The Six Nations Thread

[mol2]

Slow in the back row. Robshaw performed manfully but isn't a 7, nor is Lawes a 6.
Teo confirmed he is a poor man's Tuillagi.
Ford way off form and quite frankly too small and compromises the structure to accommodate him.
As for Care - he simply cannot control a game at international level. Had he banged the ball into the French 22 their mistakes would have cost them the game. On the bench or not at all.
To cope with international scrummaging Macko has lost the impact in the loose he once had. Roll on the return of Genge.

Confused selections cost us along with being clueless in attack.

[JP14]

I thought T’eo initially played well put was making carries at the wrong man (Bastareaud)

[WhitecapTiger]

Brian Moore is obviously not impressed with the French editing studio

Always the same whether International or European when playing in France against a French side, when there's something the French side / or National team do the French director shows 'arty' shots of the crowd or whatever else so as not to draw attention to it or allow the ref another chance to see their skulduggery but, if it's against the French then it's replayed and magnified.

Will never change, Brian Moore quite correct to regularly refer to it IMO despite Eddie Butler's comments to him to move on, if it were Wales, Butler would be singing like a canary about it.

England poor again today, Danny Care was awful IMO. Looked as if they still couldn't quite believe they were beaten at Murrayfield. Whole front row were poor and until we get a 6 playing 6, and a 7 playing 7 the back row won't be effective. The plan to have a big back row against the French backfired today - no impetus at all.

Robshaw worked his backside off today, move him to 6 and get a spec 7 in. Hope Hughes isn't too badly injured but I'd prefer to play against him the way he has played, having said that I believe he regularly performs better for Wasps than for England. Some will say that Lawes plays ok at 6 but he hasn't of late IMO, either fit him into the 2nd row or bench him.

Penalty count was horrendous, 16 I think, and as MJ said afterwards, the majority of them were whilst we were in possession - single manned into contact and letting Basteraud et al limpet on - takes some shifting, poor tactic and poor on field management if someone couldn't say "let's change it".

[POSTIGER]

Slow in the back row. Robshaw performed manfully but isn't a 7, nor is Lawes a 6.
Teo confirmed he is a poor man's Tuillagi.
Ford way off form and quite frankly too small and compromises the structure to accommodate him.
As for Care - he simply cannot control a game at international level. Had he banged the ball into the French 22 their mistakes would have cost them the game. On the bench or not at all.
To cope with international scrummaging Macko has lost the impact in the loose he once had. Roll on the return of Genge.

Confused selections cost us along with being clueless in attack.

Agree with all of this. I thought Care and Ford were very poor at 9 and 10. Care's kicking was aimless and put is under serious pressure. Maybe it's because the French were tiring but I thought we looked a lot better when the backline was Wigglesworth, Farrell, Joseph and Te'o. Jones picking the same pack that got totally outplayed by Scotland was a huge error - Serge Betsen was right to mock that decision in the pre-match build up. The back row in particular is just so unbalanced and it was criminal to make the same mistake twice.

[Wayne Richardson Fan Club]

And the winner of this weeks MOC Pig Headed Award goes to Eddie Jones.

The better side won & it should of been by more. (England got all the help from Peyper)

Remy Grosso was ridiculously good for Les Bleus'.

[cpwhelan]

Just rang my sister who went over for the game and she said we looked tatered/knackered from the off, just ran into contact and blind alleys all the time, I wasn't too impresssed with Farrell's distribution and the Farrell/Teo axis isn't working yet - Lawes seems to have lost the form he had earlier in the season and seems content to go to ground too quickly.
Certainly doesn't look too good for the World Cup - can you see NZ making as many mistakes and giving away penalties like us?
Good luck Eddie!

[G.K]

I've been saying to friends that I thought the wheel may come off the EJ chariot this year and they well and truly have. Too many England players are not good enough at this level, players playing in the wrong position, poor at the breakdown (learnt nothing from the lat two games) and a slow static attack that reminded me of Leicester (the last two games aside).

