in the world and it's just a crap game that Ireland have not turned up for. England won against Wales in the first game, doesn't really count as there were two soft tries.

England get beat in the second game by a ref who was on plant zero and so out of touch they have changed the laws within a week as what happened was so against the spirit of the game that refs have to have it rammed down their throats. You cannot restart a game when players are undergoing injury assessments having stopped play and the clock.

Ireland were poor, pi$$ poor. but 57 points is still a major achievement. How about more than one non-English person recognising that England played very well and would have challenged just about anybody today.

I never read much into these pre tournament games. They can be very misleading.

It sure ain’t gonna come from any welshman

Just puts Welsh win in perspective...couldnt get 1 try against them. So thats tell me it was a dire Irish defensive performance as much as anything else

Pie wrote:Just puts Welsh win in perspective...couldnt get 1 try against them. So thats tell me it was a dire Irish defensive performance as much as anything else

Thanks u have just proved my point

Flankers made a huge difference. Offloading game really starting to click as well.

BigTrevsbigmac wrote:

Pie wrote:Just puts Welsh win in perspective...couldnt get 1 try against them. So thats tell me it was a dire Irish defensive performance as much as anything else

Thanks u have just proved my point

Not really. I am 1 Welshman making a point that is based in fact. I don't understand how you can go try less one week and score 8 the next. That tells me the variables are the opposition not England.

Nope. It was keeping the ball. A lock and a 6.5 with a huge ball carrier ain't balanced enough.

Pie wrote:

BigTrevsbigmac wrote:

Pie wrote:Just puts Welsh win in perspective...couldnt get 1 try against them. So thats tell me it was a dire Irish defensive performance as much as anything else

Thanks u have just proved my point

Not really. I am 1 Welshman making a point that is based in fact. I don't understand how you can go try less one week and score 8 the next. That tells me the variables are the opposition not England.

Easy we played with nearer our first XV and (I’m sure u would agree) we had a decent ref

BigTrevsbigmac wrote:

Pie wrote:

BigTrevsbigmac wrote:

Pie wrote:Just puts Welsh win in perspective...couldnt get 1 try against them. So thats tell me it was a dire Irish defensive performance as much as anything else

Thanks u have just proved my point

Not really. I am 1 Welshman making a point that is based in fact. I don't understand how you can go try less one week and score 8 the next. That tells me the variables are the opposition not England.

Easy we played with nearer our first XV and (I’m sure u would agree) we had a decent ref

Regards the Ref, Nigel Owens is always neutral, he does not favour any team, as all good ref's should do.

More importantly he knows the rules and abides by protocols.

BigTrevsbigmac wrote:More importantly he knows the rules and abides by protocols.

Ford Farrell is your first team lol

What a crock. Ireland were dismal and England exploited it. And what you're saying is then that Eng can only do well when the ref favours them?....makes sense.

The rules were followed in Cardiff, now they've changed, suck it up princess.

Suck it up Princess is not a personal insult whatsoever, its a phrase in common usage that is by no means personal but suggests that the person being advised to do the sucking should stop being so sensitive. That this site has decided that this is an insult is frankly, an insult. That is all

Pie wrote:

BigTrevsbigmac wrote:More importantly he knows the rules and abides by protocols.

Ford Farrell is your first team lol

What a crock. Ireland were dismal and England exploited it. And what you're saying is then that Eng can only do well when the ref favours them?....makes sense.

The rules were followed in Cardiff, now they've changed, suck it up princess.

No need for the personal insults Pie.

We won convincingly at home. u scraped a win at home with a ‘controversial’ try.

I shall await your performance against Ireland for comparison......

What insult?

This wouldn't happen at Burger King.

Keep telling yourself that fella, thats how England roll. They lose its the refs' fault, the roof was shut/open I lose count, the water was too wet etc etc. But then all they need is a big win against a bad bad side and they're best in the world again. Lucky you're playing Italy next week

Ford Farrell 1st XV....too funny.

I am surprised at how you're reacting Pie. I think if anyone had said that England would outscore Ireland 8 tries to 2 on Friday you'd have laughed at them. A little bit of credit where it's due. Ireland will be hurting tonight. I am looking forward to the Wales - Ireland game 1) to see how the Irish deal with this defeat, but 2) also to see how the Welsh get on. It could be a fantastic match, with the Irish wanting to bounce back and the Welsh wanting to win to keep their top spot and to cement their RWC build up status.

