Lancaster on the line

As Sir Clive Woodward has said Lancaster has done a wonderful PR job with all his talk of humility and team spirit but it is results that count.

We are two from two in matches that we could some might say should have lost. We have shown nothing of ourselves on attack and our lineout is wobbling.

The one thing that we can say is that our scrum is holding up well and our discipline seems to have improved.

But let's not fool ourselves here we're on for an absolute pasting at home by the Welsh. If they thrash us at home, it's a long way back from there.

If Lancaster wants to make a game of it at Twickenham he must do the following:

1. If Lancaster wants to keep his job he needs to show that he is more ruthless in selection than his predecessor.

Selection:

OUT:

Golden Boy Farell. His composure in kicking is great but he's not fast enough for his size nor does he unlock defences with passes or footwork.

Mauritz Botha - another player who epitmosises Lancaster's work ethic. Trouble is he not good enough. He is not an enforcer nor a lineout master. He grafts away. He misses or half misses a lot of tackles too.

Strettle - he looks like a schoolboy out there - just ineffectual and Foden is a better stepper. Should have kept his feet after the italian trip.

Hodgson - he's lost his zip. Shame I used to be a big supporter of him.

Stevens - is he the best we have covering both sides? He is a shadow of his former self and I blame him for losing the tighthead vs Italy as soon as he came on.

Webber - see above

Brown - a fine fullback I'm sure but he cannot play anywhere else and Foden is better. Are we going to drop Foden for Brown? No. Harsh but out he goes.

Dowson - as soon as Wood comes back. He will be surplus to requirements at that point because he offers less than the others either starting or on the bench

Youngs - is away with the faeries at the moment. If he was angry at being dragged on Saturday he is deluded. There was one ruck in particular that sticks in my mind. He was waving his arms around in the general direction of the midfiled, the ball came out and was at his feet. He was still looking at the midfield when an italian legally picked the ball up and went forward. Hopefully Leicester can retrain him or give him whatever it is that he needs.

IN:

Manu Tuilagi. Pair him up with Barrit in midfield and at least we've got some defensive ballast and possibly some momentum with the ball.

Lawes - mongrel and athleticism around the park. Big engine too.

Sharples - pacey try scorer

Flood - more of a running threat than Hodgson and a goalkicker

Does Mullan play better on both sides?

Who else is ready? Not exactly a strong suit for us.

Alex Goode - faster and more versatile than Brown with an excellent rugby brain

Wood - was correctly identified as Captain. Similar to Dowson but better.

Simpson - get him on board and get him involved a potential game breaker on the break

2. Fix the lineout.

3. Get us playing in a vaguely coherent way in attack.

Triangulation wrote:

Hodgson - he's lost his zip. Shame I used to be a big supporter of him.

Lost his zip? He showed pretty good pace to get to both chargedowns. Given that Floods return from injury was'nt a great performance, by all accounts, then it would be harsh to drop Hodgson in my opinion.

Its harsh to have a real go...as three of the ones you list - Lawes Flood and Tuilagi have all been unavailable due to injury...and are probably key players.

I also think its harsh to criticise the front row...they have done fine.
Youngs must be replaced...Dickson gave a good account so why not start him.

Morgan needs to start at 8

Id bring garvey into the Second Row for Botha.

I think we have been unlucky with our 13's aswell...with Tuilagi, Trinder and Lowe all out...and this has played its part in our lack of attacking buzz...

I'd be looking at the starting the following...(N.B I dont believe any of Flood, Tuilagi, Wood or Lawes will be fit or on form to start or play v Wales. )

1 Corbs
2 Hartley
3 Cole
4 Palmer
5 Garvey
6 Croft
7 Robshaw
8 Morgan

9 Dickson
10 Hodgson
11 Ashton
12 Farrell
13 Barritt
14 Strettle
15 Foden

Triangulation - I'm surprised you haven't mentioned Ben Morgan unless I've missed it. What I do agree with is the Owen Farrell thing - Apart from goal kicking I really don't know what this lad brings to the game. For me he looks decidedly average at best. Maybe it's me?

RubyGuby and others..

Yes i forgot Morgan.

Sue me.

Of course he's in. He's so comprehensively in that i thought he was already in. And forgot him entirely.


