Comments on: Three questions England still need to answer before the World Cup

By: Ben Rabin

Ben Rabin — Fri, 10 May 2019 08:04:06 +0000

I think that our England’s biggest problem in Japan is Eddie Jones
He is making horrible mistakes in his selections
He ignored the affects of altitude in the first
2 tests in SA by making his base camp on the Natal coast.
He ignored Alex Goode who is the best fullback in England..
Unable to change tactics on the field against Wales when the kicking game proved to be ineffective
I think he is just pig headed and has only a one Year shelf life where ever he goes.

By: Don P

Don P — Sun, 31 Mar 2019 11:08:42 +0000

Can’t respond directly to yr article Andy. No ‘reply’ button. If England had BJ instead of OF playing fly1/2, they could then sidestep the issue of BJ’s altogether. Versatility brings to mind Austin Healy. No shortage of lifts home for his team mates after matches I suspect. Daly suffers for this ‘ability’, as he’s played out of position. Therefore England suffer too. I ? Farrell’s versatility, although he’s relatively ‘better’ suited to 12. Still kick (goals!) from there. However, this would mess up midfield. Did see Saracens match & Goode. A more useful WC prospect than others with his adequacey in covering f/back & fly1/2, but it won’t happen. Don’t know enough about Lozowski. Could England do with a Liam Williams? Notwithstanding that he was responsible for giving away Gkasgow’s 1st try, looking like a G. North novice in the process. Wonder if Staggy was watching that 1?

By: Andy

Andy — Sat, 30 Mar 2019 20:31:54 +0000

Why would you expect OF to give good BJ’ s Don? And did you see Alex Goode at 10 for Saracens today? As talented as Cips in my opinion but like so many good players (Cips, Goode,Daly,Lozowski, Farell) suffer from being too versatile.

By: Mark P

Mark P — Sat, 30 Mar 2019 11:03:12 +0000

He won’t be playing any rugby this side of the World Cup. Hopefully will be good to go for the start of 19/20 season.

By: Don P

Don P — Sat, 30 Mar 2019 09:45:50 +0000

.. you’re *right* about..

By: Don P

Don P — Sat, 30 Mar 2019 09:43:04 +0000

Unfortunately for England, I think you’re about the 1/2’s Andy. Under pressure, which he is following the 6N, Jones seems to freeze, get stuck mentally. Also agree about his picks @ 1/2 back. Irrational. Ditto for Daly @ f/back. ED can be effective on the front foot, but on the back foot, a Mike Brown he ain’t. His being played out of posi is just another of Jones’ illogical decisions. Do YOU think that it may be Jones, not his team, who needs the psychologist?

By: Don P

Don P — Fri, 29 Mar 2019 21:54:05 +0000

DM. What expectation are you communicating about re Farrell? Kicking constantly is NOT WC. It’s fundamentally dumb rugby. How can you ‘tweak’ that? He’s either ltd or of weak character, if he’s following orders. He’s the captain FCOL! That’s what he get paid the big bucks for. Not soaking it up when it’s going swimmingly. If he’s not up to it, then he should have the guts to quit. Flip it how you like, but Farrell (& Youngs) WAS the issue. His intercepts, charge downs & for the umpteenth, his metronomic kicking, contributed to his team’s defeat v Wales & almost v Scotland. He can’t make a basic decision of what to not do. How can this be construed as WC? Beggers belief. Picking a 1 off WC final kick by JW is hardly representative either. It’s unscientific. Regds Barrett, who did get 2 WP o t Yr’s, he needs no defending by me. May miss the odd few kicks, but he kicks a few as well & as the, so far, 2nd top (to Dan Carter) AB try scoring 1st 5, maybe he contributes a few on the field as well. So his record defends him. In respect of Sexton, going by general opinion here, he’s been nothing special in the recent 6N. Most do look better in a winning team. Granted. However, if players fall away in the manner Farrell has, possibly Sexton (he may have taken a few too many knocks & not been rotated enough by Schmidt), surely it ain’t what teams need going into a WC. Is it?