I thought England were dismal last week and were unable to deal with an excellent Welsh defence. Amazing what difference a week can make. I am cautiously optimistic about our RWC chances. Wales disappointed in week 1, and England did the same in week 2. At least be able to give credit for a decent performance, which, let's face it this was by England.

Sorry bounce. I predicted an English win by 15-20 I think and felt this scoreline is reflective of serious Irish issues more than Eng, who couldn't score for toffee 7 days ago, suddenly having found their mojo again. This was an Ireland playing away with no Sexton or SOB and some creaky older players. It was emphatic no doubt but lets qualify that a little; a rout such as this is totally not representative of Irish rugby as we know it QED it suggests to me Ireland being in dire straits is the main reason it happened.

Pie wrote:

TightHEAD wrote:Scotland and Russia will fancy their chances against Ireland.

Peaked too soon, nice effort though.

Does help having a good Ref in charge.

You mean the ref helps your scoreline, yes I guess that would mean a good ref in your book

,


I would rather Owens refereed every game between Wales and England, useless you dont rate Owens as a Ref?

Don't you think the 11 changes to the starting XV at Cardiff made a difference today then?

Thing is though you can't simply blame it on "No Sexton" - you have to deal with what you've got. Is Johnny REALLY all Ireland have to rely on? I remember England going through the 2015 6 Nations with no Farrell and although we missed out on winning the whole thing (going down to Ireland in Dublin was disappointing), we played some excellent rugby and came very close to taking the title. Plus that last match against France was a thing of beauty!

If players are broken, they're broken. We haven't had Mako fit for some time, yet we've coped, admittedly with some blips. Many regard him as one of the best, if not the best loosehead in the world. I would argue he's key to England's success, but we've done fairly well without him. We came within 1 point of beating a fully fit and firing NZ side last autumn with 3rd and 4th choice Looseheads. Not ideal, but doable. Ireland have relied on Sexton for a long time. They should have blooded other 10s more often.

Pie wrote:What insult?

This wouldn't happen at Burger King.

Keep telling yourself that fella, thats how England roll. They lose its the refs' fault, the roof was shut/open I lose count, the water was too wet etc etc. But then all they need is a big win against a bad bad side and they're best in the world again. Lucky you're playing Italy next week

Ford Farrell 1st XV....too funny.

You are the one saying we are best in the world not me.
That was a great performance by our first choice squad that is all. Ireland were poor as were Wales in their first game against a different England side.
The next 2 games against Ireland will tell us more about the Welsh depth and Irish resolve.
We have put down a marker with this result maybe you should suck it up.

England with a much weaker team than today beat a Wales side 2 weeks ago that was almost the GS side by 14 points.

Today a much stronger English side, v close to full strength, beat a near full strength Ireland team by rather a lot. 

Difficult to draw much 8n the way of comparison, other than to say that England are hard to beat at home and warm up games results are of secondary importance. 

Ireland were indeed poor. Some of that is down to them, but anyone trying to claim England played well and largely made Ireland look bad. 

Far more important though are the injuries to Murray, Mako and Healy. I hope they recover quickly.

No 7&1/2 wrote:Nice seats LT.

They were. Sadly I now have a splitting headache. I have now been dry for almost 12 years (one stag do excepting). So was the designated driver for us. Add in the corporate hospitality and the volume in the car home, plus frequent pee breaks on the North Circular, have made me v tired and grumpy.

WELL-PAST-IT wrote:More non English posters have posted on this game then English, Irish posters are still drowning their sorrows, I expect them back tomorrow when they at least will be their usual respectful selves. Well most of them.

England crush the side that could have gone to No.1 in the world and it's just a crap game that Ireland have not turned up for. England won against Wales in the first game, doesn't really count as there were two soft tries.

England get beat in the second game by a ref who was on plant zero and so out of touch they have changed the laws within a week as what happened was so against the spirit of the game that refs have to have it rammed down their throats. You cannot restart a game when players are undergoing injury assessments having stopped play and the clock.

Ireland were poor, pi$$ poor. but 57 points is still a major achievement. How about more than one non-English person recognising that England played very well and would have challenged just about anybody today.

Seems like most of your support cared about last week, rather than this.

Nah. This was 2 teams close to their first choice.

Last week was a big talking point because of the contentious ‘try’ which effectively separated the teams.

