From an Irish fan. Fantastic performance from England. Had a game-plan, stuck to it and just generally bossed us. Probably the best I’ve seen them play since 2019 WC semi final. For those reading, please don’t take our media’s narrative as the views of the average Irish fan. None of us thought this was ever a gimme game. There are no gimmes in the Six Nations. That’s what makes it such a great competition. Looking forward to a great Super Saturday with multiple teams in contention for the title, and a chance for Italy to put us all on notice. Excellent as always Squidge
Irish fans really are the best, I've seen only but fair and modest comments from irish after the defeat. How amazing is that !? (I am not Irish myself)
Well said. The only one who thought that Ireland where going to roll England was the moron Jamie Heaslip and the rest of the RTÉ panel. As soon I saw the English squad selection I thought, wait a minute this'll be a really tight, competitive game. Although I thought Ireland would pull through, England at Twickenham is always a tough task for any team. England were by far the better team on the day and deserved the win (despite me cursing Conor Murrays entire 30 odd minute performance). As Squidge said in his England V Scotland video, Borthwick is excellent in priming his teams for specific games. They had a plan and executed it well. The Irish injuries didn't help their cause, neither did O'Mahonys idiotic yellow card, but regardless, England where better on the day and had a deserved victory. The real question is how both Ireland and England will continue to develope into the future.
The MOST Scottish thing that could happen is they play brilliantly but then throw it all away.... But your theory is in strong contention for second place.
Irish fans were really class after the match. No excuses, magnanimous, and complementary. And as an England fan i was pleased England played an irish team still doing great things. Even if england lost it was great to see things were starting to click. Great game, great fans, great weekend of rugby.
i'm happier to see a strong england come out of a close lose. yeah i rather ireland still carry on winning ways for the next few years but also prefer a strong competition. These first 2 years after a world cup are usually messy where teams are trying out new players and new tactics and having the team learn new tricks etc.
Mostly comes from people who probably know little about RU... this video demonstrates that really well. You'd have to be knowledgeable in the game to see what he did on Saturday
I am a big Marcus Smith fan - but I like the way things work at the moment. Ford and Smith both played well. Better to have Smith off the bench where his running can exploit space.
One person who I think deserves more credit for England is slade. Firstly his defence was unreal shutting down the outside channel so well as well as leading/ managing the blitz. Secondly his attack was so clean with his runs always making meters, the ball presentation made it so much easier for the forwards to clear out and the pass to freeman on the outside channel summarising his picture perfect passing all tournament. And lastly his ability to play first receiver, 12, 13, full back at 13:30 as well as all game and even wing against wales where his kick chase was really good allowing players like Lawrence and the wingers to float knowing they were covered. People saying that tuilagi should be in instead of him for the france game have not been paying attention because I genuinely think he’s been up there with our best players.
still not sure why he never went to the last WC but I guess the gameplan at the time was kick chase + damage control + force errors and he didn't quite fit into the mould Borthwick had with the limited time to prep the squad
Not really. He played well in attack on Saturday, the first time for many many games. but he's an absolute horrorshow in defence. Let Freeman play in position at 13 and bring in a proper winger instead of Daly.
Agree Joe . Though I do think freeman is looking to take the shirt from slade over the next two years . He will learn from slade the defensive side mainly , but what a prospect Lawrence and Freeman can be .
Also: amazing game by Amashukeli. He really has cemented himself as a world class referee by now. He was able to perfectly manage a very tight, competitive game without sparking any shred of controversy.
Nico is not world class, he and Ben Whitehouse missed a couple of game changing calls. Either you are being honest or just being sarcastic based on the latter remarks in your comment. The refereeing team were rubbish.
