ENGLAND PLAYER & TEAM TOUR REPORT CARD | Increased or decreased reputations v New Zealand (All Blacks) & Japan? ----------------------- Rugby artwork in background courtesy of Blair Skivington www.etsy.com/u...
I am from South Africa and watched the second test between NZ and Eng. The downfall of that game was the bench. You had NZ on the back foot until the bench came on. If the bench was a bit stronger you could have taken the game but in the end, it is a learning curve for the Coach and players.
Absolutely agree, however, the one man NZ bomb squad of Beauden Barrett is someone not many teams have and he was really the difference. Definitely lost some go forward but his game management was class.
Really encouraging summer tour, Mitchell and Smith look great at 9/10, and back 3 with Furbank is exciting, centres is still an issue. Lawrence is fantastic but not a 12 and Slade probably still starts at 13 for defence and left foot. Forwards mixed bag, George beginning to show age, and tighthead prop is very worrying. Itoje and Martin a good lock duo and I think back row balance is good even if Earl and Underhill seemed a little tired after long season. Would perhaps like to see Ted Hill given a shot at 6, CCS at 8 and put earl at 7.
Can't see how Stuart stayed " = ", on the report card, given his repeated scrum failures (much like Rodd) - that's got to be a given, for a prop, so he's toast as far as I'm concerned... Time for the (rest of the) next generation to be blooded, alongside Baxter! Touring players who probably shouldn't play for England again, if we're to make progress in the RWC2027 cycle: Too old/slow: Cole, Marler, Spencer, Steward (unless you're playing in a monsoon!) Just not good enough: Rodd, Stuart, Ewels, Dombrandt
Work in progress.... why the drama? Lost 2 matches by the closest margins. So many positives and so many lessons to be learnt. Do not understand the over- dramatic negativity. Save it for a World Cup or Six Nations.
Will Stuart has to go down. He got marmalised in the scrum, there's a serious prop crisis for England now and while he's a decent club player, he's currently holding a place until a better scrummager arrives on the scene.
'Fey-Waboso isn't the quickest' - He runs so casually in a straight line he doesn't look as fast, but he is rapid. Chased Sevu-Reece and Telea down comfortably at times. Has been used as Blitz D by Exeter all season and I can't remember a player to get away from his chase. Him and Sleitholme would be class, argument then between Freeman/Furbank at 15
The bench use to be a strength of ours but now it looks real thin in the back 5. Curry still on the mend, Coles doesn't look like an impact player. Need Chessum on the bench and Ted Hill/Barbeary who look like proper impact subs.
England were fantastic in the lineups. The ABs have got problems competing in the lineup and will be keen to see if Razor can sort these out. Furbank, Smith, Mitchel, Martin, Cunningham-South, Itoje and the Welsh guy are superstars
It's a shame because he seems a sound lad, but Freddie Steward should never pull on the 15 jersey for England again. He looked completely lost on saturday. Like some frankensteins monster lumbering about the pitch.
I would like to have seen Fraser Dingwall given some game time, Rich. Underrated in my opinion, was excellent for Saints last season. Think he has suffered because of the general malaise England had at the start of the Six Nations. I feel with Slade and Lawrence we are are still paying two outside centres. Dingwall does play inside centre for his club.
They England did very good and will only get better ! We the world need a strong England ! Love or hate them they will improve , remember it’s a big wheel and keeps on turning !
England Pushed NZ hard deep on NZ soil in both games, looked better for large periods of both games. Englands backrow is elite. The top four is pretty much the top five now, England are back in the top circle.
To say we cannot scrummage is ridiculous. A couple of early decisions but after that it was pretty much par until late on with Rodd. Having said that we do need some new props very soon
From a NZ POV, this was VIP in the wake of the Twickenham draw in 22, and the Yokohama hammering of 2019. I think Borthwick is growing this team very well.
They really should have put the second game out of reach in the 3rd quarter. They had all the possession and territory but didn't capitalise. Plus, the front row is vulnerable and we don't have a strong bench. Attacking rugby is great but unless they sort out the front row we won't win anything
The general consensus before the tour was that NZ were likely to win both games, so we can't have any complaints in terms of results. 3 wins from 4 in the Autumn though, is a must if we're showing learning how to close out tight games. Overall pretty happy with where we are but changes needed at tight head and would love to see Ted Hill feature somewhere soon.
It will be interesting to see what happens in the Rugby Championship down under - seeing how NZ do against the Boks particularly will give us more of an idea on how good England's performances were in global terms.