BigTrevsbigmac wrote:Nah. This was 2 teams close to their first choice.

Last week was a big talking point because of the contentious ‘try’ which effectively separated the teams.

Ok but if Watson had not have deliberately knocked the ball on, referee’s interpretation hence the yellow card, then wales would have scored with their three to none overlap. Ifs, buts and maybes.

The relevance of the end shoreline in these game is irrelevant. These are training runs for the profit of the unions. These fund the RWC trail. These are ways coaches use to test certain areas. We know little about where the teams are now in the context of how strong or weak they will be in five weeks time when it counts.

We know that prior to last weeks game the two coaches had conspired together to get what they wanted from the match. Gatland and Schmidt have done the same for next weeks game.

I’m sure I’ve heard they’re nothing more than warm up games before, yet still threads bemoaning the week before appear. Why would that be, I wonder?

WELL-PAST-IT wrote:More non English posters have posted on this game then English, Irish posters are still drowning their sorrows, I expect them back tomorrow when they at least will be their usual respectful selves. Well most of them.

England crush the side that could have gone to No.1 in the world and it's just a crap game that Ireland have not turned up for. England won against Wales in the first game, doesn't really count as there were two soft tries.

England get beat in the second game by a ref who was on plant zero and so out of touch they have changed the laws within a week as what happened was so against the spirit of the game that refs have to have it rammed down their throats. You cannot restart a game when players are undergoing injury assessments having stopped play and the clock.

Ireland were poor, pi$$ poor. but 57 points is still a major achievement. How about more than one non-English person recognising that England played very well and would have challenged just about anybody today.

It has to work both ways, surely? Otherwise your post is just hypocritical, right? So where’s your ‘well done on the win Wales’ in the Wales v England match thread? Here’s the link:

https://www.606v2.com/t68985-wales-vs-england-match-thread-friendly

Very impressive win by England, who, with SA, look the ones to beat. Ireland starting to slide away this year and if they continue to play poorly away. The results matter little but as a minimum the side has to get something out of it. Cant see what Ireland got out of that and for a side that has a large emphasis on both achieving and retaining possession, and solid defence, I'd say achieving nowhere near either is a huge concern.

Without key players theyre supposed to have depth? didnt see depth today but a great try from Aki.

The next match vs Wales away must be seen as a must win if Ireland are to prove to themselves they can convert the real value of such a painful loss into a win.

BigTrevsbigmac wrote:

Pie wrote:What insult?

This wouldn't happen at Burger King.

Keep telling yourself that fella, thats how England roll. They lose its the refs' fault, the roof was shut/open I lose count, the water was too wet etc etc. But then all they need is a big win against a bad bad side and they're best in the world again. Lucky you're playing Italy next week

Ford Farrell 1st XV....too funny.

You are the one saying we are best in the world not me.
That was a great performance by our first choice squad that is all. Ireland were poor as were Wales in their first game against a different England side.
The next 2 games against Ireland will tell us more about the Welsh depth and Irish resolve.
We have put down a marker with this result maybe you should suck it up.

Very true, Ireland particularly not looking like a side that will go three knockouts in a row at all this year. England and SA both look as though they will, ABs, Ireland, Oz and Wales look slightly more fragile, Ireland leading the way on that one.

RiscaGame wrote:I’m sure I’ve heard they’re nothing more than warm up games before, yet still threads bemoaning the week before appear. Why would that be, I wonder?

Exactly.
Professional rugby players play to win end of.
Wales chose to play 2 games with their best available XV England didn’t.
Today was different both teams were close to their best XV injuries aside.

BigTrevsbigmac wrote:

Pie wrote:What insult?

This wouldn't happen at Burger King.

Keep telling yourself that fella, thats how England roll. They lose its the refs' fault, the roof was shut/open I lose count, the water was too wet etc etc. But then all they need is a big win against a bad bad side and they're best in the world again. Lucky you're playing Italy next week

Ford Farrell 1st XV....too funny.

You are the one saying we are best in the world not me.
That was a great performance by our first choice squad that is all. Ireland were poor as were Wales in their first game against a different England side.
The next 2 games against Ireland will tell us more about the Welsh depth and Irish resolve.
We have put down a marker with this result maybe you should suck it up.

Did I say best in the world?

Mea Culpa

Thats Wales

Pie wrote:

BigTrevsbigmac wrote:

Pie wrote:What insult?

