Rate the match between England and Scotland at Twickenham, and leave your thoughts on the game in the comments section below.
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Rate the match: England vs Scotland, Six Nations 2015
Rate the match between England and Scotland at Twickenham, and leave your thoughts on the game
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60 replies on “Rate the match: England vs Scotland, Six Nations 2015”
Ergh. So many wasted chances. But you can only beat what is in front of you, and as that was Scotland and as we must respect them highly, we must be pleased. Actually no, that was just so frustrating as the same old problems keep reappearing.. we cannot finish chances with basic skill. Same as NZ tour, same as autumn, same now.
On the bright side we created a lot of chances, if only we could finish them !!!!
Basic skills! Try to pass to a supporting player before going into contact – that would be a good example for younger players. I think the ref got tired of shouting use it …..
It is beyond me how professional players earning several hundred thousand £ can’t ensure they pass the ball backwards.And as Harald says so many players die with the ball instead of passing out of the tackle-provided there are supporting players.Gym monkees with inadequate ball skills.We are still far from the southern hemi.I feel flat and dicouraged
Some good individual performances but as an overall it was frustrating. Scots did very well in defence but we need to be so much more clinical.
Positives: nowell and Watson look the real deal out wide, they may have butchered a 2 on 1 each but that can be put down to youth and the exuberance of wingers. Lawes was immense. Billy v is so hard to stop and a monster in the tackle. Ford is dictating attack well. jj showed some good distribution, was solid in defence and continued his dangerous running. The number of line breaks.
Negatives: defence looked shaky at times, too narrow, which the Scots exploited well. Ford’s place kicking. Obviously the lack of finishing. Penalty count again. Decision making after the first break. Burrell not doing enough.
Credit to Scotland they did well to recover and wrestle control back.
It’s still a young, low cap count side…..isn’t it? Loved the attacking oppurtunities created. Yes we missed the finishing off but we still won by a bigger margin than any of the preceding games against the Scots…. The negatives, well passing backwards and looking for support would be nice, come on lads remember touch when you were about 8, well it ain’t changed…..Worried about Marler, thank god Walsh wasn’t reffing, Burrell was too slow about the place, and what was the point of 3 mins of Cips?, may as well have have in the centre for 15….all in all ….A WIN…..in the Calcutta, always welcome always good, but need a spark/ talisman/Johnson/carling…..you know what I mean…..
Such a frustrating match. Have to say that this team really resembles the set up. Out of its depth.
Suspect Ireland and Wales will garner good points difference next week to make the French match a dead rubber. Although saying that this french team is appalling!
Once again we agree Benjit.Thirty points went awol because of poor execution. Frustrating is putting it mildly. It’s really weird to watch England win a game and go to the top of the table but still be thinking “is that It?” A`win by default in essence. Can we not just sign a massive petition and oust SL once and for all? I’m so sick and tired of feeling like this about everything to do with the whole cosy ,complacent,smug set up.Did you see the smirk on Lancasters stupid face when he was interviewed after the game? What a T—-r! Six year contract? oh my God!
We should definitely get rid of Lancaster. I mean what’s he done really? He inherited a team that was a laughing stock at the RWC ’11 and has made them competitive, giving a host of exciting young players experience of top level rugby in the process. He’s basically cleared up all the collective mess left behind by Robinson, Ashton and Johnson. Oh and he’s overseen an England win over New Zealand.
But apart from that, what has he done?
You sir, are a dick.
He inherited the reigning 6 nations champions, who had been Austrailia home and away and included players such as Corbiserio, Hartley, Cole, Lawes, Wood, Ben Youngs, Toby Flood, Manu Tuilagi, Ashton and Foden.
Hardly a hospital pass.
Get back to your hobby of throwing stones in glass houses and spare us from your insulting and flawed analysis.
Lancs took a program mired in last century style and has tried to bring it up to date. It was not until Lancs came along that I started to look forward to an England game and support them with some pride. So, I say he deserves a chance through WC. I don’t understand such a long contract. Look around, where is the next Gatland to replace SL? I have my opinions but they too come from Southern Hemisphere.
And you are a part time rugby “enthusiast”Sir!
Woodward set the benchmark for any and all subsequent England coaches. Compared to Sir Clive he’s a rank amateur but as I said on here a week ago that seems to be just fine for England “fans” such as yourself.
