Forum Rugby Club - new season, new thread

I was at work (some of us have to...) so missed it all But

Well that first half was one of the best I have seen from an England team in a long long time. The second half was a little disappointing and I think the reasons were twofold - Andy Goode came on and all of a sudden he was kicking the ball away instead of England playing with ball in hand.

The other thing was that they became complacent and started throwing it around in stupid fashion and missing tackles in their own half. They spurned a 2 x 3 point penalties when the old England would have turned the screw and should have won it 40 - 10.

Still overall a very good performance because they were doing all the basic things they have been criticised for over the last few months.

I think in the first half they stopped the French playing and stunned them into making error after error.

So well done to England then for putting a performance together at last.

good match but goode needs to be got rid of, although he can produce some brilliance on rare occasions all he seems to do most of the time is kick the f!@*king ball up the centre of the pitch and in the process giving the ball back to the opposition who then gain the ground lost and then some. also give vickery the boot and any one that gives away daft and sometimes dangerous penalties like the other week. martin johnson could start from scratch if he needs to build the team he is capable of, there is plenty of talent around.
mainly in the tigers of course

quote:

Originally posted by deadlifter:
good match but goode needs to be got rid of, although he can produce some brilliance on rare occasions all he seems to do most of the time is kick the f!@*king ball up the centre of the pitch and in the process giving the ball back to the opposition who then gain the ground lost and then some. also give vickery the boot

I agree with all of this.

quote:

there is plenty of talent around.
mainly in the tigers of course

Fair play, Tom Croft was excellent today.

The main thing was that the rucking was much better and the ball was generally quicker, but when they got good situations they offloaded correctly and nailed it - straightened it up, took out the defender and passed in timely fashion to the supporting runner.

Beautiful to watch!

quote:

Originally posted by deadlifter:
good match but goode needs to be got rid of, although he can produce some brilliance on rare occasions all he seems to do most of the time is kick the f!@*king ball up the centre of the pitch and in the process giving the ball back to the opposition who then gain the ground lost and then some.

Hence why Tigers rightly gave him the old heave-ho.

quote:

also give vickery the boot and any one that gives away daft and sometimes dangerous penalties like the other week.

Part of a memorable Wasps generation, but past his sell-by date as a great player.

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like martin johnson could start from scratch if he needs to build the team he is capable of, there is plenty of talent around.

Hopefully today's performance will at least get the cynical monkeys off Johnno's back for a bit, so that, having demonstrated some progression over the past few months, he has has a chance to build a really decent side with lots of new blood, not only for now, but laying down the foundations for a long future.

quote:

mainly in the tigers of course

Of course.

a wasp agreeing with a tiger f@#k me that must of hurt, have you gone and sat down in a dark room with a bottle of malt

There was a move during the first half of the England v France game when England were really rampant which ended in a disallowed try for a forward pass.

It was a wonderful move down the right wing which ripped France to shreds and was reminiscent of the best southern hemisphere play. The forward pass was marginal and I had been watching similar passes going completely unpunished during the morning whilst watching the Super 14s.

The irony was that we had an Aussie ref at Twickenham!

See here for an interesting take on the issue.

Two steps forward, one step back. England should have scored 40+ points today with the possession and territory they had.

The good points were that they showed some excellent hands today, better than I have seen even perhaps from the great England side.

Unfortunately, they drifted back into bad habits and supporting poorly at the breakdown on occasion, frequently giving away penalties or possession when in good positions. The other bad habit they fell back into was in not committing the defender before playing the pass and allowing the defence to drift across and push them into touch.

I also think that with both Vickery and Sheridan in the front row the scrummaging is poor. When White came on it definitely improved in this area. Time to say goodbye to Vickery I think and thank him for a marvellous contribution down the years.

They also stopped playing direct, attacking rugby, especially in the second half and kicked aimlessly on occasion. When they play attacking rugby they look potent and have finished as top try scorers as a result. They could score even more if they believed in their own ability.

Scotland did defend well today and will be happy they restricted England to only three tries. It was a frustrating game to watch though, with lots of errors, and England still need to address the penalty count or they will not move on.