This wouldn't happen at Burger King.

Keep telling yourself that fella, thats how England roll. They lose its the refs' fault, the roof was shut/open I lose count, the water was too wet etc etc. But then all they need is a big win against a bad bad side and they're best in the world again. Lucky you're playing Italy next week

Ford Farrell 1st XV....too funny.

You are the one saying we are best in the world not me.
That was a great performance by our first choice squad that is all. Ireland were poor as were Wales in their first game against a different England side.
The next 2 games against Ireland will tell us more about the Welsh depth and Irish resolve.
We have put down a marker with this result maybe you should suck it up.

Did I say best in the world?

Mea Culpa

Thats Wales

Mmm looking desperate Pie goodnight.

BigTrevsbigmac wrote:

Pie wrote:

BigTrevsbigmac wrote:

Pie wrote:What insult?

This wouldn't happen at Burger King.

Keep telling yourself that fella, thats how England roll. They lose its the refs' fault, the roof was shut/open I lose count, the water was too wet etc etc. But then all they need is a big win against a bad bad side and they're best in the world again. Lucky you're playing Italy next week

Ford Farrell 1st XV....too funny.

You are the one saying we are best in the world not me.
That was a great performance by our first choice squad that is all. Ireland were poor as were Wales in their first game against a different England side.
The next 2 games against Ireland will tell us more about the Welsh depth and Irish resolve.
We have put down a marker with this result maybe you should suck it up.

Did I say best in the world?

Mea Culpa

Thats Wales

Mmm looking desperate Pie goodnight.

Oooh 'looking desperate'....please avoid personal insults in future thanks.

BigTrevsbigmac wrote:

Pie wrote:What insult?

This wouldn't happen at Burger King.

Keep telling yourself that fella, thats how England roll. They lose its the refs' fault, the roof was shut/open I lose count, the water was too wet etc etc. But then all they need is a big win against a bad bad side and they're best in the world again. Lucky you're playing Italy next week

Ford Farrell 1st XV....too funny.

You are the one saying we are best in the world not me.
That was a great performance by our first choice squad that is all. Ireland were poor as were Wales in their first game against a different England side.
The next 2 games against Ireland will tell us more about the Welsh depth and Irish resolve.
We have put down a marker with this result maybe you should suck it up.

You haven't put down a marker, thats the point

You routed a team in absolute disarray with a 3rd choice 10 and missing some huge players. Keep some perspective on that and you may progress but I have a feeling that won't happen because, the only consistent thing about England is inconsistency.

Pie if you can't be impressed by that England effort then you have no idea what you're talking about. As if the first choice 10 is worth 40 points, hardly. England are showing threats all over the park and although they lost last week theres no way Wales will get anywhere near putting 57 on Ireland at Millenium.

Wales, mainly due to their current record and their team selection were favourite to win at Twickenham. They were not prepped as they could be and up against a team that despite its makeshift nature could and did score points quickly when they had the chance.

The return fixture was a narrow win for Wales, which personally I expected. I have not seen the game but from all accounts it was poor. It has obviously given Wales a little shove up in the world ratings but that was it. One controversial try was all there was in it.

Ireland was a slaughter. Yes Ireland were down to 3rd (4th?) choice fly half but outside of that there were not so many 2nd choices. But they seemed listless and uncreative, and struggled to handle the England power game.

There isn't much to take out of any of these games, apart from injuries. Wales are tough to beat but struggle to score points. England can score points very quickly, but can look fragile and seem to struggle with creativity at times when under pressure. Ireland so far are going through the motions.

England insist on FoM and keeping the Irish border open.

Taylorman wrote:Pie if you can't be impressed by that England effort then you have no idea what you're talking about. As if the first choice 10 is worth 40 points, hardly. England are showing threats all over the park and although they lost last week theres no way Wales will get anywhere near putting 57 on Ireland at Millenium.

I agree, its the Principality. You're welcome

(just so you know what you're talking about)

lostinwales wrote:Wales, mainly due to their current record and their team selection were favourite to win at Twickenham.  They were not prepped as they could be and up against a team that despite its makeshift nature could and did score points quickly when they had the chance.

The return fixture was a narrow win for Wales, which personally I expected. I have not seen the game but from all accounts it was poor. It has obviously given Wales a little shove up in the world ratings but that was it. One controversial try was all there was in it.

