Rugby Union 2024

[alf git]

Ah well. Better watch than the football i dare say.

[Tenbury]

Jesus this has been painful viewing. At least Borthwick didn’t hook smith.

As good as,though.
That's twice in a row Borthwick (whom up to now I've always rated) has handed the opponents the initiative in the last quarter( even against the Aussies which,IMO, was just a 'bad day at the office' which England should still have won)......If he doesn't rate/trust Smith,which, IMO, is insane, then don't f*cking pick him.

[dasnutnock3]

As good as,though.
That's twice in a row Borthwick (whom up to now I've always rated) has handed the opponents the initiative in the last quarter( even against the Aussies which,IMO, was just a 'bad day at the office' which England should still have won)......If he doesn't rate/trust Smith,which, IMO, is insane, then don't f*cking pick him.

Don't think I'd realised initially that he'd moved Smith to 15. He's a very odd bloke, Borthwick. The only time I thought he did much good as England manager was losing in a tight semifinal to the saffers, and I'd still argue that we were doing just fine in the scrums until he replaced the props, at which point our resistance collapsed and they got their winning penalty.

He's clearly a yes man for Bill Sweeney, and he won't be replaced until Sweeney's position is really under serious threat.

[alf git]

Shoulder contact to head. Flying in at the clear out. Not sure why that Welsh yellow hasn't been upgraded.

[alf git]

And the Fiji yellow is upgraded.

[alf git]

At least we're not Wales. 10 losses on the spin now.

[alf git]

Saffers getting a crap performance out of the system before they face England.
If they'd have had a scrum half who could pick the ball up without knocking it on Scotland would have had a proper gubbing.

[westhamgardner]

4 out of 4 for the Southern Hemisphere....

It's only one game but it felt like it really could be a turning point for Ireland's dominance. NZ had an easier time of it at the Aviva than they did the prior week at Twickenham (sorry Allianz) and despite all the hype around the game it felt pretty comfortable in the end.

England have a real problem. The Aussies were good through the hands and Angus Bell was incredible but we should never be losing to that side at home. Lots of soul searching going on this week before the Boks come to town however it felt like our rush defence isn't in sync and leaving acres of space to be exploited. The attack looked a little better but missing 36 tackles and losing 20 turnovers just isn't good enough. Felix Jones must be laughing his head off from his home office. The worst part is even if the RFU wanted to do something about Borthwick (who now has a win rate of a measly 50%) they couldn't afford to.

I suppose it could be worse, we could be Wales

[alf git]

I believe the saffers have made twelve changes from last week.
Fifth straight defeat looming i fear.

ETA
Good to see Steward back in the side.

[alf git]

That's quite brilliant from Smith. 7-0.

[dasnutnock3]

Delighted to see Underhill back. England’s best forward by miles IMO.

[alf git]

17-19 HT
Closer than i thought it would be tbf.

[dasnutnock3]

17-19 HT
Closer than i thought it would be tbf.

You’d imagine their replacements will see them over the line, but at least we’ve kept it competitive so far.

[dasnutnock3]

Too many scrum and lineout pens.

[dasnutnock3]

Itoje, you pillock.

[alf git]

I think the officials are having a bit of a mare here.

[Gaz]

I think the officials are having a bit of a mare here.

They've missed some pretty obvious things in my mind

[alf git]

If we can't beat 14..........

[dasnutnock3]

Seem to be making some questionable decisions this half.

[dasnutnock3]

Had plenty of chances, didn’t take them.