England Squad review

With the autumn internationals out they way I thought I should review the squad against my previous comments.

Props
Sheridan, Vickery, Stevens and Freshwater
Vickery and Sheridan looked good against the Australians but struggled against New Zealand. Vickery has and excuse of inexperience but VIckery doesn't. I thought both Stevens and Freshwater looked good with the ball in hand. Sheridan could improve his footwork when he's running. For a big guy he gets brought down a lot. With Sheridan I am being greedy, I see him for Sale, take the ball forward with no movement or footwork and someone lassoos his legs and down he goes. I think if he had better footwork it we be harder to get him. Overall these four will remain and will provide a great platform for England.

Hookers
Thompson and Mears
I thought Thompson improved immensely, I would still like to see him work more on his open play. I would have liked Mears to get more game time, we will need to have at least two accomplished hookers for the world cup.

Second Row
Grewcock, Borthwick, Shaw and Deacon
Grewcock surpassed my expectations and could become the first choice lock. I am still interested in Deacon, after watching New Zealand this year I see the biggest gulf is in skill level. Something Deacon has hinted at is his ability to play rugby when he is in the open, so I hope and see. Shaw came back for the last game against Samoa, and did what I expect of him. Finally we have a good selection, form will select for each match, and I hope the skill levels will continue to rise.

Back Row
Moody, Corry, Jones, Forrester and Sanderson
Jones was exceptionally unlucky to be dropped after sitting on the bench for two weeks, I can't quite understand the reasoning. Sanderson was good, really competitive, and above showed class the ball in hand. Corry was solid, blah blah blah. Sorry to sound bored but he did not excel but did nothing wrong, he lead well played well. Corry will keep his spot unless Dalllaglio returns or some young kid, Jordan Crane for example, steals the show. Rees still looks to have the complete package, so I hope he will get a chance soon. Forrster was brought in at the last minute, and then kept on the bench, a player like this needs to have time against top class physical opposition. We learnt nothing new about Corry against Samoa, but we could have learnt a lot about Forrester.

Scrum Half
Ellis and Dawson
Ellis looked better than he has for a while, but Dawson showed his experience. It will be interesting to see what happens for the 6 nations if Ellis does not keep this form and Perry down at Bristol keeps playing well.

Fly Half
Hodgson and Barkley
Hodgson showed class throughout, and will be in contention even when Wilkinson returns. Barkley did a good job, but is strictly cover in my view, but I hope he develops under Ashton.

Centre
Tindall, Simpson-Daniel and Noon
I love the Tindall'’s attitude, always positive, but someone needs to talk to him. Tindall, if he could run straight and looked for the off load, if we just add that single skill no team on earth could withstand it; in my opinion.
At inside centre Abbott is still the man, Barkley is next and there is always Wilkinson, should he ever return from injury.Toby Flood has been looking very good with bad ball, he could be in contention soon. Outside I still like Ollie Smith and Noon will be a good reserve, with Tait the main contender. But of course none of this will happen because Robinson-Lydon do not see the same games I see.

Back Three
Cueto, Cohen, Lewsey, Varndell, Voyce and van Gisbergen
I think van Gisbergen was also very unlucky, and poorly managed. Varndell has shown signs of real class, but personally I would have made him wait until the six nations and let van Gisbergen get a run. It is odd that the best three full backs are all playing at Wasps: Lewsey, Voyce and van Gisbergen. I think Voyce offers a bit more than Cohen, but then I am saying what I thought before. Lewsey is in poor form, so where did we take the chance to find out about Voyce or van Gisbergen as fullback? I am pleased for Varndell, but stick by the idea of keeping him hungry for a few months, see if the premiership teams work him out.

Autumn Review

In most of their matches New Zealand did nothing, no sweat, no effort, nothing flash; a true sign of genius. I don't even think the French are quite there, as with SA they will push them but not quite enough. France and South Africa had a good game, playing for the number two spot behind NZ. I think France are a bit loose if they want to beat NZ, but they can really play. As France are at home for the next world cup I still have them as favorites. My moment of the match was Nyanga running through Smith, Smit and nearly through Burger, great player.

I thought Australia where quite good against France, better than the Welsh against New Zealand. I actually thought Australia would beat England. I expected England to mess up the line out, again. I thought where England did dominate up front the ball would be too slow for Hodgson to do anything with, or Tindall will kick it away, drop it or bash it up and lose the ball in contact. When Australia have the ball they will rip through our tired old defensive patterns. After the game I thought Australia were less effective than against France, but then we were more dominant than France. Cohen was on good form, it's a shame that the back three are capable of mixing it with the best but we starve them. Hodgson got nice and flat and Tindall was half a pitch behind. I think I was flapping my arms in frustration more than Dawson. I was pleased to see the lineout working, but it adds to my dismay at the poor use of the ball. I liked what Michael Lynagh said, there is cause for concern when England can dominate so much and then still be close to losing.
The scrum was an obvious issue. The Australian coach, Eddie Jones, also talked about having more front row players on the bench. I would like to see stiffer penalties, maybe allow a full front row on the bench but make the team drop to fourteen if they run out.

