England vs Barbarians

[Mikey Brown]

Nobody seems to. I kept saying it but I thought he was great in that first half. James that is, to clarify.

Beaumont is a weird one. I really like what he offers but it didn't quite seem to click. Reminds me a bit of Jonny Beattie and his failure to use his enormous potential. It seems he gets this one chance and that's it.

Anyone who has only seen Hughes for England so far would equally say he lacks physicality. But if he plays like Saturday again then brilliant. We'll worry about him and Billy together if both are fit and playing their best at the same time.

[Mikey Brown]

Didn't think much of Isiekwe, though appears to have the annoying Itoje habit of shouting/screaming every time the pack one a penalty/free kick.

I assume you've seen this bit of absolute gold (yet again) from Marler?

http://sport.bt.com/video/marler-mimics ... 4171709244

[kk67]

I'd like to see the 1st half again.

http://en.espn.co.uk/scrum/rugby/match/294454.html
Nothing really jumps out from the stats. England's 8 just worked a bit harder.

[fivepointer]

James missing 6 tackles isn't a great stat. I saw him miss a couple but didnt think he was that poor in this area.

[TheNomad]

When he was on I thought Underhill looked pretty good personally. Very strong for a start

Still struck me as more of a hard tackling 6 though with a bit of breakdown presence and excellent commitment (haven't I just described Robshaw?) than a natural 7. Good player though

[Puja]

I'd like to see the 1st half again.

http://en.espn.co.uk/scrum/rugby/match/294454.html
Nothing really jumps out from the stats. England's 8 just worked a bit harder.

Those stats look a bit like nonsense just looking at Curry's. Turnovers won 0 - were they watching Ben in the stands for that?

Puja

[Stom]

I'd like to see the 1st half again.

http://en.espn.co.uk/scrum/rugby/match/294454.html
Nothing really jumps out from the stats. England's 8 just worked a bit harder.

Those stats look a bit like nonsense just looking at Curry's. Turnovers won 0 - were they watching Ben in the stands for that?

Puja

Is it not Turnovers Conceded on scrum.com?

[kk67]

I'd like to see the 1st half again.

http://en.espn.co.uk/scrum/rugby/match/294454.html
Nothing really jumps out from the stats. England's 8 just worked a bit harder.

Those stats look a bit like nonsense just looking at Curry's. Turnovers won 0 - were they watching Ben in the stands for that?

Puja

Is it not Turnovers Conceded on scrum.com?

No. They're just notoriously mean.
That blonde perm in the last 12 mins.....that's Ross Harrison right..?.

[kk67]

When he was on I thought Underhill looked pretty good personally. Very strong for a start

Still struck me as more of a hard tackling 6 though with a bit of breakdown presence and excellent commitment (haven't I just described Robshaw?) than a natural 7. Good player though

Robshaw looked in cracking nick. Never phased, totally in tune with the game.
He was so good that it looked more like he was the one playing in an invitational side.

[Mikey Brown]

When he was on I thought Underhill looked pretty good personally. Very strong for a start

Still struck me as more of a hard tackling 6 though with a bit of breakdown presence and excellent commitment (haven't I just described Robshaw?) than a natural 7. Good player though

Robshaw looked in cracking nick. Never phased, totally in tune with the game.
He was so good that it looked more like he was the one playing in an invitational side.

I felt like I didn't notice him until looking back at the highlights. He just has a habit of turning awkward collisions, going either way, to England's advantage. I think he got embarrassed in defence at one point, but good to see him captain the side to a win, no matter how shabby it was.

[kk67]

For such a green side, they coped well with the first quarter,...regrouped and forced their own structure onto the game. A lot of that was down to the leadership of the regulars. Thought that you and Ford played really well and I was mightily impressed with Earle.

[16th man]

When he was on I thought Underhill looked pretty good personally. Very strong for a start

Still struck me as more of a hard tackling 6 though with a bit of breakdown presence and excellent commitment (haven't I just described Robshaw?) than a natural 7. Good player though

Robshaw looked in cracking nick. Never phased, totally in tune with the game.
He was so good that it looked more like he was the one playing in an invitational side.