Everything else i have said above is infallible.

None of my suggested changes will make such a difference that we will beat Wales.

We wont beat Wales either way. I'm just trying to help us avoid an absolute pasting at the hands of our mortal enemas the Welsh. At home too.

This is going to hurt.

For once Tri...we will play the Welsh at their own game...we cant lose...

If we win...we can laugh at beating the Welsh...possible GS favorites and WC semi finalists (as they are so keen to remind everyone about)

If we lose...we are a brand new side, with with a host of new caps, and key players out injured...

Lads - if you look at it from a particular angle Lancaster could take all the pressure off himself by putting out a side that he thinks he could develop - that way the expectations might be lowered and he could put himself in a win-win situation: (I just reda that again and it doesn't sound right against Wales but I aint gonna change it as you get my drift)

If I was Lancaster I would pick the following team and say the lads that have played so far have showed up well in difficult games, however we need to give some others a chance to see what they can do as we need more than what we have seen so far in the game against Wales hence:

1 Corbs
2 Hartley
3 Cole
4 Palmer
5 Lawes
6 Croft
7 Robshaw
8 Morgan

9 Dickson
10 Hodgson
11 Ashton
12 Tuilagi
13 Barritt
14 Sharples
15 Foden

If you lose Geordie, you know exactly how you'll feel but nice try all the same - the passion gets us all mate

Tri, I really hope you mean enemies not enema's!

England will not have a pasting, you are too good for that and you are at home. You have not played well but you have won. If you play badly and had lost fair enough but you have still won. This Welsh team is psychologically stronger than any Welsh team since the 1970's. We go into games believing that we can win (the 70's sides went in to games believing that they would win). However the game is still being played at Twickenham and while some of the players have won there before I dont think anyone expects us to give England a pasting there. If this game was in Cardiff I'd be confident, but in Twickers, well if England cant raise their game against the Welsh at home then they deserve to get a pasting.

Triangulation wrote:RubyGuby and others..

Yes i forgot Morgan.

Sue me.

Of course he's in. He's so comprehensively in that i thought he was already in. And forgot him entirely.


Everything else i have said above is infallible.

None of my suggested changes will make such a difference that we will beat Wales.

We wont beat Wales either way. I'm just trying to help us avoid an absolute pasting at the hands of our mortal enemas the Welsh. At home too.

This is going to hurt.

I had re-read that twice..... Yep i can imagine that mortal enemas would hurt

Ruby...

Im not convinced on a Palmer Lawes Combo mind.

I'd rather have one of them with a bullocking big lump like Garvey or Attwood etc.

Lawes is quality at his tackling, work rate, athleticsim...but he is lacking in his ball carrying and lineout work.
I'd really be pushing him to master the lineout...then he would be an awesome player to work with a big beast enforcer alongside him.

If you lose Geordie, you know exactly how you'll feel but nice try all the same - the passion gets us all mate

Ah i only said it because i expect us to lose....

I know little about Garvey or Attwood but I agree England need an enforcer - The pack has played well as a unit and IMO has had the better of both Scotland and Italy which is no mean achievement.

What is the best approach to this game in terms of damage limitation?

Should we recall Banahan, Lawes, Attwood and Garvey together, Sheridan etc and just tell them to play hard direct physical rugby.

When we go behind on the scoreboard and start chasing the game against Wales...well we all know what happens next....think Foden trying to make something happen just before half time v Italy......

Lads i'm telling you. Get into the brace position because Walea are going to beat us by 15 points minimum at Twikenham.

And then they're going to gloat. Forever.

I have a welsh workmate too..

Triangulation wrote:



I have a welsh workmate too..

Every englishman should have one, keeps their feet on the ground

In my opinion the Lawes/Attwood combo could recreate a Dooley/Ackford partnership - sublime.

Portnoy wrote:In my opinion the Lawes/Attwood combo could recreate a Dooley/Ackford partnership - sublime.

There's 2 red cards to start then

I dont understand all the doom and gloom here.
England have played 2, won 2 and won away from home in notoriously difficult away matches. One of those matches the conditions were awefull.
This has also be done with an injury hit side.

