6 Nations 2023 - The Other Teams

[riocard911]

FT: 10-53

Now I know why Steve Borthwick avoided answering why he was starting Smith ahead of Farrell, cos he didn't know himself, he was just throwing the dice. As for the "game plan" he supposedly sent his team out with - to paraphrase Willard in Apocalypse Now - I didn't see any game plan at all....

[hugonaut]

English back row being found out

They were atrocious. I was just saying that I'd give Dombrandt a 1/10 for that performance and found myself questioning what he'd done to earn as much as 1. That's the sort of performance that can get you dropped for life.

Van Portfliet looks like what English coaches [and probably English rugby fans] think an English scrum-half should look like. He sure doesn't play like one. This exposure at test level has come too early for him. He has struggled in pretty much every game he has played.

[Schumi]

Steward didn't look at all interested in chasing down those last two tries.

[Ruckedtobits]

The selection of Genge as England captain tells the story of Borthwich's outlook towards rugby. Genge is totally illegal in most scrums and always looking for a physical confrontation.

Some things don't come as a surprise.

[riocard911]

I found the video footage of the two teams at half time in the dressing rooms illuminating. In the French one all the players were sitting on the bench attentively, while Galthié was energetically issuing instructions from the centre of the room for the second 40 mins. In contrast, the English coaching staff and players were just mingling in little groups or having one-on-ones and looked to my eyes simply disorganised.

[hugonaut]

I found the video footage of the two teams at half time in the dressing rooms illuminating. In the French one all the players were sitting on the bench attentively, while Galthié was energetically issuing instructions from the centre of the room for the second 40 mins. In contrast, the English coaching staff and players were just mingling in little groups or having one-on-ones and looked to my eyes simply disorganised.

Pro teams plan out their HTs to the minute. Most budget something like this:

2 mins: return to changing room
3 mins: recovery – nobody talks, they just get electrolytes on board and try to lower heart rate, sort out any niggles or loose strapping
3 mins: unit messaging [led by unit coaches] – the problem solving happens here for scrum/lineout/defense/breakdowns
3 mins: team messaging [led by head coach] – generally it's a max of three points: keep doing this/stop doing that/remember what we are trying to do
2 mins: players [led by captain]
2 mins: return to pitch

[Xanthippe]

Can we maybe get someone to nobble Jaco Peyper midweek? Perhaps even something in his hotel food after he arrives here because Ben O’Keefe is AR1 for next week

[hugonaut]

FT: 10-53

Now I know why Steve Borthwick avoided answering why he was starting Smith ahead of Farrell, cos he didn't know himself, he was just throwing the dice. As for the "game plan" he supposedly sent his team out with - to paraphrase Willard in Apocalypse Now - I didn't see any game plan at all....

Borthwick's Leicester won the Premiership final last year 15-12 against Saracens with 58 kicks from hand [Saracens had 47]. It was a f*cking horrific game to watch [source: https://www.espn.com/rugby/matchstats?g ... gue=267979 ].

My feeling is that Borthwick is a] essentially playing with last year's tactics and b] isn't picking the right personnel for those tactics. He had Wigglesworth and Ford at Nos 9& 10 for Leicester, both of whom are excellent tactical kickers. van Poortfliet isn't even an adequate tactical kicker, he's a poor one. Smith is average.

He is also only three games and about ten weeks into the job. It took Andy Farrell, Mike Catt and Simon Easterby well over a year – albeit a disrupted year – to make significant positive changes bed in with Ireland, and they also added an additional coach [O'Connell].

I also think that referees and the refereeing department of World Rugby recognised that the way the kick-heavy game was going was a huge turn-off to spectators and looked to enforce existing laws that had been somewhat overlooked, especially with regards to advancing/non-retreating players in off-side positions. The big clamp down on gilet-jaunes entering the playing enclosure for fake injuries and water-breaks, and the lack of breaks at lineout and scrum-time has meant less time for heavier forwards to get their breath back and thus less organised and effective kick-chase and kick defense.

I'm not saying that kicking the ball is redundant, but aside from Stewart, England's kicking wasn't either accurate or clever and thus didn't put much pressure on France.

[hugonaut]

Dorian Aldegheri showed conclusively and surprisingly that an old fashioned tighthead still has a role at the highest level of test rugby.

0 carries/1 pass in 50 minutes. He scrummaged absolutely brilliantly though. Solid as a rock. What a technician.

[Logorrhea]

Dorian Aldegheri showed conclusively and surprisingly that an old fashioned tighthead still has a role at the highest level of test rugby.

0 carries/1 pass in 50 minutes. He scrummaged absolutely brilliantly though. Solid as a rock. What a technician.

Not so effective on a dry day against players that don't drop the ball as much as the English do, but yeah extremely destructive.

