[2022 Six Nations] Scotland vs England (05/02/22)

[BPM]

Ireland looked very good in the AIs and thumped Wales with ease.

I do wonder how much of that is down to Farrell though. Is he actually good or does he simply benefit from being able to import two thirds of a highly successful and settled Leinster side straight in to his starting XV?

I'm not surprised a pack that includes 7 players who train and play together all the time looks cohesive and well-drilled. Beirne is too good to leave out, otherwise it would be the full pack. Add in a club 9/10 combo as well and the foundation is obvious.

 

[MACCA]

Cowan-Dickie taken in the air round the head, surely...

Very witty

 

[MACCA]

Cowan-Dickie taken in the air round the head, surely...

Very witty

 

[MACCA]

Poor decision! Never a pen try

? Take the offender out of the play. Graham catches and scores. Read the rules. Don't just be biased.

 

[TommiG88]

? Take the offender out of the play. Graham catches and scores. Read the rules. Don't just be biased

Ok fella

 

[General Melchett]

England's forwards were better than Scotland's but Scotland's backs (particularly Finn) made the most of what little ball they did get and their defence was outstanding and vital in getting a result. The two key men for Scotland yesterday were Steve Tandy who has transformed Scotland's defence and Finn whose decision making and skill forced the error from LCD and then the penalty that sealed the game. Shout outs to Graham, DVDM and Harris who also played well.

 

[Vieux Talonneur]

Reflecting…

Front row

The 6 on duty yesterday have clear water between them and the rest. You can argue about who should start at 1 and 2 but the starting scrum was OK. But this 6 need to be challenged.

Locks.

There's a lot to work with with Isiekwe. He conceded a couple of pens, which I thought were a bit harsh but otherwise went fairly well. Apart from some of his ariel work he's not a highlight reel player, but he's shaping up to be a Kruis style player - someone who does the basics well and teams are just better with. Can improve if given the chance, and he should be.

Itoje had a real mixed bag. Somewhere I read he'd given away 3 pens - not sure about that but there were definitely some and you could argue that his charging out of the line was a key aspect of White's try putting pressure on Isiekwe and the other defenders outside. Also noticeable that the Scots attacked his line out ball quite a bit - he got away with it, but really was at full stretch

Back Row

We knew the balance wouldn't be right, but individually Simmonds and Ludlam went pretty well. Curry was a bit quieter than usual, but maybe that was partly captaincy related. There will be changes. Lawes as soon as he's fit certainly.

Backs

For his occasional good moments Youngs is just too ponderous. Smith and Steward are class acts who will be in the team for years but still have lots to learn at this level. Outside Smith we had a 12 whose best rugby is at 13, a 13 who has barely played there internationally and no out and out wingers. Unsurprising that things didn't really happen.

A Manu type might have helped but we mainly needed more tempo and inventiveness - see Ire. Some of Ire's cuteness was clearly from set moves and we just didn't see anything like that. Injuries obviously played their part, but our attack coaching looks pretty moderate.

 

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

Morning after pill view
I do feel that unless it's against Aus we need to drop Youngs to win.
He's slow but doesn't offer himself as an attacking option which compounds thing, the one time he attack the line we scored and then nothing. I get it if your whole game plan is to still kick the leather off but Eddie is clearly wanting to try and expand that and Youngs completely anti that. (I do think that he is very much capable to go back to his attacking roots but until he shows it at club level that needs to be it for him)

I disagree with the whole England pack outplayed Scotland I thought Matt Fagerson was the forward of the match, I thought our locks was pretty anonymous and our back row offered little in messing with the breakdown.
Scrum was decent though.

I would have to watch again but our defensive line was terrible dog legs everywhere, against the French they will eat us alive. Very worrying as it's a new defence coach.

Backs hard to judge with crap service but struggle to see that back line offering much even with Randall or Quirke. I do feel SA showed Slade could be a good 12 but he needs someone like Marchant who can attack holes in an attacking line.

 

[BPM]

With the exception of Daly's selection which was mostly unpopular, almost all of us quite liked the lineup. The reaction was a lot more positive than usual.

Obviously it didn't play out like that, but I'm not too despondent. Scotland should be delighted as the result was 10x better than their performance.

Hopefully we have a confidence building win vs. Italy and then a week to re-set before the home games.

 

[Scotty]

I Still think EJ was stupid to take off Smith who was actually having decent game. Should have brought on Randall to up the tempo and Dombrandt who we all know runs great lines off Smith.

