England v France Saturday Feb 8th 16h45

[Scrumhead]

Now that was fun. I’m f*cled if I know what to take from it. All I know is T Curry is back to his best and Jones headwear is comical.

Oh. And we have found our 8. Quelle surprise

He never left. A few just forgot how good he is.

[Banquo]

interesting that daly came onto the wing, with Freeman into centre, and was great to see wings being used in midfield a lot more.

FSmiths kicking was poor 1st half, but when he kept in hand the attack shape looked good, much less lateral

[Puja]

He’s the perfect emergency blanket.

Again though, Chessum’s handling in the air made such a difference. The French had clearly gotten a feel for dislodging the ball in the air and Chessum helped halt that.

Agreed - where France were jostling the ball out of Itoje's hands, Chessum was imperious and rode the competition. I'm a big Martin fan, but I think Chessum needs to take his shirt right now.

Yet more evidence why we shouldn't be playing our third decent lock at 6 - if one of the locks falls out of form, we have a replacement and competition, rather than blocking a back row trying to get all three onto the pitch.

Puja

Chessum adds a lot more at lineout time but 26 tackles for Martin and 29m carried all of which were hard yards into the jaws of the French defence. Boring and won't make the highlights reel but that's the kind of shift your teammates love you for.

True and important, but the lineout is far more vital right now. We cannot have such a glaring weakness and Chessum's advantage over Martin there is significantly greater than Martin's gruntwork is superior to Chessum's.

Puja

[Banquo]

Agreed - where France were jostling the ball out of Itoje's hands, Chessum was imperious and rode the competition. I'm a big Martin fan, but I think Chessum needs to take his shirt right now.

Yet more evidence why we shouldn't be playing our third decent lock at 6 - if one of the locks falls out of form, we have a replacement and competition, rather than blocking a back row trying to get all three onto the pitch.

Puja

Chessum adds a lot more at lineout time but 26 tackles for Martin and 29m carried all of which were hard yards into the jaws of the French defence. Boring and won't make the highlights reel but that's the kind of shift your teammates love you for.

True and important, but the lineout is far more vital right now. We cannot have such a glaring weakness and Chessum's advantage over Martin there is significantly greater than Martin's gruntwork is superior to Chessum's.

Puja

....but but lineout not an issue last week...

[Mikey Brown]

Now that was fun. I’m f*cled if I know what to take from it. All I know is T Curry is back to his best and Jones headwear is comical.

Oh. And we have found our 8. Quelle surprise

He never left. A few just forgot how good he is.

He hasn’t consistently played like this for England for a while, though his base level is still very high.

Lots of mitigating factors with the England setup and injuries, but I’d say “back to his best” is completely fair.

I hope Willis did enough to get the rest of the 6 nations, and hopefully we can see if Earl can continue to do what the team needs at 7.

[FKAS]

Agreed - where France were jostling the ball out of Itoje's hands, Chessum was imperious and rode the competition. I'm a big Martin fan, but I think Chessum needs to take his shirt right now.

Yet more evidence why we shouldn't be playing our third decent lock at 6 - if one of the locks falls out of form, we have a replacement and competition, rather than blocking a back row trying to get all three onto the pitch.

Puja

Chessum adds a lot more at lineout time but 26 tackles for Martin and 29m carried all of which were hard yards into the jaws of the French defence. Boring and won't make the highlights reel but that's the kind of shift your teammates love you for.

True and important, but the lineout is far more vital right now. We cannot have such a glaring weakness and Chessum's advantage over Martin there is significantly greater than Martin's gruntwork is superior to Chessum's.

Puja

When Martin makes more tackles in 60 mins than any other member of the pack including those that played 80?

I think it depends on what the opposition brings. Do we think that the Scots will have a strong lineout that will disrupt ours if we don't make a change? Was the difference all Chessum or did George make a significant difference?

If we're going for bench impact I think Chessum adds more that Martin. If we're going to smash and grab then hold on then starting Chessum and bringing Martin on to just smash things for 20 mins makes sense.

[Mellsblue]

was great to see wings being used in midfield a lot more.

Absolutely

[Puja]

Chessum adds a lot more at lineout time but 26 tackles for Martin and 29m carried all of which were hard yards into the jaws of the French defence. Boring and won't make the highlights reel but that's the kind of shift your teammates love you for.

True and important, but the lineout is far more vital right now. We cannot have such a glaring weakness and Chessum's advantage over Martin there is significantly greater than Martin's gruntwork is superior to Chessum's.

Puja

....but but lineout not an issue last week...

I'm willing to admit when I'm wrong. I didn't think it was last week and was willing to bet on that, but it sure as fuck was an issue this week.

