[2020 Six Nations] England vs Wales (07/03/20)

[Which Tyler]

Dan Biggar was very inconspicuous yesterday too. Reckon he was told to tone down the arm waving?

He was.
Completely put in his box by Farrell in the Twat of the Match contest. Though Dan's still in the lead for the championship as a whole

 

[Jimbo]

He was.
Completely put in his box by Farrell in the Twat of the Match contest. Though Dan's still in the lead for the championship as a whole

Tbf though Faz is the England captain so you wouldn't expect them to have equal interactions with the refs not that I’m condoning the conduct they address the ref with or footy like antics, just don’t think it’s an entirely fair comparison is all.

 

[BrokenWing]

Probably the saddest indictment on the modern game was that Jones just stood there like a lemon and didn’t wallop Marler.

The saddest indictment was that his first reaction is to look for an official to bleat to.

 

[Which Tyler]

Tbf though Faz is the England captain so you wouldn't expect them to have equal interactions with the refs not that I’m condoning the conduct they address the ref with or footy like antics, just don’t think it’s an entirely fair comparison is all.

For once, I wasn't referring to his interactions with the ref (as you say, being skipper he has many more opportunities there); but his general twattishness around the field - shoving North for no reason, shoving Biggar in the back way harder than "necessary" etc etc

 

[TheOvalBall]

It is kinda jarring seeing a Six Nations table/log from last year when we are discussing this year.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Yeah, I don't have access to change it
@TRF_Fullback

 

[Rinkadink]

The saddest indictment was that his first reaction is to look for an official to bleat to.

Well, that's the game that people allegedly wanted even if they don't realise it with all these big worries about no fighting and the like. It's a huge shame

#bringbackthebiff

 

[Which Tyler]

It is kinda jarring seeing a Six Nations table/log from last year when we are discussing this year.

It's a Welsh conspiracy!

I'd given up calling for it after the first 2 rounds

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Probably legal on that (not sure it counts as a tip?) but Christ he could have easily broken his neck,
Not pretty viewing

Actually I take this back, missed the two(?) elbows to the face
TMO and touch judges are ******* shambles

 

[Jimbo]

Actually I take this back, missed the two(?) elbows to the face
TMO and touch judges are ******* shambles

Regardless of views on the MT incident the inconsistency’s between even reviewing foul play between the two sides is astonishing.

 

[martinspoonboy1]

An utterly dominant 3 point win. Happy with that regardless of the last 5 mins shennanigans. On the key talking points. Yes red card and no Marler shouldn't be fondling.

Really good peformance from England overall. Not so much from Mr O'Keefe, but I don't expect anything from him.

3 points init pal 3 points that is all now good night and nos da and in future speak to us indigenous with more repect , because e have won more championships than you foreigners
>>>>

Had you been on the sauce a little bit last night good fellow?? Following the thread today (try to avoid it in the aftermath ) it seems like you quite possibly could have been. Hehe!

 

[oj121]

Never mind shoulder, tackler's head counts as high.

Also it looks like mitigation should have applied to Manu IMO given the sudden drop in speed and height of North. Am I misremembering that someone on red coms yesterday said as it's a shoulder charge they can't apply mitigation? That isn't true.

https://laws.worldrugby.org/en/guidelines

• Shoulder charge (no arms tackle) to the head or neck of the ball carrier, and mitigation is not applied
• High tackle with any contact between the tackler’s shoulder or head and the BC’s head or neck, with high degree of danger, and mitigation is not applied

They were right mitigation can not be applied in the context of that hit on both counts....

 

[Rinkadink]

They were right mitigation can not be applied in the context of that hit on both counts....

Yes it can, you're quoting the summary of what constitutes a red card. Clearly on the flow it says *see mitigating factors. It doesn't say no mitigating factors can be applied, quite the opposite. So the summary outcome is you get a red if there is no mitigation... the relevant mitigation is;

BC suddenly drops in height (e.g. From earlier tackle, trips/falls, dives to score)

Also, arguably

Head contact is indirect (starts elsewhere on the body and then slips or moves up resulting in minor contact to the BC’s head or neck)

But the late, sudden drop in speed and height of North (the BC) can be clearly seen and fits the first mitigation criteria. Red down to yellow, then?

 

[Leinster Fan]

The saddest indictment was that his first reaction is to look for an official to bleat to.

What exactly should he have done? That's the correct response, much better than either retaliating or just not responding.

It is the refs job to deal with these things after all, why we complain about people bringing blatant offences to their attention I don't know.

 

[JonoCymru]

Relatively comfortable for England though we could have won it with a bit more nous. You're 17 points down with 8 minutes left and you go for a scrum on a penalty. It's brain dead basics. Tap and go or go for the corner. A scrum and a reset is at least 90 seconds. Shooting yourselves in the foot.

It's evidently going to take some time to rid ourselves of Warrenball however a similar campaign next year and I'd probably let Pivac go and go for someone like Cotter and let him build for the RWC. Our defence has become awful literally overnight.

 

[BrokenWing]

Our defence has become awful literally overnight.

How does this happen?

Surely, someone was actually listening to Shaun Edwards and could remember what he was telling you to do?

I can appreciate a new coach changing things up but when your defence is a strength, why change it?

 

[JonoCymru]

How does this happen?

Surely, someone was actually listening to Shaun Edwards and could remember what he was telling you to do?

I can appreciate a new coach changing things up but when your defence is a strength, why change it?

One thing I've noticed which, is very worrying is our defence is very, very narrow. Should have given General Edwards the 4 years he wanted.

 

[BrokenWing]

What exactly should he have done? That's the correct response, much better than either retaliating or just not responding.

It is the refs job to deal with these things after all, why we complain about people bringing blatant offences to their attention I don't know.

The hypocrisy of it doesn't sit right with me, because if he knew the referee couldn't see what he was up to he would cheat (and does) at every chance he got.

I am fully aware that this is an odd view as 99.99% of sportspeople also cheat at every opportunity they get.

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

I hate rugby's attitude that players shouldn't say a word to a referee. It leads to referees who won't let players talk to them in any manner, polite or otherwise, and as a result miss loads and are just generally shite.

We clearly have a problem with refereeing in the sport and the same people who are quick to call refs **** also think only captains should say a word to them. North alerted the referee of dangerous play that we want to stamp out of the game, his motive isn't to make the game safer but who cares if that's the effect it will have?

 

[LIONSxv]

The ref was very poor tmo even worse. However until England begin to manage their interactions with refs better both on and off the pitch we will always be at the sharp.

Quite a few Welsh actions would normally warrant tmo reviews I. E tip tackle, forward passes for tries and contact with the head. But they weren't. Same with some of the Irish lads actions week before. For me we are clearly unable to influence refs and seem constantly on their bad side.
Does anyone believe that new Zealand playing at Eden Park 5 years ago would have a player sent off for MT challenge? No yellow at best. Rather than thinking conspiracy we need to review what we are doing to irk refs and tmo so much that we are constantly on their wrong side.