England vs South Africa 20 / 11 / 2021

[AngloScotsHybrid]

Not feeling confident about this but not overly surprised. Kinda annoyed the Curry at 8 when we have 2 8's on the bench experiment is still going on. I guess he simply wants Lawes, Underhill and Curry all on the field as they can all be big tacklers. Maybe trying to make Curry into a Pocock...

The almighty Ewels still there but not surprising really.

TBH as long as Tuilagi isn't on the wing again, this isn't too bad. Don't think it's enough to win it though. We don't just need players who can win in the air, we need them properly supported when they land again and we don't tend to do that. If we have butterfingers like the world cup, we will be destroyed. Hell it may even be beneficial for the South Africans to just knock it on themselves and then win the scrum...

Tuilagi didn't actually spend that much time on the wing against Australia. Slade spent most of the time covering the back field

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Is Jones thinking that the Bok replacement front row is better than the starters? Otherwise I don't see the point in holding back Marler and Dolly (if its right that his set piece is better than Blamire).

Marler's not trained for two weeks - they won't know what kind of state he's in until he turns up for training tomorrow,
Big risk to start him if COVID has spanked him cardio/fitness

 

[Geordie]

Unfortunately likely that Blamire will struggle in both scrums and line outs. Odds of him joining Burrell and Harrison in the first half hooked hall of shame?

Why....yes,his lineout is a work in progress...but the rest of his game is strong. I have no worries at all. Hes a big strong unit.

 

[duncanb]

The main concern for me how we improve our general overall performance from last week.
Selection for me was just about a given bar toss up between Mallins or Marchant.
Front row will be our overall issue I this game , but we may well win a bit at breakdown. Line out I expect a keen battle our darts must be good.
Both teams backlines have yet to prove they are anywhere near best attacking options in world rugby.

 

[Reiser99]

Not surprised, better than last week. Curry is still not an 8.

 

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

Dolly is weak in the scrums, Marler will help that.
But in terms of line outs I think Dolly is top of the league, granted he has also had to deal with a lineout that Borthwick has trained which must be a pretty nice role.

 

[Geordie]

Well lets just hope Eddie has a plan....otherwise the SA fans will be unbearable.

 

[ChicagoKid]

Dolly is weak in the scrums, Marler will help that.
But in terms of line outs I think Dolly is top of the league, granted he has also had to deal with a lineout that Borthwick has trained which must be a pretty nice role.

Maybe Marler will help? COVID tends to hurt conditioning pretty substantially. If the starting front row is getting blitzed, I do wonder how long Marler can go. I wouldn't trust him beyond 20 minutes.

 

[ncurd]

Well lets just hope Eddie has a plan....otherwise the SA fans will be unbearable.

if they lose its because Erasmus was stitched up don't think it makes a difference.

 

[Vieux Talonneur]

Marler's not trained for two weeks - they won't know what kind of state he's in until he turns up for training tomorrow,
Big risk to start him if COVID has spanked him cardio/fitness

That's why I was surprised they didn't delay the team announcement until they saw what he's like.

But someone should either be fit to play or not.

If Marler only has 25 minutes in him (possible) Jones could be hanging Rodd out to dry if he struggles from early on (also possible). And it's not like Rodd will have the experience of a George next to him to help in the scrum.

Why....yes,his lineout is a work in progress...but the rest of his game is strong. I have no worries at all. Hes a big strong unit.

He might be a big lad, lift all the weights in the world and have all the potential in the world but he's callow with virtually no experience at all to draw on. Not a regular club starter up against probably the best line out and scrum in the world. If he does well I'll doff my cap, but the odds are he's in for a bit of a rough afternoon.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

That's why I was surprised they didn't delay the team announcement until they saw what he's like.

Too late, by that point - you have to announce a certain length of time before the game

 

[Vieux Talonneur]

Too late, by that point - you have to announce a certain length of time before the game

Fair point, well made.

If Marler looks ropey tomorrow I guess they just wheel in Elrington.

 

[nh206]

I'm a bit old fashioned in that I'd prefer a winger on the wing, but I like Marchant and will be interested to see how he goes. Would much prefer to see him battling it out for the 13 shirt though.

For what it's worth, Marchant has been playing on the wing quite a bit for Quins this season. He seems to interchange pretty happily between the 2. That's not to say an international test against the Boks won't be a big step up.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Fair point, well made.

If Marler looks ropey tomorrow I guess they just wheel in Elrington.

Yeah, I'm still not entirely convinced he'll make the game - I'll believe it when I see him in the lineup for the anthems!

 

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

Nic Dolly same odds to score a try as Marcus Smith

 

[Vieux Talonneur]

Nic Dolly same odds to score a try as Marcus Smith

One set of odds I was just looking at has Malins and Simmonds among the joint favourites for 1st try of the match…..

My money would be on penalty try to the Boks.

 

[unrated]

ENGLAND TEAM

1. Bevan Rodd
2. Jamie Blamire
3. Kyle Sinckler
4. Maro Itoje
5. Jonny Hill
6. Courtney Lawes
7. Sam Underhill
8. Tom Curry
9. Ben Youngs
10. Marcus Smith
11. Jonny May
12. Manu Tuilagi
13. Henry Slade
14. Joe Marchant
15. Freddie Steward
FINISHERS
16. Nic Dolly
17. Joe Marler
18. Will Stuart
19. Charlie Ewels
20. Sam Simmonds
21. Alex Dombrandt
22. Raffi Quirke
23. Max Malins

 

[Geordie]

Farrell out 10-12 weeks may miss the 6n.

George out till January

 

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

fuk me we are going to lose ford next season and for next 6N's aren't we

 

[Mr Burns]

Fair point, well made.

If Marler looks ropey tomorrow I guess they just wheel in Elrington.

You'd guess it would be Davison again rather than Elrington after being in camp the entire time (plus he was solid from the bench against Aus and got the shove on against Hoskins).