England vs Australia - 09/11/24

[Umaga's Witness]

I guess Schmidt wants Sualil to get as much test match rugby as possible before the Lions.

 

[Hmmmmmm]

For those interested, this was a game he played in against NZ under 18's when he was 15

 

[Vieux Talonneur]

We know the state Aus rugby is in.

Plus just read that they've only won one of the last 11 against us and even that was just by 2 points in a series down under that we won.

So is anything less than a convincing win on both scoreboard and in style acceptable?

 

[Rinkadink]

From what I've seen online I think many England fans are underestimating Australia. Head says England should win in theory but it's not going to be easy and could go the other way. Didn't Australia recently have a one score game at home versus the All Blacks? Brumbies played some good rugby during their season too with flashes elsewhere at a couple of other franchises.

 

[Reiser99]

For me, at international rugby you should never underestimate the opposition. Just look at Fiji beating England.

However, from a stand point of England wanting to win the 6Ns and challenge for the world cup then realistically they need to beat Aus relatively convincingly. Might not all be one way, but I feel with the state of Australian rugby this English side should be controlling most of the match. I also want to see an improved performance. Grinding out a win with a Ford drop goal would not be acceptable if again England want to be beating the Top 4.

My big concern is England scoring tries in open play, because for a while now we haven't looked like doing so. If Australia get some quick scores then England could feel the pressure.

 

[Vieux Talonneur]

In the Championship they won 1 out of 6. Four of those defeats were by 18 or more including a capitulation to Arg. Their win was by a single point. They're ranked 9th, we're 5th.

All for paying respect to opposition, but if we're to say we're progressing we have to be putting away opponents like this at home with relative ease.

 

[Saintjay]

We know the state Aus rugby is in.

Plus just read that they've only won one of the last 11 against us and even that was just by 2 points in a series down under that we won.

So is anything less than a convincing win on both scoreboard and in style acceptable?

Be nice to see England score four tries or more. Against decent opposition thinking more top 6 more than teams below. So not necessarily Aus.

Three points in the last twenty mins of four tests just isn't test just isn't good enough. Are points rate in the opponent's 22 has got to be terrible.

If Aus are in the fight in the last twenty England could easily lose.

 

[TommiG88]

Be nice to see England score four tries or more. Against decent opposition thinking more top 6 more than teams below. So not necessarily Aus.

Three points in the last twenty mins of four tests just isn't test just isn't good enough. Are points rate in the opponent's 22 has got to be terrible.

If Aus are in the fight in the last twenty England could easily lose.

I think the stat for scoring in the last 20 is solely down to the tactics employed. Every 9 we've brought on (I apologise for slating Spencer in the past) in the those 20mins predominantly boot the leather off of the ball or do not try any form of quick ball. It's mind boggling that we employ this tactic consistently.

 

[Vieux Talonneur]

I think the stat for scoring in the last 20 is solely down to the tactics employed. Every 9 we've brought on (I apologise for slating Spencer in the past) in the those 20mins predominantly boot the leather off of the ball or do not try any form of quick ball. It's mind boggling that we employ this tactic consistently.

Plus the general lack of impact from the bench. Genuinely, how often do we say that X came on and made a real (positive) difference to the outcome?

More often the other way. Ford's taken last week's pasting, but the replacement front rows have been a problem for a while in the scrum, Dan's carried well but his darts and tackling have been weak etc.

I think people sometimes underestimate how hard it is to get into the rhythm of a game after sitting on the bench. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Use HRMs and GPS all you like in training, but I'd ban them from matches, forcing the coaches to use their judgement not "the data".

 

[Reiser99]

Plus the general lack of impact from the bench. Genuinely, how often do we say that X came on and made a real (positive) difference to the outcome?

More often the other way. Ford's taken last week's pasting, but the replacement front rows have been a problem for a while in the scrum, Dan's carried well but his darts and tackling have been weak etc.

I think people sometimes underestimate how hard it is to get into the rhythm of a game after sitting on the bench. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Use HRMs and GPS all you like in training, but I'd ban them from matches, forcing the coaches to use their judgement not "the data".