[blockhead]

Eddie Jones's stupid grin just got even wider!

[FLIP]

FT: 10-53

Now I know why Steve Borthwick avoided answering why he was starting Smith ahead of Farrell, cos he didn't know himself, he was just throwing the dice. As for the "game plan" he supposedly sent his team out with - to paraphrase Willard in Apocalypse Now - I didn't see any game plan at all....

Borthwick's Leicester won the Premiership final last year 15-12 against Saracens with 58 kicks from hand [Saracens had 47]. It was a f*cking horrific game to watch [source: https://www.espn.com/rugby/matchstats?g ... gue=267979 ].

My feeling is that Borthwick is a] essentially playing with last year's tactics and b] isn't picking the right personnel for those tactics. He had Wigglesworth and Ford at Nos 9& 10 for Leicester, both of whom are excellent tactical kickers. van Poortfliet isn't even an adequate tactical kicker, he's a poor one. Smith is average.

He is also only three games and about ten weeks into the job. It took Andy Farrell, Mike Catt and Simon Easterby well over a year – albeit a disrupted year – to make significant positive changes bed in with Ireland, and they also added an additional coach [O'Connell].

I also think that referees and the refereeing department of World Rugby recognised that the way the kick-heavy game was going was a huge turn-off to spectators and looked to enforce existing laws that had been somewhat overlooked, especially with regards to advancing/non-retreating players in off-side positions. The big clamp down on gilet-jaunes entering the playing enclosure for fake injuries and water-breaks, and the lack of breaks at lineout and scrum-time has meant less time for heavier forwards to get their breath back and thus less organised and effective kick-chase and kick defense.

I'm not saying that kicking the ball is redundant, but aside from Stewart, England's kicking wasn't either accurate or clever and thus didn't put much pressure on France.

My personal opinion is that he wasn't a good hire and was a flash in the pan with his success last year, which was not being replicated this season. If England are to improve he needs to evolve and many coaches never do.

[enby]

Well today has confirmed what we have known for a while: World Rugby in its stupidity has put the 3 best teams in Europe ( us, France and Scotland ) and the 2 best in the Southern Hemisphere ( SA and NZ ) on the same side of the draw so only 2 of those teams can reach the semi final. Farcical situation particularly when rubbish teams like Wales and England have a much better chance of a semi than the top 5.
It should make for 2 dreadful semi finals.

[Ruckedtobits]

Really finding it hard to make up my mind whether that was a superb performance by France or a total mis-fire by England. However, largely based on the reaction of the French Coaching team, I'm inclined towards the former. They were ecstatic when they hit 50 points and their adulation of their attack Coach suggests that they hoped for an outcome of this nature, possibly not 50 points, but a significant victory in a venue where they've struggled.

As for the English, what can one say? Borthwich and Sinfield may have a lot of playing experience but organising and inspiring others at this level requires an awful lot more than playing experience. The choice of Genge as Captain clearly was based on the impact that he had created within camp on the other players. But nothing in his career to date has given any indication that rugby strategy or tactics are innate skills. And so it proved. The French had selected a tight-head scrummager who's sole function was to nullify Genge's inspirational, usually illegal, scrum work, and it worked.

The deletion of Farrell from the starting team left them bereft of any semblance of leadership once Genge was corralled. And it showed. For the second quarter, England were schooled. In the final quarter they were eviserated by a rampant French attacking machine intent on filling their boots against the English who had given them a decade of pain in their home stadium.

History may record a resolution being passed by the RFU Committee thanking Gary Lineker for distracting the UK media on this day of rugby humiliation. But be certain that this memory won't be easily erased from the minds of the English players, and certainly not in seven days, before they face Ireland in Dublin.

[Oldschoolsocks]

Lads, don’t underestimate the six day turnaround, it can be a great leveller

[riocard911]

Lads, don’t underestimate the six day turnaround, it can be a great leveller

+1. A wounded lion is still a dangerous lion.

[Twist]

Yeah I think we should expect a huge reaction from them on Saturday. That’s if we have any players left after this Scotland game!

[riocard911]

Lads, don’t underestimate the six day turnaround, it can be a great leveller

+1. A wounded lion is still a dangerous lion.

In the post-match presser Faz mór jokingly slagged Johnny by mentioning Northampton. I think it was a timely reference to how a team, who get thrashed the one week can come back all the more determined the next one to put pride back in the jersey. I was very happy to hear him so publicly identify the risk involved in the upcoming fixture vs the Charioteers.

[Twist]

Russell & Hogg out of the Italy game for Scotland

[jezzer]

Steward didn't look at all interested in chasing down those last two tries.

Shocking. I thought he was really poor. They could try Smith at FB, but his tackle for one of France's early tries would inspire confidence for him at 15.