[November Tests 2017 EOYT] England vs. Samoa (25/11/2017)

[Ragey Erasmus]

Just watched the game so here are my thoughts:

1) The replacement SH always looks the better one, which is no bad thing. It shows they always make a positive contribution from the bench.
2) George offers much more than Hartley and with other hookers back who can offer more from the bench (TT/LCD) I see no reason to keep him for the WC.
3) Simmonds looked very good but the opposition may have helped that. He is a much more dynamic 8 and I'd be interested to see how he does as a finisher after Billy/Hughes have worn out the opposition.
4) England's late game scoring cannot be chalked up as just luck any more, they've done it in nearly every game.
5) Slade looked much better at 13
6) Having forwards actually running onto the ball rather than taking it static makes such a difference
7) Breakdown still being largely ignored. Jones needs to really target this area. We don't so much need to turn over opposition ball but we do need to slow it down and make more of an effort to stop the opposition doing it to us. We let our opponents slow our ball down too easily and it makes everything else much more difficult.
8) Lawes is doing what Haskell did for the Argie tour, he has massively upped his game in all areas and I hope it is a permanent improvement, unlike Haskell who seems to have regressed again since his injury.

 

[Vieux Talonneur]

4) England's late game scoring cannot be chalked up as just luck any more, they've done it in nearly every game.

Agreed, a very good habit to have. But the next step is to kill off competitive games much earlier when we have the chance. That's what the ABs have always been so good at.

6) Having forwards actually running onto the ball rather than taking it static makes such a difference

So true and also helps to have some forwards with fast twitch fibres. Now to get the backs doing it....

7) Breakdown still being largely ignored. Jones needs to really target this area. We don't so much need to turn over opposition ball but we do need to slow it down and make more of an effort to stop the opposition doing it to us. We let our opponents slow our ball down too easily and it makes everything else much more difficult.

Excellent point. It's not all about turnovers; shame Underhill wasn't around for this one. It was noticeable in WAL vs NZ just how decisive and aggressive the ABs were when they did decide to compete for the ball.

I've given you a like, but I disagree on Hartley. That we keep winning and going right to the end of matches suggests that something is very right with our culture. Largely attributable to Jones, but Hartley is clearly Lieutenant in Chief. We only see what he brings on match day, and I think there's been an uptick in his form, but I guess his contribution is much broader than that. More concerned with TH than hooker TBH.