Thank you squidge. The amount if things you've picked up on missed by most of the analysis out there is staggering. When you highlighted Lawrence running out wide from lowe's kick at 5 minutes I actually smacked my forhead in an 'oh of course, how didn't I see that' moment. Also nice to see someone recognise ford's amazing work, and not just bash him
Well done England. You guys played with yer heart on your sleeves & deserved the win. If Ireland had won it would of felt sour. We would have completely robbed you. Hopefully this is the start of the English teams turn around & the English media stop giving you guys & Borthwick a hard time. When Andy 1st took over Ireland we had a shaky 2 years with people questioning his approach to Irelands games until it all clicked in the 2022 6 Nations. It takes time for a new coach to get their feet on the ground & build a team around that game plan. I feel things are starting to shown for you guys. Obviously I want Ireland to win the 6 Nations but I hope ye put on a good game against France & make this weekends games of Rugby something special to watch.
I was down the pub with some family last weekend to watch this game and the pure electricity of the game was amazing a full pub was glued to the screen for 80 mins screaming at every win and that drop goal at the end had everyone on their feet cheering! Fantastic performance, chasing fantastic games like these is what being a rugby fan is about! Well played both sides!
Great stuff as always squidge but a little off topic can i just say what a lovely thing you have created. You get to talk about the game you are passionate about with your own brother & have built something that means you can both focus on doing so. What an amazing thing. Thanks as always for the great analysis & content.
Your point re Ireland being the most consistently good team is bang on. Other teams can beat them on the day, but in a 3 test series Ireland probably still beat pretty much everyone at the moment. The summer will be interesting!
@@MsColl90 Irish haven't been humble since the NZ series win, hard to imagine a side more arrogant in recent years with so few Webb Ellis's in their cabinet or even semi final appearances tbh. Goes without saying how poor leinster have been the last few seasons.
As an England fan I'm happy. As a rugby fan I'm very happy, because we need as many teams to be as competitive as possible. We're close to any team being able to win any given 6 Nations game. I'm even looking forward to Italy downing England in the 6 Nations - it will be a great day for rugby.
that's a fair call, they were excellent throughout the tournament. I know Brex got nominated as player of the tournament, but Earl is a proper contender. Consistent and very good. By comparison I thought the Irish loose forwards looked 10-20% off their game. Not sure why. Can't go to SA like that or we'll get taken to the cleaners, and that's in the test at sea level.
The build up to the WC and the tournament itself showed us all that the best teams - SA, NZ, France and Ireland - were all capable of beating eachother on a given day...so no team in world rugby is unbeatable. But as an 🏴 fan - despite a great WC - we had not beaten a top 5 team (including Scotland in this) since Borthers took over. I thought the step we would take in this 6N would be to beat the Auld Enemy along with Wales and Italy...and then be competitive against Ireland and France. After we lost to Scotland I feared the worst in this game...and that is why the win is worth so much. It gives us some hope that we are making progress towards rugby's top table. Conversely for Ireland...its a bit of a kick in the teeth but a 1 point loss isnt going to be anything they lose sleep over.
My friend as a South African if I were you I would be very excites ... because your team seem to be focused and gelling as a unit . How much does it have to do with the ingenuity of the two flyhalfs and the fact that the mighty Farrel is not around 🤔?
I think something not really mentioned in coverage after the game, but something that really seemed to have immediate affect when watching the game back, was that England's first two tries came when Nash (and then Crawley) were out of action due to HIAs. England obviously did well to exploit this, but I think it was unlucky for Ireland as they were the points where the momentum really started to shift away from them
2023 Freddy Stewart red carded in the 40th minute, 2022 Charlie Ewels red carded in the 2nd minute, these are never discussed when the Irish punditry look over past results in this fixture, although obviously huge factors.
@squidgerugby I love the way you called this before the game. So many pundits couldn't see England within 20 points, and then said it was a big surprise because THEY were surprised. Since watching your videos I always keep an eye on Ford. He does so much that doesn't get commented on. Absolutely love your work. Keep it up.
Another great video with one big flaw: those references to Ireland as the “number one team in the world” that cavalierly overlooks those two Southern Hemisphere sides that contested an excellent World Cup final.
It doesn’t count when your whole squad is on steroids and New Zealand’s win was a one off performance against a tired Ireland team who didn’t rotate their squad.
