International Rugby

[peter w]

Robshaw even more so as England captain, nevermind that he's a player representing his country, would never say he was playing in the wrong role. I think it's hugely misguided to think any player ever would say anything other than they'd play wherever asked for their country and there is no such thing in that respect as playing in the wrong role. Quite simply, and this is backing up your oft banged-in point that he wasn't/isn't a 7 that he was been outstanding as a 6.

I agree (with my limited knowledge) that an upgrade on Cole is now needed and Jones is canny enough to have seen where he perceives weaknesses in his team to be. Good to see Sinckler take his chance yesterday in his brief cameo. He'll be putting pressure on Cole and although he's unlikely to start against Australia he'll probably get another 20 minute audition before the 6 Nations.

As for Daly - yes a red and I have a modicum of sympathy for the ref with the Argentinian player. Because of the way May landed it was easy for the ref to interpret tat the player either pulled out of the tackle or it simply wasn't dangerous and so by landing on his feet it was just a penalty. This is where my knowledge of the rules fall down - what is the letter of the law? If there is any margin of error then I can see why the ref erred on the side of caution so as to not sin bin a player because an English player was sent off.

I thought the neck roll one was definitely more dangerous but the pace the game is played at it is a lot harder to definitely say that it was deliberate, and even if not the position of the player's bodies going into the tackle and the speed they entered into the contact also has to be considered. I'm not saying the referee got it right yesterday but can appreciate the difficulty in getting it absolutely right and where inconsistencies lie.

As for the stamp? Well that twat should be able to book his holibobs to Patagonia for a very long time.

[Jon Crofts]

Billy V out for 4 months, had a knee op yesterday and likely to miss all of the 6N.

[peter w]

big miss. Huge. He has really epitomised the new England probably more than anyone.

[paul_e]

Phenomenal player who will be hugely missed.  It does mean we get to see Hughes in his natural position though and his offloading game could come in useful against the better sides.

[Dante Lavelli]

A few observations from the game:

Hartley looks a decent captain.  The gesture when Daly was sent off was classy and the huddle behind the posts when Argentina scored also showed decent leadership.

Sinkler impressed me.  Can't comment on his scrummaging but looked mobile and had good awareness in the loose.

JJ - Really impressed.  Previously his attacking play has stood out, whereas on Saturday his defence and ability to compete for the ball immediately after a tackle probably saved England as it slowed the ball enough that the extra man was not as obvious.

[paul_e]

JJ has always been a very strong defender but it's easily overlooked when you see him breeze past 3-4 players.  Greenwood and Guscott both called him out as the most promising young centre we had (ahead of Manu) a few years back when he was breaking through at Irish and both said that his defensive qualities were superb and separated him from most young centres who have to learn that side of the game.

Sinckler is a tough one for me, his technique in the scrum is dreadful (but better than a few years ago when he honestly didn't know what he was doing) and he's got a very suspect temprament but if he can contain the latter and work on the former he has the physicality, pace and stamina of a back row.  I think Hill is a better all round prospect though and I suspect longer term Hill will start games and Sinckler will finish them.

Hartley is a fantastic captain, he showed that at Saints and he was genuinely the stand out choice when Jones came in.  The worry (although that's not the right word) is that George and Taylor are improving very quickly and once they get the consistency at the lineout and fix the small technical errors they have in the scrum their play in the open will elevate them above him.  When the time comes it will be interesting to see how it's handled.

[paul_e]

3 week ban for Daly, they started with 6 and then reduced it based on record, etc.  6 weeks for that would've been a terrible over-reaction, even 3 is pretty heavy handed.

[cheltenhamlion]

Any danger of Ben Morgan coming back in next week? He had a huge game carrying for Gloucester yesterday.

[PaulWinch again]

It's going to be a massive test this weekend with all our players missing.

[nigel]

Any danger of Ben Morgan coming back in next week? He had a huge game carrying for Gloucester yesterday.

Ben Morgan is a must.
Great n.o 8 for me.
Don't know a lot about Nathan Hughes, but he must be pretty decent to keep Morgan out

[paul_e]

I really like Morgan but he is missing half a yard of pace which makes a big difference at the top level.

Hughes is a fantastic player, his ofloading game is superb but the best bit, for me, is his work in disrupting mauls, he just seems to slip through and get hands on the ball carrier with ease, and does it going straight through the middle, it's a very rare skill.

This sums him up pretty well -

Specifically watch how often he has the ball in 1 hand when he's running so he can keep it away from contact and keep it alive.  The Wade try towards the end of the clip is the best example, that's what I mean by his offloading game.

[Jon Crofts]

It's going to be a massive test this weekend with all our players missing.

They're not all missing
But yes Itoje, Haskell, Billy V, Daly it's  going to be a big ask and a close one at that but I think England will shade it if we can keep the intensity and slow the convicts down at the breakdown.

[peter w]

I think Lawes has been playing well enough to cover for the loss (big loss as it is). Throw in Wood and the options that we have at wing (whatever happened to Wade?) and I think those positions will be covered. But Billy V will be a huge loss. Chance for someone though.

[Dante Lavelli]

I think Lawes has been playing well enough to cover for the loss (big loss as it is). Throw in Wood and the options that we have at wing (whatever happened to Wade?) and I think those positions will be covered. But Billy V will be a huge loss. Chance for someone though.

There was a spell on saturday where Argentina went through 4 or 5 phases of tackle/ruck/drive/tackle and Lawes was the tackler on each occasion.  It was phenomenal. 

Itoje is better with the ball but defensively and set pieces I don't think there's much between them.  Oh, Itoje wins when it comes to turnovers too. 

[nigel]

I think Lawes has been playing well enough to cover for the loss (big loss as it is). Throw in Wood and the options that we have at wing (whatever happened to Wade?) and I think those positions will be covered. But Billy V will be a huge loss. Chance for someone though.

There was a spell on saturday where Argentina went through 4 or 5 phases of tackle/ruck/drive/tackle and Lawes was the tackler on each occasion.  It was phenomenal. 

Itoje is better with the ball but defensively and set pieces I don't think there's much between them.  Oh, Itoje wins when it comes to turnovers too.

This could be why Itoje could move to back row in some capacity.
Imagine him steaming at the opposition 10 from open side?