2014 Six Nations: France vs England (Round 1)

[Mrs. Peter Quinn]

Why.
Do.
I.
Have.
To.
Work.
Tomorrow.


AFAEOGIHAEOIGHSKJDGHOESIGHSOEIGHSRHSREGS

Do what I do will be doing and avoid the score and then watch as live on iplayer.
The hardest thing is coming back on home on the tube or bus because so many massive tossers leave the metro/standard on seats SPORTS SIDE UP! Getting home without knowing the score becomes a full on obstacle course. Had this last year for England versus France when coming back from abroad. Some massive gimp left his daily mail sports side up in Tottenham hale. People have no sense of courtesy!

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Do what I do will be doing and avoid the score and then watch as live on iplayer.
The hardest thing is coming back on home on the tube or bus because so many massive tossers leave the metro/standard on seats SPORTS SIDE UP! Getting home without knowing the score becomes a full on obstacle course. Had this last year for England versus France when coming back from abroad. Some massive gimp left his daily mail sports side up in Tottenham hale. People have no sense of courtesy!

I tried that last year with the Scotland game - as I was walking out of work, some people on their way in for the night shift were talking and one said really loudly "YEAH GREAT GAME, ENGLAND WON by 20 POINTS" so I just don't bother anymore.
I'm going to beg my manager, tomorrow, to have the day off - he's a rugby fan (though Irish) so I'm hoping he'll say yes.

 

[Aristodemus]

Getting excited about the game now, pretty happy with the team (compared with most of Lancaster's selections) apart from the bench. Hopefully our back three see some decent ball and our pack can again impose themselves!

 

[Ragey Erasmus]

To be fair with regards to the bench, quite a lot of people on the pitch were previously our bench and injuries have weakened the team.

 

[Patchey]

Do what I do will be doing and avoid the score and then watch as live on iplayer.
The hardest thing is coming back on home on the tube or bus because so many massive tossers leave the metro/standard on seats SPORTS SIDE UP! Getting home without knowing the score becomes a full on obstacle course. Had this last year for England versus France when coming back from abroad. Some massive gimp left his daily mail sports side up in Tottenham hale. People have no sense of courtesy!

Bloody Tottenham Hale, that station gives me nothing but problems!

 

[McTallshort]

Think I would have prefered Barriett to start over Burell but otherwise OK

 

[gaston le gaff]

Even though Doussain and Plisson are getting blooded at a very early age they both play for their respective sides most weeks and Plisson is keeping Steyne on the bench at the moment for Stade Franzipan; both are exciting players and it may be just what France needs if they dont want FTD. Could be a very tough match up front but then aren't they all.

 

[ZeFrenchy]

I think we may see some demolition work by Rabah Slimani at some point. The guy's been winning games all by himself for SF (ok, Bonneval has been helping too).
Really looking forward to this game.

 

[Big Ewis]

As Andrew Sheridan and Raphael Ibanez have said, a "crunch" is won up front, with the forwards. I'm just disappointed with the whole situation, that France couldn't manage to establish before this year but I'm not even blaming Saint-André or anyone, the circumstances were rough and things could've been much worse. Yes we lost a bunch of games, but we could've lost them by 20 points each which isn't nearly the case.
So I'm saying it would've been nice to have been as ready as Wales or England this tournament, we're still in a precarious state and it's a bit tiring as a fan at this point...2 years of utter instability (with one amazing 2012 EOYT in between...).

Plisson looks like the real deal though...he doesn't seem shy one bit. This tournament will be huge for the recognition of certain players for France, and for France as a whole, as a Rugby identity.

I think we may see some demolition work by Rabah Slimani at some point. The guy's been winning games all by himself for SF (ok, Bonneval has been helping too).
Really looking forward to this game.

especially coming fresh off the bench, we'll have an opposite reaction to last year's substitutions end of the match. And Forestier ain't a bad scrummager either, he held his own in most matches last year starting for France.

 

[Don't Skip Leg Day]

Think I would have prefered Barriett to start over Burell but otherwise OK

You wait, Burrell has a brilliant passing and ball carrying game, he is also very powerful off the mark. I don't think his defence will be a problem as it's got better and better each game this season. I expect him to do a lot of damage going forward.