Ford did nothing wrong at all but i just thought it was the wrong option. Smith is an 80 min player who has won many games in the final quarter with his running game.

 

[Welsh Exile]

So England v Wales will be the battle of the losers this year, it would seem.

Mind you it would be very Scotland to lose in Cardiff and England can still win their remaining games.

 

[Which Tyler]

With the exception of Daly's selection which was mostly unpopular, almost all of us quite liked the lineup. The reaction was a lot more positive than usual.

Obviously it didn't play out like that, but I'm not too despondent. Scotland should be delighted as the result was 10x better than their performance.

Hopefully we have a confidence building win vs. Italy and then a week to re-set before the home games.

Mostly, yeah.
I think there were question marks over Ludlam and Simmonds (Ludlam as in "is he good enough" Simmonds as in "vs Dombrandt") - but they played well enough, they just don't balance each other.
There was bowing to the inevitable on Youngs, who hasn't been a popular pick for what? 5 years?
And a dislike of Daly, some entirely, some thinking he and !archant should have swapped shirts, and some favouring Atkinson.


Selection wise, there's some tinkering needed, but not wholesale changes.
On the pitch, we really should have done better with the personnel out there. When you've got plenty of possession and reasonable territory, and 4 or 5 creative backs, you really should be able to create something!

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

Some hottish takes
I feel that Blamire is better suited to our sub hooker
I feel Ford should've been brought on sooner

Yeah... I watched the game loaded in a pub full of people who wanted England to lose so my judgement isn't great but I didn't think Smith was an international standard 10 yesterday.

I'm far from Ford's biggest fan but think England would have won with him starting tbh, it just wasn't a clever performance and I always put that on the 10 before anyone else.

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

1 Jason Leonard 1990–2003 114 Prop
2 Ben Youngs 2010– 112 Scrum-half
3 Dylan Hartley 2008–2018 97 Hooker
4 Dan Cole 2010–2019 95 Prop
5 Owen Farrell 2012– 94 Fly-half
6 Jonny Wilkinson 1998–2011 91 Fly-half
7 Courtney Lawes 2009- 90 Lock
8 Lawrence Dallaglio 1995–2007 85 Number 8
Rory Underwood 1984–1996 Wing
10 Danny Care 2008–2018 84 Scrum-half
Martin Johnson 1993–2003 Lock

I struggle with some of those names but no way Youngs should be ahead 9f Leonard, St. Johnny, Dallaglio Underwood and Johnson.

Should been gove short shift years ago.

Your inferior Johnny hasn't earned a h and I'd like for you not to give him one in future pls.

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

Neither 'Ludlow' or Keith Earls are in our squad.

I'm too hungover to understand this joke but an Earls jab (positive or negative) deserves recognition.

 

[LIONSxv]

Some observations regarding players selection.
Genge is still yet to convince at test level
LCD looked every inch a top draw international hooker until the utter brain fade
Isekwe looks like the nuts and bolts second row we have been missing. Looked very good in line out and mauls
Curry, why is he been used as our primary carrier? Let him do what he does best
Simmonds started off well but faded in the second half. Dombrandt offers more imo and is a very viable line out option
Ludlam did well, but do we have better options? Barbeary ?
Young's terrible, I can now see why we kick so much as his slowness in getting to the ruck and pass allows defences to re form
Smith did well , but slowness of ball impairs the way he wants to play
Daly squad man should not be in the starting XV
Marlins played well, but run into traffic
Steward needs to be used in attacking cross field kicks. given his height and ability in the air it seems daft not to use it. Quiet apart from one fumble

 

[BPM]

I'm too hungover to understand this joke but an Earls jab (positive or negative) deserves recognition.

Not really a joke as such … Ben Earl is frequently referred to as 'Earls' which isn't his name. No more than that.

 

[BPM]

So England v Wales will be the battle of the losers this year, it would seem.

Mind you it would be very Scotland to lose in Cardiff and England can still win their remaining games.

It seems I'm in a minority of one, but I saw nothing from Scotland to suggest they are worth their hype. Their defence was good, but I don't think we really tested it with our one-dimensional attack. Their tries came from moments of opportunism/England completely switching off. They barely threatened otherwise.

Ritchie will be a big loss for them too.

In Cardiff, I'd fancy Wales and I don't see Scotland beating Ireland or France right now so …

 

[The Seeker]

Congratulations!

 

[Welsh Exile]

It seems I'm in a minority of one

Nah, I think that post is very reasonable.