I would make two changes only, Dickson and Morgan start.. Farrell looked a lot better on Saturday when Hodgson started getting quicker ball from Dickson.

I do see a Welsh victory but i cant see it being a smashing to be honest and England, at home, will be well up for it.

Triangulation if England strip out all the Saracens players who have scored all of England's points then of course they'll lose.

Saracens have the winning mentality. Ideally for England you want to marry Saracen's hardworking,winning,defensive abilities with attacking prowess and creativity.

Unfortunately at the moment there's no attacking prowess and creativity.

I think 3 simple changes to the England team would transform England.

Dickson to scrum half.
Morgan to no 8.
M.Tuilagi to 13.

This would leave Barritt at 12 and Farrell on the bench.

Morgan for his ball carrying abilities.
Dickson to deliver quick ball.
M.Tuilagi - attacking presence at 13. Will complement Barritt's defensive and organisational abilities.

Give the guys a break. They played away in Italy on a near frozen pitch in arctic conditions against a largely one dimensional team of grizzly forwards. It was hardly going to suit our new style, or be the opportunity for a rampant try fest. We did what we had to, and played for the charge down again. Clever and ruthless stuff.

We'll have more than enough to tranquilize the rabid Welsh and their foamy mouthed fans at home at Twickenham and then these boards will light up with the same doomsayers hailing a new dawn under Lancaster's genius, and order will be restored as the Welsh stop claiming that Gatland is a shoe-in for the Lions coach and start campaigning for a proper Welsh coach again. Roll on the next two weeks.

Didnt Tuilagi strike someone on his return and could face a citing and/or possible ban?

Jonathan Davies

( who i find to be a very biased welsh commentator) says as follows (and for once i have to agree with him even though i cant stand him) .....


Davies, now a BBC pundit, believes England's pack is inferior to the one Wales coach Warren Gatland has at his disposal and that the Welsh will go into the Six Nations clash as overwhelming favourites.
In years gone by, Welsh flair in the backs has been neutered by England's muscle and grunt up front but this time the tables have turned and, when the two nations go head to head, Davies is convinced it will be Stuart Lancaster's men who will be forced backwards.
He said: "I don't think we've gone to Twickenham and out-muscled them before, but the side we've got now could go to Twickenham and absolutely smash them physically.
"That English pack does not strike fear into anyone. They are a good club side who are growing together, but there isn't anyone outstanding in there.
"Tom Croft will have a go at our lineout but our back row is better, our second row is better, our front row is bigger and our centres are bigger.
"We could absolutely go to town on them. I don't think the England forwards are as dominant as they have been."

Couldn't care less what Jonathan Davies thinks.

On paper they might look better or be bigger but it's the game on the day that matters.

Warburton might get red carded for a tip tackle on Owen Farrell. Charge Down Charlie might get yet another charge down try to win England the match in the 80th minute. Then again North could get a hat trick of tries running over Strettle in the process. Who knows?

I don't think Wales are head and shoulders above England.

After all Saracens knocked the O's out of the HC. Saints beat Scarlets away in a strong display. Exeter (who have no players in the England side) knocked out Dragons in the Amlin.

None of those players will be intimidated.

You know it's bad when you get Welsh and Irish posters reassuring you about your own team. I think there is a definite WUM to Victory ratio where the inverse is true. The more a team's fans WUM the less confident they are. When they start to hold the oppositions hands you know you're doomed. DOOMED I SAY!!!!!!!!

andy powells minder wrote:

Triangulation wrote:



I have a welsh workmate too..

Every englishman should have one, keeps their feet on the ground

Who keeps the Welshman's feet on the ground?

Why do we have so many welsh and scots living in England? For another day perhaps!

Both Flood and Manu looked off the pace at the weekend. I'd be very surprised if they aren't sent home on Thursday.

englandglory4ever

That is ridiculous. Manu Tuilagi is our best centre and Wales is not this weekend. It is next weekend.

Beshocked

I dont have it in for Saracens players per se although when i look at the players who i believe should be axed - i see that a fair few of them are Saracens. Sorry but nothing against Sarries i just want us to play our best players.

Farrell - jutsy and composed great goal kicker but is too small for his speed/not fast enough for his size , does not unlock defences with either footwork or clever passing game so he has to go. Possibly for good.