Oh and keep the naughty words for your playground peer group!
Well, I think that this might deaden any hope of a RWC win this year. Promise, but inconsistent and woefully unclinical if that is even a word? Defence was not up to scratch when Scotland started shifting it quickly, which was partly a reflection on our work at the breakdown, and as for the kick chase – are we ever going to challenge for a ball in the air again? It actually seems to be a policy not to – why?
Still a 12 point win is good, and some decent individual performances from Lawes, Billy V, Ben Youngs, Ford, JJ and Nowell. Can’t see how Burrell can stay after this performance. He made 12T look consistent. V poor game. We probably now have a settled backline apart from 12. Does he try Slade against France? Back to 12T who isn’t as bad as many make out, or does it matter as is SL waiting for Tuilagi? Anyway thank you Wales for giving us a chance.
So frustrating. 14 points left out there because of the support runner over egging it, and other opportunities missed. Was especially gutted for Brown’s non-try because it was a great finish.
The first twenty minutes we looked like we were going to absolutely run away with it, but we couldn’t quite finish, then Scotland started playing.
Positive: Nowell looked great. He might not be the quickest, but now he’s stepping off both feet he seems to always make ground, and bar a couple of lapses, which could be expected for a young guy, his decision making is good. Really excited to see how he develops.
On another note, I really like our back row and it does have balance. We know it’s deficiencies, but I feel like they’ve been exposed more recently than normal, and I will put it down to us missing Joe Launchbury. We always seem more comfortable at the breakdown when he’s about.
Most here got it right. So many lacked basic skills. Horrible. Nowell and Burrell in particular need to go back to class. They were horrible. T Youngs pass after his great break showed he, too, lacked basic passing skills but lets be fair, forwards in Europe are not expected to do anything other than find a man to run into and grunt. England should have won by 30 but they lacked the skills to speed up the game against a very average Scotland side which is actually punching way above its weight thanks to Cotter.
Nowell – could you explain. Generally thought most of what he did was very good. Agree about precise passing, but also can you explain what other basic skills were lacking. Can’t understand what you are referring to.
Was it one or two breaks with men outside he butchered? He will get plaudits for the final try but by my eyes, which were well oiled after the Wales match, he should have have had a brace by then?
Nowell wasn’t perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but he was definitely not horrible as was stated above. Burrell was horrible though. No way he can stay in the team after this and other performances.
As Brighty said he did butcher a few opportunities, which is really strange as his awareness of support is a key strength of his when playing for Exeter. Am beginning to think the England coaches are reeking them to ignore their support!
Is it just that when one team is poor the other team will also be? Conversely when you play a great team you need to raise your game? Is that why Ireland Wales was so good but this match was so poor? Lots of frenetic activity but little skill or sense. Lower level rugby. Both teams are capable of better. 4
Brighty, disagree to an extent. There were some real moments of skill on display, particularly in an attacking sense by both teams. Doesn’t excuse the missed opportunities, which is probably where your sense comment is fair. NZ would have racked up 50-60 points on Scotland. That we didn’t was poor, but some of the build up play was excellent. It certainly wasn’t the intensity of Wales England Ireland when they have played each other, just a different type of game.
OK Nowell makes a nice break which, lets be fair, all wingers should have the pace to do, but then with players on each shoulder all he could do was fall over into the arms of the solitary defender. Just watch him here and you’ll see hes clueless. Ball under arm not even ready to make a pass. Did he even look for support? This is basic stuff. This should be simple instinct. If the kids I coach who have only been playing a couple of years made these mistakes they would be dropped.
You would “drop” young players???
I knew people were going to say Nowell had a good game!
It isn’t the fact that he can’t pass, it is the fact that everytime he broke the line he lost the ball next phase whether through knock on or turn over. If youre going to do that you may as well just not bother breaking the line.
I am not saying he should be dropped we all have bad games handling but I am saying he should definitely not be told he had a good game.
The other real issue I see is that if we drop Burrell because he loves to butcher 2 on 1’s so much it hurts then we play 36. Because that is how Lancaster sees it. I am telling you, if eastmond was playing yesterday we would have won by more, he would never have let the first chance go for starters!
Agreed. And, he quite obviously does not have test wing pace…what are they thinking?
