HairBearHero Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 Some thoughts after watching most of this weekend's games (couldn't find the Scotland one?): - England: Building very nicely for the World Cup. Have been (deservedly) beaten in this series but a lot of positives to take from it - losing a series by less than a sore vs the World Cup holders, in their back yard, is a pretty decent effort. More importantly, with every new set of internationals (i.e. summer, autumn, SIx Nations etc) England seem to have either fixed a problem or drastically improved an area. All they need now are a consistently-performing scrum half and for Lancaster to figure out who he likes best in the centres. Enviable depth in most positions, good/varied gameplans and are very, very close to being the full package. Worth a bet for the WC. - NZ: Back line predictably magnificent, tight 5 looking worryingly mediocre with no real replacements in sight either - how long can Woodcock keep going, Coles isn't up to Test rugby, Franks is average. Cruden's looking out of form, would prefer Barrett to start the final test. - Wales: Grim viewing as a Wales fan. Everything that England are, we're not - worryingly short of depth and seemingly no progress made since about 2010. Much as it hurts to say, Jones looks shot. Phillips is far too slow and inaccurate at SH and Liam Williams was just plain awful. Worse than this, though, is the fact that the players were quite clearly playing to the same gameplan as they have for the last few years despite it being repeatedly proven that it simply does not work against the SH sides. The only bright spot to the game was that the subs looked decent - Samson Lee and Gareth Davies in particular really stepped up and looked good. - SA: Ominous. Absolutely brutal running (helped by Wales' unbelievably passive defence) allied to creative wizardry from Le Roux and a supreme amount of direction from Du Preez. I'd give my right hand to have them in the Wales team. When they're in that sort of mood they're unstoppable. - France: Who knows. Handicapped by PSA dropping anybody who plays well, picking players out of position and continuing to pick Freddie bloody Michalak, a man so comically inept I doubt he'd get a start at my local cub. At least there was some pride (and defence) this week. Bastareaud and Picamoles need to be first names on the teamsheet. - Aus: Handicapped by their gameplan this week, which didn't play to Foley's strengths at all. Interesting to see them get a nudge on France at scrumtime on several occasions - Slipper had a very good game and looks to have benefited from the new rules. Not much to be taken from Ireland-Arg, as it was very scrappy and neither team were first choicers. Think the main purpose of the tour was to blood some youngsters and take a look at unfamiliar combinations, which they did. Ruddock stood out as a bit of a beast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ljkeane Posted June 17, 2014 Author Share Posted June 17, 2014 - NZ: Back line predictably magnificent, tight 5 looking worryingly mediocre with no real replacements in sight either - how long can Woodcock keep going, Coles isn't up to Test rugby, Franks is average. Cruden's looking out of form, would prefer Barrett to start the final test. I don't think the entire tight five's a concern. Hooker clearly is a problem but their second row with Whitelock and Retallick is pretty good, and young enough to get better. With the props, yeah, Franks isn't in the best form but I do think you have to take into account the new scrum laws making it more difficult for tightheads. There are a number of tightheads who have clearly had difficulty adapting and I think you have to give them a bit of time. On the other hand given that I do think Woodcock is a little bit of a worry at loosehead. I agree with you about Cruden and Barrett, it'd be good to see Barrett get a start. - Wales: Grim viewing as a Wales fan. Everything that England are, we're not - worryingly short of depth and seemingly no progress made since about 2010. Much as it hurts to say, Jones looks shot. Phillips is far too slow and inaccurate at SH and Liam Williams was just plain awful. Worse than this, though, is the fact that the players were quite clearly playing to the same gameplan as they have for the last few years despite it being repeatedly proven that it simply does not work against the SH sides. Yeah, I definitely agree with you that Wales need to be a bit less wedded to the pattern of play they've been using. They might have some depth issues but they still have some excellent players who can win them games. However they don't have the players win a game of fairly straight up gainline physicality against South Africa. They need be a bit less predicable in their pattern of play to have a chance against certainly South Africa and New Zealand, and, a bit worryingly for Wales with the World Cup coming up, probably England and Australia as well now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Anti-Targ Posted June 18, 2014 Share Posted June 18, 2014 When you consider our reserve test hooker is Uncle Kev, you know our hooker situation is problematic. He must have been the oldest guy on the park when he came out to play...including the ref, well not quite. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ithanos Posted June 18, 2014 Share Posted June 18, 2014 I'm impressed with this England touring squad and what Lancaster is able to produce from them. They could have (and should've) won the first test. In the second test if they'd held to the game plan they started the first 20mins with they could've had opportunity to keep the scroreboard ticking over without exhausting themselves. The minutes after the break were telling. There's nothing the ABs like more than having lattitude to open up the game. Under Lancaster I'm expecting England to be serious & legitimate contenders next year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ljkeane Posted June 20, 2014 Author Share Posted June 20, 2014 England won the Junior World Cup this morning. That's their second in a row, good signs for the future. They did scrape through a bit, winning it by a point and they were on the back foot for the last 20. South Africa were definitely the more powerful side and they dominated the lineout but given that great to see England finding a way to win. The sides have been announced for the New Zealand-England game tomorrow. For England Parling was in the side but drops out, honestly I'd be reasonably happy with any combination of the second rows though at this point, the rest of the side looks better balanced than last week. Read's back for the All Blacks so if he's ok that's a real step up for them. Good to see him back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LessThanLuke2 Posted June 20, 2014 Share Posted June 20, 2014 Looking forward to the 3rd test. Really enjoyed the first two tests and how England have brought it. Really good to see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ljkeane Posted June 21, 2014 Author Share Posted June 21, 2014 Shocking performance by England so far. New Zealand have been very good but England being dire has helped a lot, just a ridiculous number of basic errors. Pretty much only Ben Youngs can hold his head up and a number have guys have probably played themselves out of England contention, Eastmond in particular and Brown's really opened up 15 to competition. This has changed the tour from mildly to extremely disappointing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Marquis de Leech Posted June 21, 2014 Share Posted June 21, 2014 Never mind the All Blacks/England ... Wales/South Africa 17-0? