EPS Form Watch

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

I'm not show sure I buy the Williams to 7 thing why would he have included Evans in the setup if he doesn't want a smaller 7? (Although Evans is miles of International rugby anyway).

 

[Peat]

I'm not show sure I buy the Williams to 7 thing why would he have included Evans in the setup if he doesn't want a smaller 7? (Although Evans is miles of International rugby anyway).

He wants the best player there who is fast and dominates breakdowns. I don't think he cares beyond that.

I'm also taking a huge pinch of salt on the Williams to 7 thing though mind.

 

[Pieter Steph du Teague]

He wants the best player there who is fast and dominates breakdowns. I don't think he cares beyond that.

I'm also taking a huge pinch of salt on the Williams to 7 thing though mind.

I don't think it's really being suggested Williams would be at 7. The idea is Williams - 6 with Robshaw shifting - 7, which I'd actually be a fan of. However if you're getting a monster like Williams at 6 I'd prefer Harrison at 7.

 

[Duck a l'Orange]

I don't think it's really being suggested Williams would be at 7. The idea is Williams - 6 with Robshaw shifting - 7, which I'd actually be a fan of. However if you're getting a monster like Williams at 6 I'd prefer Harrison at 7.

Jones has repeatedly said that Robshaw at 6 is not an option- but then he's a tricksy one, so who knows.

 

[welshglory]

Jones does like to play devil's advocate and he is a proven pragmatist.

 

[Peat]

Jones has repeatedly said that Robshaw at 6 is not an option- but then he's a tricksy one, so who knows.

While I'm a big believer that Jones' utterances need a pinch of salt, I think it would still be quite surprising to see Robshaw at 7 given how much he's torn into the idea.

 

[Geordie]

Williams was mom today at 6 with Jones in attendance. Good time to put in a cracking performance like that.

 

[Pieter Steph du Teague]

Jones has repeatedly said that Robshaw at 6 is not an option- but then he's a tricksy one, so who knows.

He played about 50 minutes of the 3rd Oz test at 7 didn't he? I don't think he's entirely discounted the idea.

 

[BPM]

He played about 50 minutes of the 3rd Oz test at 7 didn't he? I don't think he's entirely discounted the idea.

Yes - he did, but I don't think there were any other viable alternatives on the bench so it was the best/only solution at the time.

He's since said that Robshaw is '100% not an option' at 7, along with other similar quotes. I'm with Peat on this. I think he's said it too many times to suddenly change his mind and reveal it as a cunning plan.

 

[Pieter Steph du Teague]

Yes - he did, but I don't think there were any other viable alternatives on the bench so it was the best/only solution at the time.

He's since said that Robshaw is '100% not an option' at 7, along with other similar quotes. I'm with Peat on this. I think he's said it too many times to suddenly change his mind and reveal it as a cunning plan.

I guess so. I'd still have thought it's more likely than Williams at 7 though. Thinking about this is making me realise our back row cupboard really is bare as far as experience goes.

Williams - 0 caps
Hughes - 0 caps
Harrison - 2 caps (2 starts, 1 for only 27 minutes)
Evans - 0 caps
Beaumont - 0 caps
Clifford - 8 caps (1 start)

1 of these is gonna get called up into the starting XV in place of Hask (unless Itoje shifts to 6, but that still means Robshaw - 7). Pretty worrying that the only other back rowers in England with some real experience that are fit ATM are Robshaw, Wood and Morgan...

 

[Every Time Ref]

Tom Wood was interviewed in the Guardian the other day saying he "hasn't given up on England dreams", lolz

 

[Don't Skip Leg Day]

Tom Wood was interviewed in the Guardian the other day saying he "hasn't given up on England dreams", lolz

He's been really anonymous for us this season and most of last season.

He looks too small again and doesn't really make any headway carrying the ball or at the breakdown.

A couple of years ago I thought he'd be an England captain for years to come but he's just doesn't impact a game enough, real shame.

 

[welshglory]

Probably age and injuries catching up with him. I really rated him in the 2010/2011/2012 seasons in particular when he was still dynamic, but he seems to have declined steadily since then.

