Australia v England #2

[Jake Heke]

Good work to hold out by England.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Yes! I was really not expecting that!

Second half was a little disappointing compared to the first, our subs were poor, really. First half showed what running the ball can do, Ashton and Youngs were great, Croft and Cole were great as well

Who got MOTM? Aussies didn't mention it

 

[Peat]

Ahahahaha

Brilliant. Beautiful.

Gods knows what the coaches did, but can they please not go back to their old ways...

 

[King_D'Arcy]

Well played by England. The better team definitely won

 

[Conal]

i think england can thank matt giteau for that but great work by england

 

[Teh Mite]

i think england can thank matt giteau for that but great work by england

I expect the Aussie press will start that for a long time coming.

 

[mohamed_ali12]

England are moving in the right direction, finally

 

[Duckdee]

Missed the first 7 minutes, but from then until about 35, England were very good. The rest was good to ok, I'd say 7/10 overall.

Lawes and Croft drove well, Youngs with almost the break I predicted and Cole again lifting up the scrum when he was being pushed down. Foden ran well to start with, and Ashton dd better than Cueto for a chage.

However, I agree with Peat's sentiments, will we be doing this in the autumn?

 

[mohamed_ali12]

It just proves England don't need the same old players like Vickery, Shaw, Borthwick and Worsley to win test-matches. These young players like Cole, Lawes, Croft, Youngs, Ashton and Foden are at this level. Let's not get carried away because England will still have to improve a lot, but at least we can say good riddance to those four players come the AIs.

Will Borthwick be selected in the July squad? Can't see him displacing any of Shaw, Lawes, Palmer and Attwood to be honest.

 

[munstermuffin]

Lads England aren't finished article yet but the signs are going in right direction,
Also will this really ease the pressure on Martin Johnson?

 

[veux]

Good. Always nice when England win. I think Easter played surprisingly well today, which is a change. Why Youngs was brought off I don't know, almost imidiately the game slowed down. imo we need better backs cover than Armitage and Wilko - I'd prefer Myler and Goode. If we get a proper loosehead into the mix (Flatman, please) then we'll be firm, and have some reasonable cover (Sheridan). I doubt Stevens will come back in time for the World Cup but if he did we'd have some reasonable cover. Lawes played well, I hope this has cemented him a starting spot, same goes for Youngs. Croft was impressive as well.

With some reasonable selection we'll have a competitive world cup squad.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Will Borthwick be selected in the July squad? Can't see him displacing any of Shaw, Lawes, Palmer and Attwood to be honest.

I think Shaw should be worried for his place after this tout.
Palmer has outplayed Borthwick completely, he's slightly worse in the lineout, but is much better in open play. Moody is also a better captain than Borthwick,
Shaw hasn't looked good in an England shirt in a while, he's strong, but looks tired, and just picks and drives.

I'd have Lawes/Palmer with Attwood on the bench



and i agree with veux about Easter, think he played well today. He's not the best 8, wasn't the best 8 on the pitch, but i swear he's got superglue hands or something, he's very very good under the high ball/jumping at kick offs/jumping in the lineout

 

[Peat]

Moody isn't our best 7 though. Not at the moment. His place should be very much under threat.

I still very much worry that Borthwick could be back. We didn't compete on their line out ball at all and I have a feeling Borthwick will return on that weakness. Attwood's been good, but have a sneaky suspicision he'll lose out.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

I agree that Moody isn't our best 7, but as he's the current captain it'll take a lot to shift him (think how long Borthwicks been underperforming for England, but starting every match) - i'd rather Moody than Borthwick anyway

 

[mohamed_ali12]

So what are we going for in terms of ratings?

1. Payne - 5 - Poor in the loose, average at best in the scrum
2. Thompson - 7 - Very solid, better in an England shirt than Mears and Hartley, should stay for the AIs. Plus, he and Cole make a fearsome duo what with their grizzly beards.
3. Cole - 8 - Penalty after penalty went his way, quickly establishing himself as a cornerstone of the England pack (remarkable considering that was his 7th test match)
4. Lawes - 7 - running on to the ball from deep, got his hands on the ball plenty, tackled really strongly. Did not look out of place (I actually think Johnson has handled Youngs and Lawes very well)
5. Palmer - 8 - Same as Lawes really, offloaded really well too.
6. Croft - 9 - Brilliant in the lineout, got involved in open play, stole ball on the ground, passed well. A complete performance. My Man of the Match.
7. Moody - 7 - Tackled his heart out, lead the team well.
8. Easter - 8 - Played like he does week in, week out for Quins. Reliable from restarts, carried effectively, someone for the younger players to look to.
9. Youngs - 9 - Front foot ball, quick delivery, good kicks, great try, great performance.
10. Flood - 7 - beginning to settle down in the test match arena, looked a little forced at times but stood nice and flat. Needs Olly Barkley outside him.
11. Ashton - 7 - Got involved well, looked for work. Took his try brilliantly and combined effectively with Foden at times.
12. Hape - 7 - Got his offloading game going well, was a target in midfield. Not England's best option though.
13. Tindall - 7 - Definitely the leader of the back division, looks brilliant at times, breaks through tackles but has the guile to pick the right lines.
14. Cueto - 7 - Solid as ever
15. Foden - 8 - Sparked many of England's attacking moves with trademark runs from the back. Was solid under the high ball and kicked well

 

[Teh Mite]

Looks like a fair assessment to me. Hape to a 5 though for his defensive cock up leading to the first Aus try. Would also swap the ratings for Palmer and Lawes.

Subs;

Chuter - 6 Muchado about nothing.
Wilson - 7 Up and down like a whores breaches. Did what was needed of him. Point added for being a front row and starting a fight.
Shaw - 6 Didn't do much, but did it alright.
Care - 6.5 Put in an impossible situation when replacing the best player on the pitch who didn't need it.
Wilkinson - 3 Killed Englands attack. (Unsurprisingly) missed an easy kick which would have re-leaved all the ending pressure. Did nothing but kick.
Armitage - 4 Dan Cole saved his bacon, nearly handing Aus a try on a platter. Did nothing else.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Hape would lose a point or two from me just for almost gifting Australia the game, tackling Giteau off the ball (it's just a good job he was having a nightmare at the tee)

 

[Teh Mite]

I forgot about that one!

Make Hape a 3.

 

[nickdnz]

Well done England. I was bouncing from pub to pub at midnight watching this game, so there are gaps in what I saw, but it looked like Youngs was doing really well, and it was a very close game till the end.

 

[gho]

Looks like Aus is going to get destroyed this TriNations.