@@DD-RSA no need testing, they refused to sign an anti-doping charter. They should have been banned in the first place. But fortunately for saffas, World Rugby is easily corrupted, this organization is worse than FIFA or CIO.
Squidge is known for deliberately goading certain fans, big example is how he always calls Josh Van Der Flier South African to invite people to correct him in the comments. I'd wager that's what he's doing here to the easier baited South African fan base
Always love the forensic quality of the analysis, especially the little clips like laurence heading on angle to the far touch line on the counter. Always has a surreal spooky vibe to it like watching the grassy knoll
If we're talking grassy knoll look up a book called F1nal judg8m8nt re JFK - reveals that Sarti was the gunman and who was behind the plot. Squidge would go mad if he read it as he is perpetually angry on behalf of his co ethnics - the people who ki1led JFK. Also, Joe Mccarthy proved that Alger Hiss was a soviet spy in the white house, another fellow ethnic guilty of crime - no wonder squidge is angry, noone is allowed to defy the agenda..
You're point about Ireland being the team best team for hitting 8/10 performances is spot on. In an odd way, even though Ireland are a better team, France scsre me more. Mainly because they have more athletic freaks who could tear us apart if the mood takes. And they are massive, very, very massive.
Ohh nice haircut Robbie! Sorry your video got wiped and you had to do it again! It was a great analysis. Thank you for reminding everyone that Ford if still good
First off, fair play to England, they deserved the win and probably should've won more comfortably. Great D, fantastic attacking rugby and so much heart and desire. Fair f**ks to youse.👏👏👏 I wasn't looking forward to watching this (am an Irish supporter) but am glad I did. As usual squidge was fair, balanced and spot on in the analysis. Love the 6 nations, love the banter in the pub in Yorkshire with all 6 nations represented. Looking forward to tomorrow.
0:41 remember the underdog wins are usually the situation Ireland see themselves in. Very new to have England the underdog against Ireland. How far we’ve come. Yet genuine congratulations to England. A game well played and well won.
@@dulls8475 I’m saying that it’s historically Ireland that have had to wear the tag of underdog. It’s strange to see England v Ireland where England are the underdogs. That also meant to say “…congratulations to England”, not Ireland. Corrected now.
Ireland have been in the top two in the world for a few years now. This puts a giant target on their back. They are going to have to get used to teams targeting them; and treating a game against Ireland as one of the high points of their season. Scotland will have been planning this weekends game since they arrived in camp at the start of the 6N. England definitely showing the green shoots that could result in them being one of the teams right at the top of this tree again within the next few years. Great game, great weekend of rugby, from a disappointed irish fan.
@@Alex55455 www.world.rugby/rankings one good run in one competition doesn't make you world number 1 or 2 or 3 or anywhere for that matter. Even if that comp was the world cup. As with everything in life consistency is the key metric of success
Nice one Squidge. I agree so much with your opening. It is great for the game to see the under dogs winning. Sport is probably the last unscripted play left to us on this block of rock. In terms of under dogs, i am looking forward to hosting Ireland in SA and seeing how us under dogs fair. 😁😂
Incredible analysis as always. One of the reasons Ireland lost (which you miss) was not using the bench at 50 mins - Eng score at 47 mins, crowd goes up and the momentum shifts to them, Kelleher, Bealham, Henderson, Baird and Conan all should have come on at 50 mins to change the dynamic and wrestle back momentum
another reason is the England backline playing heads up rugby, e.g. staying wide when Nash was down knowing the pack had not had time to come across. They were excellent in both appreciating where the opportunity was and in executing overlaps. They never get credit for it.
Love it, as always the highest of quality. Ireland are a better team and that's reflected by the table, but this has made for a more interesting Super Saturday 😅
Brilliant video @Squidge Rugby. Your analysis of how England and Ireland kick-off comparatively is spot-on. The evidence that England go for the 5 points instead of 3 off kick-off shows their intent. But perhaps only 4 times out of ten this comes off and everything came off from England that day. Ireland will not suffer after this defeat, they will likely get better. Equally England should also get better as long as they have this sort of intent every time they pull on the jersey.
