International Rugby

[nordenvillain]

Youngs would never have scored the try that vP did within seconds of coming on.

Youngs should be not be in the 23, Raffi Quirke every time for me. You can decide on whether he or vP should start or the bench, the important thing is Youngs should not be there.

[PaulWinch again]

Jones should be under huge pressure now.

[paul_e]

Youngs would never have scored the try that vP did within seconds of coming on.

Youngs should be not be in the 23, Raffi Quirke every time for me. You can decide on whether he or vP should start or the bench, the important thing is Youngs should not be there.

Those 2 and Mitchell are miles ahead of any other English 9s. The problem today was that our only tactic was to front up for the physical battle. It's been his obsession since the world cup and it's killing us.

[taylorsworkrate]

Youngs would never have scored the try that vP did within seconds of coming on.

Youngs should be not be in the 23, Raffi Quirke every time for me. You can decide on whether he or vP should start or the bench, the important thing is Youngs should not be there.

Those 2 and Mitchell are miles ahead of any other English 9s. The problem today was that our only tactic was to front up for the physical battle. It's been his obsession since the world cup and it's killing us.

It's almost as if the players and coaching staff care more about winning the odd scrum penalty than actually winning the match

[paul_e]

Youngs would never have scored the try that vP did within seconds of coming on.

Youngs should be not be in the 23, Raffi Quirke every time for me. You can decide on whether he or vP should start or the bench, the important thing is Youngs should not be there.

Those 2 and Mitchell are miles ahead of any other English 9s. The problem today was that our only tactic was to front up for the physical battle. It's been his obsession since the world cup and it's killing us.

It's almost as if the players and coaching staff care more about winning the odd scrum penalty than actually winning the match

It's like he saw the world cup final as a test of his masculinity and decided to make sure it doesn't happen again.

[UK Redsox]

Finn Russell recalled by Scotland

I suspect that Townsend called John Rutherford to check on his availability first, before realising that he had no option but to bring back Russell.

[paul_e]

Finn Russell recalled by Scotland

I suspect that Townsend called John Rutherford to check on his availability first, before realising that he had no option but to bring back Russell.

It's a really tough one where Russell is concerned. On the pitch and in even ok form he's one of the best 10s in the world. Off the field he's an absolute liability. So do you ignore all the bullshit and accept you need to pick him or do you sideline him as much as possible for the benefit of the overall team dynamic. England had a similar problem with Cipriani but had the benefit of having other options that were good enough to make the decision easier, Scotland don't have that depth.

[Jon Crofts]

I've a couple of spare tickets for England v South Africa at Twickenham 26 Nov KO 17:30. Seats are singles in the Upper West Stand at £75 each face value. Message me if you want one or both.

[Axl Rose]

Japanese seem to be quite confident of an upset against England.

It would be extremely irritating having to listen to the drivel the Japanese press come out with, so I have to say for maybe the first time ever, 'come on England'.

[paul_e]

Japanese seem to be quite confident of an upset against England.

It would be extremely irritating having to listen to the drivel the Japanese press come out with, so I have to say for maybe the first time ever, 'come on England'.

I won't comment on their chances until our team selection comes out, If he picks a couple of centres and an in-form 9 it will make a huge difference, getting away from the shitty 6-2 split will be a big step in the right direction as well.

[UK Redsox]

A pretty good final to watch.

A more expansive England to start off, although they understandably reverted to shove-it-up-yer-jumper mode after the sending off*.
This lead to a hattrick of tries for Flight Lieutenant AVFCokayne

England dealt quite well with the extended period of being a player down and NZ ended up finally taking the lead when it was 14 against 14 after their own yellow card.

(* the sending off look correct to me. However, it was a good example of why the 20 minute experiment needs revisiting now that there's more things that can lead to a red card.
Yes, the tackler had to go, but I don't think that the action merited the team being down to 14 for the rest of the game.)

Basically a capacity Villa Park in attendance at the final, which was great to see.

With the next World Cup in England, the 2025 final at Twickenham will smash that record.

[UK Redsox]

A few other great games today.

A shock win for Italy over Australia and now a close, hard, battle between France and SA (two red cards ….so far)

Earlier I was at a defence-optional 57-33 win by Lydney over Okehampton

[PaulWinch again]

Japanese seem to be quite confident of an upset against England.

It would be extremely irritating having to listen to the drivel the Japanese press come out with, so I have to say for maybe the first time ever, 'come on England'.

Well they were pretty far off on that.

[Axl Rose]

Japanese seem to be quite confident of an upset against England.

It would be extremely irritating having to listen to the drivel the Japanese press come out with, so I have to say for maybe the first time ever, 'come on England'.

Well they were pretty far off on that.

Haha. Yes. Not a mention of the game on TV this morning.

[UK Redsox]

Portugal secure the final spot in France 2023 after a 16-16 draw with the USA

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/63682229