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ljkeane Posted June 21, 2014 Author Share Posted June 21, 2014 Wow, that's another brutal finish for Wales against a Southern Hemisphere side. Presumably Walsh is correct about having to take the tackler out of the equation once they commit an act of foul play but Williams didn't need to just go with the shoulder, if he uses the arms he still probably makes the tackle. Having said that I do think Wales were a little fortunate to get the Ken Owens try. Still credit to Wales that was a massive improvement in pretty much all areas. Their physicality in defence was fantastic, Samson Lee was excellent coming in for Adam Jones and, although I still not his biggest fan, when Phillips offers a running threat and holds the fringe defenders Wales do look a lot better. They varied the point of attack a lot better this week as well, at least in the first half, in the second half they reverted to one out runners a bit too much. With Australia also looking very good today the pool with England, Wales and Australia in the World Cup next year is starting to look pretty tough again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Consigliere Posted June 21, 2014 Share Posted June 21, 2014 Phew. What a nailbiter. SA edge it 31-30 thanks to a penalty try in the dying minutes. Far too many mistakes by the Springboks but take nothing away from the Welsh; they were magnificent, particularly in the first half. Feel a little sorry for Wales. No matter how well they play they seem unable to get over line line against the Springboks. The 2011 WC game comes to mind.Didn't manage to catch the All Blacks v England game but the scoreline suggests a one-sided encounter. Disappointing from an England perspective given how well they played in the first two tests. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LessThanLuke2 Posted June 21, 2014 Share Posted June 21, 2014 Gutted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LessThanLuke2 Posted June 24, 2014 Share Posted June 24, 2014 Welsh centre Owen Williams has been seriously injured playing for Cardiff in pre seasonhttp://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport/rugby/rugby-news/owen-williams-injured-cardiff-blues-7309264His brother(a friend of mine) and parents have flown out to Singapore so waiting on news now. I think I sometimes forget how dangerous sport can be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ljkeane Posted June 24, 2014 Author Share Posted June 24, 2014 I had seen that but sorry to hear he's someone you know. Hopefully he's ok. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Marquis de Leech Posted June 25, 2014 Share Posted June 25, 2014 Richie McCaw has apparently broken a rib during the English series. At least he's got some time to recover before the next match. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Consigliere Posted June 29, 2014 Share Posted June 29, 2014 Scotland are not the sternest of opponents but that was easier than I had expected. A resounding victory for the Boks, running in eight tries to nil. Great effort by the youngsters and some old guns regaining great form. Handre Pollard was outstanding on debut and Boshoff did very well when he came on. Schalk and Bismarck both had very good games. Serfontein's hands let him down a few times but his phenomenal tackling and great bumps made his game very successful. Willie, Mvovo, De Jager and Coetzee all had great games. The only concern is the ankle injury picked up by Fourie du Preez. The extent of the injury is not yet clear but hopefully he will be fit for the Rugby Championship. His control of the game is crucial for us. New Zealand are still the acid test but hopefully we can give them a run for their money this time around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ljkeane Posted June 29, 2014 Author Share Posted June 29, 2014 It was in large part a reserve Scotland side so while the Springboks weren't completely full strength either it's not much of a surprise Scotland got hammered. I'm not sure how much of a purpose it really served for either side to play the game, easing Pollard into international rugby I suppose was fairly useful for South Africa. Du Preez being injured would be a blow for South Africa, he clearly does make a massive difference to them, but he misses half the Rugby Championship with his club commitments in Japan anyway doesn't he? Given that losing him is probably less of a blow than it otherwise would be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Consigliere Posted June 29, 2014 Share Posted June 29, 2014 I confess, I don't know much about Scottish rugby so I was not really able to judge the relative strengths and weaknesses of the players beforehand. So while I fully expected the Boks to win, I didn't expect the match to be this one-sided. On du Preez, Meyer has said that he will be more readily available for this years tournament. Our first three games are two matches v Argentina and one v Australia. It would not be a big blow if he misses the first half of the championship as compared to missing the second half, which comprises of two games against the All Blacks and one v Australia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
williamjm Posted June 29, 2014 Share Posted June 29, 2014 I confess, I don't know much about Scottish rugby so I was not really able to judge the relative strengths and weaknesses of the players beforehand. So while I fully expected the Boks to win, I didn't expect the match to be this one-sided. Apparently the Scottish number 8 had never started a professional rugby game before, short of playing the All Blacks I can't imagnie many harder ways to make your professional debut than a Test in South Africa. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Consigliere Posted July 1, 2014 Share Posted July 1, 2014 Bad news for Springbok fans. Fourie du Preez will miss the Rugby Championship due to an ankle injury. Could be out for at least three months. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Consigliere Posted July 3, 2014 Share Posted July 3, 2014 Du Preez injury worse than initially thought. He has undergone surgery and will be out for six months meaning he will miss our November tour of Ireland, England, Italy and Wales as well. This leaves a big hole at scrum-half as there is quite a gulf between Du Preez and his understudies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.