[2021 Six Nations] England vs Italy (13/02/21)

[Jashay]

All our carriers tie up 2 defenders as the ruck ball and Young's are so slow and predictable. It's been like this since last year. Curry can do exactly the same job and do it better and then there's actual 8a to pick as well.

Billy doesn't even tie up two defenders all the time; last year he was frequently stopped by one defender even with a run up. I assume it's because he runs straight at them, not at shoulders.

Contrast that with Genge or LCD, who run at shoulders and bump people; you'll often see one defender go at them, fail, and then require two more defenders as support. Or they break through and make meters. I much prefer the smart carrying over the heavy carrying, and I think it's a better fit for the modern game

 

[AlRums]

Id have wilson or earl in there happily but Billy is going nowhere so i just left him in, the other reason is because he is our 8 no matter his form so i want to see how Willis Curry Billy works. Would Willis Curry plea BS/OS or left and right?

That's EJ thinking right there

 

[Nudger]

I thought our pack looked better in the last 20 mins
So lsd haha lawes curry Earl's to start looks like mako and sinc's walk back in

 

[Geordie]

Lawes did seem to bring some physicality..thats very true

 

[Scotty]

That's EJ thinking right there

We know it wont change so why dream haha

 

[Vieux Talonneur]

Lawes did seem to bring some physicality..thats very true

He may not be the biggest scrummager, and while he is very physical he brings a lot more than that. I think it's astonishing that a player of his calibre isn't starting in a struggling team with Kruis and Launch unavailable.

 

[Ragey Erasmus]

I think Billy Vunipola was the right choice back when he started and we didn't have any strong carriers in the backrow or midfield. But I feel like England have evolved since then to have a lot of decent carriers in the pack... Curry in particular feels like a more effective carrier than Billy these days whilst also being a much better all round player.

This is what I find a bit baffling, before Binny we had Ben Morgan. He didn't have the raw weight of Binny but he was by no stretch of the imagination a poor carrier, he was definitely a more intelligent player and had more skills across the board than Billy did (and was one of the best 8's at controlling the ball at the back of the scrum).

England seem to operate on the basis of if you are a big carrier you MUST run at the player even if a gap is available. The whole point of big carriers is that they try to hit smart lines like anyone else but also have the option to plough through as a last resort. It shouldn't be the first and only resort. Running at a player is fine if the aim is to fix them and pop a pass but it's so rare that someone just gets completely run over these days... Billy looks like he doesn't fight once he hits contact, he takes the initial hit but there never seems to be any desire to keep driving as you see with Curry or a perfect example is Hamish Watson, that guy just does not want to stop moving until he has been manhandled to the ground.

 

[Vieux Talonneur]

In totally unshocking news Jones saying he won't drop Farrell.

He also doesn't believe the team is in a slump of form. I hope that's just for public consumption and he doesn't really believe it......

 

[Jashay]

Sounds like Eddie's usual media tactic of saying something off-base to distract to be honest.

 

[Vieux Talonneur]

Full article below.

We weren't our usual vibrant selves apparently......don't know about you but I can't recall a great deal of vibrancy since the RWC semi.

And it's all about peaking for the World Cup, so that's alright then.

He always thought a slump was 3 or 4 bad games, not one. I'd say we've well and truly had those in performance terms, but of course he'd point to the scoreboard (neglecting to acknowledge the standard of opposition).

Obviously you expect coaches to protect players and themselves in the media, but I do object to some of the palpable nonsense he comes out with - bullying France, greatest team ever etc. What started off as fun and edgy and possibly inspiring now looks stale and silly and I suspect he possibly believes a little more of it than we'd like to think.

I really hope the AIs go ahead to give us a better idea of where we stand.

Eddie Jones hands Owen Farrell a Six Nations vote of confidence

Eddie Jones will stick with his captain for England’s clash with Italy and has added props Kyle Sinckler and Mako Vunipola to the squad

www.theguardian.com

 

[Reiser99]

Full article below.

We weren't our usual vibrant selves apparently......don't know about you but I can't recall a great deal of vibrancy since the RWC semi.

And it's all about peaking for the World Cup, so that's alright then.

He always thought a slump was 3 or 4 bad games, not one. I'd say we've well and truly had those in performance terms, but of course he'd point to the scoreboard (neglecting to acknowledge the standard of opposition).

Obviously you expect coaches to protect players and themselves in the media, but I do object to some of the palpable nonsense he comes out with - bullying France, greatest team ever etc. What started off as fun and edgy and possibly inspiring now looks stale and silly and I suspect he possibly believes a little more of it than we'd like to think.

I really hope the AIs go ahead to give us a better idea of where we stand.

Eddie Jones hands Owen Farrell a Six Nations vote of confidence

Eddie Jones will stick with his captain for England’s clash with Italy and has added props Kyle Sinckler and Mako Vunipola to the squad

www.theguardian.com

Gets even more depressing.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Guess we'll found out tomorrow(?) what's actually going to happen

 

[Which Tyler]

Guess we'll found out tomorrow(?) what's actually going to happen

Mako and Sinkler straight in to the starting XV, Obano and Williams to tackle-bag holding duties.
Ford in for Lawrence.
Possibly Randall to the bench for Robson. (Robson and) Lawrence carry the can for the poor performance.

 

[Wichita]

EJ should organize the next training sessions in an underground parking lot to instill some fresh tactical ideas into this English team. Like using their hands from time to time...

 

[klitarris]

Mako and Sinkler straight in to the starting XV, Obano and Williams to tackle-bag holding duties.
Ford in for Lawrence.
Possibly Randall to the bench for Robson. (Robson and) Lawrence carry the can for the poor performance.

Unfortunately I suspect you're right! At this point, and knowing what Jones is like, I'd consider it a roaring success if there was only one change in the 8-9-10 axis! And I mean a genuine change, not just moving Farrell to 12 and bringing Ford in at 10, which is what is likely!

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Williams to tackle-bag holding duties

Williams has already been sent back to Exeter,
I don't mind Sinckler coming straight back into the 23 - he has, apparently, been in camp since it started but couldn't be named because he was banned.
Plus he's better than the alternatives.
Plus plus he's got better vision and more of an inclination to pass than Farrell does


Mako shouldn't be there, though.

 

[Jashay]

I thought the BBC one was pretty funny too: "England tried to do too much"

 

[AlRums]

I thought the BBC one was pretty funny too: "England tried to do too much"

When?

 

[ncurd]

When?

The context is better but still ********

Before the match, Jones had spoken about "adapting and evolving" their style towards "better rugby".

"We had a short preparation time and maybe because of that we tried to do too many things," Jones told BBC Sport.

"Then you get on the field and you look like you can't do anything."

 

[AlRums]

No I meant when did "England tried to do too much"