England v Wales Saturday 7/2/2026, ITV, 4.40pm

[Stom]

I know it's a bit of a hobby horse but 6:2 is about maintaining 80 minutes'intensity. Against poor opposition, it failed in that respect. Pollock for 12 minutes, for example, makes little sense. I'm not sure wnat was good to build on and what was poor to be changed. Was the result adequate?

Always the case in these matches. We lose intensity, and it's just all a bit meh.

Honestly...I kind of felt sorry for Wales. They just do not have the quality to compete at this level anymore. Which is something of a shame. But someone has to get the wooden spoon, and the way that Italy have built themselves up over the past 15 years, you have to congratulate them on being wooden spoon free for the past 2 years, and most likely this one.

[Danno]

Worth bearing in mind this is the first match of the campaign, there was bound to be a bit of rust to knock off, the bench with Davison, Itoje* and Spencer wasn't going to bring that much punch and Freeman at 13 is still WIP. I'm happy enough even if I was getting kinda bored at the 65min mark.

*he's an 80 minute animal.

[FKAS]

I know it's a bit of a hobby horse but 6:2 is about maintaining 80 minutes'intensity. Against poor opposition, it failed in that respect. Pollock for 12 minutes, for example, makes little sense. I'm not sure wnat was good to build on and what was poor to be changed. Was the result adequate?

Always the case in these matches. We lose intensity, and it's just all a bit meh.

Honestly...I kind of felt sorry for Wales. They just do not have the quality to compete at this level anymore. Which is something of a shame. But someone has to get the wooden spoon, and the way that Italy have built themselves up over the past 15 years, you have to congratulate them on being wooden spoon free for the past 2 years, and most likely this one.

Wales don't have a golden generation but they do still have some decent players. Leaving out Reffell in a game you know you're going to be under pressure is frankly moronic, his tackle numbers and turnovers would have helped them no end today. Mason Grady sat on the bench whilst Adams and Mee start is such an odd call. Ben Thomas at 12 knowing England have so many ball carriers likely to be targeting the midfield. The selection was dire.

[Mikey Brown]

That was functional I guess. As others have said it’s hard to know exactly how bad Wales are, or how that second half would have gone against a sterner challenge.

Centre combo reminds me a bit of Greenwood/Tindall in the way all skill/physicality duties are assigned entirely to one player.

Davidson has got to stay in the 23 for that attempted surge to the line. Funniest moment of the match by far.

Bench was… underwhelming? Saving “THE POM SQUAD” for a special occasion? Agreed this was one to get Pollock on for a good half hour and pump the energy up when it was so lacking.

[Puja]

That was functional I guess. As others have said it’s hard to know exactly how bad Wales are, or how that second half would have gone against a sterner challenge.

Centre combo reminds me a bit of Greenwood/Tindall in the way all skill/physicality duties are assigned entirely to one player.

Davidson has got to stay in the 23 for that attempted surge to the line. Funniest moment of the match by far.

Bench was… underwhelming? Saving “THE POM SQUAD” for a special occasion? Agreed this was one to get Pollock on for a good half hour and pump the energy up when it was so lacking.

Frankly, I'm willing to take functional from a first hitout. There's no doubt France would've put 70 on them, but we're not competing with France over who can put the biggest score on a minnow; we're building towards being in a position to beat them at the Stade de France next month. As such, I'm okay with our midfield getting gametime together and our team basically getting a semi-opposed training run.

As long as we come back better each week, I'm good with it.

Puja

[Mikey Brown]

That was functional I guess. As others have said it’s hard to know exactly how bad Wales are, or how that second half would have gone against a sterner challenge.

Centre combo reminds me a bit of Greenwood/Tindall in the way all skill/physicality duties are assigned entirely to one player.

Davidson has got to stay in the 23 for that attempted surge to the line. Funniest moment of the match by far.

Bench was… underwhelming? Saving “THE POM SQUAD” for a special occasion? Agreed this was one to get Pollock on for a good half hour and pump the energy up when it was so lacking.

