Rugby union?

Oof.

It's like the RWC final all over again. Just not turning up, so many mistakes.

Youngs is bloody awful still, his passing is so slow and telegraphed.
 
England have been absolutely bloody rubbish. Partly, you suspect, because France actually showed up. And England won't have expected that at all. Bloody perfidious Frenchy types.

:D
 
Class from May, but overall, very poor.

I don't understand why Alex Dombrandt isn't starting, he's a a straight replacement for Billy Vunipola, but with better pace and handling skills.

Curry isn't an 8. Lawes isn't a flanker.

Once again, Youngs was utterly atrocious, and we improved massively as soon as he went off.
 
France were very good for 50 minutes then they started to fade, but after a 20 minute bad spell they managed to regroup for the last 10 minutes. The subs they brought had one or two moments but weren't as cohesive a unit as the first 15. They were leaving gaps that weren't there for the first 50 minutes. Jonny May's second try was an example of that, 3 missed tackles by the french team. But, they straightened themselves out and for the last 10 minutes were rock solid.

They were very disciplined in defence in the first half. It's been a long time since we have seen a French team that focused on defence. England had showed some great touches in attack, but every bit of flair was matched by the French defence. Shaun Edwards making a difference there.

I don't think it's a case of England been poor, well at least not at the start, but, that the French Defence been excellent. England started trying to force things that weren't on leading to handling errors. And once the French get on top in the Stade De France they are very hard to beat, especially with crowd behind them and the weather getting worse.
 
France were good and England were poor.

Edwards has clearly had a major impact on the French defence, which showed amazing speed off the line (even if their starting line was consistently 1 metre off-side). England lacked impact, no strong runners without Manu and the Vunipola brothers, Youngs was shocking, and Ben Curry can't really be criticised when playing out of position, but he is not an 8. Hartley made a good observation after the game that Curry did not pick up at the back of the scrum once... it was always pass to 10 or box kick, so the French defence has fewer options to defend against, making life easier.

Particularly poor, total lack of a plan in the last 5 meters. I found myself thinking the same as the day before watching Scotland. Ireland, on the other hand, hammered the try line, and then released the ball for Sexton to walk over the line. England were within 5m of the French line 8 times I think, and got nothing... deserved to lose :(
 
Fully agree with the above, we simply were not good enough and the French were, credit to them.

Congratulations to Wales for another 6 nations trophy in the bag, I can't see anyone but them winning it. I just hope that when England play Wales that we actually turn up and don't get spanked.
 
We need to hope England win all the rest of our games and someone turns over France... could be 3 teams level with 1 loss each, hence to sensible decision to get the bonus point by kicking the penalty at the end of the game.
 
France weren't that good, especially considering how poor England were. I think England entered the 22 7 times in the first half, and came away with 0 points. A team not imploding would have taken 14 points from that at least, a decent team 21+. And the 2nd French try was a knock one, but more importantly, England didn't play to the whistle, which is minis rugby level.

I'm vaguely encouraged in that even without Mako and Billy, and mostly Manu, we managed to get so many 22 entries. It suggests a solid plan b, which is what we lacked against SA (who we had our big carriers for, but they weren't making yards). However I firmly believe Lawes at 6 cost us in the breakdown.

Dombrandt should be given a shot for me, but he's definitely not a Billy replacement. Very different style of player, Billy make hard yards in the tight, expected to produce fast ball in tough situations. Dombrandt is allowed to pick and choose his impacts, but does so wonderfully, with great running lines when there's quick ball already. I'd bet on Billy having better handling skills too, not many 8s are trusted to throw 20m+ passes from the lineout, whilst you pretend you're going to maul it by using your 8 at 9.
 
Glad Heinz is in for Youngs. I’m still slightly baffled by the Ford/Farrell 10/12 pairing, but it did work in the World Cup.

I can’t understand why Dombrandt isn’t getting a look in. I can understand that curry and underhill should be playing, but that shouldn’t be at the expense of a specialist 8.

Scotland will be an interesting contest as they’ve got some real quality in their ranks and Murrayfield is always a tough place to play... especially if you’re England!

EDIT: Anyone playing this season? I’m really missing it, but have no time with work, exams and a small child. Hoping to hit pre season in the summer!
 
I started this season, was playing 1sts, but rapidly picked up a trapped nerve and worse, a groin strain that still hasn't budged 4 months later. Working on getting that in place. Trapped nerve resolved itself after a couple of months.

As for England, Lawes out of the backrow is huge. He works hard, he just works hard at being a lineout/tackling lock who can carry a bit. Whereas backrow need to be getting into the breakdown, especially against someone like Alldritt, who was a complete menace.
 
I’m playing Vets only this year. Too much travelling to play regular club rugby.

I think Curry at 8 is still a mistake he is a much better 6 or 7. Farrell, Manu, Slade is the best back line imo but 2 aren’t available. Ford Farrell only works if you are dominating the opposition. Need a proper inside/outside centre combo Farrell Devoto Joseph sounds the best out of the current player group or maybe Daly for Joseph.
 
Curry still did a huge amount of his regular work, the only major noticeable difference was being at the back of the scrum rather than the side. Which defensively may even offer him better opportunities to jackal compared to the flank.

I'd definitely agree with a proper inside centre, but would look at Ford, Devoto, Joseph, with Farrell on the bench.
 
I think we will see Earl and 8 and Curry on the flank by the end of the match, which opens the door for starting the next game with this configuration without Jones losing face by making the change in response to the France game.

I have mixed opinions on backs selection, and I think any of the suggested combos would work if players doing their job. However, you would pick Ford over Farrell based on the France game. I also think Farrell should pass the captain's arm band onto someone else... he gets tunnel vision when the pressure is on.
 
Conditions are awful for kicking so... let’s kick for goal at every opportunity.
 
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