England v New Zealand

[DickyP]

Here is the team I would put out:

15. Ben Foden
14. Mark Cuato
13. Delon Armitage
12. Mike Tindall
11. Chris Ashton
10. Toby Flood
9. Ben Youngs
8. James Haskell
7. Lewis Moody (c)
6. Tom Croft
5. Tom Palmer
4. Courtney Lawes
3. Dan Cole
2. Dylan Hartley
1. Andrew Sheridan

My changes to the above team would be:

14: I would go for Strettle over Cueto. Strettle is our quickest player in camp and we could do with his speed and footwork if we are going to pick holes in the NZ defence.
12: Whilst I fully agree with Armitage at 13 I don't think Tindall has the skill set to play 12 (I think Glous have tried it a few times and it didn't work). We seriously lack at 12 and whilst I think Englands long term centre partnership may be our very own 12T's and Manu at present we are very thin. In the current EPS I would go for Flutey if fit, Hape if not.
8: Not a massive fan of Haskell but agree we need a more dynamic 8 than Easter and at present he is probably our best option.

Whilst I agree that any team is open to question/discussion/dispute forget Strettle - the next time he tackles anyone successfully will be a first: at least Tindall and Hape can, and do, tackle.

[G.K]

Trundle and Hoppy at centres? Nono and Smith will run rings around them.

As for Hoppy and Furry yet again we see SH and RL players fast tracked into the England team without justification.

[tb1]

The game plan is transparent. Hape and Trundle block the centre - they don't do anything else. Back 3 attacks Stains style - this is exactly how Stains run their backs!

Weak links for me are SheriAnne and Easter. If you have a fast back row you have a chance of countering the ABs, Easter ain't fast. SherriAnne for me is not good enough at present , if ever. The rest of the pack is excellent.

Nah.

Tindall is the target, Hape as an offloader. Cueto will play as second fullback.

Easter is fat and slow but a decent footballer, will combo with Ben.

As I said above, he of the glass jaw has not earnt his place, but if the alternative is Payne then I support it.

[tb1]

What does "pick up and block their deep runners" mean?

New Zealand are most dangerous on the counter from turnovers. If we can play phases off a midfield target with well drilled forwards we will deny them the turnovers.

If the back 3 run into trouble and get isolated we are toast. Possibly bringing Foden into attack will be where we are most dangerous but this needs to be done at the right time. Chucking it wide because that is where Ashton is, is a recipe for disaster.

[tb1]

Pick up is short for spot visually
Deep runner is a reference to the field position the runner starts from relative to the line of play/gain.
Ma'a Nonu is one of the characters who practises this.
And Lichfield 3rds are fairly handy on fast turn-over ball.

Good night and goodbye for now

I confess I found the context confusing as you seemed to infer that using Tindall as a target and stopping their runners were mutually exclusive. On the contrary using a target will deny them the turnovers they need to make their backs most effective.

[BJ.]

Here's the AB line up.

15 Mils Muliaina
14 Joe Rokocoko
13 Sonny Bill Williams
12 Ma'a Nonu
11 Hosea Gear
10 Dan Carter
9 Alby Mathewson
1 Tony Woodcock
2 Keven Mealamu
3 Owen Franks
4 Brad Thorn
5 Sam Whitelock
6 Jerome Kaino
7 Richie McCaw (capt.)
8 Kieran Read

Replacements
Hika Elliot, Ben Franks, Anthony Boric, Liam Messam, Andy Ellis, Stephen Donald and Isaia Toeava.

[pogue3]

That back line has PAIN written all over it.

[Darc Tiger]

Nonu, SBW, Gear, Roko.

Ouch. There are gonna be lots of bruised bodies on Sunday...

[Will S]

I don't think Tindall and Hape will be giving much away in terms of size to Nonu and SBW. I would guess our midfiled guys also have the edge in international experience and caps. All sounds good doesn't it .............. until they take the field

[mol2]

starting. I would love to see one day tom croft get a go at 8. I think he has the mobility, carrying ability and power to play there plus PACE.

That's an interesting thought. I guess (as an 8) he'd play a bit like James Forrester who was on the England fringes before injury ended his career.
I know it will never happen but a back row of Moody, Forrester & Croft would have been rapid to say the least.

[THad]

Hiya, does anyone happen to know of anywhere near Leicester city centre which will be showing the game at all?
Thanks in advance