brakes had england by 3. that’s good enough

Bl**dy brilliant!! Croft and Farell storming. And we won despite putting Stevens and Youngs on!!

Just think, such a young side could/should have been in with a shout at the GS. Wales could have easily lost to both Ireland and England – but such are the margins of international sort. Time to give Ashton some TLC but on the bench.

Great entertainment and still managed to iron son’s school shirts!!

bumpy

Just think, such a young side could/should have been in with a shout at the GS.

But aren’t.

Wales could have easily lost to both Ireland and England

But didn’t.

Which is nice.

Enjoy your “Plate? Bowl? Whatever!” game. 😉

SUBTITLES PLEASE???

Enjoy your “Plate? Bowl? Whatever!” game.

Sat 17th Mar 12 12:30 Italy v Scotland Stadio Olimpico
Sat 17th Mar 12 14:45 Wales v France Millennium Stadium
Sat 17th Mar 12 17:00 England v Ireland Twickenham

Maybe, but that’s usually termed “premature”.
Grand slam game at 14.45, but could still be championship game at 17.00

If France beat Wales by enough and England can beat Ireland by enough, England can still win the tournament!
It wouldn’t upset me is England didn’t win it, but I’d be over the moon if they did!

Yes, he who laughs last and all that!!

But considering everyone wrote England off at the start and the RFU do all they can to undermine Lancaster in the middle of the 6N bloody good effort. If any of the McCain-sponsored teams had done as well they would be hailed as heros!!!

Didn’t Alain Rolland do well? Wasn’t he great?

Anyone?…………..anyone?…….

Not saying i was yelling a bit, but my neighbour sent me a text asking if England had scored 🙂

Phew, if one of you Celtic lot had offered me England to be in 2nd place going into the final game i would have snatched your hands off. I can’t see Wales losing to France but you never know. Considering this team have been together for some 6/7 weeks i’m more than impressed – in fact this is the best i’ve felt about an England team since 2003.
Wales for this year’s GS but watch out, England are getting their act together at long last.

Scotland for the wooden spoon please just to make it that little bit better 🙂

well done england… again Rolland wants to make the headlines and be a superstar himself. Dont really understand what the french were trying to do. Lancaster still wont get the job as he isnt a big enough name. He seems to be getting the best out of them tho. I agree that Ashton needs some time away from team, far too petulant.

It will be a complete travesty if Lancaster doesn’t get the job, but like they said – Mallet will get it so if he fails the blazers at HQ will have their arses covered.

It stinks.

Hope England beat Ireland next week to cement Lancasters position – and to upset the Guinness drinking crowd on St Paddie’s Day!

Rolland was turd, but to be fair to him the touch judge called the Fofana knock on which was far less cynical than Sharples which was naughty. He bottled everyting in the last 5mins too. England should have conceded a pen for holding on a load of time, not to mention the offside. Having said that it would have been a travesty if France had won as they were clueless and very sloppy. Had to chuckle when Harry Ordinary got MOM, French more one eyed than me!!

If any of the McCain-sponsored teams had done as well they would be hailed as heros!!!

good work chippy!!

By the way what did Ashton do I was attending to my cheese on toast at the time, all I saw was Foden on the floor and Rougerie looking ruffelled. and the ref moaning (again)

By the way what did Ashton do I was attending to my cheese on toast at the time, all I saw was Foden on the floor and Rougerie looking ruffelled. and the ref moaning (again)

Ashton came out of position early to smash Smarmzovsky, and gets a moment of glory. Luckily he didnt pass, otherwise a French try would have been all too easy.

Ashton came out of position early to smash Smarmzovsky

I saw that, good play, but didnt he get a pen reversed or someting? Szarseki is shit Servat is much better.

Anyway, 3 teriffic tries from England there. Enjoyed that

He did. After Rougerie tackled Foden slightly but not dangerously late after he called the mark, unless you count grabbing and squeezing Foden nuts rather hard dangerous.

I’m hoping the French beat Wales btw. Its a possibility.

Ashton created Manu’s try with the crashing hit he put in on the reciever but apart from that he wasn’t around much. He’s gone off the boil and needs some time back with his club to get his head straight again – i do wonder if his shenanagins with Northampton has rattled him?

I can’t tell you all how bouncy i am at the moment – considering the likes of TJ et.al were foretelling (sp?) England’s imminent collapse at the start of the tournament it is heartening to see such a young and inexperienced (in International terms) working well together.
I’m not going to get ahead of myself and foretell a world-beating side but i’m happy that England are finally going in the right direction.
Of course, the prats in the Agh.F.U will do their best to disrupt all of the hard work… 👿

squeezing Foden nuts rather hard dangerous

Ooh, didn’t enjoy the super-slo-mo of that! 😯

Ashton hassled the French player who hit Fiden just as he called mark. French player was fine. Ashton was a dick, and I think called one by his scrum half team mate…

By the way what did Ashton do I was attending to my cheese on toast at the time, all I saw was Foden on the floor and Rougerie looking ruffelled. and the ref moaning

Not a lot to be honest.