Puja

[Mellsblue]

Hang on, have we just won the Raeburn?

Looking forward to the minute by minute, but might need a new acronym for failing to score against an open goal

It would seem so.

[Banquo]

True and important, but the lineout is far more vital right now. We cannot have such a glaring weakness and Chessum's advantage over Martin there is significantly greater than Martin's gruntwork is superior to Chessum's.

Puja

....but but lineout not an issue last week...

I'm willing to admit when I'm wrong. I didn't think it was last week and was willing to bet on that, but it sure as fuck was an issue this week.

Puja

I thought it was an issue last week, because we simply didn’t compete on Ireland’s ball, and they knew it hence 23 lineouts to them, and I said it would be a bigger one this week when teams had a chance to analyse… and that was even with both Willis and CurryT as options.
Sounds a bit smug but it was pretty clear to me and others our lineout could be under a load of pressure given selections. Trade off and all that

[p/d]

Now that was fun. I’m f*cled if I know what to take from it. All I know is T Curry is back to his best and Jones headwear is comical.

Oh. And we have found our 8. Quelle surprise

He never left. A few just forgot how good he is.

Indeed

[canta_brian]

Weird match.

France dropped the ball cold 2/3 times with the line begging. And yet, 2 tries, one each side came from balls dropped in midfield. Maybe dropping the ball was planned!

DuPont was guilty in the first half if blowing a try. Apart from that he was great; at 9. At 10 he wasn’t all that.

[pjm1]

We’ve given the coaches a hard ride the last couple of years - for good reason.

But I think we must all acknowledge that we hadn’t appreciated quite what Soapy Ballpreparer was actually up to before the whistle…

[Beasties]

Merci Fra for giving us a foot-up - the confidence this will bring will be huge.
Refreshing to watch a match without the ref. taking centre stage.

He's so much better than the others it's embarrassing.

Yup. Outrageous he wasn’t given the WC final he’s been ahead for so long now.

[Mellsblue]

The heir to Barnes.

[Beasties]

Happy enough with TWillis but I thought we underused him, even after last week’s game when we kept giving the ball to a knackered Genge one out instead of TWillis time and again. And why do we never allow our 8 to pick up from the scrum?

Thought Mitchell went well. Has that happy knack of a rapid box kick which seems to elude so many (hello JVP). But quick ball always got moved quickly and decisively.

Genge is just treading water at this point but I thought our scrum was rock solid even though Atonio bought a pen out of Baxter. The only wrong decision in the whole match imo. Which says something. Nice to see no one raising a murmur about Stuart these days too. I’m sure he has been carrying a niggling injury for a long time (and said so on here) but he’s now over it and looks rock solid now.

Nice to see the French dropping the ball constantly, if unusual. I’ll take it.

[fivepointer]

Spot on about Stuart. Has been very unfairly criticised here and elsewhere but has been consistently good since the summer.

[Scrumhead]

Agreed. Stuart is underrated and is quietly becoming a deserving and reliable first choice.

[Mellsblue]

Stephen Jones ratings lol:

England

MARCUS SMITH 4/10 Was chosen out of position, he was woeful, had no spark in attack and his kicking was dire

Star man
TOMMY FREEMAN 9/10 One of the Northampton tyros who fuelled this England win. Took a try brilliantly and had a splendid match

OLLIE LAWRENCE 7/10 The ball did not go his way, one or two errors but clearing enjoyed playing outside Fin Smith

HENRY SLADE 6/10 Again, not much chance in attack but his left foot came in handy and he defended well

OLLIE SLEIGHTHOLME 6/10 Tended to be too excitable, notably when drawing a penalty which he did not deserve

FIN SMITH 8/10 Now in the team for years, played calmly and stayed calm when France twice struck back

ALEX MITCHELL 6/10 He tried hard to make breaks but in the end his appetite for the fray tided him through

ELLIS GENGE 5/10 Was the first England front rower to be taken off, looked a little under pressure up front

LUKE COWAN-DICKIE 6/10 Is giving Jamie George a fierce battle for the starting place, another good game

WILL STUART 7/10 One of his better games, he’ll never demolish opposite number but held on gamely to Gros

MARO ITOJE 8/10 Clearly inspiring team, but following referee around the pitch in debate was not so good

GEORGE MARTIN 7/10 Probably one of his better games, up against a monster forward pack and did extremely well

TOM CURRY 8/10 Becoming one of the best back-row forwards in the Six Nations, superb until replaced

BEN EARL 8/10 Made some match-turning efforts in the game, still going strong towards the end.