England looked good and competitive against NZ, so thumbs up. Underhill and Earl looked tired, T Curry too early after long injury, Slade in defense really good but needs to do more on attack. Overall room for improvement but looking promising.
England need an 80 minute game. You can't play a 79 minute game against the AB. Second you need a decent bench. AB was rusty and still you couldn't win. Ireland are the standard.
For the Autumn series I’d like to see: Baxter, Langdon, Davison, Itoje, Martin, T Hill, Barbeary, Earl Mitchell, F Smith, Hartley, Freeman, Sleightholme, Furbank, Feyi-Waboso Bench: Rapava-Ruskin, Dan, Heyes, CCS,T Curry, Randall, M Smith, Roebuck Some changes needed as: Tighthead still an issue Ted Hill is the best natural 6 Barbeary would give extra bulk and weight to the pack Still feel to get the best out of their games-start Fin and Marcus after half time Lawrence is not a 12- Lichfield or Wimbush if Hartley is still injured Freeman as a 13 needs trying
@@Bpt8825 was outplayed by Dombrandt and Mercer this season I’d argue Barbeary is good for close quarters but you need a more open field dynamic carrier like Earl, Dombrandt, Mercer or CCS at 8
I believe England need to win all their November home games and beat Ireland in the first game of the six nations to be considered a current top 4 team. They need a consistent run against top opposition and return Twickenham to a fortress
Normally critical about England 🏴 but this mini New Zealand Tour albeit two losses,this young team is going places! Finn Baxter 👍 Young Saints boyz. CS Underhill destroying mode . Outside centre to find thou .
No denying that England are light years away from the Jones era now but there has to be a genuine desire to be the best team in the World and that means there are still quite a few things to work on. We can't adopt the "well, we almost beat the AB's in their own backyard, so that's good enough" mentality. Hard decisions have to be made and Borthwick needs to be ruthless with some players. WE have GOT to find two/three tight heads who can anchor a scrum first and foremost. Ted Hill must be given a chance, as should Tom Pearson. Roebuck needs game time in the autumn and Murley should be brought back. Is Freeman a centre in waiting? Who are our nailed on nines and tens? Lastly, we need to THINK and stay clear headed. Poor game management still keeps returning to knacker our chances. It has to stop. We are going down the right road but more is needed.
The progress from a year ago is pleasing, still plagued by the front row and inside centre, until that’s addressed I think England will always struggle to beat the top 4 or 5 teams with any consistency, Steward confirmed what we already knew he is simply far to slow, the only time I’d even entertain him would be on a cold windy winters day with a huge aerial battle and an arm wrestling guaranteed, any time conditions allow for teams to play he consistently gets exposed. The bench for its most part is pretty lack lustre, it’s needs to even add something or allow players to completely empty the tank knowing someone else is coming in with a similar playing style. Earl is a class act but seemed a little off, think we need some more carriers and options so it’s a little less predictable. For what ever reason you come across as giving Lawrence more lenience than others, I guess in part that’s fair enough given there are few viable alternatives and he’s filling in out of position but in one passage he lost the ball and made absolutely no effort to chase back, for me that’s lazy and unacceptable at this level. Didn’t see enough of Underhills show stop tackles but we know he has them in abundance, without him England do not look the same. This England team really need to grow into a team comfortable in possession, at the moment they seem to be happy to kick away a lot of ball and put themselves under pressure too often.
Pretty much agree on the assessment. Thought you were harsh on Underhill but I am ok with the rest. Think the squad will be stronger in the Autumn with Genge, Chessum, and Ford (as a back up) coming back. Hopefully JVP and Quirke will be fighting it out for the 2nd 9 spot. Carpenter surely has to come in for Steward. I would also like them to take a look at Will Joseph at centre (He seems to have bad luck with injuries though). Is Joe Marchandt back in the Prem next season and eligible? Does this tour spell the end for Daly?? My fear is they bring him back for Steward and drop Carpenter....we shall see but a good tour overall except tight head....Prime minister needs to declare a national crisis!!
Aside from TH (gulp), i think questions may be asked of Underhill. We seemed to struggle at the breakdown even on front foot ball. Maybe that's unfair on him, but it was a worry. Curry didn't seem to help when he came on. I wonder if T Hill will be an option off the bench (or starting with CCS on the bench) in the future? Maybe Pearson gets a look. Although both Curry and Underhill have a lot of credit in the bank, so shouldn't rule them out. Biggest 'ups' may have been JVP and Quirke. Whoever of them looks best at the start of the season is on the bench for the AIs.
