Scotland vs England | The Calcutta Cup

jimbopip wrote:England to grind out an ugly win.




Assuming no injuries, the team pretty much picks itself;

Schooey-Turner-Ragnar
GG-Cummings
Fagerson-Dempsey-Darge
White
Dancer
Huipulotu
DVDM-Blarehorn-RoweSeaman

Bench; Hepburn-Ashman-Mick The Miller, Principal, Christie,Crosbie, Hornito, Lord Stafford Of McDowall

mountain man wrote:BBC report says Steward fit to play so Furbank in is tactical.

Assume Daly to 15 then if Furbank goes off.

bsando wrote:Is Cole England’s best tighthead? And what has Bhatti done wrong since the World Cup? Saying that, Schoe and Fagerson are consistently playing 60+ mins most games. Hepburn looks like he has potential but feels weird that he’s walked into the side ahead of a seasoned international. 

Not too bothered with Ritchie starting, his opposite number is probably my favourite England player, so I’m relishing that battle. On Underhill, his cameo off the bench in 2018 resulted in a yellow card and then the loss. I have a feeling he may show up in a big way on Saturday.

mountain man wrote:Well we can't complain about Borthwick being too conservative etc then moan when he does something unexpected I suppose.
Furbank in will or should help attack.

I hope subs get on with a chance to do something. No 5 mins cameos when game done. Unless England are 20 points up....

No 7&1/2 wrote:

mountain man wrote:Well we can't complain about Borthwick being too conservative etc then moan when he does something unexpected I suppose.
Furbank in will or should help attack.

I hope subs get on with a chance to do something. No 5 mins cameos when game done. Unless England are 20 points up....

I can moan about the tactics tbf until he's not as risk averse. He continues down the same path and it's just wasting development time of a set of exciting players.

mountain man wrote:

No 7&1/2 wrote:

mountain man wrote:Well we can't complain about Borthwick being too conservative etc then moan when he does something unexpected I suppose.
Furbank in will or should help attack.

I hope subs get on with a chance to do something. No 5 mins cameos when game done. Unless England are 20 points up....

I can moan about the tactics tbf until he's not as risk averse. He continues down the same path and it's just wasting development time of a set of exciting players.

Well Furbank at 15 hints to me there will be a change. I guess we'll see on Saturday.

Also how oppositIon play will also affect what tactics a team adopts. Key is for a team to adapt during a game, something England are very poor at!

No 7&1/2 wrote:Not sure he has any starts there. Hadn't by 21st Jan anyway in the prem.

No 7&1/2 wrote:

mountain man wrote:

No 7&1/2 wrote:

mountain man wrote:Well we can't complain about Borthwick being too conservative etc then moan when he does something unexpected I suppose.
Furbank in will or should help attack.

I hope subs get on with a chance to do something. No 5 mins cameos when game done. Unless England are 20 points up....

I can moan about the tactics tbf until he's not as risk averse. He continues down the same path and it's just wasting development time of a set of exciting players.

Well Furbank at 15 hints to me there will be a change. I guess we'll see on Saturday.

Also how oppositIon play will also affect what tactics a team adopts. Key is for a team to adapt during a game, something England are very poor at!

Will love it if we do. Bored senseless from this team since 2020.

formerly known as Sam wrote:

No 7&1/2 wrote:Not sure he has any starts there. Hadn't by 21st Jan anyway in the prem.

Played for Bath at 12 on the 21st Vs Toulouse as you sort suggest. Played twice there for England in the summer Vs Chile and Wales.

Not sure it's his best position but we'll see how they utilise him.

Furbank in is an interesting call, hopefully it means he's going to stand at first receiver instead of Slade who's been a bit meh in that department. Could also suggest we are looking to play a little wider (not massive just one pass for the forwards) and try to work those Scottish tight five forwards hard. The bench isn't as good as the starting options.

WELL-PAST-IT wrote:Not what I was expecting, what is the reason for swapping the starting props and bench props?

doctor_grey wrote:I'm not really worried about Furbank defensively.  He is generally good and pretty gutty fielding kicks.  Freeman is there on the wing and, at 6' 4" and having a lot of fullback experience will cover just fine (if Furbank was not on Saints, Freeman would play there more).  Even Daly can help a little bit from the other wing.  

The question, as ever with England over the past 3-4 years, is whether this can jump start the offense.  Frankly, there is no way to know until Saturday.  If the game plan does not change to enable a playmaker from 15, then we could play a cloned Jason Robinson back there and it won't mean a thing.  

And, yes, the time to try this already passed, ffs.

More concerning for me is the bench with quite limited flexibility for the back line in case of injury.  And, really no flexibility at all (or purpose) if the game stays close and Fin and IFW don't have a decent run.   And to me Spencer is just benefiting from having Russell as his stand off.  

Yoda wrote:

doctor_grey wrote:I'm not really worried about Furbank defensively.  He is generally good and pretty gutty fielding kicks.  Freeman is there on the wing and, at 6' 4" and having a lot of fullback experience will cover just fine (if Furbank was not on Saints, Freeman would play there more).  Even Daly can help a little bit from the other wing.  

The question, as ever with England over the past 3-4 years, is whether this can jump start the offense.  Frankly, there is no way to know until Saturday.  If the game plan does not change to enable a playmaker from 15, then we could play a cloned Jason Robinson back there and it won't mean a thing.  

And, yes, the time to try this already passed, ffs.

More concerning for me is the bench with quite limited flexibility for the back line in case of injury.  And, really no flexibility at all (or purpose) if the game stays close and Fin and IFW don't have a decent run.   And to me Spencer is just benefiting from having Russell as his stand off.  

There are options to rearrange the back line. Freeman can play 13 and fullback. Lawrence can play 12, 13 and has played on the wing for England during a match ( pretty sure he has) and Daly can play and has played 13 and 15 too.

RDW wrote:Underwhelmed with the Scotland bench again, which has been a real weak spot for us.

mountain man wrote:Well Fin Smith on bench so that could be masterplan in second half. Get the "All Saints" singing from same hymn sheet.

Mcsweens wrote:

mountain man wrote:Well Fin Smith on bench so that could be masterplan in second half. Get the "All Saints" singing from same hymn sheet.

You think? Let's just say their club colours aren't the only origins Fin and Fraser have in common. I take it you've never seen The Manchurian Candidate?
Wait til the pipes start up. You'll see how deep the conspiracy goes. That's all I'm able to say. I've already said too much.

Mcsweens wrote:

mountain man wrote:Well Fin Smith on bench so that could be masterplan in second half. Get the "All Saints" singing from same hymn sheet.

You think? Let's just say their club colours aren't the only origins Fin and Fraser have in common. I take it you've never seen The Manchurian Candidate?
Wait til the pipes start up. That's all I'm able to say. I've already said too much.

mountain man wrote:England cannot rely on beating Scotland just by use of subs though, that's a dangerous game. The game could be done by time they get on! Think most of us want to see more intent from England, I reckon saw more in first 20mins against Italy than have for some time. Obviously Wales game was hampered somewhat by playing with 13 for a time but I really want to see England play to win not play to not lose.
It has to be a balanced approach and I'm certain that'll be case under Borthwick, at least it definitely won't be all out guns blazing attack but selection of Furbank hints at something a bit more.
I assume Scottish concern of bench is forwards not backs but I want to see England backs get time off bench as well.
Usual caveats apply to all this as a card or key injury could throw everything out.