I am very impressed if attacking players are adjusting their line and then body position in the tackle to make sure they are taking out not just the tackler but the catchup defender - that would be a really nice development to see, and has some parallels with how you deal with multiple attackers in a self-defence scenario by positioning yourself and your opponents so your opponents are getting in the way of each other... it requires great awareness, and a very clear head under pressure - so would be a great sign if our players were doing this (I can well believe Ford would be up to it).
Ford was the true hero of this game. Sure he had a bad day from the tee, but he was integral in all the attacks and tries England made and scored. The fact that Smith is getting the glory for a drop goal that any 10 worth his salt would have scored is a sad reflection of how our media and fan base sees the state of the game. The fact that they all ignore that Smith taking a drop goal despite having a kickable penalty advantage was a poor decision: they should have pressed for the try to get the BP and make their chances of winning the tournament this week slightly better. If the try had failed, the game is still won from the penalty kick. Smith taking the DG shows his naïvety and poor ability to make decisions under pressure.
For all the charity you give Ford you can't give to Marcus for coming on and finishing someone's else's work. Just goes to show anyone can rationalise any belief.
Couldn't agree more, been saying the same thing all week. Kickable penalty advantage in the bag meant the drop goal gave them nothing they didn't already have. Why settle for a shot at the points you already have a shot at when a try gives a bonus point and a more (but still thin) reasonable chance of winning the championship? There's not a plausible scenario that doesn't result in Ireland getting at least 1 point against Scotland which means England can't win the Six Nations
This round of games was great. So pleased for England and Italy. Grand Slams should be hard and back to back ones 'trebly' so! Ireland will be champions
England were great and it's about time they came back to this competition. Ye were missed. England had an awful lot of luck in this game but they were so positive it didn't matter. Great to see.
Brilliant analysis as always! Helps me to appreciate the strategy and tactics so much more and to build a better understanding of what is going on!! I was a GF critic, but now I get it. Together with Wibble Rugby, I would suggest imho that you are way ahead of other rugby pundits. Great work, really enjoyable 😁👍🏉🏉
Wasn't looking forward to this video, but I enjoyed it a lot. One thing though: the audio levels were really low throughout (apart from the coda at the end).
Really enjoyed this analysis . Insightful and also funny . I wonder , though , old bean , whether you could maybe drink one fewer expresso before you start ? That bit about McArthy , Slade and 321 etc made me wondering if I'd put the meths in the sugar bowl by mistake .
Anyone who's still not in board celebrating this win should go watch the final whistle celebration between Ellis Genge and Jamie George, jumping up and down like excited schoolchildren. Such joy salved my broken Scottish heart
As a South African I'm impressed with the cohesiveness of Englands game . Things are falling in place they are gelling as a unit.... the two flyhalves are gold maybe not as tough as Farrel but way more creative ....truthfully I was always glad when we played England and Farrel was playing...thats free points 👉 right there . England now looks 👌 like pro's ...no too big egos . Marcus Smith in the world cup against Fidji showed that his willing to die for England and Ford is getting better like wine . How much does Felix Jones have to do with this FOCUS . Exciting times Englands gonne be Good 👍
The Schlosser / Kenner documentary, "Command & Control" about the Damascus Titan missile explosion gives you a good idea about the dangers of hypergolic fuels. Insanely volatile. Liable to ignite at the most inopportune moments. Can't be handled without corrosion-resistant protective clothing (rendering any kind of manual work incredibly difficult). Just a few breaths can destroy the sensitive tissues deep within the lungs, fluid begins pouring into the air sacs and you drown. The cryogenic propellants are a little less dangerous. But you have to chill them down to -180C - which presents a completely different set of challenges.
George Ford was brilliant here. Yeah he missed a few kicks... He was equally brilliant against France. I am fairly sure Eng will look back and say, we allowed Fra to win, much like Scotland. With a little more polishing could have been an Eng Grand slam. I am encouraged to watch Eng going forward. There is so much potential, and despite the two losses in the campaign, this team could shape into world class given time.