I wasnt too disappointed because for one this is a better Scottish side than last year which defended well ,particularly Hogg and Seymour.Yes England did waste chances but stye also created them so that suggest a little more accuracy ,communication, composure and an awareness where colleagues so they can the right pass at the right time.They need to keep working on this aspects without making unnecessary changes, in fact i would only look to make one -Burrell.I don t feel he is up to standards so i hope Barritt gets over his injury soon
Clueless player selection, naive tactical planning, witless lack of game-intelligence, consistently wrong decision-making. Someone show me evidence we’ve progressed under Lancaster? How does regularly losing to New Zealand and South Africa at home and flopping in key 6 nations matches earn a new contract? This is as dismal an outlook for English rugby as there’s been. It’s crying out for intelligence, leadership, inspiration, creativity, ambition, all of which this set-up prefers to ignore. World Cup? Delusional. Offloading my tickets tomorrow.
Let’s have someone English with a track record of delivering ambitious, fluent, defensively sound, intelligent, successful rugby to get us interested again. Mike Ford, please.
Stu. 6 yr contract for SL? Crazy. How do these things happen? We need a stewards inquiry. Yes Its true if we judge SL by simple metrics it would seem we are worse off. But lets remember the appalling coaches we had before him. There was no chance they could bring us into modern day rugby style of play. SL at least started to play a bit more expansively. English club rugby is beginning to open up a bit as well. Maybe in 5 yrs we will have players with the same skills as Southern Hemisphere players have today. I know, I’m a dreamer!
Any news on where Dan Coles is to be cited over his cheap shot(punch) in the 45/46 minute on a Scot player on the ground?
Not Cole. Marler
Interesting comment Gary, what is it that SL has done to earn a 6 year contract? Don’t get me wrong I’m not a massive fan but also don’t think he is terrible – just, as an average bloke, don’t see that he has done something special to earn immunity through a RWC year. I will give him credit for team building and media work but the basic measure of a coach is team evolution and results and this is where I question his tenure.
We have not gone up in world rankings or made any obvious improvements in tactical or technical ability. The success stories in personnel could be argued, in many cases, to be unavoidable through injury or opinion. The coaching staff selection may well be deemed uneducated or egotistical, indeed a far larger amount of questions remain unanswered than not through his time.
I know SL has his fans as well as detractors but the fact remains – England are no better off than they were when he took over and that is the deciding and damning fact.
Shocked by all the Nowell bashing here. Poor guy makes clean breaks galore, high ball takes, scores the game clinching try. “He’s awful, bin him, no pace, useless, hopeless, he’ll never be good enough.” Ridiculous. Sure he made mistakes, some glaring but there nothing that can’t be rectified. Give him a break. It’s a strangely rare opinion, but I think he’s the real deal.
Conor. You probably don’t play. Nowell should not be playing at this level because he does not have all the skills. He fell over when he had 2 players either side in support because his brain did not know what to do. Any and all professionals should have known instinctively what to do. That one run is enough to know he will cause England to miss opportunities again. At this level opportunities are few are far between so you need the absolute best. There should be no excuses for forwards not being able to pass properly as a professional. Heck they get a full 40 hrs a week with no interruptions to devote to learning higher skills.
Peter. Let’s start with you being derogatory to Conor. Give it a break. For all you know he could be Conor O’Shea so leave the personal stuff alone. Next, I’m a Johnny May fan, not a Nowell fan, so cards on the table. I also played wing if you really want to know too. Not very well, and not for long enough, but I did play there. Yes Nowell made a mess of some things, but he also caused the defence problems – that’s what I want a wing to do, hence why I like JM. Pure pace is a great weapon in his case. Nowell can improve. He’s young and will learn. Yesterday he did some good things and some not so good things but he wasn’t horrible as you have said. If you want to pick on someone, have a go at Burrell.
Having said that, I do agree that we shouldn’t be butchering these chances. Don’t know whether it is coaching at England or AP level, but can’t think that it is as even my son’s coach would pull his hair out with those butchered chances. Therefore the issue is likely to be the speed of the game causing players to make mistakes, mental and physical. As the players get more experience the game will slow down for them. Nowell is a novice at this level. Knee jerk reactions and chopping and changing between players too quickly will mess up development. It is a real danger with the number of players that we have to choose from. This is why I am defending SL for now and will do so until after the RWC. He has earned the right to be judged on that tournament. If we make a mess of it then it’s probably time.
