The Official English Rugby Thread

[JM2K6]

No excusing that defensive kick for touch, anyway.

[sockwithaticket]

They're always ecnouraged to bite off as much as possible, it means a few go dead, but a fair few more end up scoreable. I'll settle for it.

Don't see the need to go for broke with the field position we were already in and all this pressure has stemmed from the resultant scrum.

The difference is being able to maul it over or not. Personally I think we should have gone for 3.

It's situational, sometimes making touch and retaining possession is more important than providing the perfect distance for a pushover.

Having established a significant gap (in the context of this game) in a match largely free of control it was time to calm things down.

[Raggs]

No excusing that defensive kick for touch, anyway.

Nope, it wasn't even close. Don't mind so much when the opponents manage to jump in from the touchline to save it, but that was 10m short from the angle it was on.

[JM2K6]

Not a fan of allowing loads of people to attack the ball with their hands after the initial jackler has been taken off it

[sockwithaticket]

Odogwu for motm.

[Raggs]

Not a fan of allowing loads of people to attack the ball with their hands after the initial jackler has been taken off it

I'm still unsure, once everyone is on the floor then there's no ruck anymore, so go for it. Equally, it makes the ruck a very messy and potentially confusing place as to what counts as everyone out of the ruck again.

[JM2K6]

No excusing that defensive kick for touch, anyway.

Nope, it wasn't even close. Don't mind so much when the opponents manage to jump in from the touchline to save it, but that was 10m short from the angle it was on.

Looking at closeups I think there's a really strong cross wind now

[JM2K6]

"It doesn't represent an international match in any way"

Yeah. It's fun to watch, for a start.

[JM2K6]

Scrum halves not playing the ball when the ref tells them to at the maul is an all too common problem at the moment.

Udogwu's having a whale of a time but he is probably the biggest crowbar in the league!

[sockwithaticket]

Scrum halves not playing the ball when the ref tells them to at the maul is an all too common problem at the moment.

Udogwu's having a whale of a time but he is probably the biggest crowbar in the league!

Tbf he hasn't need to do much else, his thunder thighs do most of the work.

Josh fucking Bassett

[JM2K6]

Bath have no idea what they're doing here really.

[JM2K6]

That was more like international rugby, i.e. boring but inevitable

Big kick to secure the second bonus point. Not sure they deserve it.

As he shanked it!

[sockwithaticket]

Crikey.

What. A. Game.

[Kawazaki]

Wow, just seen the Bath v Wasps score!

Was it a game of Covid-compliant touch?

[Paddington Bear]

This is the issue with picking the England side off club form - defence appears not to exist

[SaintK]

Wow, just seen the Bath v Wasps score!

Was it a game of Covid-compliant touch?

Enjoyable match, yes one or two defensive errors from both teams but some cracking tries

[sockwithaticket]

This is the issue with picking the England side off club form - defence appears not to exist

Don't think that's fair. We can't pretend this game is in any way the Prem norm, it was one of those rare occasions where the freneticism of the game dictated terms and outpaced defenses. Occasionally happens internationally too eg. that crazy game against the French at Twickenham where both teams went all out attack and it finished 55 - 35. The pace of such games and the attitude towards playing that the teams get caught up in preclude being able to maintain perfect defensive lines per normal.

In general not every club can stick 23 international calibre players on the field, so defence obviously isn't going to be as tight, but it's a frequent complaint in the duller games that it's the dominant feature.


As an aside, these are games that fans want to see. It saddened me a little to hear both DoRs saying they weren't happy with their teams' performances. I get that they want a much more controlled approach that they can dictate, but this is a game people will remember, that was enjoyable and unpredictable to watch. I get the impression that the players have a lot more fun with it too.

[Bullet]

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/rugby ... sport.html

French have banned travel including elite sports, Champions Cup and 6 nations affected

[Paddington Bear]

Oof. What a start

[sockwithaticket]

Hell of an end to the half.

[SaintK]

Hell of an end to the half.

Not sure how Falcons didn't score there

[sockwithaticket]

Hell of an end to the half.