By: DarthMaul

DarthMaul — Fri, 29 Mar 2019 16:24:31 +0000

Okay so flip this on its head; Jonny W only effective in a winning team, OF only effective in a winning team. So does this then mean it is the TEAM around OF that is the issue? If JW was not the 1st choice No 10 would England have won the 2003 WC? It is so easy (and short sighted) to say someone only looks good because they are in a winning team. I revert back to Sexton; was he voted WP in 2018 because he was in winning teams being Leinester/Ireland? Would Sexton looks as good if he played for Ulster? Does Irelands crap from in the 6N mean Sexton is not World Class? Beauden Barrett for all his attacking talent often leaves many points on the field due to missed kicks that have led to losses for NZ. In a tight game in the WC final, with 75mins on the clock and a penalty awarded out wide I know I would rather have a Jonny Wilkinson in my side than a Danny Cipriani.

By: Don P

Don P — Fri, 29 Mar 2019 16:06:42 +0000

Agree JS10. Mostly, or up to a point anyway. A player has only 3 choices with ball in hand. He can only run, pass or kick. Generally, it ought to be done in this order. However, match situations will arise whereby this order needs changing. That’s where the instinctive bit you allude to, literally, comes into play. The ‘naturals’ take the ‘right’ options most of the time. The ‘manufactured’ ones can’t do this. Therefore, repeated practicing of the ball playing choices, in various game scenarios, ought to instill a degree of better, if not natural, or appropriate, responses. IOW, conditioning or brain washing if you like, should improve a player in this area of decision making.

By: Don P

Don P — Fri, 29 Mar 2019 15:09:34 +0000

Oops. ‘Sharp’, not Sharpe. Also forgot OF’s (or Wilko’s, for that matter) lack of BJ’s, PB’s, BR’s or RS’s side stepping prowess. Pleased I didn’t strike a RN though DM.

By: Don P

Don P — Fri, 29 Mar 2019 14:57:46 +0000

Farrell

Here, we diverge DM. Never regarded Farrell as WC. He can kick goals, sure, but other than that he’s no more than competent. Similar to SA’s Pollard. 1st instinct is to kick too often. Where’s his innovation? Wrap arounds, bringing of the back 3 into the line? Straightening of the line, timing of, varity of pass, or mixing up of plays? Compared to Cipriani it’s not a contest. The latter is a ‘natural’, whereas Farrell is ‘manufactured’, playing by numbers. However, being methodical, solid & stolid, he fits the English mould. When have England last trusted a truly gifted fly1/2? Bev Risman? Richard Sharpe? Not the sacred cow Wilco either. He was primarily a goal kicker & tackler. Stood too deep, too slow off the mark. Effective in a winning team, formerly like Farrell, but neither were in the vein of a Barry John or Phil Bennett. It’s not just to do with pressure either. You also allude to Robshaw in this respect. CR made fundamentally wrong choices about the taking of penalties for goal & lineout when an attempted try was the ONLY option in respect of the 1st instance. As with Farrell, it isn’t & wasn’t a case of inexperience. It’s a case of reading the game. Making the right choice, at the right time, was & is still the issue. Farrell too makes the fundamentally wrong choice with his rigid & frankly, mindless kicking game. Also, in lacking the nous or will to opt for & back what should be the obvious decision of retaining possession & by not challenging Jones over this, he falls over. Maybe there are reasons why the ‘WC’ Farrell DIDN’T get a WP o t Yr gong.

By: JS 10

JS 10 — Fri, 29 Mar 2019 14:15:42 +0000

No amount of coaching will turn Farrell into an instinctive fly half like Ford and Cipriani.You can coach a player what to do in any given situation,you cannot teach him When to do it -You have to have the feel or the instinct-very much like a No8 or a SH has to have in order to break effectively.