Definitely it feels like our bench weakens our team at the moment.

 

[TommiG88]

Plus the general lack of impact from the bench. Genuinely, how often do we say that X came on and made a real (positive) difference to the outcome?

More often the other way. Ford's taken last week's pasting, but the replacement front rows have been a problem for a while in the scrum, Dan's carried well but his darts and tackling have been weak etc.

I think people sometimes underestimate how hard it is to get into the rhythm of a game after sitting on the bench. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Use HRMs and GPS all you like in training, but I'd ban them from matches, forcing the coaches to use their judgement not "the data".

I thought Dan was the biggest fall off for me compared to George last week. Ball in hand he is industrious, but he falls off tackles far too often and his darts need work. Would have loved to have seen how Langdon would do at this level. Think he's a more rounded form of Dan currently.

 

[Saintjay]

Plus the general lack of impact from the bench. Genuinely, how often do we say that X came on and made a real (positive) difference to the outcome?

More often the other way. Ford's taken last week's pasting, but the replacement front rows have been a problem for a while in the scrum, Dan's carried well but his darts and tackling have been weak etc.

I think people sometimes underestimate how hard it is to get into the rhythm of a game after sitting on the bench. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Use HRMs and GPS all you like in training, but I'd ban them from matches, forcing the coaches to use their judgement not "the data".

It wouldn't be England rugby if we didn't have a northern 10 to pin all the blame on.

 

[AlRums]

England v Australia: Can 'freakish' Joseph Suaalii revive the Wallabies?

Joseph-Akuso Suaalii has been fast-tracked straight into the Wallabies set-up despite not playing a game of union since his schooldays.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[Vieux Talonneur]

England v Australia: Can 'freakish' Joseph Suaalii revive the Wallabies?

Joseph-Akuso Suaalii has been fast-tracked straight into the Wallabies set-up despite not playing a game of union since his schooldays.

www.bbc.co.uk

I don't care how good a league player he was or whether he's the ultimate physical specimen, he's beyond raw. Our midfield will deserve pelters if they can't pull him around all over the place.

 

[Not Mike Brown's Sock]

I don't care how good a league player he was or whether he's the ultimate physical specimen, he's beyond raw. Our midfield will deserve pelters if they can't pull him around all over the place.

Agreed. Defences set up so so differently in league that we really should be targeting that channel

 

[Saintjay]

He's either going to be Australia's Sam Burgess or run over Slade like a speed bump.

 

[Grizwald]

This had a bit of a banana skin feel to it. Hopefully won't eat my words but leaving Skelton out and putting the new lad in at 13 has made me feel more confident, and let's face it at home England should be winning this. In the context of the autumn loosing and staring down the barrel of one win out of 4 will be a disaster for Borthwick.

I'm finding Borthwick to be a bit arrogant these days. I normally don't bother watching post match press conferences but in addition to him playing the positivity in defeat RFU play book he came across as quite arrogant too.

 

[TopTen2003]

Australia need a turning point moment ahead of the Lions tour next summer and I feel like despite the rough Rugby Championship that Schmidt is slowly toughening them up.

I'm waiting for a a moment that marks the beginning of a turnaround ahead of the Lions series - I wonder if they can start that at Twickenham tomorrow?

 

[BPM]

He's either going to be Australia's Sam Burgess or run over Slade like a speed bump.

He could well be Australia's answer to SBW, but I would imagine that's unlikely in his very first senior game in this code. It's wild to drop him in to a Tier 1 test match straight away. Also, while Lawrence and Slade may not have fired as a pairing, neither of them are mugs. I expect him to look good with the ball, but I would definitely be looking to exploit him in defence.

 

[Which Tyler]

This is 1 of only 4 matches for Australia before they play the Lions.
Given that, then A] @TopTen2003's desire to see a turning point moment had better come soon; and B] you can see why Schmidt wants as many minutes into Suaali'i as possible before then.
Obviously, it's still too soon for him, and likely to go horribly wrong (and probably horrible right as well), but you can see the logic.