Ooh, didn’t enjoy the super-slo-mo of that

Not too sure, but i don’t think Foden was too thrilled either!

Was that deliberate or just an attempt at a handhold?

Rougerie isnt a particulaly dirty player, he could have just been tying to “lift” foden. Its good tackle technique (no pun intended) to put a lift in on a static player, and could have carried foden over the line if successful.

Can’t argue with 3 tries to one.

Why did Trin Duc and Parra not start?

Is St Andre Robinson in disguise?

I’m hoping the French beat Wales btw. Its a possibility.

Oh my god I’m outraged, you should be supporting all the home nations, everyone hates us and we dont care, backs to the walls stuff, rattle the french early…brian moore is god….. You Saxoners all have chips on your shoulders, only sing when your winning, prawn sandwiches, only supported england since the world cup, where’s Johnny

Is St Andre Robinson in disguise?

No he’s Liveremont in a mask.

He’s gone off the boil and needs some time back with his club to get his head straight again

bit of a problem with that!!!

Saint-Andre was God on Wheels at Sale, took us to our first – and only – Premiership title. His failing though was to only concentrate on the first team and not bother in the slightest about emerging players from the Jets. If he does that with France they may be in for a rough couple of years.

Hats off to Mr Lancaster. Nice having one of your own in charge 😉

Congratulations england winning in Paris is never easy. France were pretty poor for the majority of the game so will be brilliant next week 😥

If you want cyclops rugby experience just listen to 5 lives coverage, Dawson and Cueto talking utter bobbins, basically called Roland a cheat and was Frances 16th man. He is a piss poor ref but hearing that was pretty sad.

Well, penalties aside, that was a big improvement. You might even have seen one or two England backs getting over the gain line, despite their obvious lack of talent. 🙄

I really dislike the deliberate knock-on law being applied unless it is absolutely blatant. Enforcing it like it was in that match really makes players think twice about attempting an intercept, which does pretty much ruin the game. In both cases, it was feasible that the penalised players could have gained control of the ball before it went to ground. It’s very easy to judge from an armchair after the fact over three slow motion replays from different angles.

The english one was clearly diliberate and pretty cynical, harsh yellow but thats Rolland for you.

The French guy lunged at a ball he was never going to be able to control, whereas the English one was at body height and when watched at full speed wasn’t far off completing the intercept. Why would a winger wanting to cement his place in the team deliberately knock on if that intercept would also have given him the chance to run and possibly score?

Either way, the law is pretty silly when applied like it was to both sides today. There have been blatant ones in the past (I seem to remember Ireland vs Wales a couple of years back where the ball was deliberately palmed into tough at the death preventing a clear try-scoring opportunity) that should indeed be punished. But both knock-ons today were bona-fide attempted intercepts, no matter how optimistic they may appear from the luxury of an armchair.

If that starts making players think twice about attempting intercepts, there’ll be fewer tries from both attackers and defenders. A missed intercept means a gap in the defensive line, and a successful one almost always means a try-scoring opportunity. With the exception of cynical attempts to knock the ball out of play, it should just be treated as a knock on. I don’t see too much difference with the rules about charge-downs tbh.

Has anyone worked out why Scotland kicked for point, even though Ireland had been warned by the ref after 2 penalties? That’s why Scotland lose games. Baffling decisions like this. Also passing back to Hogg after the mark, why not kick it yourself? Another strange one.

I am so close to calling it a day as a rugby supporter. WTF is the SRU thinking?

Andy Robinson, Scotland’s head coach, is understood to have been closely involved in this decision.

WTF has it got to do with him?
Don’t get me wrong, the RFU are a bunch of strokers but I wouldn’t swap them for the SRU. The scots fans have my sympathy.

Re the deliberate knock ons – it would seem to me that it has to be absolutely clear-cut(player lying on the deck etc)to merit a penalty, let alone a yellow.

It’s too tough for refs in the grey areas at the moment – France had a try-scoring opportunity, but England had a definite intercept chance there.

Rolland seemed to be chuntering away pointlessly a lot during the game. It was a weird spectacle.

Why are the Scottish clubs run by the SRU? That is bizarre.

Unbelievable isn’t it Bruce.

Lineen has been doing a good jobwith Glasgow – why sack him to parachute in Townsend who has failed?

Deliberat knock ons – the English one the team had already been warned for cynical play – and it stopped a try scoring opportunity – it looked clear cut on first seeing it.

French one – no try scoring opportunity and no warning for persistent fouling

England were lucky not to get more yellow cards for persistent infringing IMO

The only sane reason I can think of is it must be the start of some kind of musical chairs re-shuffle that is designed to get rid of AR and somehow move Lineen into the national coaching team.

I doubt it though. I suspect it’s more of a ‘jobs for the boys’ **** you from the blue blazer brigade to Glasgow.

Between Saturdays result, this, and my two day hangover this is not the best Monday morning I’ve ever had.