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Post by newby on Feb 8, 2024 14:22:19 GMT
England have gone with the same starting XV for the game with Wales on Saturday. Ellis Genge, back after injury is on the bench, he is the only change in the squad.
By comparison 7 changes in the starting XV for Wales, including George North returning from injury.
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Post by davemorton on Feb 8, 2024 16:01:54 GMT
Same old Borthwick, safety first, the perfect antidote to Bazball.
At least he has some exciting talent on the bench, the usual boring suspects being unavailable. And it's only Wales. I used to have a Ford, and that was boring and slow, too. Somewhere out there, there's a Suzuki called Smith, two versions, one currently in dock. It's a no brainer.
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Post by donnylad on Feb 8, 2024 19:16:09 GMT
You know the old saying DM - forwards win matches, backs decide by how many.
Stick with the pack, get on top then send on the young guns. Maybe I am a dinosaur where RU is concerned but this "43 - 36 Good game!" 'entertainment' is for the sports bar boys over their lagers. You have played, I played, (nowhere near this standard) but we went out to win. If the opposition beat us because they were better then fine - lets have a beer with the bloke who played opposite you.
Sorry - I have been reading the BBC HYS again - ye gods what tripe they write.
So I went for a look at the RL HYS after the announcement of BBC showing matches ............ oh dear. I have posted on the other thread.
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Post by newby on Feb 8, 2024 21:41:06 GMT
There's a lot to be said for grinding them down, taking the penalties on offer, and not letting the crowd, and the adrenalin, go to your head and ending up kicking for the corner too early in the game. I thought that was Ireland's downfall in the World Cup.
We should, hopefully, have better replacements than Wales so I'll be quite happy if England keep it tight and then hit them in the last quarter. Of course if Wales are as bad in the first half as they were against Scotland then some early England tries would be perfectly acceptable.
Nothing too flashy of course.
NZ referee, James Doleman, I hope that doesn't mean endless resetting of the scrums.
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Post by davemorton on Feb 9, 2024 1:33:12 GMT
No problem with cutting your coat according to your cloth, or whatever the phrase is. The England cricket team has a bunch of players suited to the style they're playing. It would be wrong to pick Cook, Strauss and Collingwood, for example, and tell them to play like Crawley, Duckett and Bairstow. The very best players - Pietersen and Bell, or Root and Stokes, can play any way they choose.
So, if Youngs and Ford, and Farrell and Tuilangi, are what you've got, then so be it. Just a shame that a genius like Johnny May is never going to get a touch.
But now we've got options, lots of them, and Borthwick has opted for the boring. Absolutely, Donnylad, the forwards dictate the shape of the game. Sadly, for the first time in yonks, we appear not to have any of the quality of Johnson, Dallaglio, etc, and our best forward has retired. Doesn't that make it all the more important to attack with what little possession we get?
As with cricket, I used to love the low-scoring games, as a player, especially if I had got the interception try that won it, as happened once - only because my opposing centre was the size of a house, and no way was I going to tackle him. It's amazing how fast you can run when you're frightened. Oddly, I was never scared playing cricket, which is why I played 1st XI, but 4th or 5th XV at rugby. The Extra B's, in the language of the day.
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Post by davemorton on Feb 10, 2024 14:11:31 GMT
All set to go, excitement rising...perhaps not quite so much as in the great days of the Five Nations, when the rugby community very much came together, united in passion for the game.
I enjoyed the U20 match last night, big crowd at Bath. Winger Alex Wills, who scored a try for England (and dropped the ball over the line on another occasion) apparently turned out for Sedgley. He would have been on loan from Sale Sharks. He's not local to us. England were utterly dominant in the scrums, as dominant as you ever see a team in this era. Wales defended bravely to keep the score down to four tries. Italy have played 2, lost 2, and are probably the 3rd best team in it! They gave England a stuffing up front last week, but lacked the all-round game to win. Heaven help the Welsh pack, when they meet.
Back to the main event, Scotland to beat France 25-24. Prediction timed 2.01 pm. And England 30-10 Wales. See how I get on.
Much studio talk about Shaun Edwards and speculation about his team talk! Rugby humour remains the same. 'Thousands and thousands' of French fans in Murrayfield. What a buzz.
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Post by newby on Feb 10, 2024 16:30:00 GMT
I hope your second prediction is closer to the mark. Scotland was robbed, or were they, as a neutral I think they probably were but they didn't do enough to win the game. I hope the England game is a little better with a bit less kick tennis.
Leeds Tykes scored another hatful of tries 46-6 I think it ended up.
