England vs Australia

[SelimNiai]

That was the best I have seen England play in a long time, possibly the best in my 21 (22 week monday ) years of life. Full of attacking flair, skill and creativity, the way Rugby should be played. We saw signs of it in the last 15-20 in the NZ game and they built upon it. However, as with England in the last few years they will be back to normal and will scrape a win against Samoa.

What?!? I can't be 100% prasing England in one post, it's just not natural

 

[iWin]

Good lord. When did Captain Average get a step like that? And that handoff? And that upper body strength? And that semblance of pace?
All the back 3 played well, as did Hape. I'm pleased to be proven wrong by that man, but hope he keeps it up.
Tindall was terrible again. No work rate to speak of and his lack of pace actually prevented attacks from developing on more than one occasion.
He needs to be replaced, preferable with Waldouck.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

I think we'll see a few changes for the Samoa game,
I wouldn't be surprised to see:
4. Attwood (Lawes bench)
8. Dowson (or maybe Dowson replacing Fourie on the bench)
10. Hodgson
11. Banahan (though maybe only one wing change - probably Cueto)
13. Waldouck
14. Strettle (see above)
15. Armitage (Foden on the bench)

 

[RoosTah]

Good lord. When did Captain Average get a step like that? And that handoff? And that upper body strength? And that semblance of pace?
All the back 3 played well, as did Hape. I'm pleased to be proven wrong by that man, but hope he keeps it up.
Tindall was terrible again. No work rate to speak of and his lack of pace actually prevented attacks from developing on more than one occasion.
He needs to be replaced, preferable with Waldouck.

Very impressive performance by England. Controlled and dynamic, thoroughly deserved the win. Our boys just didn't seem to have the fire in the belly for whatever reason and looked rather pedestrian by comparison... well, except for Kurtley Beale, who seems to get better every week. Drew Mitchels miss on Ashton was a little pathetic too I thought, would never have happened to Ione.

But yet again, we've been shown just how BADLY need a world class kicker. Otherwise the RWC next year will be unwinable.

 

[Larksea]

wow, didn't see the game but what a result. Well done england

As an ab's supporter it just shows how good the AB's are, grand slams & unbeaten northern tours are a giving for the AB's everyone says it's too easy yet SA & AUS are constantly dropping games when they tour.

wonder if there will be a replay on sky, would be a good one to watch.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

I wish we were playing NZ again this tour
It always takes England 20-40mins or so to get warmed up (see the summer tour as well)
Would probably still get beaten, but would be good to see England on their game for 80 rather than 60mins

 

[Shaggy]

I think England played well as a team and it was hard to pick out individuals, but I think as the English commentators said, the players from same clubs combined really well ... Courtney Lawes had a fantastic work rate today, and is definitely a long term player for England.

England now hold the TRF cup/trophy

 

[Teh Mite]

Lovely. That is all.

 

[Wally]

Make no mistake Australia were bad. Very bad. Quick run down of player ratings as compiled by me.

1. Robinson - Thankfully there weren't many scrums because we look weak in this area. Looks unfit in broken play. (4/10)
2. Moore - Involved in everything and was also close to scoring in the final minutes. His workrate was extraordinary but sadly around him were many passengers. (9/10)
3. Alexander - Made some good runs and his linking play was plausible. (6/10)
4. Chisholm - Lineout was strong. (6/10)
5. Sharpe - Great general in the lineout and made several bustling runs. (7/10)
6. Elsom - Did Australia have a captain? It was like watching under 10's every time a penalty became a quick tap. (5/10)
7. Pocock - Has probably been outplayed in the last two matches. Did create some good turnover ball on occasion. (6/10).
8. McCalman - Average. (5/10)
9. Genia - Made the game turning mistake of running for the line when there was a penalty infront of the sticks that would have brought the game to ten points. Instead it was a 100m counter attack to the try line. (4/10)
10. Cooper - Passing was well executed, defence was absolutely woeful. Tactical kicking for the most part was wasteful. May need to be dropped for the more consistent Barnes. (4/10)
11. Mitchell - Didn't see much ball but was bamboozled in defence for Ashton's second try. (5/10)
12. Giteau - His ghost form continues. Made a potentially try saving decision to kill the ball at the ruck. Sadly he was subsequently yellow carded and Australia bled 11 points while he was off the field. (5/10)
13. Ashley-Cooper - Still shaping up as our best outside centre option heading towards the RWC. (6/10)
14. O'Connor - Kicked poorly in 3/7 shots at goal. Compared to his opposite snaring 9/9 you can see it makes all the difference. (5/10)
15. Beale - Immense. (8/10)

Team average: 5.67

 

[TRF_Olyy]

England now hold the TRF cup/trophy

Completely forgot about this!

 

[profitius]

Who is the English backs coach? Is it the Australian man, something Smith?

 

[shtove]

Good lord. When did Captain Average get a step like that? And that handoff? And that upper body strength? And that semblance of pace?
All the back 3 played well, as did Hape. I'm pleased to be proven wrong by that man, but hope he keeps it up.
Tindall was terrible again. No work rate to speak of and his lack of pace actually prevented attacks from developing on more than one occasion.
He needs to be replaced, preferable with Waldouck.

Bit severe on Tindall.

What I enjoyed about England is the constant variation. When they were at their best and a pattern wasn't working, they switched to something else. Great entertainment. But they still missed out on scoring chances, same as against the ABs last week.

