Finnegan Posted 28 February 2015 Posted 28 February 2015 Italy Great battling performance. This was supposed to be Scotland's 'dark horses' year.
Finnegan Posted 28 February 2015 Posted 28 February 2015 ****ing hell we've become so boring and predictable. Roberts, smash, Roberts, smash. Watched Chiefs take the Crusaders apart this morning with a brilliant offload game that makes watching this even more depressing.
BlueSi13 Posted 1 March 2015 Posted 1 March 2015 God this is ****ing boring. Disappointing, usually one of the best games.
BlueSi13 Posted 1 March 2015 Posted 1 March 2015 Scotch shouting England in their national anthem seeps it's way in to rugby as well. . From an English perspective it's hilarious! Proudly brandishing their inferiority complex/chip on their shoulder for the whole world to hear!
BlueSi13 Posted 1 March 2015 Posted 1 March 2015 Ireland will be the favourites today but what a shot in the arm it would be for England to win in both Cardiff and Dublin leading into the main event in September.
Finnegan Posted 1 March 2015 Posted 1 March 2015 Ireland will be the favourites today but what a shot in the arm it would be for England to win in both Cardiff and Dublin leading into the main event in September. Absolutely definitely. I'll doff my cap if you actually win but I'd be surprised
leicsmac Posted 1 March 2015 Posted 1 March 2015 Not getting a score on the board when we've had chances so far and have been punished for it. Ireland more clinical when in good territory. Still, a 6-point gap isn't insurmountable.
BlueSi13 Posted 1 March 2015 Posted 1 March 2015 Scores close but England have barely been in this first half. If they fail to step it up then I fear another Cardiff style blowout from a couple of years back.
leicsmac Posted 1 March 2015 Posted 1 March 2015 Scores close but England have barely been in this first half. If they fail to step it up then I fear another Cardiff style blowout from a couple of years back. I disagree, if anything they've had as much territory as Ireland have. The Irish have been better with the pressurising work off the ball and inducing infringments in kickable areas.
Haydos Posted 1 March 2015 Posted 1 March 2015 Sexton a class above Ford today. Tactics have been spot on. Might as well get Cips on now.
CosbehFox Posted 1 March 2015 Posted 1 March 2015 Have England had an attacking game plan? Seemingly played into Ireland's hands.
leicsmac Posted 1 March 2015 Posted 1 March 2015 Have England had an attacking game plan? Seemingly played into Ireland's hands. Not until the last 10 minutes, apparently. Still, taking nothing away from Ireland - did us in professional fashion, Schmidt has them playing a very clinical game.
GingerrrFox Posted 1 March 2015 Posted 1 March 2015 Ireland won but they play some horrible rugby. They have no chance of winning a World Cup in the style they are playing. The New Zealand back 3 will eat those high balls up all day.
Haydos Posted 1 March 2015 Posted 1 March 2015 Ireland won but they play some horrible rugby. They have no chance of winning a World Cup in the style they are playing. The New Zealand back 3 will eat those high balls up all day. If your length is good and you put pressure on the catcher then it's not really alt whether they can 'eat them up' or not, it's about the territory, ball retention and momentum. Against a better 10 or a team that adapts more effectively it'll be interesting to see how it works out but against Ford today in the rain it came out on top.
GingerrrFox Posted 1 March 2015 Posted 1 March 2015 If your length is good and you put pressure on the catcher then it's not really alt whether they can 'eat them up' or not, it's about the territory, ball retention and momentum. Against a better 10 or a team that adapts more effectively it'll be interesting to see how it works out but against Ford today in the rain it came out on top. Ireland's back 3 had the better of England's in the aerial battle but New Zealand adapted to that style after South Africa dominated with the kicking game for a few years. As long as your back 3 are solid under the high ball it really nullifies the threat. England lost today because they had poor discipline. If a team cuts out the stupid penalties, Ireland are there for the taking.
