England 2023 - Post 6N and beyond - Prep for WC

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Continued.....

Sgt_Pooly wrote:Pearson is a physical bugger

He's some unit given how quick he is. His carrying offers something our other very good opensides don't. On this first half I'd be really disappointed if he missed out on the 33.

If this is a trial then Porter and Joe C failing so far.

Couple of knock ons from Martin off his carries too. Been a poor half from us tbf.

If this is a trial then Porter and Joe C failing so far.

Neither winger has impressed so far. The kicks have been contestable for the most part but only Steward is catching them with any reliability. And Cokanasiga should have finished that try.

Defence has been far better than in the 6N, scrum going well. England getting some change from the Quins combination, and generally creating go-forward - just need to find someone who can finish.

The Wales scrum is mince then. Great!

Sod off. That's a deliberate knock on and marchant is going through!

No 7&1/2 wrote:Couple of knock ons from Martin off his carries too. Been a poor half from us tbf.

In the Principality with the roof shut, you have to plan on more knock ones than usual - the atmosphere gets very humid and the ball gets slippery.

No 7&1/2 wrote:Sod off. That's a deliberate knock on and marchant is going through!

Did seem a little generous. The angle of his hand was never going to give him a chance to catch that ball.

Poorfour wrote:

No 7&1/2 wrote:Sod off. That's a deliberate knock on and marchant is going through!

Did seem a little generous. The angle of his hand was never going to give him a chance to catch that ball.

It was 1 handed too which has been the benchmark for a good number of years.

king_carlos wrote:Plenty of chances but a lack of precision at the key moments from England. Frustrating to watch.

Genge has been very good so far.

Ribbans and Martin seem a well balanced lock pairing. Ribbans carrying more but Martin making the hits.

Blamire has been fairly quiet but saved Cokanasiga from a try costing mistake with his tap tackle on LRZ as he came through on that inside ball early on.

Stuart and Porter not having great games so far. A second knock on from Porter as I type that.

Ludlam is definitely the pick so far for England. Probably Genge and Smith after that. Steward solid as ever.

Good summary. I would add Marchant is looking quite good as well. Porter is almost invisible (except for the knocks), but I think Stuart wishes he was invisible.

Lots more opportunities than the score line suggests but finishing them is the important part.

Marchant has definitely outplayed Porter and Cokanasiga if those three are in contention for one spot as I suspect they may be. I wouldn't mind seeing Slade on for either winger and Marchant shifting to one wing to see how he goes there. I think he can genuinely play 13 and wing to a very good standard. His high ball work is terrific and he's quick enough.

Theo Dan has a really good opportunity to impress when he comes on.

Wales are a side in a really bad place for several reasons but Jac Morgan is a fantastic player, Costelow has so much talent and Llewellyn is some unit from the young'uns. Tshiunza could be very good but has consistently looked like a bit of a liability in defence for Chiefs and Wales when I see him.

Ludlum v good. Smith decent. Steward as always excellent under high ball.
Care poor I think, not hopeful for RWC!

I think the best I can say is ludlam will definitely be in the match day squad at the world cup

I suspect we may see early changes in the forwards. Theo Dan, Tom Willis and Jonny Hill may all be involved in tight selection calls with starters when the squad is announced on Monday. So either they will want to get them a chance to impress or the decision might already be made.

mountain man wrote:Ludlum v good. Smith decent. Steward as always excellent under high ball.
Care poor I think, not hopeful for RWC!

I think Care has had excellent air under his kicks. Really giving time for the coverage to get downfield. On the other hand, some passes are pretty merde.

Ribbans and Martin good in 2nd row, looking forward to see Dan get on at hooker.
Need JvP on and more speed.

Youngs seems quite good as a pundit. He hasn't kicked anything...

Wales don't look strong enough. England making too many mistakes and lack a real cutting edge (although Marchant made a really good break). All a bit rusty really. Same old issues with Malins. Smart and quick enough to get to the right places but not enough strength or guile to capitalize. Blamire (or someone calling the lineouts) messing up in the wrong places doesn't help.