I watched the Ireland game against New Zealand in quick time, they were hard working, disruptive, some great back row work but for what? I was also worried by the lack of ball they had, watching NZ the ball was whipped out constantly, with England it saw less light than a pit pony.

I think it was Ashton in 2000/2001 who convinced the forwards to let the ball go and we racked up the points. Now he is going to Bath at just the right time for them. They have English problems, a powerful pack and poor back play despite having the players.

Looking at NZ again, and even France, they stay up in the tackle and off load. With the power we have, our forwards would destroy defenses if they stayed on their feet and off loaded. The same with Tindall, if he runs straight and looks for the off load. If we just add that single skill no team on earth could withstand it; in my opinion

I am convinced we need to apply pressure in defence, but I can't be sure about up and out or out to in. I think they will be more familiar with the up and out, but I still think New Zealand will get it out wide fast or break some holes on the inside. In general we need to apply pressure and disrupt the support lines, stop or disrupt the off loads. The obvious thing on their scrum is for our 9 & 7 to disrupt their 9&10, but that is always easier said than done.

I'm OK playing territory on our ball, as long as we make touch and don't give them a quick throw in. But we still need to play heads up and take the chances, the back three must be prepared to counter, they are smart enough rugby players. So until our skill levels improve I guess possession and territory will win. We just can't give them ball and when they do have it we need to close them down and hit them backwards. Possession is our strength, but I so often see English teams take ten metres in a maul and then it stops... and then we get the ball out, the defense is nicely realigned. What we need is the ball out while we're still moving and the defense is on the back foot. And yes too many of our good ball carriers go to ground, few French, New Zealand or even Welsh players do.

We pressured them, we rattled them, they made mistakes, but they were a class apart. To take a hugely negative spin, which I know isn't justified, it is easier to train a team to disrupt the opposition than it is to beat the opposition. In the scrum we were stuffed in my view, by the end we were going back on their ball and ours. The line out was an even contest, surprisingly.

New Zealand are a class apart in skill level, they will win everything unless we up our game. But given the stodge the Premiership turns out we are in trouble, get the skills coach on to the 16 years olds. The key for me was that our guys looked like they had been in a battle, they looked like they had a tough game, there is a difference.

England against Samoa, we can win by 40-3 and I still feel we had a poor show. I think I am expecting a lot, but we have set our own standards by winning the world cup, nothing less will do now. I thought everybody look good in the back line except Tindall, sorry to pick on the bloke again but his passing is so bad. If I got passes like that from a centre I would be livid. If I were an outside centre with the inside man drifting across I would be tempted to do a Fabien Pelous on my own player as he came towards me. In my view Simpson-Daniel was played out of the game by a shockingly bad Tindall. I thought in the second half the forwards were really trying to move the ball around, showing some skill at last.

Wales were great to watch against Australia, really giving it a go and will be awkward to beat in the six nations.

England will do well, which I think will obscure the real issue, we are not good enough to regain the world cup.

England Squad

Andy Robinson has put forward his final 22 for the Autumn internationals. Following my last comments on the squad I thought I would compare my original predictions to his squad.

Props
Sheridan, Stevens and Vickery
This is the same three I picked originally. I expect Stevens to be on the bench and come for Vickery at the hour mark.

Hookers
Thompson and Mears
I originally had a third hooker in Titterell, I would have probably left out Thompson from the three. I hope Robinson goes for Mears to start but I don't expect it.

Second Row
Grewcock, Borthwick and Deacon
Palmer and Hooper have had no form, Shaw is injured as is Brown who was becoming the in form candidate. Grewcock has been in outstanding form, so although I did not pick him initially I think he now deserves a place. I would also pick Jones in the second row, but Robinson seems to have him inked in for the back row. I am sure Deacon will be on the bench.

Back Row
Moody, Corry, Jones, Sanderson
Rees lost out due to injury and did not get a chance to regain form before this selection, but I still expect him to rejoin the squad at some point. I expect Sanderson to be on the bench.

Scrum Half
Ellis and Dawson
Richards is the man to loose out, probably because he has not had the tough games the others have had recently. I think all three players are playing badly, but Dawson is the least worst and will start.

Fly Half
Hodgson and Barkley
Wilkinson is making a good comeback but for the benefit of all he will been ignored until the new year. Hodgson will get the start but surprisingly Goode has lost out to Barkley. I am guessing Barkley will be offering three covering options from the bench, fly-half, kicker and inside centre.

Centre
Tindall and Noon
This is the area I think Robinson has gone wrong, as you would expect when he picks none of the three I had. I expect to see Tindall at inside and Noon outside. It could be the other way round or Barkley could start in the centre with either of these two missing out. Anything is possible with Robinson now, perhaps Jones will move from the second row to provide speed to complement Tindall's bludgeon!

Back Three
Cueto, Cohen, Lewsey and van Gisbergen
I have lost Voyce and Simpson-Daniel who are creative players, and been given Cohen who is a bit more direct. With three kickers in the squad I expect van Gisbergen to start, with Cohen on the bench, although I would prefer it the other way round. It is possible Barkley will start in the centre and van Gisbergen to be on the bench but I am expecting otherwise.