[BFG]

England are paying the price of a negative approach in my opinion, they have talent at their disposal but it doesn't fit with the regular names.
Saw it with the U20's last night, England were better without the ball, only one team tried to play (France) and they couldn't quite overcome the conditions, but give it time and they'll retain the accuracy required to beat England.
England can play a little bit when they are forced but it's often too little too late when opposition turn up!
This team is crying out for some pace and intensity in attack and a bit more breakdown nous all round.
Robson and Cipriani as the half backs and Daly at 13 would be far too quick for the current names to keep up which says plenty in my opinion.
Dare I say it Jones has become worse than the previous lot in trying to put square pegs in round holes!

[Leicestertinytiger]

Agreed, would love for Jones to bring in Robson and Cipriani and add something different to the team. He has for too long picked players on reputation and not form. Imagine that as a half back pairing to bring off the bench.

This is the team I would play against Ireland.

Marler George Cole Launch Lawes Robshaw Underhill Armand Wigglesworth Ford Daly Farrell Joseph May Watson

Cowan-Dickie Vunipola Sinckler Itoje Haskell Robson Cipriani Te’o

[JP14]

Obano is fit again, I’d like to see him given a shot, with Marler starting.

[JP14]

This is the team I would like fielded next week
1 Marler
2 George
3 Cole (Sinckler did play really welll but I get the feeling Healy would send him to the cleaners at set-piece.
4 Launchbury
5 Lawes
6 Simmonds (Robshaw needs a rest)
7 Armand
8 Morgan? (Simmonds proved that he is too light for international No8 and if doesn’t Hughes prove to be fit, who else is there. Chisholm? Mercer?)
9 Wigglesworth
10 Ford
11 Daly
12 Farrell
13 T’eo
14 May
15 Watson
16 L-CD
17 Obano
18 Sinckler
19 Ewels
20 Mercer
21 Robson
22 Joseph
23 Solomona

[mol2]

Jus don’t eat. Ciprani call.
Not good enough a his best and liking flash in ordinary club sides does not equate o being an international.

Too many players out of position.
Too much emphasis on fitness when this should be done at club level as the time to make real differences to conditioning is too short in the international window and is leaving players jaded.

[Big Dai]

I've been saying to friends that I thought the wheel may come off the EJ chariot this year and they well and truly have. Too many England players are not good enough at this level, players playing in the wrong position, poor at the breakdown (learnt nothing from the lat two games) and a slow static attack that reminded me of Leicester (the last two games aside).

Agreed. Then what would be wrong with playing wiggly and Faz at 9 and 10. A club unit that works and two proper centres? The lad from wasps on the bench and maybe slade? Just what you do with a back row like that? Injuries didn't help but it needs some zip.

[BFG]

I agree with a lot of the above and yes you can visibly see tactical weaknesses but you are going to get that in my opinion, you are not going to boss every team for every minute of matches, other teams will find ways but you have to stop them.
It all comes down to a lack of character and playing for England has become a career in my opinion.
The academy generations lack character and two losses away from home is the best way to be found out, similarly at the last World Cup they folded under the pressure.
Gone are the days when players were soldiers prepared to bleed red for England, and the oddest thing is that Hartley is one of the few prepared to and he isn't even English born and bred.
It's about upbringing in my opinion and many of these players are stars from 16 years old with next to no experience of the real world, they haven't had to tough life out like many youngsters.
They are silver spooned through elite age group rugby, sure they send them on days out to experience a bit of what a firefighter does and get soldiers in to tell them about what they do but you can't replicate the real thing in my opinion!
I'd add, as Salvi suggested get Guy Thompson involved, and also Brendan O'Connor in my opinion, England need shaking up!

[Leicestertinytiger]

Have to question why the form players such as Armand, Robson and Cipriani aren’t making the bench for England. All would have something to offer coming on for the last 20 mins.