RugbyRebels

Still crapping themselves though.

Total wank call to give the scrum to Scotland there.

Now a penalty, calm, considered, crushing response please.

Just line it up and kick it ....

Phew, well played, Scotland. Great mental strength to weather the storm.

Came together at the end for England. Carmichael and Woodman in the pack brought an extra edge with them.

Got to work on the line speed in defence it was non-existent.

Bit disappointed they didn't announce the man of the match.

That was a bit of a rollercoaster. Very good for 30 minutes, completely lost shape, composure and control for next 20, only to take control in closing stages to get the win.
Coaches will be very disappointed to concede 36 points and the way the wheels came off for a time was not a good sight.
I really liked Bracken at 9, Bradbury at 10 has got a bit about him, Fisilau put in an enormous shift and Woodman made a difference from the bench.
First game so you'd expect some improvement for next week.

Under 20 post match interviews are much more interesting than the seniors. Although if one took a drink every mention of "credit to the boys" one'd be paralytic.

Thought Bracken looked excellent. Very impressed by him. Thought CCS and Fisilau didn't work as a combo - despite what Exeter may plan, I don't think Fisilau's really an openside.

Maasi-White was the real star for me. Last season, I was amazed that they kept picking him over skillful centres - he looked the epitome of "Grew big young and bullied the age groups, so didn't have to learn anything else," combined with, "We really want another Tuilagi, so we'll pick anyone who looks likely." Was not expecting much of him, but his decision-making and hands were superb - for the three tries, but the best was when he put Roberts away down the right by moving the ball in and out before the cover snagged him. Very impressed by his improvement.

Puja

England looked really sharp when moving the ball in the first half hour, racked up a 31-10 lead with slick passing and handling, but seemed to lose concentration and started making errors/giving away dumb penalties.

Couldn't get the ball for long periods of H2, for which huge credit to Scotland's forwards. When the Scots went wide, England's defence had their measure, but close range tries orchestrated by the visitors' pack, plus good place kicking, nearly won them the game. After being headed, however, England rallied at the end.

Pressing need to keep focus when the game is effectively won.

fivepointer wrote: ↑Fri Feb 03, 2023 8:56 pm That was a bit of a rollercoaster. Very good for 30 minutes, completely lost shape, composure and control for next 20, only to take control in closing stages to get the win.
Coaches will be very disappointed to concede 36 points and the way the wheels came off for a time was not a good sight.
I really liked Bracken at 9, Bradbury at 10 has got a bit about him, Fisilau put in an enormous shift and Woodman made a difference from the bench.
First game so you'd expect some improvement for next week.

I thought Bracken was outstanding - lightning quick to the ball, default mentality to pass instantly and a reluctance to kick unless circumstances demanded. It was the best 80 minute stint I have seen from a SH for ages.

Oakboy wrote: ↑Sat Feb 04, 2023 8:58 am

fivepointer wrote: ↑Fri Feb 03, 2023 8:56 pm That was a bit of a rollercoaster. Very good for 30 minutes, completely lost shape, composure and control for next 20, only to take control in closing stages to get the win.
Coaches will be very disappointed to concede 36 points and the way the wheels came off for a time was not a good sight.
I really liked Bracken at 9, Bradbury at 10 has got a bit about him, Fisilau put in an enormous shift and Woodman made a difference from the bench.
First game so you'd expect some improvement for next week.

I thought Bracken was outstanding - lightning quick to the ball, default mentality to pass instantly and a reluctance to kick unless circumstances demanded. It was the best 80 minute stint I have seen from a SH for ages.

Plus, while it is a bit more prosaic, his box-kicking was outstanding - high and accurate. He had a couple of occasions where he was awkward getting the ball out of a scrum, but aside from that, a really promising performance.

Puja

Yeah, I thought Bracken was the pick for us too. Great box kicks and a great pass. Pretty decent building blocks to work with at that age.

Thought Ma'asi-White was decent too and the lineout functioned well throughout. Helped by the specimens at lock.

Really disjointed performance overall though. Mixed some good stuff in with some really lax defence and poor linespeed. Got the 5 points though and onto Italy, which will be a good test. They will need to be better for that one, as those Italy age grade teams are really on the up.

Edit - Enjoyed this from Bradbury too. He shanked a few kicks from hand under pressure but I'm interest to see how he develops. He's a real distributing ten.

Nice
L=>R too
Though rather risky, requiring the receiver to jump and expose his ribs - thankfully for him, his tackler has drifted out to intercept, rather than nailing him.

I'm sure the Premiership coaches will beat that out of him in short measure

At times the Scottish youngsters got the better of our lads at the breakdown. Is there some background brain who is working Scottish international tactics there generally? Man for man, I thought our back row was superior but their unit collectively, together with their other forwards, (sometimes) punched above their weight. Lessons there for our seniors, perhaps?

As excellent as Bracken was I also thought quite a number of his passes exposed the receiver's ribs.

10/12 channel represented a swing door at times. Scottish midfield looked good.

Oakboy wrote: ↑Sat Feb 04, 2023 11:02 am At times the Scottish youngsters got the better of our lads at the breakdown. Is there some background brain who is working Scottish international tactics there generally? Man for man, I thought our back row was superior but their unit collectively, together with their other forwards, (sometimes) punched above their weight. Lessons there for our seniors, perhaps?

Making them eat their pre match meal with a wooden spoon fires 'em up.

p/d wrote: ↑Sat Feb 04, 2023 11:05 am As excellent as Bracken was I also thought quite a number of his passes exposed the receiver's ribs.

10/12 channel represented a swing door at times. Scottish midfield looked good.

"Good tackle Woodward" was one of the few repeated positives for England from the erm slightly biased commentary team.

There was obviously a feeling the 10/12 channel would be targeted with England at lineout time dropping the backrow into that area. Unfortunately the organisation of those backrow players in that area was shocking.

I thought it was around the breakdown we didn't resource well. To often we have up easy metres there trying to push to wide to soon.

That looked like a terrible panic-pass that somehow got intercepted by his own player. Weird.

Mikey Brown wrote: ↑Sat Feb 04, 2023 12:35 pm That looked like a terrible panic-pass that somehow got intercepted by his own player. Weird.

Aye. Though the pass to him was straight out of the mini rugby handbook.

Mikey Brown wrote: ↑Sat Feb 04, 2023 12:35 pm That looked like a terrible panic-pass that somehow got intercepted by his own player. Weird.

So... very Finn Russell like then?

I'm with you - it looked more in hope than expectation and was lucky it landed in the right hands.

Puja

Puja wrote: ↑Sat Feb 04, 2023 1:03 pm

Mikey Brown wrote: ↑Sat Feb 04, 2023 12:35 pm That looked like a terrible panic-pass that somehow got intercepted by his own player. Weird.

So... very Finn Russell like then?

I'm with you - it looked more in hope than expectation and was lucky it landed in the right hands.

Puja

Well certainly not like the Russell pass v England being referenced.

It’s been a while for him though, so he’s probably due a horror pass or two today.

Hmm England not learning that an openside makes life more easy and sticking with two 8s in a Chiefs style backrow again. The Italian openside is supposed to be pretty handy as well.

I thought Fisilau was one of our best players v Scotland.

Oakboy wrote: ↑Wed Feb 08, 2023 4:31 pm I thought Fisilau was one of our best players v Scotland.

He was but he's really an 8. We looked better balanced when Woodman came on.

Good to have an unchanged XV. Doesnt happen that often at this level.