[2018 Six Nations] England Squad

[TRF_Olyy]

I'd put money on Farrell being the next captain, He's already doing it for the 15 seconds when Hartley gets subbed off

 

[Which Tyler]

Yeah, he's doing it , and showing that it's a stupid idea.
He's also doing it for Sarries on occasion,and proving that it's a stupid idea.

Itoje will be captain someday, it's just a matter of when.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

What's he doing wrong?
I like him as captain

 

[Pieter Steph du Teague]

What's he doing wrong?
I like him as captain

I agree, I really like him as a captain. Think a lot of people take issue with him not being the most passive of players but I think a captain needs to have some attitude to him.

 

[Which Tyler]

Farrell? He annoys the ref and turns them against his team.
Surely nobody wants a passive player as skipper - least of all those of us proposing Itoje. But the skipper needs to be able to communicate well with the ref, get them watching what you want them to, and giving your side a bit of a break, point out mitigation when your being penalised etc etc. Faz talking to the ref comes across as a whiney ***** and puts the ref's back up.

As a player, fine
As a motivator of his team mates, fine
As a leader to his team mates, fine
As a communicator with the ref, a liability - currently. If he gets the arm-band for Sarries more, and works on that the way he has his rugby, then he'll be fine in a couple of years (possible lot sooner, he seems the sort that could learn those skills quickly if he can keep his cool)

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Sounds weird considering they just won by 27pts but I feel so much better about the Wales game after that performance

 

[Not Mike Brown's Sock]

hahah same... **** poor from both of them

 

[TRF_Olyy]

England grandslam then?

 

[ncurd]

England grandslam then?

I was thinking that until the last 2 seconds of the game I still wouldn't put it past Ireland to win at Twickers.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

I was thinking that until the last 2 seconds of the game I still wouldn't put it past Ireland to win at Twickers.

I would be amazed if he made it through the tournament to be fair, he's made of very fragile glass and looked a bit crocked at the end of that game (obviously he was fit enough to take the kick but who knows what ****les and cramps may progress)

 

[Maverick1987]

Sounds weird considering they just won by 27pts but I feel so much better about the Wales game after that performance

What was it about the game that made you feel better about it ? Not disagreeing, just interested ....

 

[TRF_Olyy]

What was it about the game that made you feel better about it ? Not disagreeing, just interested ....

Don't think their attack looked very good at all - Scotland's defence was terrible and most line breaks were due to Scotland's line just having acres of space.
Of their 4 tries only the evans one showed any real attacking prowess (and even that had a massive forward pass in). Two were standard grind-away-until-theres-an-overlap and one was an intercept.
Thought their scrum was average at best (equalled by a Scottish pack missing 300 props) and have no impact carriers (though neither do England).
I'm not even especially worried about the breakdown - Navidi was good on the deck but better than Simmonds? I'm not so sure.
Lautoje >>>>>> AWJ and whoever the other guy was
I feel like their backrow is as badly balanced as ours so it comes down to man vs man.
Shingler and Robshaw will workrate each other off the pitch, Lawes and Moriarty will try and impose themselves through physicality

It sounds like I'm proper slagging Wales off but I'm not - they were well worth their win, and it'll be a tough game but I think people are really getting ahead of themselves with that performance. Calling it one of Wales' best ever showings is just insanity.

In the words of Khabib nurmagomedov:
"this my opinion, no more."

 

[Nudger]

Scotland were shite
After 20 mins both teams Ran out of steamand reverted to kicking
Unless they play better against us(usually the case) I fairy confident we can beat them

 

[Pieter Steph du Teague]

So what changes would people make for next week, if any?

In the forwards I don't think anything will change, I'd like to see Underhill come in for Robshaw and Mercer on the bench (if he's recovered) but I really cannot see it happening.

In the backs it looks pretty likely that Youngs will be out so Care will start and I'd have thought Robson will come in on the bench but it could well be Wigglesworth or maybe even Vellacott (I'd like Robson). Beyond that I'd swap around May and Nowell - Nowell was so threatening every time he got the ball whereas May had a bit of a shocker. I was expecting JJ to come back in for Te'o but as I said in another thread; The Ford-Faz axis works so much better when they have a dangerous ball carrier outside them to buy them some space whereas JJ can come on against a tired defence to find some holes.

Wouldn't make any changes on the bench apart from the ones I've already said.

 

[Reiser99]

I reckon Jones will go back to before T'eo was injured. JJ starting to secure the defence early and then T'eo at the end to blast some holes against tired legs.

 

[Ragey Erasmus]

I think wigglesworth would be a poor choice for 9. He has slow delivery and works in Sarries due to the forward dominance but his slowness will kill England. He also is not a potential challenger for the position or a WC or beyond WC prospect so I see no point wasting time with him. Robson is young, has the ability to deliver much faster ball and I suspect still hasn't reached his peak. If we are looking at a replacement 9 for after the WC, I'd say he could be one of the options. I see going for him as a much more worthwhile choice for the future.

 

[ncurd]

I know we can blame the normal Italy running out of steam but I think it was noticeable that once JJ came on our defence was less of a shambles.

 

[ncurd]

On 9 were looking at someone to keep a seat warm unless Care get pummelled too, Wigglesworth is a safe pair of hand for that job and I think EJ has clearly indicated hes not looking beyond Care/Youngs for the world cup.

 

[Which Tyler]

Hopefully Eddie's new, extended contract will put paid to thoughts of Wiggles. He'll be responsible for building some continuity beyond the RWC now.
Besides, it's for the bench, this in someone with a future, you never know. Even if you don't think Robson, Vellacott or Spencer has what it takes, some players just surprise you and raise their game for international rugby. All 3 of those are better rugby players than Wigglesworth

 

[Duck a l'Orange]

The 32 man squad for Wales has been announced. Wigglesworth in.

Full backs

Mike Brown (Harlequins), Nathan Earle (Saracens), Harry Mallinder (Northampton Saints), Jonny May (Leicester Tigers), Denny Solomona (Sale Sharks), Anthony Watson (Bath Rugby)

Inside backs

Danny Care (Harlequins), Owen Farrell (Saracens), George Ford (Leicester Tigers), Jonathan Joseph (Bath Rugby), Jack Nowell (Exeter Chiefs), Ben Te'o (Worcester Warriors), Richard Wigglesworth (Saracens)

Forwards

Back five

*James Haskell (Wasps), Nathan Hughes (Wasps), Nick Isiekwe (Saracens), Maro Itoje (Saracens), George Kruis (Saracens), Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints), Joe Launchbury (Wasps), Zach Mercer (Bath Rugby), Chris Robshaw (Harlequins), Sam Simmonds (Exeter Chiefs), Sam Underhill (Bath Rugby)

Front row

Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers), Luke Cowan-Dickie (Exeter Chiefs), Jamie George (Saracens), Dylan Hartley (Northampton Saints), Alec Hepburn (Exeter Chiefs), *Joe Marler (Harlequins), Mako Vunipola (Saracens), Harry Williams (Exeter Chiefs)

*unavailable for selection