Frankly, I'm willing to take functional from a first hitout. There's no doubt France would've put 70 on them, but we're not competing with France over who can put the biggest score on a minnow; we're building towards being in a position to beat them at the Stade de France next month. As such, I'm okay with our midfield getting gametime together and our team basically getting a semi-opposed training run.

As long as we come back better each week, I'm good with it.

Puja

Yeah, I wasn’t even meaning to sound down on the performance as a whole.

Good result, solid performance, no significant injuries (I think?) but some nitpicks over how we could better have used time/resources.

[Oakboy]

I think the performance and result, taken with the context of the opposition, proved that 6:2 should not be the automatic default but a useful horses-for-courses option. Itoje and Pollock would have provided ample physical boost for the pack. Spencer and Marcus did not provide the backs' revolution needed.

Sticking to 6:2 for Scotland has some merit but what was learned from this game? Maintaining intensity for 80, even against Wales, did not happen.

[Scrumhead]

Yeah, that’s a fair assessment. The intensity really dropped after the early try in the second half and the impact from the bench was negligible. Spencer and Smith in particular were rubbish. The only involvements I can remember from either were poor which isn’t a good look.

6:2 is the right tactic for Scotland away from home, but today a 5:3 would have been better.

Reddit going nuts over Genge’s ‘headbutt’ on Mann. It was dumb and a lowlight in a particularly poor performance from him but surely it won’t be cited? Lots of comparisons to the incident that got Wieise a red card vs. Italy that picked up a 4 game ban. I hope that it’s not reviewed as I really wouldn’t want us to be down to Rodd and Iyogun for the rest of the tournament.

Finally, I’m not sure what to expect next week, but after yesterday, the Scots will want a win even more than usual. It’ll be their cup final so we’ll need to be on it.

[p/d]

I truly underestimated how bad Wales would be. Credit to them for keeping at but, jeez, that was such an underwhelming watch from a rugby perspective.

The adverts could make the highlights reel.

[FKAS]

Reddit going nuts over Genge’s ‘headbutt’ on Mann. It was dumb and a lowlight in a particularly poor performance from him but surely it won’t be cited? Lots of comparisons to the incident that got Wieise a red card vs. Italy that picked up a 4 game ban. I hope that it’s not reviewed as I really wouldn’t want us to be down to Rodd and Iyogun for the rest of the tournament.

It was an odd snap shot shown during the game. Didn't show the start of the fracas just Genge shoving his head forward stupidly and then Mann responding in type. Genge is normally much better at keeping his cool these days, he'll be disappointed with himself after that penalty.

I'd be surprised if it's cited. Looked a whole lot of nothing with neither player making any proper contact. Officials reviewed and penalised the petulance which seemed about right at the time. Without knowing what started it.

[Puja]

I truly underestimated how bad Wales would be. Credit to them for keeping at but, jeez, that was such an underwhelming watch from a rugby perspective.

The adverts could make the highlights reel.

Christ alight, let's not be too dour. Yes, it was a bit of a cakewalk, but we did take them apart quite handily and we showed some very decent attacking play to do so. The disallowed try in the second half (from the neck roll) was a good example of us playjng at speed, with superb handling and offloading from pretty much every player in the team to open then up like a tin can.

Puja

[twitchy]

Nothing really to be gauged by that game. I have been watching quite a few of squidge's videos over the last few months, so I am very up to speed on wales current situation.
I am perfectly ok with the way england performed.

[p/d]

I truly underestimated how bad Wales would be. Credit to them for keeping at but, jeez, that was such an underwhelming watch from a rugby perspective.

The adverts could make the highlights reel.

Christ alight, let's not be too dour. Yes, it was a bit of a cakewalk, but we did take them apart quite handily and we showed some very decent attacking play to do so. The disallowed try in the second half (from the neck roll) was a good example of us playjng at speed, with superb handling and offloading from pretty much every player in the team to open then up like a tin can.