I felt like I didn't notice him until looking back at the highlights. He just has a habit of turning awkward collisions, going either way, to England's advantage. I think he got embarrassed in defence at one point, but good to see him captain the side to a win, no matter how shabby it was.

Nagusa sent him for sit down in the stands in that break from behind the try line, but he and Goode had done half the England defence in one way or another by the point Robshaw was exposed one on one.

[Mellsblue]

Robshaw looked in cracking nick. Never phased, totally in tune with the game.
He was so good that it looked more like he was the one playing in an invitational side.

I felt like I didn't notice him until looking back at the highlights. He just has a habit of turning awkward collisions, going either way, to England's advantage. I think he got embarrassed in defence at one point, but good to see him captain the side to a win, no matter how shabby it was.

Nagusa sent him for sit down in the stands in that break from behind the try line, but he and Goode had done half the England defence in one way or another by the point Robshaw was exposed one on one.

I've seen faster and more agile players made to look silly by Nagusa. Tbh, any pro outside back should be able to beat Robshaw with that much space.

[TheNomad]

Re: Earle, I had very mixed feelings:

- on one hand, it became very clear why a side that relies so much on a well organised defence and attack wouldn't pick him. He's all over the bloody place and does an even moe convincing impression of a headless chicken than May
- on the other hand, his raw ability and athleticism is sensational and very rare, and so I was slightly annoyed that, given the walk overs they have so frequently been involved in during the season, he hadn't been involved more frequently.

There's an awesome winger in there somewhere and yet it wouldn't surprise me that much if his career drifted because of a lack of natural game intelligence.

I really hope that doesn't come to pass because he has as much pace and power as any player could ever want

[kk67]

'All over the place' wingers is the new skateboarding. If it's done properly.
His problem might be that some idiot coach will convince him he should be playing 13 so he gets more ball.

[twitchy]

He should move club.

[Mellsblue]

He should move club.

Why? They've proved over and over again that there's nowhere better to breakthrough. I'll admit most of Sarries' academy successes have been in the forwards, but Duncan Taylor is ten times the player he was at Bedford and Lozowski's improvement in one season is there for all to be seen.

[TheNomad]

He needs game time. Ashton has left, Wyles is no spring chicken and Williams and Maitland will both spend time away for the 6Ns

I'd say he'll get better exposure next year

[twitchy]

Fair enough I forgot that ashton has left.

[Peat]

Those stats look a bit like nonsense just looking at Curry's. Turnovers won 0 - were they watching Ben in the stands for that?

Puja

Is it not Turnovers Conceded on scrum.com?

No. They're just notoriously mean.
That blonde perm in the last 12 mins.....that's Ross Harrison right..?.

No, Stom is right, that's Turnovers Conceded.


26 penalties and 3 free-kicks in the game. Think you can tell that just from looking at the teams' stats because they don't look like a normal 80 minutes' worth...

[Mikey Brown]

Ref seemed like a tosser.

[kk67]

First 20 mins was good.

[Scrumhead]

Re: Earle, I had very mixed feelings:

- on one hand, it became very clear why a side that relies so much on a well organised defence and attack wouldn't pick him. He's all over the bloody place and does an even moe convincing impression of a headless chicken than May
- on the other hand, his raw ability and athleticism is sensational and very rare, and so I was slightly annoyed that, given the walk overs they have so frequently been involved in during the season, he hadn't been involved more frequently.

There's an awesome winger in there somewhere and yet it wouldn't surprise me that much if his career drifted because of a lack of natural game intelligence.

I really hope that doesn't come to pass because he has as much pace and power as any player could ever want

Criticising a young winger's 'game intelligence' feels a touch harsh - particularly if you are making that judgement based purely on yesterday's game. I agree he's raw, but I wouldn't say that means he doesn't have the capability to learn.

[TheNomad]

Yup - fair point

Let's just say he needs a fair amount of experience

[Eugene Wrayburn]

I'm surprised at the lack of enthusiasm for the performance. I thought that was pretty good given it was a side with a lot of moving parts rather than stability. Maybe lucky with a few decisions but plenty of promise on show.