Rugby Union (was 2014-15, now an ongoing thread)

[aev]

Too many penalties again. I thought Attwood  looked like what he is... 6th choice lock. The back row isn't right and I think Robshaw is too nice to be captain
The backs still have enough potential and when Manu comes back there will be another dimension
Alex goode tho... Like a bloody oil tanker. Nowhere near international class

Goode made one nice defensive gather near the posts while running backwards, avoided some tacklers and got back out to the 22.

However he also called for a mark when catching the ball behind the try line. Not sure what he was thinking.

36 looks poor at international level, which is hardly surprising because he looks decidedly average at club level.

It seems to me that we struggled massively at the breakdown. Whilst I understand the reasons for not picking Armitage, it is exactly the type of player that we miss in games like this.

[Dante Lavelli]

Can't believe Twelvetrees is bring slated here, he was only on late in the game.

And in that time he dragged an England player over the line from an offside position and threw a sloppy forward pass.  In both instances ruining good try scoring opportunities.

[PaulWinch again]

A backline of Care, Ford, Burrell/Tuilagi, Joseph, May, Brown and Watson would be fine going into the World Cup. You can add Simpson, Daly, Nowell, Cipriani and Wade into the mix. There's plenty of talent there.

[paul_e]

A backline of Care, Ford, Burrell/Tuilagi, Joseph, May, Brown and Watson would be fine going into the World Cup. You can add Simpson, Daly, Nowell, Cipriani and Wade into the mix. There's plenty of talent there.

And Eastmond, Rokoduguni, Ashton, Foden, Yarde and Dickson all have something to offer at this level.  On top of that Devoto and Robson are going to be superb players.

We really need to give them a bit more freedom though.  It's no surprise that the part of the game where we looked good after Ireland scored was when we stopped kicking for territory and started keeping the ball in hand.

[paul_e]

bath vs sale has been awful, Bath look lost without Ford, Watson and Joseph, they just can't break the line.

Cips hasn't got into the game at all.

[paul_e]

It looks like a knee injury this afternoon (which was entirely his own fault for taking the man out in the air) is the only reason we don't get to witness the joy of seeing Barritt slow play down for England next week, damp shame.  I'm sure he'll find a way to get a few extra sarries players in though.

[PaulWinch again]

The thought that Barritt was nailed on to come back in horrifies me.

[paul_e]

Negative in the extreme and completely misunderstanding why we lost to Ireland (I'll spell it out, we lost because we played a team full of Gaelic football players who've been playing under the high ball since they were kids and we decided the best way to play them was to kick the fucking ball away).  That's nothing to do with Burrell or Joseph (who were actually starved of ball because of it) and it's not even down to Ford who's much more willing to keep the ball in hand and make gaps than he's shown in this 6N.  It's typical of English sporting mentality though, lose a game so bring in people who tackle harder and put in all the effort in the world but don't have the basic skills to threaten top teams.

The reliance on Sarries (who play Irish style rugby) as the foundation of the squad is the biggest issue for me.  Saints are comfortably the best side in the league and yet he's spent 3 years marginalising their players in the squad.

[paul_e]

The premiership was a haven for fantastic tries this week.

The Wilson and Daly ones are superb.

[Dave Summers]

The premiership was a haven for fantastic tries this week.

The Wilson and Daly ones are superb.

Yeah shame that Lancaster doesn't consider Wade worthy of a call up? Honestly the fella is pissing me off as much as Lambert did with Villa.  How Ford, Eastmond and JJ haven't had a run together is staggeringng as they have been THE best midfield all season.  Still, as long as players are big and are vocal and are percived "leaders" then that is all that matters. 

He doesn't like and has never ever trusted creativity. 

[paul_e]

The premiership was a haven for fantastic tries this week.

The Wilson and Daly ones are superb.

Yeah shame that Lancaster doesn't consider Wade worthy of a call up? Honestly the fella is pissing me off as much as Lambert did with Villa.  How Ford, Eastmond and JJ haven't had a run together is staggeringng as they have been THE best midfield all season.  Still, as long as players are big and are vocal and are percived "leaders" then that is all that matters. 

He doesn't like and has never ever trusted creativity. 

I like the 10, 12, 13 balance now, Eastmond has got more creativity than Burrell and is very good in broken field but in phased play the angles Burrell picks can open sides up.  The issue is that Ford isn't playing his natural game so there's not enough good ball coming out wide.  That's why I'd like to see Cipriani get a bit more time, I think he's mature enough to just play his game and do what he's good at, which would open up a lot more space for the 2 outside him.

[PaulWinch again]

Squad looks a lot stronger with Lawes, Brown and Parlinh returning.

[paul_e]

Squad looks a lot stronger with Lawes, Brown and Parlinh returning.

and wood

[PaulWinch again]

Wales game is going our way at the moment.

[paul_e]

Didn't watch much of the wales-ireland game but from what I saw Wales approached it properly and played to their own strengths rather than playing to Ireland's.