Puja

Hold on there tiger!!! My post was about Wales.

[Stom]

Yeah, that’s a fair assessment. The intensity really dropped after the early try in the second half and the impact from the bench was negligible. Spencer and Smith in particular were rubbish. The only involvements I can remember from either were poor which isn’t a good look.

6:2 is the right tactic for Scotland away from home, but today a 5:3 would have been better.

Reddit going nuts over Genge’s ‘headbutt’ on Mann. It was dumb and a lowlight in a particularly poor performance from him but surely it won’t be cited? Lots of comparisons to the incident that got Wieise a red card vs. Italy that picked up a 4 game ban. I hope that it’s not reviewed as I really wouldn’t want us to be down to Rodd and Iyogun for the rest of the tournament.

Finally, I’m not sure what to expect next week, but after yesterday, the Scots will want a win even more than usual. It’ll be their cup final so we’ll need to be on it.

I also thought Smith was poor, but I wouldn't lump him in the same bucket as Spencer. He made some good moves, and our shape looked better with him, but he was poor.

On that note...I want to talk about Steward again.

The thing is...he goes and makes one of those runs where he picks the perfect line, hits inside shoulders, and bursts through, because he's got power and enough pace to push through. And he then presents the ball perfectly and we're like YES, that's why you're here!

And then he goes and drops the ball, or falls off a tackle, or collects a kick and can't seem to escape getting scragged. He's just so hit and miss, and the misses are often such basic skills for a FB. It's so frustrating!

Apart from backup 9, I think that's probably our weak point right now, as none of the 3 options fill me with confidence, though their weaknesses are all different. Maybe Arundell could play 15? He's pretty good...would allow us to field him, IFW, Roebuck, and Freeman.

[p/d]

Play him at 12

[Oakboy]

Against that opposition, looking flakey at FB has surely removed Steward from the 23 for the next match. SB has to find a better option.

[Puja]

I truly underestimated how bad Wales would be. Credit to them for keeping at but, jeez, that was such an underwhelming watch from a rugby perspective.

The adverts could make the highlights reel.

Christ alight, let's not be too dour. Yes, it was a bit of a cakewalk, but we did take them apart quite handily and we showed some very decent attacking play to do so. The disallowed try in the second half (from the neck roll) was a good example of us playjng at speed, with superb handling and offloading from pretty much every player in the team to open then up like a tin can.

Puja

Hold on there tiger!!! My post was about Wales.

That makes more sense! I thought you were setting a new board record for managing to be pessimistic about a 48-7 victory!

I also thought Smith was poor, but I wouldn't lump him in the same bucket as Spencer. He made some good moves, and our shape looked better with him, but he was poor.

On that note...I want to talk about Steward again.

The thing is...he goes and makes one of those runs where he picks the perfect line, hits inside shoulders, and bursts through, because he's got power and enough pace to push through. And he then presents the ball perfectly and we're like YES, that's why you're here!

And then he goes and drops the ball, or falls off a tackle, or collects a kick and can't seem to escape getting scragged. He's just so hit and miss, and the misses are often such basic skills for a FB. It's so frustrating!

Apart from backup 9, I think that's probably our weak point right now, as none of the 3 options fill me with confidence, though their weaknesses are all different. Maybe Arundell could play 15? He's pretty good...would allow us to field him, IFW, Roebuck, and Freeman.

Agreed on both MSmith and Steward - thought the former had some nice touches and offered a bit of zip, although my view was coloured a bit by watching it in the rugby club. Will be interested to see how it shows on the m-b-m.

Steward is so frustrating, cause there is definitely a good player there, but we're not seeing it as often as we should. I think we do want to be careful about undervaluing him a touch though - his positioning and nous in the background helped us a lot and I would be terrified about putting Arundell at 15 to face Russell's array of attacking kicks.

