6 Nations 2013

[nigel]

Farrell is turning into a super player.

If I'm not mistaken he's the same age as when Johnny Wilkinson made his breakthrough.
I thought Wilko was magnificent, but Farrell has the potential to be even better

[PaulWinch again]

Farrell's game has really come on in the last few months and his game management is great.

[Jon Crofts]

That was a proper battle of attrition, first half England were great, so composed, so calm, great decision making.  Second half the paddys were always going to come at England, but again we were calm after the first 20 minutes & to put 6 points on with Haskell off was the icing on the cake.

Healy should get a citing for the stamp the dirty bastard but fucking hell Haskell could have cost the game with his stupid spoilt brat antics.

The one confrontation I was really looking forward to was Barrit on O'Driscoll, it never happened, O'Driscoll was anonymous.

[nigel]

Poor decision by the ref to sinbin  Haskell, It certainly looked to me as if he was trying to get out of the way

[PaulWinch again]

Healy's stamp was a disgrace and so was Wood's attempt to defend it.

[dekko]

Farrell's game has really come on in the last few months and his game management is great.

What I like about him is how cool and calm he seems - aside from kicking and tactical awareness being able to stay calm under pressure is probably the most important thing for a fly half and Farrell always looks composed.  Certainly more composed than Flaky Flood (although I might be a bit biased here as I don't like people called Toby).

[lovejoy]

That game showed England can man up when needed. Cardiff is the next test.

[paul_e]

It was a really professional performance, nice to see with can win ugly against a side who like to niggle.

I think that's probably the toughest test for us this year so, if we can keep the momentum and handle the pressure I think we've got a great chance of a grand slam this year.

France look like they're struggling to carry the form from the league into internationals, I'd suggest because the key players at all the clubs aren't french.

Italy look better than ever but didn't cope at all with Scotland having a high defensive line.  Our defensive game is based around closing the space, much like Scotland (but we're better at it), so we'll have similar success.

Wales just aren't clicking.  2 good 2nd halves but if they start against us like they have in the last 2 we'll have buried them by half time.  Even if they get it together our pack looks more than capable of dominating against them and they look totally out of sorts in the half backs, where youngs in particular will have a lot of joy.

[Dave Summers]

An outstanding win played in awful conditions against a far more experienced win.  Coupled with the Villa win, I guess I have had worse Sunday afternoon's?

Watched the game on Sky+ once I got back and so impressed with our physicality and composure in the rain.  Farrell has really impressed me since the NZ game and has taken his game to a level I didn't think he possessed.  Humble pie is tasting good at this moment !!!

I don't think we can underestimate the strength of our bench coming on in the 2nd half.  When you compare it to a 36 yr old ROG entering the fray and we can call on the likes of Hartley, Lawes, Tuilagi and Vunipola it speaks volumes for what Lancaster has built.  The fact that Care and Flood didn't even get on is testament to that.

I am always wary of France and notice they have made 5 changes to their squad but if it is a decent day I just can't see them coping with us and the pace which we will play.  Yesterday went against most of what Lancaster believes the game should be played like and we still handled it.   The game in Paris was equally as poor but they had lovely dry conditions for that one.

I hope and believe that it will all come down to Wales in March and having seen Scrum V on BBC Wales last night they, as usual, will be right up for England and probably play their best game.  The bias towards Wales and against England on that programme is a sight to behold.  They picked a Lions team last night, Kingsley Jones selection and had 6 Welsh, 4 Irish and only 3 English in it.  Have I missed 38 pts v New Zealand and a draw away in South Africa?

Still think we should tinker with the team v France and I would be looking at swapping Hartley and Youngs around.  Morgan must play if fit over Haskell.  Tuilagi will step back in I am presuming and I would love to see him and Twelvetrees have a run together.  Rest of the team as is.

Nearly forgot, Alex Goode and Mike Brown gave a masterclass in diffusing the high bomb yesterday.  Sublime !!!!

[paul_e]

An outstanding win played in awful conditions against a far more experienced win.  Coupled with the Villa win, I guess I have had worse Sunday afternoon's?

Watched the game on Sky+ once I got back and so impressed with our physicality and composure in the rain.  Farrell has really impressed me since the NZ game and has taken his game to a level I didn't think he possessed.  Humble pie is tasting good at this moment !!!

I don't think we can underestimate the strength of our bench coming on in the 2nd half.  When you compare it to a 36 yr old ROG entering the fray and we can call on the likes of Hartley, Lawes, Tuilagi and Vunipola it speaks volumes for what Lancaster has built.  The fact that Care and Flood didn't even get on is testament to that.

