I didn’t expect Scotland to lose by a big margin !
I thought they had a good chance of winning……as they would have if Finn Russell had his kicking boots on.
I didn’t expect Scotland to lose by a big margin !
I thought they had a good chance of winning……as they would have if Finn Russell had his kicking boots on.
Russell did Scotland no favours, not with the conversions and especially not with that weak "I better protect my face and turn away from the carrier instead of putting all my weight into stopping him" tackle with the England try. Such a pathetic effort. It looks like it was him as well who missed Lawrence when England almost scored just after the half.
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Finn Russell will be very disappointed today…..so close. Duhan V D Merwe being on top of his game again….
Finn Smith on the other hand, played very well. Kicking well and making the most tackles for his team….
Congrats England.
Wales showed a lot of heart and played well….They put the Irish under pressure, but couldn’t pull it thru….next time they will do better.
Louis Reece Zammit was watching in the stands…..wonder if he will be playing Rugby for wales again soon??
Scotland were better than England, they played most of the rugby
Shocking call by the ref not to check the first England try which was not a try - that ball was not grounded
Apparently one of Scotlands tries was from a forward pass…
We played no Rugby at all. It’s ridiculous.
ouPakie that turn away from the tackle was greatly assisted by the Poms substantial shoulder.
Kyk weer.
I don’t recall the forward pass but either way Scotland were the better side and should have won that game
Marcus Smith is completely wasted at 15, he needs his hands on the ball as often as possible- that happens at 10, like we saw with Russell orchestrating all those Scottish attacks
Fin Smith looks handy enough and big enough to shift to 12 - dump Slade play Marcus at 10 and Fin at 12
Not a bad idea.
Look at the passer's hands, not the ball.
vdMerwe, up with the best Bok wingers.
ouPakie that turn away from the tackle was greatly assisted by the Poms substantial shoulder.
Kyk weer.
Fair enough Blobbie, I can see it. I see now on the overhead angle too he had to get the ref who was standing right in front of him out of the way a moment before making the tackle so okay, criticism retracted. Could have been lower but it happened pretty quickly. Should have been yellow for the ref.
Have to say I can't see the grounding either as Dave brought it up and the camera cut away conveniently at the critical moment on the definitive replay angle.
Apparently one of Scotlands tries was from a forward pass…
Would be interesting to know which one. I just checked them all and can't see any pass that looks forward, at least not definitively enough to warrant cancelling a try.
Agreed, Dave
Perhaps Borthwick might be thinking that Smith would get more open field to run from at 15. But that's not where he's the most valuable. He shines when he is in the thick of it making quick decisions and getting his nose through the middle of two defenders. He recognises patterns and switches up the attack incredibly well. For me he was playing similar or better rugby than the rugby that made us all stand up and talk about Sacha as generational.
And I'm pretty sure that anybody that watched the games before he got shipped off to 15 will agree, because he was exciting to watch and made massive impacts on the game from 10.
All I'm saying is, were I a Pom, I'd be livid.
Meanwhile, the Boks have mega-luxury problems at 15. Fassi or Willemse, lol...imagine!
Markus also got exposed defensively out wide with Duhan running straight through him for that try he set up
i was surprised to see Fin Smith listed as 1.78m and only 87kg, he looks bigger than that hence my call to shift him to 12
Markus also got exposed defensively out wide with Duhan running straight through him for that try he set up
Duhan beat Lawrence in the setup of the first try. Marcus was out wide in the final bastion forcing the pass inside from the 12.
Never mind, I see you're talking about the second try.
Markus is a little guy and while he will get stuck in defensively unlike Ramos, little guys as the last line of defence can often get exposed
Playing him at Full back is not fair on him or the team.
Well I think that sometimes Marcus had problems closing the game out at 10….
Finn on the other hand has some mongrel in him evident this past weekend vs the Scotties defending very well….
Also very good kick from halfway to put the Poms infront. With him starting at pivot, ENG at least managed 2 wins in a row.
Marcus does bring some X Factor that is very good. How about alternating the two, depending on game plan??
Playing Finn @ 12, can also work.
Let’s have a decent game plan for a start ! Caterpillars and kicking the leather off the ball is not helping anyone.
When we actually attack, we look ok.
The players need to stand up to Borthwick or we will come unstuck against Italy or Wales.
Markus is twice the player Fin will ever be especially at 10
Fin is a decent player and is totally different as a player to Marcus. I’m glad we had him to kick that penalty.
Fin is a nice enough player - has zero X factor which is exactly what Marcus does have
Sometimes a steady hand is needed.
Bullshit Marcus was great for you at 10, he created whereas now you are playing no rugby
Finn Russel showed what a creative 10 is all about - he ignited his backs whereas the England backs did nothing and won thanks to a try that was never a try
I like Marcus, which is why I believe he is being short changed by being stuck in at Fullback.
Our gameplan hardly utilised the backs.
I just don't know how one justifies putting him at 15 when he was playing like the best 10 on the planet.
I'm not saying he is the best 10 in the world, but the form he was in puts him in that conversation.
So I don't get how one justifies a move like that. Because he's nowhere near the best 15 in the world.
Spot on Plum it’s plain stupidity by Borthwick and it showed in their game against Scotland where they were clearly the weaker side especially with reference to their backline attack
I have a feeling the Smith axis is here to stay…..
That is good news for the opposition - we much prefer Markus wasted at 15 and a defensive liability out there as well
Well I don’t agree with it ! But I’m not the flaming coach, am I ?!
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Both showed great spirit and came up just short in games they were expected to lose by big margins.