Should be more comfortable for England really.

doctor_grey wrote:

mountain man wrote:Ludlum v good. Smith decent. Steward as always excellent under high ball.
Care poor I think, not hopeful for RWC!

I think Care has had excellent air under his kicks.  Really giving time for the coverage to get downfield.  On the other hand, some passes are pretty merde.  

I think Care has been pretty solid. I'd like him to work on getting the ball back quicker as Wales seem able to get away with slowing the ball down. Feels odd to say my main criticism of Care is that he isn't being yappy enough.

Probably been told not to...

king_carlos wrote:Plenty of chances but a lack of precision at the key moments from England. Frustrating to watch.

Genge has been very good so far.

Ribbans and Martin seem a well balanced lock pairing. Ribbans carrying more but Martin making the hits.

Blamire has been fairly quiet but saved Cokanasiga from a try costing mistake with his tap tackle on LRZ as he came through on that inside ball early on.

Stuart and Porter not having great games so far. A second knock on from Porter as I type that.

Ludlam is definitely the pick so far for England. Probably Genge and Smith after that. Steward solid as ever.

Martin's got 10 carries to Ribbans 4. Martin also has 8 tackles. Not the biggest impact but great work rate. He also is taking a lot of the lineouts.

No 7&1/2 wrote:

Poorfour wrote:

No 7&1/2 wrote:Sod off. That's a deliberate knock on and marchant is going through!

Did seem a little generous. The angle of his hand was never going to give him a chance to catch that ball.

It was 1 handed too which has been the benchmark for a good number of years.

He was never going to catch that as long has he had a hole in his ar&se - bit of a let-off ...

I think Care's been OK but not really stood out. Smith certainly the pick of the halfbacks on the pitch but Davies maybe the pick of the 9s so far.

Sam - Ribbans carries clearly more noticeable to me then!

Good to see the half backs have been told to kick more.

I think that's Ludlam's first error in an otherwise terrific performance.

How many handling errors! FFS

Pearson is good at getting over the gain line. That mix of footwork and power is potent.

A Jonny Hill sighting. Noooo.

God this so bad.

doctor_grey wrote:A Jonny Hill sighting. Noooo.

Proceeds to bring out a good old fashioned air tackle.

I'm sure I heard the ref shout advantage over before they bundled the player into touch?

George Martin took the wrong guy. Well worked by Wales.

Like two bald men fighting over a comb this match. Grim.
Wales score a try but blimey it's gruesome so far.

Jac Morgan is such a special player. If he doesn't go on to be a test Lion I'd be very surprised. I just think that Gats should be pairing Reffell with him for the dual opensides as they did with Warburton and Tipuric.

Wainwright has had a decent game too.

Hopefully that can spark this game into life a bit. The novelty of looking for intrigue in each sides systems and patterns has worn off now.

mountain man wrote:Like two bald men fighting over a comb this match. Grim.
Wales score a try but blimey it's gruesome so far.

Only thing that matters is the win!

And then he penalises England for Wales pushing before the ball was in at the scrum - losing it a bit ...

Yep and so far England losing. And if they play like this won't get out of group

mountain man wrote:Yep and so far England losing. And if they play like this won't get out of group

Will all be worth it if we win by 1 though.

Nice try by Wales - shame about the 2 officiating blunders before ...

Better than losing by 1 wouldn't you say?

mountain man wrote:Better than losing by 1 wouldn't you say?

Ever read Kipling?

Really good chance for Dan and Willis here. I wouldn't say eithers counterpart who started impressed much.

king_carlos wrote:Really good chance for Dan and Willis here. I wouldn't say eithers counterpart who started impressed much.

Dombrandt was heavily involved in both chances in the first half. Bar that.

Scrums gone to pot now as well. Seriously where is anyone's confidence in the team coming from? Or is it all down to how we could line up in the 6ns?

I think it's more the ref has lost the plot at the scrums now ...

Borthwick out

Thought we’d butchered that then!

Which can happen heaf. We've got nothing tp fall back on. Seriously this is Andy Robinson territory. Awful.

Wales are Poopie and we're making them look great