Puja

[Scrumhead]

Christ alight, let's not be too dour. Yes, it was a bit of a cakewalk, but we did take them apart quite handily and we showed some very decent attacking play to do so. The disallowed try in the second half (from the neck roll) was a good example of us playjng at speed, with superb handling and offloading from pretty much every player in the team to open then up like a tin can.

Puja

Hold on there tiger!!! My post was about Wales.

That makes more sense! I thought you were setting a new board record for managing to be pessimistic about a 48-7 victory!

I also thought Smith was poor, but I wouldn't lump him in the same bucket as Spencer. He made some good moves, and our shape looked better with him, but he was poor.

On that note...I want to talk about Steward again.

The thing is...he goes and makes one of those runs where he picks the perfect line, hits inside shoulders, and bursts through, because he's got power and enough pace to push through. And he then presents the ball perfectly and we're like YES, that's why you're here!

And then he goes and drops the ball, or falls off a tackle, or collects a kick and can't seem to escape getting scragged. He's just so hit and miss, and the misses are often such basic skills for a FB. It's so frustrating!

Apart from backup 9, I think that's probably our weak point right now, as none of the 3 options fill me with confidence, though their weaknesses are all different. Maybe Arundell could play 15? He's pretty good...would allow us to field him, IFW, Roebuck, and Freeman.

Agreed on both MSmith and Steward - thought the former had some nice touches and offered a bit of zip, although my view was coloured a bit by watching it in the rugby club. Will be interested to see how it shows on the m-b-m.

Steward is so frustrating, cause there is definitely a good player there, but we're not seeing it as often as we should. I think we do want to be careful about undervaluing him a touch though - his positioning and nous in the background helped us a lot and I would be terrified about putting Arundell at 15 to face Russell's array of attacking kicks.

Puja

I think he gets a rough ride. If he does anything good it doesn’t really attract much attention whereas all his mistakes seem to get picked up.

He’s better than he gets credit for IMO. I prefer Furbank but it would be a risk to bring him back in vs. the Scots.

A lot also depends on who Scotland pick in their back three. Jordan, Steyn and Dobie are a totally different proposition to Kinghorn, DvDM and Graham. Do they stick or twist given DvDM’s record against England etc?

[Stom]

Hold on there tiger!!! My post was about Wales.

That makes more sense! I thought you were setting a new board record for managing to be pessimistic about a 48-7 victory!

I also thought Smith was poor, but I wouldn't lump him in the same bucket as Spencer. He made some good moves, and our shape looked better with him, but he was poor.

On that note...I want to talk about Steward again.

The thing is...he goes and makes one of those runs where he picks the perfect line, hits inside shoulders, and bursts through, because he's got power and enough pace to push through. And he then presents the ball perfectly and we're like YES, that's why you're here!

And then he goes and drops the ball, or falls off a tackle, or collects a kick and can't seem to escape getting scragged. He's just so hit and miss, and the misses are often such basic skills for a FB. It's so frustrating!

Apart from backup 9, I think that's probably our weak point right now, as none of the 3 options fill me with confidence, though their weaknesses are all different. Maybe Arundell could play 15? He's pretty good...would allow us to field him, IFW, Roebuck, and Freeman.

Agreed on both MSmith and Steward - thought the former had some nice touches and offered a bit of zip, although my view was coloured a bit by watching it in the rugby club. Will be interested to see how it shows on the m-b-m.

Steward is so frustrating, cause there is definitely a good player there, but we're not seeing it as often as we should. I think we do want to be careful about undervaluing him a touch though - his positioning and nous in the background helped us a lot and I would be terrified about putting Arundell at 15 to face Russell's array of attacking kicks.

Puja

I think he gets a rough ride. If he does anything good it doesn’t really attract much attention whereas all his mistakes seem to get picked up.

He’s better than he gets credit for IMO. I prefer Furbank but it would be a risk to bring him back in vs. the Scots.