Reservations about the midfield. Hape is good, and Tindall slipped a great inside ball early on, but it's the back three coming in on angles that open things up. And yet the botched try against the ABs - Hape tackled into touch - was down to Ashton and Foden not timing passes. Plus I wouldn't rely on Cueto repeating the Aus performance.

Apart from a midfield genius, they have everything - just need to concentrate and be ruthless, cut out the battering ram stuff close to the line and stretch the defence through offloads out wide.

Oh yeah, good to see Flood try a sly ROG cross-kick from a penalty - ball grounded, but the ref called it back.

Clearly the best bet (not favourites) for RWC.

 

[eot345]

i deffinatly think saying tindall was very bad is harsh he played better this week than last week and was just as good as hape.

Someone was saying how courtney lawes was getting smashed ... i think that only happend once because he had to streach back for the ball. Lawes is not lightweight either (he's buked up another 4kg for this season) Lawes is probably the strongest ball carrier for the saints also. (apart from Tonga'hui of cource!!)

great game by england, sheridan played well again. I think he's showing people that mabye he's not so overated afterall.

 

[Ostrayian]

9. Genia - Made the game turning mistake of running for the line when there was a penalty infront of the sticks that would have brought the game to ten points. Instead it was a 100m counter attack to the try line. (4/10)

I felt when genia got tackled he was never released by the tacklers. Australia got pinned numerous times for tackler not releasing and even on one occasion where robinson clearly showed his hands after the tackle.
Not that it matters in the whole scheme of things.
England played great. Keep that up and theyll be the ones to knock off the kiwis next year.

 

[Peat]

Another step of progress.

I didn't believe a Johnson coached team could play with sort of verve, balls and skill - or that England had the players to execute it. I think its still a way off being world cup winner material but the belief is creeping in one performance at a time.

If not, no big deal... Hartley, Cole, Lawes, Croft, Youngs, Flood, Ashton and Foden should all be still around in 2015. I think there's only Australia (and maaaaaybe Wales) who can look at their team and say "Yeah, the spine's good for some distance" yes. This team can keep going and improving and start becoming really, really scary. And what's more, its not like we've blown the bolt there; you can see real competition for the young guys chomping at the bit and real contenders to displace the older ones all foaming around.

But thats for the future.

Right now, England took on Australia at close to their own game and won. Its a nigh miraculous, beautiful turnaround.

 

[Sam Owen]

Im gutted I didnt bet on this game. Great stuff England.

 

[Twebby]

Lawes is probably the strongest ball carrier for the saints also. (apart from Tonga'hui of cource!!)

I wouldn't really say he is to be honest. Has definitely worked hard on his ball carrying over the last couple of seasons though, much more willing to put his hand up and take it over the gain line than he used to be.

Terrific match generally - get rid of Tindall and you've really got a backline worth talking about.

Biggest surprise of the day was Cueto, who seems to have remembered how to play rugby again.

 

[iWin]

I'd just like to clarify that I'm not saying Tindall is a bad player. He's definitely one to have in the squad as he's shown before he can be awesome.
I simply think that he has done nothing much to keep his place, and personally I would place both Allen and Waldouck ahead of him in at the moment.
No matter what a player's potential ability is, you should never pick an out of form player ahead of an in form one.

Case in point would be Wilkinson. No-one should suggest that he doesn't have the potential to be one of the best. 2003 and his performances for Toulon are examples of how good he can be.
However, his showings for England have been substandard, and therefore he should not be selected until he gets his act together.

 

[veux]

It was a surprise to see Youngs brought off after 54 minutes, but his derring-do in that time had already secured him the man-of-the-match award.

It turned out he was throwing up blood and suffering spasms in his chests, believing he had damaged a rib, but was pretty perky in his post-match interviews

:S I hope Youngs is alright for the SA match.

 

[gingergenius]

so ****** i missed the game, was hitchiking accross the shitheap that is central scotland for charity. nearly ran my phone's battery down with constant reloading of the bbc's update page.

anyhow it all seems like we were fantastic and have finally thrown our hat into the ring as a serious world team, and the best bit is that it's the young guys driving the revolution.

Samoa next week shuld not be underestimated. they pushed (an albeit shite) Ireland hard yesterday and it'll be a tough physical battle. However, I do think one or two general changes should be made to try out new combinations.

Firstly, our lineout isn't functioning. There needs to be a guy wearing 5 who takes responsbility for this, but the only guy who can do this in the EPS is Palmer. We can't really afford not to have him... As for the 4 jersey, I'd love to see Attwood play the second half, to give Lawes a rest in time for the SA game and also to blood him more.

Next, we know Easter is the best 8 we've got, and we know we're up **** creek if he gets injured. Time for Dowson to start from 8 to see if he's up to scratch. I'd also like to see Robshaw drafted in from the Saxons to play some time at 6; equally Moody can have a rest and Fourie/ Wood start wearing 7 (even though I'd rather have Rees or Saull in the squad).

Care should do a swap with Youngs, especially since the superstar went off injured.

One interesting thing to note is that Armitage has come off the bench to play both wing and outside centre in the last two weeks. I wouldn't be surprised to see him start in one of these positions. And I'd still rather have Waldouck at 12 than Hape - Waldouck could even end up playing 13 instead of Tindall but I think he's more of a 12.