I am always wary of France and notice they have made 5 changes to their squad but if it is a decent day I just can't see them coping with us and the pace which we will play.  Yesterday went against most of what Lancaster believes the game should be played like and we still handled it.   The game in Paris was equally as poor but they had lovely dry conditions for that one.

I hope and believe that it will all come down to Wales in March and having seen Scrum V on BBC Wales last night they, as usual, will be right up for England and probably play their best game.  The bias towards Wales and against England on that programme is a sight to behold.  They picked a Lions team last night, Kingsley Jones selection and had 6 Welsh, 4 Irish and only 3 English in it.  Have I missed 38 pts v New Zealand and a draw away in South Africa?

Still think we should tinker with the team v France and I would be looking at swapping Hartley and Youngs around.  Morgan must play if fit over Haskell.  Tuilagi will step back in I am presuming and I would love to see him and Twelvetrees have a run together.  Rest of the team as is.

Nearly forgot, Alex Goode and Mike Brown gave a masterclass in diffusing the high bomb yesterday.  Sublime !!!!

Further to my thoughts on hartley/youngs I think we're unlikely to see Manu and Twelvetrees start together.  The main reason being that Barritt just doesn't have the game to make an impact from the bench so you'd only really want him to bring on if we were leading narrowly and needed to tighten up.

Morgan has to start if he's fit.  Wood played ok, but he's far better as a 6 and Haskell was very average, and then went down a step for me by being an idiot, he's very lucky that his ridiculous yellow didn't cost us.  There was no need for him to try to disrupt things, it was nothing ball in a 'safe' area of the pitch with our defence lined up.  Do that on your own tryline and under pressure is one thing, doing it in midfield is stupidity, and he's supposed to be one of the more experienced players.  I'd probably drop him from the bench as well, the dumbass.

[Dave Summers]

[quote author=paul_e Further to my thoughts on hartley/youngs I think we're unlikely to see Manu and Twelvetrees start together.  The main reason being that Barritt just doesn't have the game to make an impact from the bench so you'd only really want him to bring on if we were leading narrowly and needed to tighten up.

Morgan has to start if he's fit.  Wood played ok, but he's far better as a 6 and Haskell was very average, and then went down a step for me by being an idiot, he's very lucky that his ridiculous yellow didn't cost us.  There was no need for him to try to disrupt things, it was nothing ball in a 'safe' area of the pitch with our defence lined up.  Do that on your own tryline and under pressure is one thing, doing it in midfield is stupidity, and he's supposed to be one of the more experienced players.  I'd probably drop him from the bench as well, the dumbass.
[/quote]

No I think if you pair Twelvetrees and Manu, which I believe SL wants to do, then Barritt misses out completely unfortunately.  You need someone like a Jonny May covering the outside backs in reality.  He can play several positions and looks to be fit again as shown by the two tries on Saturday v Northampton.

I quite like Haskell coming on from the bench and don't for a moment believe he will be dropped.  I would like to see Billy Vunipola in amongst it though.  Maybe he will be on the bench for the Italy game?

Am totally with you now on Hartley starting and Youngs appearing for the last 20 mins. As you said, suits the style we play perfectly having them that way around.

[paul_e]

I don't think Haskell will be dropped but I don't think he's undroppable and I'd quite like the message it sends about discipline around the breakdown.  In the last 10 years we've been an easy target for giving away penalties by being very naive in that area.  Lancaster showing he won't stand for stupid yellow cards in areas where they're avoidable would be as much a political message to the referees as anything else, we've certainly been treated a lot more strictly around the breakdown than the likes of Ireland and New Zealand, who have almost had license to slow the ball down in recent years.

[peter w]

I don't think it can be underestimated what it takes to win playing for England. 4 out of the 5 teams we play want to beat us more than anyone else. That's why the slightest drop in performance level means we rarely get away with it. with that in mind,and with the confidence that's running through the squad at the moment, although still a way off, a Grand Slam is not out of the question.

[tomd2103]

I hope and believe that it will all come down to Wales in March and having seen Scrum V on BBC Wales last night they, as usual, will be right up for England and probably play their best game.  The bias towards Wales and against England on that programme is a sight to behold.  They picked a Lions team last night, Kingsley Jones selection and had 6 Welsh, 4 Irish and only 3 English in it.  Have I missed 38 pts v New Zealand and a draw away in South Africa?

It is a Welsh programme, so what do you expect? As I have mentioned earlier in the thread, I have family from Wales so have an interest in Welsh rugby.  In terms of the Lions, Warren Gatland has a particular style of playing (often referred to as 'Gatlandball' in Wales) that might not suit a number of the current English players.  Yes, England are looking like the strongest team at the moment, but don't be surprised if a number of the team are overlooked in the summer.   

[paul_e]

the lions selection is as much political as anything else so expect a lot of players to be picked for reasons unrelated to their ability.