Haydos Posted 1 March 2015 Posted 1 March 2015 Ireland's back 3 had the better of England's in the aerial battle but New Zealand adapted to that style after South Africa dominated with the kicking game for a few years. As long as your back 3 are solid under the high ball it really nullifies the threat. England lost today because they had poor discipline. If a team cuts out the stupid penalties, Ireland are there for the taking. There were a lot of stupid penalties, was frustrating to watch. They dominated in too many areas to be fair: kicking out of hand and off the tee, high ball, rucks. I was disappointed with our kicking game today, very average.
GaelicFox Posted 1 March 2015 Posted 1 March 2015 England 2nd favs for world cup ha ha ha ha , irish game its tough to watch at times but bloody effective , don't card who your back three are if you get the right height and length on the Garryowen and the kick is pressured correctly then the resulting turnover/retention of territory makes a serious platform to drive on from Ireland simply out coached England today , sexton is different class to anyone else in northern hemisphere and the fact people are looking to NZ to sort us out shows how effective we are I fear the Taffs but , that's going to be a cracker
BlueSi13 Posted 1 March 2015 Posted 1 March 2015 England 2nd favs for world cup ha ha ha ha , irish game its tough to watch at times but bloody effective , don't card who your back three are if you get the right height and length on the Garryowen and the kick is pressured correctly then the resulting turnover/retention of territory makes a serious platform to drive on from Ireland simply out coached England today , sexton is different class to anyone else in northern hemisphere and the fact people are looking to NZ to sort us out shows how effective we are I fear the Taffs but , that's going to be a cracker Of course we are, we're at home. An ill-disciplined performance away from home today (standard 6 nations fair for England) doesn't change that. Plus England, unlike Ireland, tend to consistently perform at World Cups.
Finnegan Posted 1 March 2015 Posted 1 March 2015 I'm not sure if you're being serious or if you actually think England are second favourites for the World Cup. If you actually believe that, you're completely soft. That said, second, third, fourth favourites are all largely irrelevant. New Zealand will defend their title unless the Saffers catch them on a bad day. The gap in talent and depth of talent between New Zealand and the rest of the world, currently, is absolutely terrifying. I'd say they're actually stronger now than they were in 2011. I'm a big fan of Super Rugby, spend most of my weekends during S-XV season watching two or three Southern Hemisphere games and I could probably put together at least two teams of non-All Black Kiwis who'd win a Six Nations. Absolutely mental.
BlueSi13 Posted 1 March 2015 Posted 1 March 2015 I'm not sure if you're being serious or if you actually think England are second favourites for the World Cup. If you actually believe that, you're completely soft. That said, second, third, fourth favourites are all largely irrelevant. New Zealand will defend their title unless the Saffers catch them on a bad day. The gap in talent and depth of talent between New Zealand and the rest of the world, currently, is absolutely terrifying. I'd say they're actually stronger now than they were in 2011. I'm a big fan of Super Rugby, spend most of my weekends during S-XV season watching two or three Southern Hemisphere games and I could probably put together at least two teams of non-All Black Kiwis who'd win a Six Nations. Absolutely mental. Not expecting a Welsher to ever give us much love but let's just see in September dude. (PS forgot about South Africa)
Finnegan Posted 2 March 2015 Posted 2 March 2015 By the time Cheika has had a good spell in charge, I'd actually fancy all three southern hemisphere teams over all of the north this year.
leicsmac Posted 2 March 2015 Posted 2 March 2015 Home advantage is a pretty big bonus for rugby sides even today - except when playing the AB's, obviously. England, Ireland and Wales all have a chance of topping Aus or the Saffers in a knockout match with the crowd behind them. NZ are of course ahead of everyone and are likely to win the whole thing but the other two SH sides could be vulnerable - recent Autumn Tests (the Welsh stigma re SH opposition aside) have shown that.
Finnegan Posted 2 March 2015 Posted 2 March 2015 I think you need to remember that the autumn internationals, while tests, are end of season exhibitions for the SH. In a world cup year, most of their internationals will focus their entire year on peaking their form, fitness and conditioning to be ready for the WC.
Guest MattP Posted 2 March 2015 Posted 2 March 2015 Very poor yesterday from us and have probably thrown away the six nations. Surprised people are writing us off for the world cup though, home advantage is huge. In 5 of the 7 World Cup a host nation has reached the final and England have major form of overachieving in them.
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