International Rugby

[UK Redsox]

Based on recent games, I suspect that Louis Bielle-Biarrey would have been selected ahead of me on the wing for the early 1990's Lydney RFC 3rd XV

[nigel]

Inexperience from Pollock, should have held onto the ball

Maybe, but the tackle 30 seconds earlier and the turnover itself was absolute top class and I think he's been trying a little too hard in this tournament because so often he's had virtually no time to have an impact and his 1 start saw him get dropped again immediately afterwards despite him having a decent game. For me he should be playing at least half a game every test, he's an incredible talent with an almost magic ability to find himself in the right place all the time. We need to build around him in the same way we did with Itoje at a similar age.

For what it's worth if the pass had stuck we had a spare man and, at worst, could've carried deep into their half. That sort of risk taking is what the saints team is designed around so it'll be something that is deeply embedded in how he tries to play.

I certainly wasn’t criticising him, as you say an incredible talent.
If that’s how saints play week by week then it’s understandable he tried it.

[Gareth]

RFU backing Borthwick even though pretty much every failing identified was in his wheelhouse

They’ve obviously decided that lazily sitting on their arses with a yes man at the helm is more important than trying to go far in the World Cup

[paul_e]

RFU backing Borthwick even though pretty much every failing identified was in his wheelhouse

They’ve obviously decided that lazily sitting on their arses with a yes man at the helm is more important than trying to go far in the World Cup

No shock, seems like we're going to have to stink out the world cup and hope that is enough to realise that the sport has changed in the last 20 years and that the old percentage based crap is out of date.

[nigel]

RFU backing Borthwick even though pretty much every failing identified was in his wheelhouse

They’ve obviously decided that lazily sitting on their arses with a yes man at the helm is more important than trying to go far in the World Cup

No shock, seems like we're going to have to stink out the world cup and hope that is enough to realise that the sport has changed in the last 20 years and that the old percentage based crap is out of date.

The 6 nations will be a struggle, too.
We’ve so much talent at our disposal yet don’t seem to know what to do with it

[Brazilian Villain]

RFU backing Borthwick even though pretty much every failing identified was in his wheelhouse

He doesn't seem like a very good coach. It must be his charisma that keeps him in the post.

[Weedy]

He's like the Steve Bruce of Rugby.

I still stand by this from 3 years ago.

[paul_e]

He's a product of his time. As a player he came through a period where Leicester and Sarries dominated by controlling territory and relying on line breaks down the middle to create opportunities. As a good little student he learned from the coaches of the time and went the same way. His belief in it then fully reinforced by a prem title with Leicester and he leaned into it ever further.

The outcome is that his default is kick for territory in our 3rd, kick after 2 or 3 phases with no progress in the middle 3rd and brute force it in their 3rd. There's no room to add any finesse or flair because it's seen as risky.

The reason it's so outdated is that it becomes so predictable and the times where we've looked like a proper team is when Fin Smith at 10 has gone off script and played the situation instead of the plan. His reward of course being dropped at the first opportunity.

Last Autumn was the final straw for me when we broke the plan in the 6N and got half the team added to the Lions only for his response to be sticking with the players who missed out as his England core because he'd had chance to drill them in the summer. Can you.imagine any other nation taking Lions players and dropping them from the 23 for the next series, fucking insanity.

[Dave Summers]

What’s more of a concern to me, having been sent a copy of the Telegraph report today, is that they’re intimating that the RFU don’t feel there is a suitable coach available to parachute in. If that really is the case, then they aren’t looking very hard, the England head coach role ought to be one of the very top jobs in the sport and you’d like to think coaches would be very keen to take it on with all the resources available to them.

It appears from this same report, that their number one choice is Andy Farrell but he’s not out of contract until 2027. And that worries me too, not a fan of him or his style of rugby whatsoever I’m afraid.

For the love of McGrath get on a plane to NZ and get Scott Robertson locked in, he’ll be spewing to make the NZ hierarchy see the error of their ways having not been given a proper chance with the AB’s. Seems obvious to me anyway 

[paul_e]

Robertson would be a good option but it's got to be Dowson as the first choice. He's been key to turning half the team into players who can do something spectacular. Saints can be a bit too open at times, which is why the RFU wouldn't go for him, but with the talent available in the back row and backline we have to switch to a much more open game because what we're doing now just doesn't suit the squad we have at all.

[nigel]

When the Nations Championship opens on July 4th the way the kick offs are staggered you can watch 9 hours of rugby

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/articles/cewpnkqp971o

New Zealand v France at Christchurch's newly opened One New Zealand Stadium at 08:10 BST in the competition's first fixture, with Australia v Ireland (11:10) and South Africa v England (16:40) among the opening round's other highlights.
Fiji, who are staging their home fixtures in the northern hemisphere to ease logistics and maximise revenue, take on Wales at Cardiff City Stadium at 14:10, with Argentina facing Scotland in Cordoba at 20:10 in the day's final