NZ were pants and have loads to do. Line out massive concern for us, no depth in that area and breaking the D a concern. FB and 1/2 backs worry me. Good end of season for England and ABs have work to do. Love your work bro keep up the vids!
Surely C-South is the solution for #8....and then build a back row around him depending on game plan and opposition. For example I would want to pick Chessum, CurryT and C-South for the South Africa game to really put some heft onto the park.
Yep? I agree . England looked good and has improved from the French walloping from 18mths ago. BUT as NZ showed MORE is REQUIRED if you want to beat NZ at home. See what happens the next 30yrs??
You missed the most important ranking. Borthwick. A down for me. Poor selection - Rodd, Steward in 2nd test, a centre partnership that defended ok, but didnt threaten in attack, Spencer sub in 1st game …. Overall a down for me for the team. They had to win at least one game and failed
England played very well i thought, big forward runners, good gainline carries, good rush D. NZ looked & played like a team that had not played in 8 months & had an entirely new lot of coaching staff. The key takeaway from this I thought was even though NZ were pushed & made to look average by a battle hardened England, they still managed to win the series 2-0 Razor has a serial winning record across his career. These wins are not gained from his teams playing amazing week in week out, they are made from those games where they do play average & should have lost but still somehow find a way to get the win. To us kiwis this series feels like loss! I remember watching an interview with Razor & he said quote "why does everyone say you have to lose to take away learnings? You can win & do the same".. Food for thought.. come the game @ Twickenham in Nov the roles are reversed, it will be Englands first game of their season & NZ's 11th. Will the game be as close then?..
Me a Kiwi England did great not good ,knowing that they have had a lot of games. England is improving fast after last years rwc with three years more to improve is I fright & reminder cheers from New Zealand
Issue re the props a bit overkill, the scrum is a unit and if i look at four and five we appear to be underpowered in general in the scrum, the only way to judge the pack is against the backdrop of the six nations - a concentrated fixture list. Harsh on Rodd, bit part appearances and only lost two scrums.
It was a good tour for England - Steve Borthwick and his team did well and I think learnt a lot from it. However, I disagree with some of you scores - For me, Stuart, Coles, Slade, Earl and F. Smith went down not flat. Earl & Coles (like Underhill) looked very tired, and Slade (like Steward) is not a good fit for the new gameplan - especially when you have guys like Northmore, Freeman, Lawrence etc. who are a much better options at 13... There were a few people I wish had been picked in the squad and with the beauty of hinsight would have made a difference, such as Ted Hill, VRR, Trevor Davison, Marcus Street, Zach Wimbush, Rusi Tuima etc.
Lets face the facts. England should have won both matches.. AB's will never be weaker, having just come together under a new coach, with players like Whitelock, Retallick, and Mounga unavailable. England have had over a year to put a team together, Robertson just a couple weeks.
England has improved. Feyi-Waboso and Martin are the key to the improvement i believe. The rest seem to be inspired by their full on approach. Ultimately though it was a missed opportunity for a series win over an average ABs side. Looking forward to the Autumn internationals, England can get their revenge at Twickers.
Mate Earl was poor and has dropped I think it’s fair to say he has dropped alongside Underhill 🤷♂️ I do enjoy what you said but you’re always pretty fair.
You seem to have a lot of time for Lawrence, but he continues to drop critical balls. Needs to do better in the Autumn. Earls too was fantastic earlier in the year, but seems to have dropped off. In all, England were disappointing. How long are we going to keep saying they are on a journey when they continue to lose. They may not have a better chance against New Zealand as they were even more raw. They have much to do to get back into the top tier, starting with a new front row, Baxter excluded. I think we may see a new captain in the autumn and 2-3 changes in the forwards.
Injury aside there is no way Jamie George is not captain in the autumn. We need new props so will likely struggle at Scrum time for a couple of years. There is no way Bothwick will weaked his lineout as well by dropping his best thrower.
@@rugbyanalyst although young the front row of the u20s are putting in some monstrous efforts at scrum time. Maybe them going into the wider squad as practice players to give them exposure is needed. Marler, Cole and George aren't getting any younger and we currently only have a second pick in Dan, Fin and Beno?.....
@@rugbyanalyst What about Painter? I know he's a bit slow around the park but haven't we had enough fannying around with "all court" props? He's 132kg and can anchor a scrum.
No need for kind of talk pal England were very respectful the coaches captain and players and supporters mostly Save it for Ireland smart asss little dreamers they are you can tell World Rugby is based in Dublin always rankings those bums number 1 even though they lost 3 games since the RWC lol the great pretenders