TOM WILLIS 8/10 Waited too long for this moment, odd that he was taken off. Will stay for rest of the season

Total 103/150


France

THOMAS RAMOS 5/10 Nothing like his true self, a great player losing his levels throughout

DAMIAN PENAUD 7/10 The great wing finished his try well but otherwise was almost a spectator

PIERRE-LOUIS BARASSI 5/10 France are missing dreadfully Jonathan Danty and Barassi is nothing like as good at present

YORAM MOEFANA 6/10 A very fine player having a very off day, tried desperately to hold things together

LOUIS BIELLE-BIARREY 5/10 Has talent, but he had to interrupt his game to be sick on the field on several occasions

MATTHIEU JALIBERT 6/10 Can be a fine player but could make little of shambles around him caused by dire handling

ANTOINE DUPONT 8/10 Did amazingly well, not only at scrum half but also at fly half where he created a great try

JEAN-BAPTISTE GROS 6/10 Was lively around the field, but probably not as good a scrummager as his replacement

PEATO MAUVAKA 6/10 For a man of his dynamism he was very quiet, dropped the ball when he had an easy run in
Star man

UINI ATONIO 9/10 He may be a massive figure but he is also a tremendous player. He seemed to be holding France together most of the game

ALEXANDRE ROUMAT 7/10 Is happier at No 8, but he has a natural athleticism and played well in two positions

EMMANUEL MEAFOU 5/10 Hardly existed for much of the game, way down on his standards he sets for Toulouse

FRANÇOIS CROS 8/10 The best French forward perhaps, was quick and active and his resistance was unceasing

PAUL BOUDEHENT 6/10 Normally a reserve and this showing probably did little to promise him a spot in the first team

GRÉGORY ALLDRITT 6/10 Played below himself, normally such a world-class force but was sucked into the morass

Total 95/150

[Mellsblue]

He’s also leading the charge (hysteria) on the F. Smith vs M. Smith argument which is showing signs of becoming Farrell vs Ford MkIi:

‘After England finally installed Fin Smith, they were unable to drop Marcus Smith, so they came up with a lot of drivel about a twin-Smith attack with Marcus at full back as if it was the most natural in the world.

Marcus Smith had a terrible match, he made no inroads whatsoever from full back — we were promised a fiesta of attacking from the back — and he made no ground and made errors.

Even when he had acres in front of him, he had no impact. But they also trusted him to kick at goal, and he missed two easy kicks by almost the same distance as he had been kicking from in the first place. Talk about blind faith.‘

[Mellsblue]

Interesting stat:

27 handling errors by France in the wet at Twickenham, including 3 in try scoring positions, compared to just 12 from England (I wonder if F. Smith’s for Lawrence’s try is counted).

[francoisfou]

That was so sweet! My neighbour invited me and was clearly feeling a bit smug before kick off!
His French tail is well and truly between his legs now!!

Do let us know the French media reaction. Are they tearing into their lads? That'd be harsh in my view. Everybody has games where it just doesn't click.

Midi Olympique says - "Frustrated, crucified and hopes blown away" Sums it up nicely, n'est ce pas!
They also refer to the poor handling that blew golden try-scoring opportunities.
Jalibert comes in for some stick, in attack and defence, but could be retained for the trip to Italy on the 23rd as Romain Ntamack only becomes available for the trip to Dublin on the 8th of March.
Fabien Galthié says "Well played England, they knew how to make a lot out of a little".
I've not seen the stats on possession and territory, but his comments are probably fair.

[Mr Mwenda]

That was so sweet! My neighbour invited me and was clearly feeling a bit smug before kick off!
His French tail is well and truly between his legs now!!

Do let us know the French media reaction. Are they tearing into their lads? That'd be harsh in my view. Everybody has games where it just doesn't click.

Midi Olympique says - "Frustrated, crucified and hopes blown away" Sums it up nicely, n'est ce pas!
They also refer to the poor handling that blew golden try-scoring opportunities.
Jalibert comes in for some stick, in attack and defence, but could be retained for the trip to Italy on the 23rd as Romain Ntamack only becomes available for the trip to Dublin on the 8th of March.
Fabien Galthié says "Well played England, they knew how to make a lot out of a little".
I've not seen the stats on possession and territory, but his comments are probably fair.

Saw Edwards' interviewed afterwards. Came across as level-headed and fair like Galthie here.

[p/d]

Stephen Jones ratings lol:



TOM CURRY 8/10 Becoming one of the best back-row forwards in the Six Nations, superb until replaced

Was he

[Mellsblue]

Stephen Jones ratings lol:



TOM CURRY 8/10 Becoming one of the best back-row forwards in the Six Nations, superb until replaced

Was he

Yeah, I thought the same.