Not sure how Falcons didn't score there

Good D from Glaws in fairness, but I think Newcastle do lack a bit of true top class in their team.

[sockwithaticket]

Oh dear, Gloucester.

Really tedious second half overall, not much of anything happening and then Glaws manage to surrender a nother try with the clock in the red so that they get nothing out of the game.

[Paddington Bear]

Not a patch on last night but increasingly impressed with Newcastle.

[ASMO]

Glaws be praying for ringfencing this season as they are plummeting through the trapdoor to the Championship at a rate of knots.

I think Skivington is totally out of his depth, something isn't right behind the scenes there, with the talent they have, they should be doing so much better than they are.

[Random1]

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/rugby ... sport.html

French have banned travel including elite sports, Champions Cup and 6 nations affected

Ah, bugger!

[Raggs]

Glaws be praying for ringfencing this season as they are plummeting through the trapdoor to the Championship at a rate of knots.

I think Skivington is totally out of his depth, something isn't right behind the scenes there, with the talent they have, they should be doing so much better than they are.

Skivington was such an odd choice when looked at from a rugby point of view. Little experience, then only in the realm where he was a player.

So many ex-players seem to accelerate through the ranks without many people bothering to check if they're good enough. Hooper would be another example for me. Some may want to point out Blackett, but he was never a high level player in comparison, and was player coach, then DOR/head coach of Rotherham before joining Wasps for many years as attack coach.

[Margin__Walker]

Skivington was a good forwards coach. The top role is clearly a different kettle of fish and this was always going to be a gamble. Not looking a great one at the moment.

[Paddington Bear]

These scrums don’t bode well. Get some props off if it keeps happening

[Raggs]

Skivington was a good forwards coach. The top role is clearly a different kettle of fish and this was always going to be a gamble. Not looking a great one at the moment.

Was he a good forwards coach? From what I can tell, in the time he was with Irish, they promoted and relegated, and came 10th (11th really) last season, when Tigers imploded anyway. And even then, he may have been, but it's a big difference. Just don't see the sense in the appointment for a team who's struggling anyway. Get a coach with pedigree of survival etc, maybe not winning trophies, but someone who'll settle the boat, maybe get you regular champions cup even, but instill some stability. Then maybe try something a bit more maverick.

[Paddington Bear]

Ought to be a card here. 6 pens in 13 mins, half in the 22

[Raggs]

No Lol, he was on his arm/elbow/wrist, no attempt to lift by himself.

[Margin__Walker]

He did well with the resources he had (we were higher than 11th when he left) and was in demand by those in the know. Speaks very well about the game and forward play etc. LI fans can be a miserable bunch but he was the only coach they didn't moan about.

Anyway, I essentially agree with you. Getting someone in who has never had the top job at any level is a risk. I guess we'll see where they are at the end of the season. They probably have that breathing room as I doubt anyone is getting relegated this year.

[Raggs]

He did well with the resources he had and was in demand by those in the know. Speaks very well about the game and forward play etc. LI fans can be a miserable bunch but he was the only coach they didn't moan about.

Anyway, I essentially agree with you. Getting someone in who has never had the top job at any level is a risk. I guess we'll see where they are at the end of the season. They probably have that breathing room as I doubt anyone is getting relegated this year.

Fair enough on him being a good forwards coach, at least that's something.

[Paddington Bear]

About time. Pathetic at the scrums so far

[Paddington Bear]

Excellent reffing to keep play going there, would have been very easy to blow up there

[sockwithaticket]

Finally, a burst of rugby. Really nicely worked score.

[Raggs]

Excellent reffing to keep play going there, would have been very easy to blow up there

Yep, and that's the point of advantage too. It wasn't a yellow card offense because it didn't prevent a try coming from a relatively short advantage.

[sockwithaticket]

Should we leave this one at 14 aside after half time? It's been much livelier since the binnings.

[Paddington Bear]

Weird game. Bristol seem to have had a lot of ball but I feel they’re lucky to be level, their defence has a lot of holes outside. Suspect there’ll be more cards second half