It's amazing really....small margins and all that.

Ireland and Wales have undoubtedly played the most consistent rugby of the tournament and yet England, who most people agree have been largely poor and have most room for improvement, have finished second, scored equal most points in the championship, conceded fewest, scored the most tries, only lost to eventual Grand Slam winners Ireland by one point and outscored Wales by two tries to one at the Millenium Stadium!

Congratulations to Ireland on their Grand Slam - well deserved!

quote:

Originally posted by Chillkram:
Congratulations to Ireland on their Grand Slam - well deserved!

Superb, bloody tight tho

quote:

Originally posted by Diccus62:

quote:

Originally posted by Chillkram:
Congratulations to Ireland on their Grand Slam - well deserved!

Superb, bloody tight tho

Closer even than the World Cup Final in 2003 in that there was a last minute opportunity for Stephen Jones to punt a long penalty. Not sure why Mr Charlotte Church didn't take it though.

I bet Guinness are celebrating though! A second big sales night in the space of a week!

I didn't see ANY of Saturday's matches, in-laws' Golden Wedding. I did at least hear 2nd Half of Wales v Ireland on the radio, which was pretty exciting listening.

Congrats Ireland. It does seem odd to call Wales the other 'stand out' side when they came 4th in the end. Attractive rugby, perhaps. But ultimately they failed to deliver, coming in ahead only of Italy and Scotland.

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Originally posted by JWM:
It does seem odd to call Wales the other 'stand out' side when they came 4th in the end.

England could and should have beaten both Wales and Ireland had they been disciplined and confident in their own ball-carrying ability.

leicester tigers came up with another good win over saracens 46-16 putting them back at the top of the guiness premiership, so still looking good for the final at H.Q. not long now

Well done, Worcester! Well played.

Phew!

It was looking very embarassing at one point.

I really enjoyed the Wales v Ireland match. Crackling with tension and drama.

I wonder if the ref had a big part in the nature of the game. When I'd seen him before I thought he was a bit of a fusspot but he was consistent at the breakdown and sharper than some to penalise, especially early on. He also gave rapid clear 'advice' to encourage players to help them from fouling. Seems to me that his style may have helped to create a highly competitive ruck area, quick release and the possibility for genuine (legal) competition at the breakdown. I also thought he handled the bits of fiery indiscipline well.

Anyway, well done Ireland. I thought you were going to bottle it!

Bruce

In a desperate bid to do better next season, Wasps have resorted to buying in Tiger's help...

And on this season's performance, it's not quite first string Tiger's help either, as Tom's not managed many 1st XV starts...

quote:

Originally posted by JWM:
In a desperate bid to do better next season, Wasps have resorted to buying in Tiger's help...

..

It's a very good move for Varndell as the Wasps Academy will properly develop his raw talent and turn him into a proper rugby player.

Shame Tigers have wasted such a prospect!

With Varndell on one wing and Sackey on the other, Wasps will have the two fastest 3/4 in the Premiership next season.

i was quite happy with tigers till i just read your little piece but am now upset as varndell is a good player and scored a try on saturday, i did not know they were releasing him and to wasps of all teams, oop`s. mind you they must have someone special to take over
and wasps do need a hand don`t they

good result for gloucester over the ospreys for the EDF cup final and i thought saints were going to produce a last minute score to take their match against the blues, but unfortunatly they tried to late.still at least i`ll get to cheer on an english team when i go to H.Q for the final
p.s we will skip past tigers defeat by bath except to say we got a bonus point and are still top

I enjoyed both of those games yesterday, especially the Saints v Cardiff game. Saints were not in it in the first half but came back really well and the second half was a joy to watch despite the low score.

I thinks Wales may have the new Shane Williams in Leigh Halfpenny, too.

I too will skip past my teams's defeat today!

Mark

Ssssshhhhh....I don't think anyone noticed and there's no Saracens supporters round here.

quote:

Originally posted by Chillkram:

I too will skip past my teams's defeat today!

What has it got in it's pocketses, eh, Precious?!!