Who knew Care was a decent SH too 😉

[url=https://flic.kr/p/zmnFzq]trollpic[/url] by WML, on Flickr

Farrell’s need both to be kicked into touch. Decide on your best backs and accept they will need to play together and make mistakes while they learn the international game. Worked for us,Laidlaw,Russell,Scott,Maitland,Seymour,Hogg and Bennett,all we had and so were played,suddenly we have a good set of backs. Conrad Smith and Nonu were gash when first capped,now look at them. Why do England think they can make players better without playing them? E.G Slade.
And by God,you need an entire back row!

No, no. That’s old hat.

Today it’s all about “respect”, creating a “core culture”, performing “brilliantly” during video analysis, “being the last one talking at meetings” and having one cap earned on the eve of the RWC in a warm up game. That’s what makes a back division.

Playing together – tsssssssk!

Failing that – have your dad as coach and chief selector. 😉

Some great games yesterday (stand fast England Uruguay) – the Wales Australia match was the most compelling tryless match I’ve seen in a long time. It also confirmed that England were well beaten by 2 better teams.

I think all the discussion about the centres is moot unless we can sort our breakdown out – even Uruguay were slowing down our ball and beat us on turnovers; the best back line in the world can’t do anything with slow ball.

Yes I looked back at my comments about last night, and I have no regrets, it was a dire lacklustre performance. Fair play to Easter and happy with JJ, Slade, Watson, Goode, Brown, Mako, and the new hooker. Nowell proved he was excellent at goalhanging, which is part of a wingers job. I dunno if he has the capacity to develop Shane like skills though. Care was as always skilful, brilliant, and a selfish prick who butchered a couple of smart opportunities by hunting for glory for himself. That’s the England of old who squandered their own abilities by being thundering **** (TJ’s trundlemuppets). The new England of the RWC2015 were not even that, they were just shit.
With regards the pack.
I thought Parling, LAunchbury and Kruis were all ok, dunno about world class though. We missed Lawes big time. Robshaw seemed a bit anonymous, we are probably better off without him.
Haskell, Cole, MArler, Youngs, and probably Wood can all GTF.
FArrel I think of like a poor mans St Johhny, he can kick (although last night he was off form) but he isn’t the greatest playmaker and is a charmless ratbag so he can’t keep his place in the nations hearts like JW can.
Oh and I loved the well deserved cheer Brown got when he came on. The man is awesome.

Isn’t there some talk of him crossing the severn? Would he? Do we want him? seems a bit weird. He has done awesome things in Wales, but is it possible to find someone to do better in Wales than him?

No, as someone else said they are on cruise control until it matters. They have a habit of being pretty lazy until the last second when they go nuts.

Unless they come up against France then I can see them walking it easily to the final…. of course that requires Ireland to beat France by some miracle and then France to play properly from then on 😀

NZ are vulnerable, even without looking at their RWC campaign so far. Besides already losing to Aus this year, they came very close to a loss against a very understrength SA team. Then there was the Argies pushing them close too. Now Woodcock’s out. They’re still capable of some superlative performances, but something’s gotta crack and all it takes is a single game.

Ah sorry, that makes sense now Dan. I’m looking forward to it…kinda. 🙂

Things is molgrips, most non English supporters profess to hate the team and their supporters, I’m never sure how much of this is real or people can’t admit what I’m about to – perhaps it stems from colonialism or our poor quality daily rags. Most English I know will support thier teams to the death, but we know when we are done, and recognise talent near our borders which should be supported as second claim – and do. Personally I’m not blind to England’s failings even if I won’t admit that when they are winning 🙂

I’d now rather Wales, Scotland or Ireland won this thing over anybody else, and particularly Wales (not forgetting Japan) efforts bring a massive amount of respect to thier team and country whilst doing do. How – if you have any honesty in your body – could you not admire that?

But it’s not mine, or most other England supporters fault as to what gets written in <insert crappy media source here> is it?

This team hasn’t won anything of note; do you really think a man of even my limited intellect thought we were going to win the cup? No. But ill carry a whiff of belief for as long as I can, miracles occasionally happen. You be only got to be in any pub during an England / Wales game to see how this apparent arrogance and non-acknowledgement of other teams stirred by the media isn’t actually real.

We all love rugby for rugby’s sake , and long may that continue.

An aside – a great morning this morning. Jnrs been a bit tackle (well tag) shy in defence, so I targeted him with 5 tags and he gets a post-training bacon roll in the club house, else it’s home for a ham sandwich. 8 tags and 3 tries, good lad!

I’m sorry I don’t agree. In the seasons i played the teams and league I played in (Kent) was mostly builders, painters, and other working class folk. Same with my boys club. You view is of you reading of the Will Carlings if this world (didn’t he look a fat greasy mess last night on TV). The Welsh team has plenty of well off the pitch qualified personnel in it.

No it hasn’t – removing England hasn’t upped anyone’s performance – no more than England being praenr dampened anyone else, they are all just playing themselves in or better as the oppo changes / need to qualify occurs. After that it’s pretty much natural selection that leads to all of the better teams playing against each other. England missing doesn’t change that.

What an odd thing to say.

I’ve found the same, coming from the southern hemisphere I’d always heard how it was just toffs here playing the sport. But after playing for a couple clubs in east London and one in south London, as well as in the Royal Navy (so a fairly broad view of things), I’d say there were just as many working class as there were middle class, and very few upper class.

Quite different in Scotland though, very few working class players. Farmers don’t count as they’re f’ing loaded!

McLean looked good in the 6N as well, but he was unbelievably poor in the premiership. Why I’ve no idea.

Cracking atmosphere in Cardiff. Its going to be like an Irish home game I think crowd wise