A lot also depends on who Scotland pick in their back three. Jordan, Steyn and Dobie are a totally different proposition to Kinghorn, DvDM and Graham. Do they stick or twist given DvDM’s record against England etc?

I was thinking about this, and I can’t recall a single instance of Steward hitting the 12 channel from deep. Now, if my memory is correct, that’s abysmal. He’s a very powerful runner in that channel and could have caused damage, so why not?!?

That’s woeful misuse of him.

[Epaminondas Pules]

One thing I noticed watching it back, without the red wine haze is in the Roebuck try. We really should have scored it much earlier. When Roebuck gets put into the hole he carries the ball tucked under his arm. If he is more aware and holds the ball in two hands then it’s an easy right to left pass out to Arundell who walks in. Yes we score a few phases later, but it’s the kind of chance we should be executing off that initial phase. Every breakdown is a chance for the defence to turn the ball over.

[fivepointer]

We did miss opportunities. A more clinical edge would have produced another 3 or 4 tries. we'l need to sharpen up for the remaining fixtures.

Interesting that Rodd was given a whole half yesterday. I thought he showed up very well. That was a positive.

[Epaminondas Pules]

Also, Max Lahiff was a travelling reserve along with Slade and Iyogun

[FKAS]

That makes more sense! I thought you were setting a new board record for managing to be pessimistic about a 48-7 victory!



Agreed on both MSmith and Steward - thought the former had some nice touches and offered a bit of zip, although my view was coloured a bit by watching it in the rugby club. Will be interested to see how it shows on the m-b-m.

Steward is so frustrating, cause there is definitely a good player there, but we're not seeing it as often as we should. I think we do want to be careful about undervaluing him a touch though - his positioning and nous in the background helped us a lot and I would be terrified about putting Arundell at 15 to face Russell's array of attacking kicks.

Puja

I think he gets a rough ride. If he does anything good it doesn’t really attract much attention whereas all his mistakes seem to get picked up.

He’s better than he gets credit for IMO. I prefer Furbank but it would be a risk to bring him back in vs. the Scots.

A lot also depends on who Scotland pick in their back three. Jordan, Steyn and Dobie are a totally different proposition to Kinghorn, DvDM and Graham. Do they stick or twist given DvDM’s record against England etc?

I was thinking about this, and I can’t recall a single instance of Steward hitting the 12 channel from deep. Now, if my memory is correct, that’s abysmal. He’s a very powerful runner in that channel and could have caused damage, so why not?!?

That’s woeful misuse of him.

Why would you crash Steward at 12 when Freeman is at 13 and Earl is playing 8? Surely you want him hitting the hard arc around the 13 channel to hold the defence in and creat space for the wingers. Pretty much exactly like he did for the Earl try.

I thought Steward was pretty good yesterday. Lost the first high ball as Mee jumped into him and then had a really good take and beat the first man when it looked a certain tackle 5m out only to knock on in contact just after. Had a nice run from deep shortly after that making a good 20+ metres. Generally in the right position at the back and chased kicks well. Created the Earl try with a textbook run and long pass. Compared to Marcus who had an absolute mare off the bench passing to a Welsh player after a half break from the 22 and then kicking out on the full.

Furbank is a nice idea but his form is hardly stellar and against Scotland Russell isn't going to kick long and let him counter. They'll be scrapping for everything.

[fivepointer]

Steward will play next week and so he should.

If we had a FB in form then his place might be under serious threat. But next week at Murrayfield is definitely not the game to make a change.

We do have to consider options at FB. Steward has his strengths and is generally a reliable performer but lacking that extra level.

[FKAS]

Steward will play next week and so he should.

If we had a FB in form then his place might be under serious threat. But next week at Murrayfield is definitely not the game to make a change.

We do have to consider options at FB. Steward has his strengths and is generally a reliable performer but lacking that extra level.

Very much so. That basketball offload to Chessum late on is far to rare a thing for someone of his size, if that and the whipped pass to Earl were seen more regularly whilst the little errors were cut out he'd be a different beast.