None of today’s games on terrestrial tv, so I’m listening to the radio commentary. It makes me wish for a TMS style approach, but of course rugby is a faster game. I’m not sure I can quite envisage the game, in terms of where the action is on the pitch, but it’s better than nothing.
The feed is via Roon on my main system rather than the DAB on my ‘Qutes.
I went to the pub to watch the Eng v AB’s match and left at end H1, as the play was slow and quite messy and poor to my eyes, with various penalties keeping England in the game.
I took a month subscription as I am recovering at home from some medical treatment and not able to get out too much.
It was a rather sloppy All Blacks performance, and Englnd played pretty well for a first match of the series. Fully committed but not quite the attacking coherence. In the end the width of a post may have stopped England winning but the ABs were the better side.
Something to build on anyway. Starting an autumn series vs the ABs was always going to be tough. How England develop over the next few weeks will be the real test.
Bruce
PS I thought the new rules (and excellent ref) re high kicks seemed to increase the openness of the game.
Not sure the ABs were the better side TBH, looked a pretty even game to me. As you say the width of the post and a missed drop goal in the dying moments separated the teams. England seemed to lose forward momentum when Marcus Smith was taken off, but I thought our speed around the breakdown into tackles was impressive. Interesting to see one yellow card cancelling out another. The ABs taking out too many players off the ball. Congratulations again to NZ. But it would be good to see England edge one of these close encounters.
I thought NZ were on top once the starting England front row went off. They creaked badly then.
NZ have a habit of winning tight games, like the best teams.
Bruce
+1 for the month subscription - just got to remember to cancel it. Shall probably do something similar with Sky for next year’s Lions.
England defence not as cynical as ABs - not often you see so many tackles without the ball. ABs should have been carded on the third offence. Agree about the law change at kicks opening things up.
Surprised England got back to a potential winning position and fluffed two cracks at it - poor pass from Randall meant Ford readjusting into less than ideal position for the drop.
Plenty to look forward to over next month
As a dual national it was a pretty difficult watch.
Error strewn, penalties aplenty for the AB’s with a woeful lineout but England couldn’t take advantage in the end. That last drop kick attempt was very poor from a very promising position. Some bright spots for England and you can sense the camp is happy and pumped under Borthwick, so some more to come.
Not sure what the situation is with players but the AB’s are a really mixed bag at the moment. Some glorious and impressive play from Wallace Sititi and some of the newer players . Not 100% convinced of McKenzie at times but that was a great conversion to take the lead.
Ford seems to be getting all the grief but Smith completely shanked two drop goals earlier. None of the replacements improved the team (and that is being polite) but even the starting 15 never threatened the NZ tryline.
Bruce
Frustrating that I’d have to pay for yet another subscription channel to see the Autumn internationals so instead I’ve decided to give these a miss this year. Besides I have Now TV and have seen plenty of rugby including Super Rugby Pacific and the Rugby Championship so I don’t feel I’ve missed out too much. One of these days I will have to actually make the effort to get tickets for an international at Twickers - that would make a nice change from sitting around and watching it all unfold on the telly like I usually do.
Anyone watch Ireland v NZ?
I was a bit disappointed in the match. Ireland energetic at the breakdown but too many penalties and not a lot of cohesion (or subtlety) in attack. NZ happy to kick the points, and as last week finish the stronger of the two sides, without being that impressive.
Both sides with a few more gears to find I reckon.
England v Australia today; delivery time for this ‘almost there’ England team?
Bruce
If England don’t deliver against Australia then I think the pressure on Borthwick intensifies. Imagine the scenario where Australia beat England today, and then to salvage something from the autumn internationals we have to beat SA.
But agree that Ireland v NZ was a disappointing spectacle
Two disappointing outcomes for the NH unions. Ireland were so off the boil they will probably not have such a poor game in their next 10. But if they could against England would help. England authors of own downfall and really need to learn how to bully opponents once on top and then close out a game if it is tight. The blitz was terrible and Oz just took advantage. The new Oz centre is a player with potential to be as good as Giteau or Ella. The Lions series is looking much more competitive.
England showed enough to suggest they should be winning these encounters and I fear for them next week against the Boks. The injuries mean some shuffling which may be an opportunity for Borthwick to roll the dice.
Well that put a hex on the game. Congratulations Australia and it was a pretty entertaining game. What now for Borthwick and England?. Another defeat to SA next week will leave us with 3 losses in a row. Hardly a good platform for the 6N.
England have been a ‘work in progress’ for too long now. Occasionally they look like they have found their mojo but it isn’t too often. They seem to lack leadership and it still looks like Smith is the only really creative spark. Compare that to the pace and invention of the Australian side. They deserved the win.
If England get stuffed next week by SA then Borthwick will have to be under scrutiny. He can’t blame EJ any more. He seems to have lost a few coaches from the setup. You have to wonder if it is unravelling for him. Is anyone he still really convinced by the blitz system? It was badly exposed today
Bruce
A 2AM kick off here made watching the game live difficult but just watched the game over breakfast. Great win by the Aussies who have been a basket case for years. Hopefully it’s the start of something more sustainable.
Go the Wallabies.
What’s the blitz system, is it rugbys answer to Bazball?
Disappointing for whom? 
NZ played pretty consistently and Ireland, not so much. AB’s quite conservative and some early jitters from a very young half back, Ratima, allowed loss of possession. Although McKenzie kicks like a god (at times) some decisions are…interesting.
Ireland will be disappointed, they are rightly ranked higher than NZ and hadn’t lost at home since 21(?). They never seemed to be at their intense best and the ref is frankly a bit of a lottery these days. When they cut away for discussions it’s very difficult to tell what’s goign to happen.
As a fan it’s very frustrating.
Not so much ‘blitz’, more ‘headless chicken’ defence 
It’s simply the tag name for the way the defensive line works, especially from set piece play i.e. call it blitz, rush, and other variations. Problem is, it can be broken down just like any other ‘system’. And you need athletic and robust tacklers to make any defence work, and England, compared to others, don’t have this in their 3/4 line (IMHO), which is also why England often get picked apart in broken play.