Botha is just average and i struggle to believe he's one of our best 5 second rows in the country.

It's international rugby lads we need outstanding players. Players with skill speed, power, strength, handling ability, footwork you know the drill.

Until we get these types of players in well be miserable easy beats and joyless to watch.

We need to accelerate the development of players such as-

Lawes, Attwood, Garvey, Simpson, Marler, Trinder, Saull, Christian Wade....

Guys who at least look as though one day they can stand toe to toe with All Blacks and match them or surpass them.

Enough with the holding operation players!

"englandglory4ever

That is ridiculous. Manu Tuilagi is our best centre and Wales is not this weekend. It is next weekend. "

I agree and would love to see a Barritt, Manu midfield when the time is right. But from the highlights I saw at the weekend you didn't see one moment of video where Manu could be seen. It was like he wasn't even on the pitch.

As for Flood he missed a couple of sitters almost in front of goal.

Do we really want to swap Farrell for Flood at this time? Im' not so sure when the only way we can win is through kicking our goals. We certainly can't create tries.

SL has to cut his squad on Thursday. It maybe just too early to keep them both.

Englandglory4ever

If you're saying the only way we can win is to kick our goals then you're conceding the next 3 matches. Wales, Ireland and France will each put 2 tries on us minimum. We need to be able to score tries and the sooner we get cracking on that little conundrum the better.

Ok, please tell me how this:

"I don't think we've gone to Twickenham and out-muscled them before, but the side we've got now could go to Twickenham and absolutely smash them physically.

Correlates to this:

"I don't think the England forwards are as dominant as they have been."

Surely being "not as dominant" is a different thing to getting "absolutely smashed" and "out-muscled"

Yes, it's the old Welsh overclaim and backstep at play there.

miteyironpaw

These arent contradictory statements necessarily.

Here is how i see things....

What England enemies are saying:

"England need to try to move the ball more and play more expansively because apart from anything else they don’t dominate in the forwards as much as they used to so they need other avenues of attack. Also England have a responsibility to entertain and to give up playing "boring" rugby"

I agree with this….. partially. I agree that our currently selected pack wont dominate a wet paper bag. But I yearn for the reconstruction of a menacing England forward pack and I believe we must have the players out there somewhere.

What England enemies are thinking :

"England players are completely incapable of playing expansively and certainly nowhere near as well as we can. Let them try it we'll thrash them."

Think Campo 1991

Think Compo Last of the Summer Wine that's more like the back ine

Triangulation wrote:englandglory4ever

That is ridiculous. Manu Tuilagi is our best centre and Wales is not this weekend. It is next weekend.

Beshocked

I dont have it in for Saracens players per se although when i look at the players who i believe should be axed - i see that a fair few of them are Saracens. Sorry but nothing against Sarries i just want us to play our best players.

Farrell - jutsy and composed great goal kicker but is too small for his speed/not fast enough for his size , does not unlock defences with either footwork or clever passing game so he has to go. Possibly for good.

Botha is just average and i struggle to believe he's one of our best 5 second rows in the country.

It's international rugby lads we need outstanding players. Players with skill speed, power, strength, handling ability, footwork you know the drill.

Until we get these types of players in well be miserable easy beats and joyless to watch.

We need to accelerate the development of players such as-

Lawes, Attwood, Garvey, Simpson, Marler, Trinder, Saull, Christian Wade....

Guys who at least look as though one day they can stand toe to toe with All Blacks and match them or surpass them.

Enough with the holding operation players!

Triangulation you make it out as if Stuart Lancaster has overlooked world class players. I am glad you are nowhere near the England set up. With your selection policy England would be looking at the wooden spoon. England don't have outstanding players currently. Hence development needed.

As much as I like Saull and think he can be very good at club level he seems to be outmuscled in the Saxons.

Wade is injured and there are better options out there.

Lawes is injured.

Trinder is injured.

Marler struggles at scrum time at club level, needs to sort that out first.

Simpson is the nearly man.Not quite there.

Believe Attwood is a bit overrated. Doesn't offer anything extra in my opinion.

Garvey is arguably the only one of your list who should have been given a shot.