England targeted like a WC semifinal and executed it perfectly like the semi final in 2019. They were excellent and we weren't. Cold light of day I wasn't so upset after it, the grand slam gone but 6 nations title still on the line. Also believe this squad can learn more from this game than they would if England came ill prepared and got stomped. It also showed potential gaps in irelanda strength in depth. Last year things went to shit against Scotland in murrayfield and they adapted well. This year went to shit in Twickenham and they didnt. I guess the 6-2 split was also a tactical backfire but you live and you learn. Still riled up for this weekend
this is an amazing video to come back and watch after listening to squidge on the podcast with ben and dan. also the pod with george ford is all about how they are leaning into having less structure in attack and just trying to beat your man. not sure how it'll go abouts the all blacks but i'm excited to see it
The way you bait think skinned fans, in this case South Africans, to comment their oh so important corrections is fantastic. Comments are very important to the algorithm and this is such a smart way to get them
Hi Squidge you didn't mention the Genge - Furlong clear out ?? Even though that this was NOT reviewed by the TMO or yourself. Did you miss this as well? Just a comment as this was a a force onto Furlongs face and he got up immediately and Didn't milk it. So that's what Faz was on about at 1/2 time.
I loved the first part that underdog wins are great unless it's England. Everything is great unless it's England. Great analysts as ever esp about England slowing down Ire ruck ball but with a different ref they could be pens. And probably will.
OK. So the thing is, Ford does that stuff - scanning the field and calling a play - once or twice a game, and you've over-egged it even here. It's literally Ford's job to see mismatches. Let's not pretend the first try was all him, just because he pointed vaguely for Furbank to run it back and across. Smith does it from start to finish, moving the defence around and creating mismatches. Ford's chess is about 3 moves ahead. Smith is playing a different game.
I thought Ireland were excellent for large parts of the match but England's giant pack + a tactically sharp 9 (Alex Mitchell) = trouble for pretty much any opposition.
Still no idea if that was a rush of blood to the head or a professional foul by POM.. as an Irish fan i feel while England were brilliantly primed and ready going into this match, Ireland got lax and gave this English team opportunities that they wouldn't normally have done.. I think ireland started believing their own hype. This gave the irish squad a humbling experience which i think all top tier teams need from time to time.
Brilliant insight as ever. I am Scottish, but I have said for years that George Ford is a fantastic player and England's best flyhalf, Farrell is too one dimensional and while Marcus Smith is a talented boy, he isn't the messiah you all think he is, or not yet anyway, he's still young though. For some reason English fans and the press have never really rated Ford and I don't get it, he is solid and just a very good rugby player, doesn't have the mad box of tricks or individual skills that someone like Finn Russell or even Marcus Smith do but he reads the game very well and directs play brilliantly, exactly what a good 10 is meant to do.
I don't agree with your conclusion that Nash's KO wouldn't have mattered for that try. Ireland got hands on all of that attack but Crowley fell off the last hit. Nash would of been up and defence set at that stage. I do agree Fords heads up rugby really was top notch just too bad his kicking let him down. And your comment at the end is perfect. While gutted about the loss. Its good for rugby
England played their best game in 5 years and shocked Ireland and everyone with their tactics and energy, but the reasons why Ireland lost were, 1. The freak loss of two wingers In the same position, 2. POM getting a yellow card exactly at the point where Irelands bench would have come on with impact, 3. A dangerous no arms tackle by Underhill on Conan at 79 mins, not highlighted by the TMO, this altered Irelands exit plan resulting in a poor box kick, a penalty at that point would have pinned England deep in their own half, still, soft defence from a tired Ireland to allow a drop goal opportunity.
@dulls8475 All cleared regarding a citation, but nevertheless an illegal tackle that should have resulted in a penalty for Ireland. Multiple penalties awarded to England for minor infringements like hands in the ruck etc.