As a matter of interest, how many of us here thought we would be in with a chance of the 6N with one game to play having played Ireland and Wales away. I didn’t! So SL is doing something right.
Staggy. Don’t be such a silly Billy. I try to state a case very briefly given the forum, and not write a novel. Surely you aren’t so shallow minded to believe only people who have played, can, or would, offer an opinion. I could have started off by saying…”Now please don’t take offence” I prefer to believe there are as many spectators who love this game who have never picked up a ball. If there weren’t it will take us a century to get rugby on TV here in US. The point I make therefore is that when one has played for a reasonable period one can watch a player’s body language and know if he/she even knows what to do. Speed of game as one goes higher is a factor, but every player needs to be able to carry out certain ‘functions/actions’ correctly and instinctively. Sticking ball under arm is bad in the majority of scenarios. I too, am a fan of May. But he was also dropped because it became obvious he too only seemed to be able to bring pure speed to the party. Speed alone is the absolute minimum we require of a winger at any level. And actually some of us always expect a country with 12 or 14 pro teams to beat a country with 4 or 2. The fact that we don’t is a disgrace. Oh, just my opinion…please don’t take anything I say personally. I promise not to get upset if you choose to disagree with facts.
Ok let’s look at this objectively – if anyone disagrees with your view of the world, you start by name calling because you think that’s big and bold. Congratulations, aren’t you wonderful!
Staggy
You seem as objective as Jacob seems to find me. Ah well, can’t please all the people…
Peter
Sure you’re not a Kiwi!?
Can’ understand this Nowell fan club either. We actually agree Brighty (for once)!
If you carry the ball under one arm in international rugby especially as a back you need to revert to playing for an under 11’s/colts team. Rule #1 in rugby is ‘two hands’. As basic as having two feet static for a throw in in footy. Was it one or two try scoring offloads/assists that he butchered? He needs to change his style NOW otherwise in the pool stages of the World Cup it might be embarrassing! For the record I’m not a Nowell fan (which is not the same as saying I can’t be persuaded once he’s learnt to carry the ball properly!!!)
Alan
‘Life of Brian’ team would likely agree with you, but England are back to where they were Lancs came in, i.e., ranked 4th. Lost 6 in a row v the SH. I don’t make these things up. They’re facts & bottom line. You’re putting too much of an opinionated spin on things, so Top Cat may not be such a dick… sir.
You do love these facts (which they are) – but you do put your own spin on them!
6 in a row vs SH (which you constantly peddle out) – let’s remind us that is was 5 in a row vs NZ. Three of which were away. That’s arguable the best rugby union side to ever play the game. Is there a side in world rugby right now that would get more than that? They’ve lost twice since the last WC, both away, once of which to this was to this disastrous SL regime.
Simply put – losing to this team NZ is no disgrace.
Rankings are so irrelevant I still can’t work out why they’re brought up.
Workman like. Got the ‘W’, but Lancs complained of missed ops. Begs the ? as to why there aren’t support runners ‘expecting’ to, er, ‘support’ the breaks. Do they not practise these (& other) scenarios beforehand?
Workman like sums it all up really.Apart from Ford and JJ who provides the stardust. Watson is a rising star but you look at how the team huff and puff and you have to question what the hell goes on at Bagshot.
Sharpey makes some very thought provoking comments here. Have this bunch plateaued?that is bloody worrying in a world cup year. Look at Hartley. It seems that trying to curb his impetuosity has taken away fifty percent of his game. He’s so quiet in the loose now that you forget he’s out there. Now is that solely down to him or is it the way he is being led?
I listen to per and post match comments from the players and staff and sometimes it’s almost Orwellian.So stage managed and PR driven. That has to be reflected in the manner of play and to a certain extent it is. Inconsistency is another massive problem. Against Ireland ,wales and Italy it as starting too slowly. So that gets special attention for a week .That improves but a wheel comes off some where else. All round competence just is not there. At this level it HAS to be. The All Blacks don’t always play well and sometimes they get things wrong but you know that from 1-15 they are all comfortable in their skin and competent at their job on a very consistent basis. That is why they are light years ahead. Not because they always play like the Harlem Globetrotters but because the nuts and bolts are always where they should be and doing what they ought to be.
As to ‘what the hell goes on at Bagshot’, I read that they walk around Lake Virginia.