Beshocked

If players are injured or way out of form then of course i dont want them. That is patently absurd man. I want class players when they're ready.

What i dont want 4th or 5th place with brand old new borthwick mark II and brand old new wilkinson post 2007 mark II which is what were getting.

Ah to hell with it were going to have our back sides handed to us by Wales France and Ireland. Come back to me then.

Trinagulation and Beshocked.

This is a post I made on another thread where I said I think Lancaster is doing things well.

"But I think England had dreadful indiscipline problems under Johnson. Initially it was on the field. Remember when they got 10 yellow cards in 4 matches.

It then bubbled off the pitch. The harrassement claims against a hotel maid. The RWC report fiasco. The claims players cared more about money and boozing than training hard. The off field controversies, the ball switching problems, the constant criticism over Ashtons swan dives and doing nothing about it.

Lancaster I think is doing great stuff. Instill the right set of values amongst his players. Cancel their state of the art Potuguese holiday camps and take them training in Leeds instead. Pick young players who are winning matches for their clubs and get them used to winning matches internationally. Find out where the strenghts and weaknesses are and develop a plan from there.

Its all baby steps but he has the right attitude.

He has brought in mega changes and has 2 wins out of 2. England should be aiming for 2nd place and if they could claim another 2 wins that would be an amazing achievement for this group - home matches against Wales and Ireland with a trip to Paris. I think its doable.

They are being written off in Ireland too. I heard Alan Quinlan and Gerry Thornley criticising them yesterday but its the right approach for me.

There has been a massive change in style both on and off the field for me. How could there not be."

red_stag wrote:Trinagulation and Beshocked.

This is a post I made on another thread where I said I think Lancaster is doing things well.

"But I think England had dreadful indiscipline problems under Johnson. Initially it was on the field. Remember when they got 10 yellow cards in 4 matches.

It then bubbled off the pitch. The harrassement claims against a hotel maid. The RWC report fiasco. The claims players cared more about money and boozing than training hard. The off field controversies, the ball switching problems, the constant criticism over Ashtons swan dives and doing nothing about it.

Lancaster I think is doing great stuff. Instill the right set of values amongst his players. Cancel their state of the art Potuguese holiday camps and take them training in Leeds instead. Pick young players who are winning matches for their clubs and get them used to winning matches internationally. Find out where the strenghts and weaknesses are and develop a plan from there.

Its all baby steps but he has the right attitude.

He has brought in mega changes and has 2 wins out of 2. England should be aiming for 2nd place and if they could claim another 2 wins that would be an amazing achievement for this group - home matches against Wales and Ireland with a trip to Paris. I think its doable.

They are being written off in Ireland too. I heard Alan Quinlan and Gerry Thornley criticising them yesterday but its the right approach for me.

There has been a massive change in style both on and off the field for me. How could there not be."

You want to be careful posting sensible unbiased comments like that on this thread, when some of my fellow English posters are in full on 'Dad's army we're doomed' mode.

I'm at the 'Wailing and gnashing of teeth' stage actually. Way past the Dad's army We're doomed' stage. Hoping to move onto the rending of clothes and rubbing ash into my hair by Thursday then i'll be fine for the match by next week. It's all under control...

Triangulation wrote:Englandglory4ever

If you're saying the only way we can win is to kick our goals then you're conceding the next 3 matches. Wales, Ireland and France will each put 2 tries on us minimum. We need to be able to score tries and the sooner we get cracking on that little conundrum the better.

Maybe you didn't see the last two games. Italy put 2 tries on us to our one but we won the game thanks to Farrell. Put Flood in and they could easily have lost those matches.

SL will probably stick with the same side except maybe just maybe swap the 8 and 9s for Morgan and Dickson. He may tinker with the bench but I don't see large scale changes.

Carpe Diem wrote:I'm at the 'Wailing and gnashing of teeth' stage actually. Way past the Dad's army We're doomed' stage. Hoping to move onto the rending of clothes and rubbing ash into my hair by Thursday then i'll be fine for the match by next week. It's all under control...