Ireland was a slaughter. Yes Ireland were down to 3rd (4th?) choice fly half but outside of that there were not so many 2nd choices. But they seemed listless and uncreative, and struggled to handle the England power game.

There isn't much to take out of any of these games, apart from injuries. Wales are tough to beat but struggle to score points. England can score points very quickly, but can look fragile and seem to struggle with creativity at times when under pressure. Ireland so far are going through the motions.

Then you cant pass comment

Pie wrote:

lostinwales wrote:Wales, mainly due to their current record and their team selection were favourite to win at Twickenham.  They were not prepped as they could be and up against a team that despite its makeshift nature could and did score points quickly when they had the chance.

The return fixture was a narrow win for Wales, which personally I expected. I have not seen the game but from all accounts it was poor. It has obviously given Wales a little shove up in the world ratings but that was it. One controversial try was all there was in it.

Ireland was a slaughter. Yes Ireland were down to 3rd (4th?) choice fly half but outside of that there were not so many 2nd choices. But they seemed listless and uncreative, and struggled to handle the England power game.

There isn't much to take out of any of these games, apart from injuries. Wales are tough to beat but struggle to score points. England can score points very quickly, but can look fragile and seem to struggle with creativity at times when under pressure. Ireland so far are going through the motions.

Then you cant pass comment

Nothing in what Lost said is predicated on him having seen the match, so all his comments stand on their own merits.

Personally, I found all three of England's warm-up matches to date a little dull, because there were no real stakes. The last time I got excited by a warm-up game was 2003, when I could see how we might establish a new unbeaten string of Test matches (we didn't). Consequently, if I was a Welsh fan, I think I'd have enjoyed beating England since, as well as being a win over a traditional rival, it meant Wales claimed No.1 spot, which is something worth celebrating.

England made a huge statement there: the Irish border is to be kept open for business, Freedom of Movement for English beef continues, Irish citizens have full rights to enter English territory if they can. Welsh referees to enure fair trade.

gregortree wrote:England made a huge statement there: the Irish border is to be kept open for business, Freedom of Movement for English beef continues,  Irish citizens have full rights to enter English territory if they can. Welsh referees to enure fair trade.

Move over Boris and let a real man do the negotiating!

Pie wrote:

BigTrevsbigmac wrote:

Pie wrote:What insult?

This wouldn't happen at Burger King.

Keep telling yourself that fella, thats how England roll. They lose its the refs' fault, the roof was shut/open I lose count, the water was too wet etc etc. But then all they need is a big win against a bad bad side and they're best in the world again. Lucky you're playing Italy next week

Ford Farrell 1st XV....too funny.

You are the one saying we are best in the world not me.
That was a great performance by our first choice squad that is all. Ireland were poor as were Wales in their first game against a different England side.
The next 2 games against Ireland will tell us more about the Welsh depth and Irish resolve.
We have put down a marker with this result maybe you should suck it up.

You haven't put down a marker, thats the point

You routed a team in absolute disarray with a 3rd choice 10 and missing some huge players. Keep some perspective on that and you may progress but I have a feeling that won't happen because, the only consistent thing about England is inconsistency.

The third choice 10 had an impact on the Irish ability to hurt England. Generally whenever Sexton isn't there Ireland don't click though, they have been increasingly reliant on someone who's injury history is catching up with him. Sexton is still probably the best 10 in the NH.

Having said that a good proportion of the Irish team was first choice, not many rookies on show. Front row is the most experienced and expected options. Second row was experimental but the backrow was pretty close to first choice. First choice 9 and centres, though if he's fit Henshaw might have something to say about it. Back three was a bit younger than normal but are the pace merchants that Ireland will be looking to score the points (probably with a Kearney anchor to help mind). So Ireland will improve but it should have been closer considering what they had.

At the end of the day it's only a friendly so whilst it looked good for England neither team are finished with their conditioning yet so they could look very different come the showcase kick off.

Taylorman wrote:Pie if you can't be impressed by that England effort then you have no idea what you're talking about. As if the first choice 10 is worth 40 points, hardly. England are showing threats all over the park and although they lost last week theres no way Wales will get anywhere near putting 57 on Ireland at Millenium.

I wouldn't bother taylorman, Just ignore and move on, hopefully he can leave the sensible debate for the adults.





Cut out the personal insults Yoda..!