[2015 RWC] Warm Up Match: France vs England (22/08/2015)

[McTallshort]

Burrell playing well

 

[ratsapprentice]

He's banned.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

England are giving Ford zero options here. No depth to this attack at all, very narrow as well.

Cipriani cares little for your "attacking shape"
[video]https://youtu.be/nDFGrdfTKfE?t=55[/video]

He's banned.

That's a good point, actually.
I'd forgotten he's banned until after the first game, I just thought he'd been dropped for poor discipline. It was only when the commentary mentioned it that I remembered.

 

[91jmay]

This'd be true if Hartley was our best player.
Fact of the matter is all of our hookers are **** at something or other. Youngs is occasionally good at the lineout, Hartley is never good at the ruck, or in workrate, and not really in the scrums (his props have helped his career massively, here - in the days of Mujati/Soane, their domination over the other teams props hid him popping out of every single scrum).

Don't get me wrong, I'd have Hartley in the RWC squad (over Webber, on his recent form) but he's not the great saviour of English rugby like you're making him out to be. He's Mr Average. Does all right at everything (bar the ruck) while not really being particularly good at anything.

Hartley is better than Youngs, he gives more shove in the pack and his set piece throwing is a million miles ahead of Youngs. Youngs has also made a couple of handling errors, so it isn't like he is a demon around the park he just has a high work-rate (which I am told is the reason we pick both of our flankers despite neither adding anything at the breakdown, so that should be superfluous).

 

[Chistera]

Binny's tackle was clearly high, but the exact same happened to Nowell just after he caught the ball in our 22 and the ref wasn't interested at all :/



Edit: If this is a card then I'm gonna kick the **** off. He grabbed his shoulders!



The only stiffness is in French fans' pantaloons

Indeed.

Looking forward to our backs getting some more action in the second half.

 

[The Jones Boy]

Stuey needs to give some boys a rest at half time and the rest can have some hair dryer treatment.
I thought Joseph has looked inventive with no 'go forward' ball.
Outside of him it's a lack lustre effort by the English pack who are capable of so much more than this.

 

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

Lawes isn't good enough in the lineout to help Youngs like Parling (for England + Tigers) and Kitchener (for Tigers) does.

It just looks like this England set up has done zero work together.

 

[ShonH]

Hartley is better than Youngs, he gives more shove in the pack and his set piece throwing is a million miles ahead of Youngs. Youngs has also made a couple of handling errors, so it isn't like he is a demon around the park he just has a high work-rate (which I am told is the reason we pick both of our flankers despite neither adding anything at the breakdown, so that should be superfluous).

Agreed 100%. I don't understand how this is not blatantly obvious to everyone.

 

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

Agreed 100%. I don't understand how this is not blatantly obvious to everyone.

Because we are not saints fans with our nose up his arse telling him it tastes like chocolate.

 

[martinspoonboy1]

What has happened to our scrum since the Six Nations?! Sloppy handing, poor decisions you can kind of understand (for most of these guys it's their first run out for a while) but the set peice?! If it's fallen apart since Spring what the heck has Rowntree been doing over the last couple months!

 

[ratsapprentice]

What do people make of Ben Youngs?

Hartley is only demonstrably better than Youngs in one area - throwing.

 

[goodNumber10]

Cipriani cares little for your "attacking shape"
[video]https://youtu.be/nDFGrdfTKfE?t=55[/video]

Complete opposite of what England need right now.

Need to go back to one out rugby.

Hit it up, recycle, hit it up then make a decision to go or rewind.

Just get the French moving backwards.

 

[91jmay]

Lawes isn't good enough in the lineout to help Youngs like Parling (for England + Tigers) and Kitchener (for Tigers) does.

It just looks like this England set up has done zero work together.

Ah right, it must be someone elses fault. Launchbury, Robshaw all jump as well so why has Youngs been missing them (or not throwing it straight, not sure how that can be Courtney's fault unless he is telling him to do that).

Breakdown is as big an issue though. We have no presence there what so ever.

 

[ShonH]

What has happened to our scrum since the Six Nations?! Sloppy handing, poor decisions you can kind of understand (for most of these guys it's their first run out for a while) but the set peice?! If it's fallen apart since Spring what the heck has Rowntree been doing over the last couple months!

One thing that changed is that Hartley is not playing.

 

[The Jones Boy]

It is pointless to point the finger at Lawes when the bloke throwing the ball is having a regrettable day at the office.
Lawes can't receive it if Youngs isn't getting somewhere near the mark.
England are making France look good.

 

[ncurd]

Yup Hartley can't even play the Fiji game we played so poorly as collective effort in the first half his contribution would of probably been being sent off.

I worry about Robshaw having a quiet one to be honest that's never a good sign for England when he's viable up front and carrying England always looks better.

 

[TommiG88]

Yay, this makes me happy on the ferry home.

 

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

Ah right, it must be someone elses fault. Launchberry, Robshaw all jump as well so why has Youngs been missing them (or not throwing it straight, not sure how that can be Courtney's fault unless he is telling him to do that).

Breakdown is as big an issue though. We have no presence there what so ever.

I'm not saying it is Lawes fault, but he is also meant to be the lineout leader and he has never had a good rep with Youngs.

 

[ShonH]

Because we are not saints fans with our nose up his arse telling him it tastes like chocolate.

Tigs, I am a Leicester fan as you. Just being intellectually honest. I suspect many who fail to recognize Hartley's impact are haters.

 

[TobesHodges]

Right so howwww can we dissolve ford of any responsibility of this.. Hmmmmmm