Oh I see, getting it out of your system early and then your good by the time the game comes around. Either that or your heart will give out due to the prolonged stress of it all. There is nothing worse than being a passionate supporter of your national team.....

englandglory4ever

yeah OR Flood could have given a couple of scoring passes to Ashton for a few tries of our own…

We got away with it against Italy. That does NOT mean that it should become our blueprint for games in the future, particularly against Wales, France Ireland who wil all put "at least 2" tries on us AND defend a bit better than Italy.

The ooh isnt Lancaster doing well brigade are in denial. Yes he's doing reasonably well given his tough situation but we need to be doing better.

In Rome we won the battle and lost the war. We've nothing to build on.

"yeah OR Flood could have given a couple of scoring passes to Ashton for a few tries of our own…"

Where is that magic switch that you flick to turn a fledgling side feeling its way in to world beaters over night? I'd really like to know. Or on second thoughts we could all just wake up and smell the flowers.

Have Lancasters 2 wins been built on sand ??

At the moment i can only see Lancaster making 2 changes, Dickson, Morgan.

Regarding any other changes, it would be changes for changes sake.

Plus i dont see England taking a thrashing from Wales, certainly not at home, not at Twickers.

England have played 2 very hard fought games away, and they won both of those games as well.

Both England and Wales go into this game with 2 games a piece under their belts. If England win, it will be 3 from 3. It will also be the Calcutta cup and Triple Crown in the cabinet as well.

So leave the team selection to Lancaster and co, they get paid to make the right choice for the right game. And so far they are not doing too bad.

As I see it England have achieved better results from the first 2 games than I thought they would. However, although they are at home for the next match it's certainly a step up in terms of opponent and if they play as they have then I can't see anything other than a comfortable Welsh victory. The only other leveler could be bad weather but you should never plan on that.

So I think we need to gamble a little in terms of selection and be prepared to run the ball more in attack. Unfortunately it doesn't seem that Wood will be ready (and we really could have done with him against this welsh backrow) but I would bring back Flood, Tuilagi and Lawes into the 22 - these are proven international players and all have the ability to help England up the tempo. We know they are physically fit after injuries (as they all have returned for their club sides) but not yet match fit so I would release all 3 of them back to play for their clubs again at the weekend.

Based on that my team would be -

1 - Corbisiero
2 - Hartley
3 - Cole
4 - Palmer
5 - Parling
6 - Dowson (would have been Robshaw if Wood was fit)
7 - Robshaw (Wood if he was fit)
8 - Morgan
9 - Dickson
10 - Flood
11 - Strettle (playing on the left wing)
12 - Barritt
13 - Tuilagi
14 - Ashton
15 - Foden

16 - Webber
17 - Doran-Jones (injury replacement for Wilson in EPS)
18 - Lawes
19 - Croft
20 - Youngs (would have been Care if he hadn't been a prat)
21 - Farrell
22 – May

My reasons are as follows. The front row has gone well so no changes needed. The lineout went wrong on Saturday but not sure of the reasons. Hartley’s throws were straight but long, maybe the lighter ball made a difference, maybe we didn’t time our jumping well or maybe the Italians had done their homework and figured out some of calls. Either way it’s nothing that shouldn’t be fixed during training. I would swap Stevens for Doran-Jones on the bench. Stevens is great in the loose but his scrumaging at this level doesn't seem good enough regardless of what side of the scrum he appears on. Shame as he offers so much in the loose but I would be worried if either prop was injured early in a game. Doran-Jones may not be the answer either but think he is worth the chance. I know Wilson is injured and I was never his biggest fan but he always looked solid in the scrum no matter which side he came on.

In the second row I agree that Botha hasn’t shown enough to say he belongs at the top level. I’m biased here because I’ve been a big fan of Parling for a couple of seasons and think he has looked good both times he has come of the bench. I thought Palmer did very well on Saturday and gave a good all round performance whilst he was on the field. Concerned though that his fitness isn’t what it should be as he has looked knackered after 50 minutes in each game so far. Parling to run the lineout and Lawes on the bench although wouldn’t be upset if he started and one of the others dropped to the bench.

The backrow is tricky. Croft has done well in both games but I feel we need Morgan to start to hopefully give us some front foot ball and so then need 2 flankers who are going to be more involved at the breakdown, especially considering who they are up against in this area. I also feel Croft could be a decent impact sub when opposition teams are tiring.