I know some regd me as anti anti English, but it frustrates as a rugby enthusiast when I see obvious errors, inappropriate pivotal selections, pedestrian back play, dithering mindsets reacting too late or incorrectly in play, limited, negative pre game & on on field tactics/strategy. Is it that SL is the Peter Moores of rugby? Plays by numbers. Ok, up to a point.
Plateauing? Well, it may be an apt description. Has SL taken this team as far as he can?
IMO England should be a honed, smooth machine by now under SL. Can’t help but wonder how different things might have been if Schmidt had become their coach instead of Ireland’s.
On the other hand, SL can still win the 6N!
Jacob
Yikes! Were you waiting behind me to pounce?
It’s just that the other geezer was trotting out this ol’ stuff, blaming it all on Johhno routine – again. To me J was much scapegoated whereas 1 win v Fr would likely have engendered a diff take on that WC for England.
And IMO, it’s Lanc’s record, little diff from that of you know who, which ought to concern England fans.
I was attempting to inject some objective balance in response to this particular blog.
You were attempting to inject some objective balance?Struggling to believe that one.
Do agree that the Johnson regime isn’t as bad as remembered, but it was much worse than our current situation.
jacob
Johnno’s & Lanc’s records are almost identical. What’s not objective about that? Is this of NO concern to you whatsoever… with a WC looming? And this after the Alan geezer implied that Lanc’s is the best thing (well nearly) since sliced bread!?
With their duplicated records, how can Johnno be the architect of a ‘shambles’, but not Lancaster? The ‘s’ word is surely inappropriate in both instances.
Johno had a very good record; but he smeared it with two things.
1) failing to bring through much young talent
2) absolutely bottling it when it mattered most i.e. dropped Flood/Hartley for Thompson/Wilko after one loss to Ireland
SL isn’t perfect, but he has done a good job of bringing through new/young players and has also (whether we like it or not) stuck to his guns.
England are stalling because they have plateauxed. If this bunch of players ( who have beaten NZ) are not reenergised we will not get out the group at the RWC. The nucleus of this squad has been around for 3 Years. Either they are past their sell by date and need to be replaced or they still have it and need to be coached better, either way you have to look at the management . They must move the players on, or coach/motivate better performances.
I think these players are better than their displays, so they are not being motivated or coached effectively. Contrast the England team that went into 2003 RWC; they looked like they could beat anybody, anytime.
I oddly agree; but I think both are the issue; England is a team of individual’s in my eyes; the Welsh & Irish seem less like individuals and more like team efforts. Not sure which commentator said it but given the smaller pool of players; they tend to play alot more together and build that team connection much deeper than bigger countries such as England. I think the best option for England would be to remove the ego’s; example Mike Brown is a great individual; but I don’t rate him as a good team player.
Re Brown. I think that may have been the case once, but not now. A number of the England players came out and said how much they missed Brown’s organisation for the Ireland match. He is now a team player. I don’t reckon there is the problem with egos that there once was in the England team. That is one thing that SL has done very well.
Agree that the key is to ‘coach/motivate better performances’. Also reading a game better & deciding how to alter it BEFORE it’s to late might help – as with the breakdown V Ireland e.g.
Clearing out the old, putting pride back in the RR & using phrases like ‘being back on track’ & ‘it’s close margins in a tight game’ etc are of little comfort after 3+ years.
IMO they need to play with the same intent as they did v Scotland against anyone, but with better execution & skills.
SL can’t take all the blame. Sure there are some players he seems to have passed over such as Wade. Our club game has only just started to open up. The speed is slowly picking up. The tactics are getting closer to super rugby. Some of our pitches shouldn’t be played on by kids let alone pros. I’ll bet many of our pitches are not marked out to the maximum dimensions as are Super rugby. All these small issues do not help us catch up to a style in Southern hemisphere, particularly ABs, which is constantly changing and getting even faster. Some of the young kids in their 2nd or 3rd year of S15 are amazing. They are making the old guard look almost pedestrian. There needs to be some major changes to our game if we are ever to overtake ABs.
No, Lancs isn’t in control of the game’s structure with its competing factions or the 12 prem teams he picks from (with their differing playing styles; too many?), However, compared with J. Schmidt’s record, his teams fall short (until last week anyway). Why? The buck has to stop somewhere as he’ll possibly find out post WC, unless England progress to the semis, maybe 1/4ers @ least.
