[2013 EOYT] England

[Don't Skip Leg Day]

So we could see wade, may, monya, Watson or daly play wing. I'dhave any of those in my team. Monya on one wing and wade on the other, then see about daly at 13 and we are set.

 

[ratsapprentice]

I don't know how excited I'd be about seeing Monye picked ahead of the younger guys.

But I'd be much happier seeing him play than either Strettle or Ashton.

 

[Peat]

He played two real wingers in a capped game? Wow.

I miss Monye and Sharples, either would have done a much better job than Ashton and Brown on the wings.

Not sure the Fiji game was capped.

I'm a big Monye fan, but I'm not sure he's an international class winger. That said, compared to Ashton or Brown, no contest.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Yeah, that's my thoughts too:
He's not the best in the world, not really the best in England, but if Lancaster wants an older/more experienced player on the wing then Monye would be far better than Ashton or Strettle.

 

[j'nuh]

I do feel pretty deflated that Lancaster wants wingers to stick to their wings. Wade's a terrible choice if all you want from a winger is for them to do the technical details, chase balls, and finish off moves. When you pick a guy like Wade, you don't want to make him predictable; you want him popping up all over the field and exploiting forwards. Wade's a good finisher, but I think Monye's a better choice for what Lancaster wants.

Monye's about as good a winger as you can get if you're going to limit wingers to sticking on their wings. He's among the best in the world in chasing the high ball and has a very well-rounded game. May would also be a great option, imo the best finisher in the league.

Maybe Lancaster would be better having May to stick to his wing and Wade to roam?

 

[Patchey]

I'm glad everyone else is in on the Monye love. I often think of him as an older, more experiences version of Yarde. They're both similar in their strength, speed and kick chase ability. Yarde also appears to be following Monye down the 'getting injured at every possible moment' path.

I do feel pretty deflated that Lancaster wants wingers to stick to their wings. Wade's a terrible choice if all you want from a winger is for them to do the technical details, chase balls, and finish off moves. When you pick a guy like Wade, you don't want to make him predictable; you want him popping up all over the field and exploiting forwards. Wade's a good finisher, but I think Monye's a better choice for what Lancaster wants.

Monye's about as good a winger as you can get if you're going to limit wingers to sticking on their wings. He's among the best in the world in chasing the high ball and has a very well-rounded game. May would also be a great option, imo the best finisher in the league.

Maybe Lancaster would be better having May to stick to his wing and Wade to roam?

i'd feel deflated if I thought that was true. I think it sounds more like Ashton having a moan and blaming his catastrophic loss of form on the way he's being asked to play. I'm not saying that isn't part of it, England under Lancaster are clearly using wingers differently than under Johnson. Ashton coming in off the wing and feeding off the ten or fullback is certainly no longer the focus of the attacking game in the way it was circa 2011. However if you watch the Argentina games from the summer you can see that Yarde, May and Wade weren't just restricted to being 'wingers' and staying wide. I think its more a case of the game plan has changed, Ashton can't adapt to this as it isn't what he is used to as a result of this his flaws in defence and kick chasing have been exposed.

 

[Peat]

Can anyone actually tell me what our attacking gameplan is? Because I'd struggle to come up with a coherent answer that I was confident in. There's a lot of one out rugby and a lot of very lateral stuff. We seem very big in our belief that out 13 can take theirs on the outside even when there is virtually no evidence for the statement. There doesn't appear to be huge amounts happening in midfield.

Ashton kinda has a point. Its not well set up for his success. On the one hand, yeah he's a lucky boy to have so many chances to adapt, but on the other he's unlucky in that despite previously being one of England's most potent attacking weapons, Lancaster has shown zero interest in setting up things to suit him. Either way, in this attack, his time is done as can be.

 

[Maverick1987]

Anyone think george ford needs a chance in an England shirt ? I've not seen tonnes of bath games but when I have he's looked top drawer

 

[TRF_Olyy]

I've not seen tonnes of bath games but when I have he's looked top drawer

You should watch more then, because he's been absolute sh*t in some.
Far too inconsistent at the moment, which is understandable as this is his first season as a starter.
He kicks way way way too much as well - BT said that he's made the least passes and most kicks of any 10 in the prem this season.

 

[The Jones Boy]

So England were the only NH team to take a scalp from the Big 3 SH teams, and then only Aussie.
Ireland, Wales, France and England all have a LOT of work to do if they seriously think they are going to be in the semi-finals of the RWC let alone the final.
Yeah they can do it but it starts with believing and to get the belief you have to work together for each other and give every last ounce of everything every game, empty the tank and start to sneak the late wins, then the belief grows from a glimmer to a spark, then look out, you're on a roll.
From this point it is the NH teams with all the work to do.

 

[ratsapprentice]

Foden's out for 12 weeks.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Sh*t.

I'd say "Hey, maybe this will pave the way for Watson to take the 23 shirt" but we all know this just means Goode is guaranteed a spot in the team.

 

[Aristodemus]

Fancy a bit more Goode at fullback and Brown on the wing Olyy?

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Only if, now that Tomkins is out, Banahan comes back in at 13 - he's the key to unlocking our backline.

 

[The Jones Boy]

Strettle was never given a fair shake of the dice for England. Injury didn't help him but that kid is a class act.

 

[ratsapprentice]

Strettle has been given plenty of opportunities to play for England... he has consistently looked out of his depth and unable to perform the fundamentals of his position during his caps.
Most recently he ****ed up 3 clear try scoring opportunities on the Argentina tour.

He was class... several years ago.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Yeah, Strettle looked very talented at Quins, and was rightly given a shot with England which he didn't do particularly much with - he was then involved with the scandal down under and didn't see much time afterwards.
Moved to Sarries, took the massive dose of mediocrity that all their backs, bar Charlie Hodgson, take pre-game and has looked like that ever since. Got a few more caps when Lancaster took over and Sarries were the new flavour of the month, but again, didn't do much with them.

 

[Bada-Bing!]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/rugbyunion/club/10486253/London-Irish-12-Wasps-19-match-report.html

And now Wade's injured.:0(.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Only a matter of time before Brown goes, too.

9. Youngs
10. Farrell
11. Strettle
12. Barritt
13. ???
14. Ashton
15. Goode

Can hear France/Ireland/Wales/Scotland/Italy sh*tting themselves from here.

 

[j'nuh]

9. Dickson
10. Flood/Farrell/Burns
11. May
12. Twelvetrees
13. Daly
14. Monye
15. Brown

21. Youngs/Care
22. Flood/Farrell/Burns
23. Trinder/Watson

See, we can still put out a decent backline