It seems to me that England are over-coached in the way they must play, and the Plan A of territory and kicking is well beyond sell-by date now, and in this game (as in 2020), it made no sense to eschew handling the ball along the backs. Many of the kicks were aimless and just invited negative outcomes/gifted promising possession away. As in 2020, there appears to have been no Plan B.
And when I say over-coached, I also mean the team expects set-pieces (primarily line-outs) to follow patterns and timings, and itās from other matches that quick LOās and plays disrupt England. This is a lack of concentration on the game and what the oppo are up to - as for Marler and the LO, the result speaks for itself. Brainless stuff again.
Iām busy next weekend so, thankfully, am unlikely to watch the Italy game, as I think the latter will fancy their chances.
Unfortunately, Walesā performance indicated their lack of player-depth in key positions, especially at centre - Adams was fortunate (by a few inches) to have only seen yellow, noting heād already been pinged 2x (IIRC) for being offside in the wider channel.
Reading the rugby forums the majority of criticism is for Eddieās tactics and selection rather than the actual performance.
He seems averse to consistency and keeps experimenting - compare to Ireland who have over half the squad from Leinster and therefore play well together, which was clear to see.
Smith / Dombrandt should have been an obvious choice?
I know his ultimate goal (obsession?) is to win a World Cup, and he did get them to the last final, but in recent years itās just frustrating he never realises the potential of his generally good teams in this tournament.
Two super sounding games today, I understand from BBC radio news. Former British Lion Keith Wood said Ireland will be alright without Sexton. And I think he said the French coach has brought the āfunā back to their game.
France Ireland should be great, but if Wales can get their home support roused then Scotland may have a harder task than it might appear.
Looking forward to seeing how England go tomorrow. I hope EJ gives the new players more than ājustā Italy to show their potential. Especially the new 8/9/10 combination. I fear heāll revert to his āfavouritesā next match though.
Sexton is getting on and ultimately Ireland will have to find a permanent replacement before long. Having said that, heād have been a massive contributor to the match this afternoon.
He has a young, talented, exciting squad who are capable of great things but again heās chosen change over consistency - 6 changes (!!) including Randall at scrum half (2 caps), Dombrandt (5 ) and Itoje moved from lock to flanker.
England should dominate in the forwards and release quick ball, and the backs should make better use of it than last week, but itās untried or tested.
Who knows? I hope he hasnāt underestimated Italyās improvement.
Looking forward to the other two games. They look evenly matched and may come down to who concedes most penalties?
Gutted though I am by the result, that was a great game in Paris. I canāt imagine there will be a better game in this 6 Nations, massively physical, but some great handling and tactical play as well. Mistakes from both sides, but those were brought on by the intensity. Two fantastic games today.
Two good games for sure but the intensity and skill in Paris was just fantastic. For Ireland to get some momentum after that first half was impressive but France deserved the win in the end.
Wales scrapped away for sure but still donāt seem to have much on offer in attack. Scotland a bit muted.
Yep totally agree - immense pressure for all 80 minutes. Felt like France just had the upper hand and forced errors on Ireland which was unexpected. Ireland fought like lions but France had that elusive extra gear on hand. Brilliant battle, best game Iāve seen in ages and shame about the result!
Was that the decider of the tournament?
Ireland were excellent and easily better than the other teams seen so far, but on home soil France were truly brilliant at times and deserved the win.
Hansen gets cheeky try of the year award !
France v Ireland - concur a great game, played by 2 teams who play fast and hard (a la the ABās), with the confidence and ability to play a 15-man game, largely with ball in hand. This is what rugby should be about IMHO.
While there were a few silly/perhaps over-zealous pens (discipline was excellent - a credit to both teams), the game continued to flow and, most importantly, there was no ambiguity about the result, something which Andy Farrell acknowledged and was very gracious about when interviewed. A top-line English coach, facing off to another in Shaun Edwards as Franceās defence coach, an area of their game which has become a strength as much as their running game.
If I was sat at the RFU in Twickenham, I know where my interest for Englandās future would layā¦and it wouldnāt be with a random-thought generating Aussie, who still sets teams up to play kick-ball.
I fear I may need to watch the England game today from behind the sofa - I hope not and that England can play with pace off 9.
Lastly, this seasonās prize for beating his man in a 'phone box goes to Damian Penaud.
Really enjoyed the France v Ireland game, great to see the French playing good rugby. Think the French are fast becoming one of the early favourites for the WC.
As for the random thought Aussie heās all yours, and letās be fair England has benefited by his coaching but like all good things it canāt last forever.
Re the latter aspect, I wonder if England should simply dispense with Jones.
Over here, Harlequins, a Premiership club side lost their head coach a while back (may have sacked him - memory loss!), formed a coaching cātee of who was left (IIRC) and the performance of the team was transformed - they won the Prem! They started playing with creativity and width, helped by the likes of Louis Lynagh.
One mustnāt forget, England had a strong team at RWC 2015 but some poor execution, strange captaincy under pressure, generated a loss to a ānever say dieā Wales team. The problem with England has always been from 9 onwards, which has been covered-up by the kicking game and relying on aggressive defence - but, as Scotland & Wales in particular have proved, if you get at England in open-play, the wheels have often come off.
The teasing question is why England struggle to fashion a decent 3/4 line (starting at 9) when the likes of Wales, Scotland, Ireland (as the other home nations) have, in general terms, been able to match/surpass England in this area, from much smaller senior player bases?
Watching Dupont (Franceās SH) yesterday (and Irelandās SH for that matter), served to exemplify the stodgy way England seem to have been directed to play via Youngs at 9.
I thought Eddie brought you guys a bit of Southern Hemisphere running rugby but what Iāve seen lately it appears itās been lost. You probably should trade coaches, I donāt think having the same coach for years is beneficial (expect MU of course).
My glasses may be tinted (and not rosy!) on these things but England havenāt developed a 3/4 unit during Jonesā tenure which has been a regular differentiator in matches. Englandās game-plan cum forte has been having a strong pack, with mobility, good set-piece (a must nowadays), which can hammer the oppo and create pressure from territory, giving the backs space to effect over-laps et al, the pinnacle of this being the RWC SF v the ABās (not their greatest side), when everything clicked and, to be fair, England also had the run of the ball a couple of times in that match.
Of course, when the same game-plan was tried against the Boks, the wheels fell off, as the Boks created havoc at scrums (= many pens) and out-did Englandās game-plan of applying pressure via territory.
The deep irony here is that when Jones coached Japan at RWC 2015, Japanās game-plan was to play fast and loose, using āinstantā channel-1 ball out of the scrums. Yet 4 years later, when facing a physically bigger SA team, England tried to play them at their strengths.
I do wonder though whether the days of when (e.g.) the Aus team had an OK pack of forwards but wonderful 3/4ās and won games due to this have now passed, as sides appear much fitter, obviously helped by having 8 subs (4 too many for me). Time was, when decent 3/4 lines on their own could win games with only a modicum of ball, especially against tiring defences.
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