 

[Which Tyler]

Bath:
Charlie Ewels - back in his specialist position, but part of a tight 5 (and entire pack... and entire team) that was simply misfiring - put himself about, but to little effect

George Ford - didn't do too badly to start with, but the Leicester backrow... and crowd got to his head, combined with poor ball arriving, and no options outside him, a couple of sliced kicks from hand under presure were atypical, but the whole thing led to a couple of missed kicks at the posts, Bowden going off concussed seemed to be the final straw for Ford's confidence, and ideally we'd have replaced him at that point; if only we weren't down to the bare bones. Kicking 2/4
Jonathan Joseph - DNP - leg injury.
Semesa Rokoduguni - Did really well in a mis-firing team, made something from nothing when he had half a chance; rock solid under the high ball, and let nothing past in defence (did Eddie REALLY tell him he needed to do more in defence? or is that just one of Eddie's bull**** WUMs?)
Anthony Watson - Just looks out of position on the wing to me, he just doesn't seem to read things as well out there. Exciting when he got the ball, and made metres he had no right to, but a little porous in defence.


Excuses: Utterly bossed up front, and didn't put any men into the breakdown, which is always going to be lethal against Tigers - I really hope that's not what Bladders wants us to do as standard - it just wo'nt work in the Prem. Several of the pack were utterly anonymous today, with only Garvey seeming to put in a performance - whilst of the backs, Ford struggled manfully... until he basically ran out of ideas... and form... and confidence; though hindered by having 4 wings and a fullback outside him - Kahn and Roko were the only backs to emerge with any credit in the bank yesterday.
Ravaged by injury at a ground we've notched 1 victory at in the professional era; we were never going to win - but we really should have competed better. The fringe EPS players, Attwood, Thomas showed why they're missing the fringe, rather than inside.

 

[Which Tyler]

2015-16 Stat.s

More 2015-16 Stats.

Right, time to take a look

LHP: Work rate is damned good for Mako, and immense for Hepburn; both with ball in hand, and tackling – both give away a few more penalties; but that's bound to happen if they're getting involved that much.

HK: George is just better than Hartley in every stat on there except turnovers conceded; they also show Hartley up as a carrier – so ineffective compared to the other, and really no better in measurable defence (though there's no measure for rucks, mauls or set pieces). It also really shows LCD in a good light as an impact sub – though I'd worry about starting him, and still worry over his line-out work.
THP: Sinckler's work ball-in-hand is worth noting again; and he's immensely strong, just not experienced enough yet to be effective in the tight (opinion, no stat.s available). Sinckler rightly ahead of Thomas for impact; though HT seems better in the defensive line.

LK: Ewels not really doing enough in his breakthrough season; there for the experience and potential. Nothing much in it between the rest of them – though it clearly shows Symons as a defensive specialist, rather than a carrier.

FL: Harrison has some really good stat.s there ball-in-hand; though Robshaw and Haskell show why they're preferred for security. Haskell really has upped his effectiveness in the Worsley role though. Those flankers on the fringe all show why we're considering them the next bests.

N8: Probably the role with the greatest variation in the stat analysis; which will be more down to how their teams play them, rather than necessarily the individual's ability – Hughes and Billy obviously dropping back to field kicks more than Clifford and Beamount; surprisingly little to chose elsewhere.


SH: Robson confirmed as being the stand-out candidate of the 4; Care looking the worst

FH: Faz does score more points per match than Ford, which will help his media "ice-man" "kicking virtuoso" reputation; but I'd still say that's down to Sarries being dominant and Bath being ****e last season than anything else. Interesting that despite that Ford seems to be trusted more to actually do something with the ball than Faz (on average, touching the ball 39 times, to 23 times per match) – though Faz does make more clean breaks – is this Wriggles trusting him at the right time? Defenders not expecting him to try? Or him just being a better runner with the ball than Ford? No surprises that Faz (or the Sarries backrow) is more secure in contact; or that Faz both makes and misses more tackles. Cip's stats really don't stand out the way his fans would expect them to, once averaged over a season.

CE: TBH, the only real difference the stat.s show is between the battering rams and the rapiers; with JJ, Devo and Smith being the better defenders; and Te'o still being a little inexperienced in union defensive lines.

WG: Stand-out stat.s for Roko; and Jonny May being surprisingly (to me) good at keeping the ball alive. Roko scores the most, makes the 2nd most metres-per-run (behind Wade), and comfortably the best tackle completion rate (and amongst the most work in defence – yet Eddie has allegedly told him to work harder on his defence!). Wade's defensive stats really do let him down – starkly; fewest tackles made, (almost) most missed.