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Post by davemorton on Feb 10, 2024 20:09:11 GMT
'Umpire's call' at the end, I suppose. France were certainly robbed of a nailed on penalty try + yellow card in the first half. Quite an enjoyable game, as a neutral, apart from the "let's all kick and stand still" period in the second half. More like badminton than tennis.
With England, it's the hope that kills. Lively start, we could have had a couple of tries in the first five minutes, but ultimately we kicked possession away...how many times?...inside the 22. Then we had scrums that lasted ten minutes each, for most of the rest of the game. A good final ten saved us from the boos, I think. Subs better than the starting players, again, hooker and scrum-half especially.
I rather suspect England will not win again this season. Nor Wales.
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Post by newby on Feb 10, 2024 20:32:21 GMT
The England v Wales game seemed to go in a flash, which must mean something. It never really felt that we would lose, but it was tighter than it ought to have been.
Wales were either very disciplined or were getting away with murder in the first half.
Murrayfield next in a fortnights time is probably our best chance of winning another game. I'm ever hopeful.
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Post by davemorton on Feb 11, 2024 19:54:27 GMT
It's always a good sign when time flies, at a rugby match. *Sometimes 40 minutes feels like eternity and a half.
Watching Ireland today, from the little kid singing the anthem to the final whistle was a joy. Not a perfect performance, perhaps, but on a different level entirely to the other five nations. Italy are really trying to play good rugby. Time was, when they played no rugby at all, simply spent eighty minutes off-side and trying to beat you up with a big gnarly pack.
I think they will beat Wales this year, though the Taffs too will improve. It's still a great competition.
*There used to be an old policeman who supported Sedgley Park. He and I shared the Fixture Secretary's duties for several years. He was a big man with a foghorn voice, and a savage wit. After one particularly atrocious game, he announced, "Next week we're all going slug racing!" and that was the highlight of the match.
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Post by karma on Feb 13, 2024 17:37:05 GMT
Well ,I've just read in 'The Press' ( York's local paper) that
"over 7,000 tickets have been sold for England Men's open training sessional the LNER Community Stadium next month.
Steve Borthwick's squad will head to the city on March 1st for the session which will take place from 10am to approximately 12.30pm. The open training session will be England's second with first taking place at Twickenham on Friday.
It's exciting to be able to put on open training sessions because it's a chance for us to show the supporters how hard we are working behind the scenes" ( I have resisted the urge to say something like 'unlike their efforts in the last two games' because, as always ,that's a matter of opinion)
Well anybody want to buy a ticket to watch me practice cleaning my car?
Speaking as a lover of live sport I still find it incredible that 7,000 people would buy tickets to watch someone train. I think an ex-Leeds United manager used to watch an opposition team for free.
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Post by davemorton on Feb 13, 2024 18:38:46 GMT
"Tickets are free, with the exception of a £1 booking charge...."
I think I would pay that, if I lived near York. I have watched practice-days before cricket matches, and felt I have gained a few insights.
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Post by karma on Feb 13, 2024 18:46:42 GMT
Good for you Dave, the cost is not substantial and if, as you say, you lived near York it'd be easier. Each for their own and not for me but good for you.
Just going into the LNER Community Stadium to see this evening's live action. ⚽️
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Post by newby on Feb 13, 2024 19:32:29 GMT
Not to everyone's taste but it's good to take the players around and let those who want to take a look.
I suppose it give's you the opportunity to scream 'stop kicking the bloody thing' to an actual person instead of the Telly.
Hang on, what day was that again!
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Post by tykemania on Feb 14, 2024 15:48:09 GMT
The England v Wales game seemed to go in a flash, which must mean something. It never really felt that we would lose, but it was tighter than it ought to have been. Wales were either very disciplined or were getting away with murder in the first half. I tend toward the getting away with murder; they got the generous end of the three big refereeing calls - I could just about accept that the Chessum yellow was beyond Doleman's control but the penalty try was questionable at best, and Ford's conversion should have been re-teed - and should have been conceding scrum penalties more or less every time. I'm going to strike a different note to most of you on the selections and approach though; realistically, we don't have the experienced players right now to chuck the ball around like France or New Zealand, nor the hard headed experience to turn that game on and off like Ireland do. Even if there are three defeats to come - and you'd have to accept that is a very realistic possibility - I think there are positive signs in the Borthwick regime beyond just getting to within a point of the RWC final. In Chessum, Martin, Cunningham-South and somewhere down the line Barbeary and Pearson, there is a lot more gain line heft in the pack and there is at least a willingness to consider playing the ball now. The big issue is 12-13 though. It doesn't seem to matter who we try, we always seem outclassed in that area and have done for a long time now. Nothing against individuals, I just struggle to think of a pairing that might work (unless Manu circa 2013 reappears in the Tardis).
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