Mikey Brown wrote:There were a couple of dodgy moments, It's just frustrating because he can be so lethal. I'd be overjoyed if Parks had ever threatened the line that way and put in some of those passes, because I wouldn't expect them. I'm more likely to criticise a film that is almost great than one that is a complete waste of time. Is that a terrible analogy? Probably.
It must be a fine line to manage a player like Russell. We absolute cannot beat the flair out of him, that would be a massive shame. If we can get him just a little more assured of when to run/kick from deep and tighten up those massive looping passes he loves to throw he'll be a serious player.
I agree it is tricky but I sometimes think people are expecting the impossible. We want him to take the attack to the opposition and take risks but only if every one of them comes off. Take the grubber, agreed his biggest mistake (and Id say his only big one), it was when we just got a bit of momentum and killed it. However, in the lead up to Dunbar's try he threaded a (fairly) similar grubber through which led to our attacking lineout. If anything Id say that on the weekend he was fairly restrained.
I agree with all of that but also think that the kick was on. He spotted space and had the gumption to play for it.
There does seem to be a space for diminutive 10's in the modern game. Ford and Russell look more like 9's than 10's but that seems to be a benefit. It seems that the bigger and more organised test teams become the more it's crucial to have a flat out creative. That Froggy 9 is trouble.
Mikey Brown wrote: Whatever I may say about his speed of service sometimes I can't explain how much I enjoyed his stupid face at the end.
Good innit ?.
I was convinced he was just another dour Scot with the muscle memory needed to smile impaired beyond the skill of the finest cosmetic surgeon. I too am surprised at the emotional reaction in me when he wins.
It's a bit like watching your Son win a game.
His service is ok.
Surprised you seem to be taking so much stick after yesterday, Fella. I thought you played another solid game.
Adder wrote:We kicked away so much ball.... but we couldn't male yardage with it in hand. This was a game for Laidlaw. Game management lost us the game.
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I think it was more than that tbh. They were better than us in several areas.
That being said game management isn't our strong point. Even Laidlaw was poor in that facet for 3/4 of last week's 2nd half. Hogg and Russell are 1 game each of 75 joint caps, they should be controlling the game better with the boot.
Anybody watch Ireland-France. The Irish brutally effective at playing their game of rugby and the French flattering to deceive again. They sometimes spark, and that gives commentators the chance to waffle on about the French re-discovering their elan, but most of the time they've looked pretty blunt in attack. Think they've only scored two tries in three games so far
Matt Ha wrote:Anybody watch Ireland-France. The Irish brutally effective at playing their game of rugby and the French flattering to deceive again. They sometimes spark, and that gives commentators the chance to waffle on about the French re-discovering their elan, but most of the time they've looked pretty blunt in attack. Think they've only scored two tries in three games so far
In the first ten minutes I thought that we were in for a great game but then the Irish figured them out. Slowed it down and played a brutally efficient game. Makes our win look all the better.
So what do you do if you're Italy? England have to figure out how to deal with it at halftime (see Care break) so do they now flood the breakdown just to keep England off-balance?
Camparagno is brilliant. No idea why he wasn't starting when the tournament first kicked off. He's an important player for Exeter and showed it with his individual brilliance just then.