Hiss offloading game with our wings! Boom

 

[TRF_Olyy]

I don't think his defence will be a problem as it's got better and better each game this season.

While this is true he'll be playing in a different position to at his club.
Ugo Monye is a good defender on the wing, but had a mare when shifted to 15 for England.

I'm holding out hope, though - Lancaster isn't known for making rash/dangerous decisions, if anything he's conservative in his choices, so if he thinks Burrell can hack it defending at 13, then hopefully he can.

 

[ratsapprentice]

I don't think he's that confident he can though, otherwise there is no need for Barritt on the bench.

 

[Big Ewis]

Burrell looks pretty huge at center, but then again we're starting Basta. I don't know if England will even really want to play their backs a lot. If France manage to counter England's forwards, the backs don't usually have the initiative to manage a play themselves like on other teams. It's just not in the game plan. Besides Tuilagi making a break, I haven't seen this happen with their current roster/past two years, and he won't be there.

 

[Patchey]

I think Burrell's might be okay because of the focus England put as a team on defense. He's had the last two weeks, plus his previous time in training camps, to get used to the system we use, which we know is usually pretty good at shutting teams out. Hopefully that will have helped his positional awareness and I'm pretty sure that his one on one tackling is good enough.

I mean having a player whose defense in questionable is better than having a player whose desense is downright cr*p right?

 

[ratsapprentice]

The fact remains that Lancaster has sacrificed his bench's utility/impact in favour of potential damage limitation... that's not exactly a show of confidence in Burrell's defence is it?

 

[Patchey]

The fact remains that Lancaster has sacrificed his bench's utility/impact in favour of potential damage limitation... that's not exactly a show of confidence in Burrell's defence is it?

I'm fairly sure the view is that Goode supplies the 'utility'. I'm not saying that Burrell's defense doesn't worry me, just that I'd rather have him than Ashton as a defensive liability and that he is coming into what has proved to be a strong defensive system, so its not quite as bad as it first looks.

 

[French TommyGun]

The way you guys talk about Burell makes him sound like some kind of human sieve! I'm sure he can't be that bad! Don't get me wrong I would love him to be!
Apart from Warran Gatland I would say that Lancaster is the best coach in the tournament and I'm sure he genuinely trusts in Burell's capability.
What is the alternative? Is there somebody better suited?

 

[TRF_Olyy]

The fact remains that Lancaster has sacrificed his bench's utility/impact in favour of potential damage limitation... that's not exactly a show of confidence in Burrell's defence is it?

Why start him at all, then?
I agree that Barritt is there as a safe bet later on in the game, but I think Lancaster expects Fazlet to get 80mins, and if he's injured then he'll make do with one of 36 or Goode there. He's picked Barritt because he's planning on subbing one of the centres, as a pre-planned tactical change, at 50-60mins.
If Ford was on the bench I don't think he'd be used, unless there was an unexpected injury.

I'm not saying I agree with it, but I think that's how Lancaster has viewed it, and as I said, he doesn't really make dangerous decisions, so I'm hoping he's got this right too.

The way you guys talk about Burell makes him sound like some kind of human sieve! I'm sure he can't be that bad! Don't get me wrong I would love him to be! 
Apart from Warran Gatland I would say that Lancaster is the best coach in the tournament and I'm sure he genuinely trusts in Burell's capability.
What is the alternative? Is there somebody better suited?

Burrell's one on one tackling is as good as anyone, he just often gets drawn away by standard running lines etc. or runs out of the line leaving a gap - this will be exposed more at 13 where he isn't used to defending.
The most likely alternative would've been Barritt starting at 13 - he's not as exciting going forwards, but he's one of the best defensive backs in the game.

 

[Peat]

But why change the centre partnership unless its not working defensively? It's not a common tactic and its hard to see what point of positive difference Barritt brings other than defence.

Side point - Care and Farrell have never started together before. Maybe 140 minutes together over various games when one's been subbed on. The only partnership in the backs with previous experience together is Fazlet-Twelvetrees for a mighty total of five starts. I've be very surprised if things were completely in sync.

 

[ratsapprentice]

Exactly, I don't think you guys are appreciating how unusual having a player who can only cover centre on the bench is.

I'm not saying I'm so, so worried about Burrell's defence - I'm just making the point that It seems clear that Lancaster has worries about it.