Dickson’s speed of service means he deserves to start but he must be allowed to play with tempo. Youngs is well off form but some of it must be the type of game he’s being told to play as well. Flood is a proven international who we know plays flat and is a decent kicker. Just about all England fans want a Barritt Tuilagi midfield as it looks by far the best combination available in terms of attack and defense. Barritt has better distribution than we have seen so far and Tuilagi has that X factor with ball in hand. Farrell has done well with kicking and in defense but agree with others needs to do more with ball in hand to justify starting at the moment. I’m confident it will come though as he has too much ability not to succeed at this level.

Hard to judge the wingers as they haven’t seen the ball. Ashton must move back to his usual right wing and Strettle needs to give a good account of himself otherwise I would look to bring in Sharples. Foden had a bit of a nightmare on Saturday but it’s first time I can remember him making mistakes for England. I would promote May into the EPS and onto the bench as he genuinely covers the back 3 including full back, which is the reason I feel SL has selected Brown on the bench and not Sharples so far.

majesticimperialman wrote: If England win, it will be 3 from 3. It will also be the Calcutta cup and Triple Crown in the cabinet as well.

Think Ireland might have something to say about that Madge

Think Ireland might have something to say about that Madge

Yeah they seemed to have a word on the outcome last year

Triangulation wrote ' I have a welsh workmate'


My dear chap, every Englishman should have a 'Welsh workmate' for when the Black and Decker Workmate breaks down, and i've heard tell that they can be used to hold metal and wood and, if you happen to cut a lump off them or chisel off a finger or two, well, you can reflect that 'They're Welsh and smile knowing that your day has gone well. Then put them in to an damp cupboard untill the 6 nations is over and Englands GS is won.


By the way, never oil a 'Welsh workmate' because then they start to get idea's above their station!!

You could look at it two ways. Lancaster has a 100% record- unmatched by any other coach today.
The other is looking at last 6 months England have not shown enough to be considered a threat to this tournament.
The two recent results confirm this. It is possible, based on form, that England have won their last game.
But enter the psychological factors and that makes things easier.
The remaining teams dont readily believe England, as a rule, are beatable. Even if all the signs are there that they are and NH teams are notorious at not being able to put teams away when they should.
For that reason England will pick up another win maybe two at most. But no more.
This team will not beat wales ireland and france and from that 3 the likely winner will come.
Wales and France, in that order for me. Englands fortunes rely more on their past than their present for me. The ability to intimidate because theyre England and not necessaroly because they have a great team.

if flood isnt properly fit for the next game, then i would like to see Farrell play at 10, and Tuliagi slot back in at 12...

because if hodgson isnt kicking then its pointless playing him...

play farrell at 10 till flood is fit, then have flood and tuilagi back playing together again

Strange thing that so many people think Wales will come into Twickenham and blow England away. Favourites? Oh yes. But, do England have at least a puncher's chance? Yes, as well.

Look at it this way: Wales beat Ireland on a last minute penalty kick. So, roughly an even match. Wales and Scotland were tied at the half, and Scotland could have been leading. Wales only put Scotland away after the Yellow cards started. But then that was a blitz which was both brutal and terrifically effective.

What this shows is Wales can put teams away in crunch time, as against Ireland, or when they get a sniff, as against Scotland. As long as England can play strong defense and a reasonable attack they can stay in it. And the longer they stay in it, the greater the chance they can win it.

Lancaster is no fool. He wants the England job on a permanent basis and he realises what a difficult task it will be with a failed 6N campaign. He will be pulling every trick at his disposal for a short term result here.

I wouldn't be surprised at all if England had been under instruction to restrict their game plan against traditional wooden spooners Italy and Scotland. Those were two tricky away matches played in difficult conditions which were both won with composure, accuracy and structure.

We know that this England team has more raw talent at their disposal than any other team in the world. It's just a matter of forming that into a cohesive unit. I think Lancaster has put the building blocks in place with very careful and consistent selection and I expect to see a very different approach to the games from now on in.

The hurdle for England will be France who genuinely did have a good world cup rather than those who are getting excited about nothing, managing to progress to the final after losing the right games rather than losing all the wrong games.