FB: Haley and Pennell probably the most rounded; Watson comfortably the least involved (opponents afraid to kick to him? Or Bath the least willing/able to get the ball to him?) Least involved, but he scores as many tries as anyone; and seems the best defender. Goode's turnstile reputation not done any favours by a tackle completion rate of 62% (90% for Watson)

 

[Every Time Ref]

Bath:
Charlie Ewels - back in his specialist position, but part of a tight 5 (and entire pack... and entire team) that was simply misfiring - put himself about, but to little effect

George Ford - didn't do too badly to start with, but the Leicester backrow... and crowd got to his head, combined with poor ball arriving, and no options outside him, a couple of sliced kicks from hand under presure were atypical, but the whole thing led to a couple of missed kicks at the posts, Bowden going off concussed seemed to be the final straw for Ford's confidence, and ideally we'd have replaced him at that point; if only we weren't down to the bare bones. Kicking 2/4
Jonathan Joseph - DNP - leg injury.
Semesa Rokoduguni - Did really well in a mis-firing team, made something from nothing when he had half a chance; rock solid under the high ball, and let nothing past in defence (did Eddie REALLY tell him he needed to do more in defence? or is that just one of Eddie's bull**** WUMs?)
Anthony Watson - Just looks out of position on the wing to me, he just doesn't seem to read things as well out there. Exciting when he got the ball, and made metres he had no right to, but a little porous in defence.


Excuses: Utterly bossed up front, and didn't put any men into the breakdown, which is always going to be lethal against Tigers - I really hope that's not what Bladders wants us to do as standard - it just wo'nt work in the Prem. Several of the pack were utterly anonymous today, with only Garvey seeming to put in a performance - whilst of the backs, Ford struggled manfully... until he basically ran out of ideas... and form... and confidence; though hindered by having 4 wings and a fullback outside him - Kahn and Roko were the only backs to emerge with any credit in the bank yesterday.
Ravaged by injury at a ground we've notched 1 victory at in the professional era; we were never going to win - but we really should have competed better. The fringe EPS players, Attwood, Thomas showed why they're missing the fringe, rather than inside.

I would add:

George Ford - early tactical kicking was noticeably very good. Up and unders were generally inaccurate (although made to look worse by poor chase). As discussed on another thread, IMO playing poorly behind a beaten pack is not particularly relevant for England selection - if your pack's getting beaten, sort that out rather than worrying about the FH
Roko - the defence thing has to be b*ll*cks, it makes no sense
Henry Thomas - for all I know about the subject, seemed to scrummage well against Ayerza. Won the first penalty, second one went against him but wrongly as far as I could see. Thought I remembered him making a turnover as well? He would have been the only one. I thought he was pretty good (within context)

 

[Which Tyler]

Re-arranged the Stats for y'all. Added things like Metres per Run; and Tackle success rates; also updated a few things, where eg statbunker includes the 2016 6N in the 16-17 season for no apparent reason. Have also included the various fringe players we were interested in into the main chart for easier comparison. Minutes played is the total for the season; whereas everything else is average per 80 minutes on the pitch.

2015-16 season

2016-17 season after 4 matches (bear in mind that those with minimal game-time will have some very skewed averages at this stage.

Overall kicking stats this year are:
Ford: 20/26 = 76.9%
Slade:.. 6/7 = 85.7%
Goode: 4/8 = 50.0%

for 2014-15-16

 

[Raggs]

So the rumours have Lozowski replacing Farrell in the EPS. I know Eddie is bringing in promising youngsters, but has Loz been any more impressive the Burns the younger? He's not really touching the ball that much for Sarries, they use Goode and Bosch a huge amount at first receiver. He's definitely got a lot of promise, but I'd think Burns is looking the more solid option at this time, and has also shown a lot of ability.

 

[Don't Skip Leg Day]

So the rumours have Lozowski replacing Farrell in the EPS. I know Eddie is bringing in promising youngsters, but has Loz been any more impressive the Burns the younger? He's not really touching the ball that much for Sarries, they use Goode and Bosch a huge amount at first receiver. He's definitely got a lot of promise, but I'd think Burns is looking the more solid option at this time, and has also shown a lot of ability.

I haven't thought much of younger burns either to be honest. But then maybe we expect too much from young 10s these days.

With Farrell and Ford both still very young they'll be in the team for a long time. We should be looking at the next age group 10 to funnel in behind them.

If burns or Loz were the age group ten then ignore what I've said and tell me to be quiet!

 

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

So the rumours have Lozowski replacing Farrell in the EPS. I know Eddie is bringing in promising youngsters, but has Loz been any more impressive the Burns the younger? He's not really touching the ball that much for Sarries, they use Goode and Bosch a huge amount at first receiver. He's definitely got a lot of promise, but I'd think Burns is looking the more solid option at this time, and has also shown a lot of ability.

Billy burns has kicked a total of zero goals this season for Glous I can't see Eddie picking a 10 that isn't kicking for their team.


Yeh LS Burns was the next age grade 10