You mention the ABs & a SH style. So if that’s working, why not emulate it, only do it better. It’s not quite like Wetherspoons, or Lidl or Primark in retail, but none reinvented the wheel, they just do their bizzo better than the comp. Likewise, SL has to get his team playing rugby, better. How’s he do this? Well, probably with gr8 difficulty as, IMO, it would take a mind set change. I’ve said this before, but it’s a cultural difference; the mind set thing.
England seem to overly stress ‘D’ & the set piece, but these aren’t the real issues. The issues are a lack of skills; for instance in timing of & running lines, passing accuracy & timing – (too soon, too late, not enough to hand), lack of awareness of option taking when in possession (esp when out of position), offloading in, or just before, the tackle & so on. These all apply to front & 2nd rows too these days.
It’s been well documented by Uncle Tom Cobley an’ all, about England’s butchering of a handful of ops v Scotland after making initial breakthroughs; of how the back row were cleaned out by Ireland. These are 2 e.g.’s of areas of responsibility which, if they’re not down to SL’s coaching or fixing something that’s not working in a match, then I don’t know who they are down to.
Within the aforementioned limitations, England still ought to do better, esp with their resources (if someone falls over, slot in another). The style of rugby & skills are down to Lancaster, within his control. To my mind these are also currently the most important aspects of the game of rugby, so I still see the buck (mostly) with him.
As an alternative, England could go for SH coach, as per the other home nations, not least for the important reason of bringing a fresh approach to how they play. It needn’t be a long term solution, but it could likely improve the mind set (& therefore rugby results) in the medium term, however.
Agree 90% Don. We know Kiwis have the answer. Their style, skills, whatever one wants to call it, gets results. One can’t say its because NZ has better, or more, resources. 60 million population vs 4.5 million etc. Ever since the game went pro they have taken the game in a different direction. We’ve been so condescending and called it basketball rugby. Or, it looks good because they can’t tackle. Instead we’ve been saddled with a style at club and international level which is mired in the last century. Every now and again we have some success and this causes us not to change. Meanwhile Southern hemisphere rugby has been getting faster and faster with an emphasis on expansive game with offloads in, and during, the tackle. It hasn’t happened overnight. I don’t blame SL for our skill and style deficiencies. Its not Nowells fault he stuck the ball under his arm when the emphasis, as you say, is D and being conservative, which means taking the tackle. He fell over before the tackle because he could not compute fast enough. He knew he had support but nothing came instinctively because of the way he is being asked to play at club level week in week out. Northern Hemisphere rugby has choices to make. Like clothes, we could wait and hope our style comes back into fashion again. We can’t force clubs to change their style. Its good enough for Northern Hemisphere. We only get embarrassed when playing Southern Hemisphere at international level and then its the fault of the coach. The answer is out there…it always is, if we really want to win at International level as often as ABs. Thats a novel for another day.
I’ve said it before on here. SL needs to play Christian Wade. Don’t see Wade butchering that many chances either in the ‘finishing department’ or the ‘try assist’ one that would involve passing the ball on at the critical moment.
Have him on the bench at least against France for pity’s sake. He would be England’s answer to Wales’s great Shane Williams. Just watch the Christian Wade Best Moments on You tube. Stunning!
Alex
Agree (& previously) about Wade. Carves up with electric acceleration & pace to spare, but would he get (don’t see Lancaster picking him unless it’s v Iceland) any ball in the must win game v France? If he’s ever trusted (just ask Cipriani, who must have had to have put his boots back on with his 3 minutes @ the death!), he needs as much ball as quickly & as often, as possible. Otherwise what’s the point?
Said it before. If Ford gets injured in the first ten, don’t think Cips has had enough game time to step in and manage a win, that once again is poor management.
You make sense, Lancs doesn’t. But I don’t know why it’ll take a potential injury. Cip ought to have played regardless. Maybe SL is saving him for a WC semi?
Ha ha I note your irony. I think he’s waiting for Farrell. He might not have always shone but he’s never let England down and his kicking stats are right up there. I see Ford as the pacy threatening ten , with Farrell offering the pragmatic approach. Now pragmatism is great and it got us through some tight World Cup games in ’03( I.e Samoa and Wales) . However if you are going to be pragmatic successfully, you must have at the very minimum parity in the scrum, line out and breakdown. We are too hit and miss at the moment.