England vs Tonga (06/11)

[TRF_Olyy]

You mean Tommy Reffell? Don't think he's related to Curry though

You never know, every other standout young player in the East Midlands comes from our academy, probably related somehow

 

[MarkyH]

All I'll take from that is that I really like Amazon Prime coverage, and that they were happy to overrun and interview Hartley and Ojo more. More of that please

 

[TommiG88]

Enjoyable day at twickenham. My head is bloody sore this morning and it seems I may fallen over

 

[will311293]

In summary what i have learnt from Tonga vs England.

1) Veaniu is still class.
2) Tom Curry is not an 8, so don't play him there Eddie.
3) England can score lots of points against Tonga
4) Smith is class
5) England are better than Tonga with their first team on the pitch. Well done Eddie, you've cracked it.

 

[Pieter Steph du Teague]

5) England are better than Tonga with their first team on the pitch. Well done Eddie, you've cracked it.

I'm not really sure I understand comments/criticisms like this. I think England will get much more out of having had their 1st team gel for a game before facing SA and Aus than discovering that someone like Marchant is also capable of coming in and running around Tonga; and then attributing any success that they have to the fact that it was against Tonga.

 

[Jakedood]

Heard a great analysis of Curry playing 8. Realistically you could play Curry almost anywhere and he'll make an impression carrying, tackling, disrupting breakdowns etc. But 8 is such an impact position that while Curry will always be passable there, Dombrandt showed a little more than a glimpse of exactly what he can bring to that position. Its not that Curry is bad, at all however
I'm wondering again though, if any of the back 5 look like they'd be in jeopardy it has to be Jonny Hill. Lawes second row, and Undercurry/Dombrandt would be fun, but Lawes looked good to be yesterday, and enjoyed the way he wasnt overly bothering the ref ala Farrell, whereas Hill looked just a little dopey and switched off at times, which you cannot afford at this level. He was comfortably last in the pecking order on the Lions tour, and I think if Kruis/Launch were around this would be very different but i wonder if he's still there because the only replacement option is Ewels

Also with the way he upped the pace on Saturday, how good was Ben Youngs?

 

[Geordie]

Yes...Johnny Hill was the player i mentioned before the game...and he did absolutely nothing for his cause.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Hill must be doing something to be starting for Chiefs, starting for England and touring with the Lions, I just....don't know what it is

I, too, would look to shift Lawes back into the second row (though, admittedly, I've warmed to him as a 6) but I'd be slightly concerned about his scrummaging as he's not played lock, for club or country, in a while - and maybe Hill is secretly the glue that holds our pack together in the scrum?

 

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

I prefer Hill at lock over the other options we have currently.

Mind I would have Martin over Ewels on the bench that's how much I rate Ewels.

I really like the idea of Lawes at 6 and I quite like the idea of switching lawes and Underhill at 6 depending on the opposition.

 

[will311293]

I'm not really sure I understand comments/criticisms like this. I think England will get much more out of having had their 1st team gel for a game before facing SA and Aus than discovering that someone like Marchant is also capable of coming in and running around Tonga; and then attributing any success that they have to the fact that it was against Tonga.

Written slightly in the irritation of Wasps loss to Quins but it was more that I can understand we play the first team but we do need to test our strength in depth when we have the option.

I will be interested to see how they use certain players in the next two games, will certain players like Dombrandht get game time or Smith for that matter? Or will Farrell start at 10 and Smith see the last 10 and same with Dombrandht

 

[Geordie]

I prefer Hill at lock over the other options we have currently.

Mind I would have Martin over Ewels on the bench that's how much I rate Ewels.

I really like the idea of Lawes at 6 and I quite like the idea of switching lawes and Underhill at 6 depending on the opposition.

Where do you rate Isiekwe at the moment?

 

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

Where do you rate Isiekwe at the moment?

I feel that he should be in the squad over Ewels, not 100% sure I would have him for Hill in terms of starting but certainly on the bench.

 

[Don't Skip Leg Day]

Please no Lawes at lock, we (saints) always struggle at scrum time when he plays there.

We could do with Hill raising his game (or stopping mistakes basically), or Ewels magically becoming a better player (and bigger) or someone else coming through although not many are really ready yet.