Winton Posted September 14, 2007 Report Share Posted September 14, 2007 Awful. Truly, truly awful. Bad decsion making, bad captaincy, bad scrum half play, Farrell is just too slow for top class rugby. Out-muscled and out thought. And then we lose our best player - a true great at both league and union. Hats off to Jason Robinson. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scooby_simon Posted September 14, 2007 Report Share Posted September 14, 2007 We may well not qualify now. I can see them loose to Samoa after this display. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted September 14, 2007 Report Share Posted September 14, 2007 I really do despair.. where do we go from here? Perry: - Shite Corry: - Extreme Shite Farrel:- Poor We need to jettison huge chunks of this team, bring in some youth and mould them into world class players. Forget about the six nations for a few years, forget the tours of embarrassment.. lets starting building again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted September 14, 2007 Report Share Posted September 14, 2007 This is about right: Sackey: keep, he is young, his defence is awful but has potential. Noon: Keep. Farrell: Drop with no chance of return. Lewsey: Drop with no chance of return. Catt: Retire (I like him though, great servant to English Rugby). Perry: Drop with no chance of return (this guy is rubbish, no way he is an international No 9). Sheridan: Keep. Regan: Drop with no chance of return. Stevens: Keep. Shaw: Drop (not good enough) Kay: Drop (not good enough) Corry: Drop with absolutely no chance of a return. Rees: Keep. Easter: Keep. Chuter, Freshwater, Borthwick, Moody, Gomarsall, Richards: Drop them all. Tait: Keep. Bring in a top southern hemisphere coaching team. English coaching does not have the freshness or ability. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winton Posted September 14, 2007 Author Report Share Posted September 14, 2007 When Sir Clive was in charge, he got us the World Cup by using specfic coaches who excelled in their respective fields and then used world class man management techniques to make sure that they guys in the team were properly prepared - I think that this preparation is missing. Brian Ashton is undoubtedly a good coach (his record a club level speaks for itself) but international sport is about more than just decent coaching. It is also an inescapable fact that the World Cup winning squad had a number of great, and I mean truly great players, in it. Johnno - best ever Captain England have had and, along with Eales, perhaps the best lock to have pulled on a jersey. The back row was the best that England have ever played, Hill perhaps the best 6 to have graced the game - hewn from granite. Dawson was a top class scrum half and Jonny was Jonny. Greenwood was an outstanding centre and Robinson was at his zenith. They had more than one plan up their sleeves and they understood what was required in any given game and were able to execute it. They all believed in one another and that simply isn't there anymore. However, now we have to draw a line and move on, pick the young guys and get them ready for the next World Cup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewNiceMrMe Posted September 15, 2007 Report Share Posted September 15, 2007 Just send them back now, sack the RFU, save a lot of money, and bring in someone who knows what they're doing. The team was an embarassment yesterday before it went on the pitch. It was a laughable strategy and we'll be mocked the world over for it. Put them on a plane now and come up with a 'flu' virus excuse or something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TP27 Posted September 18, 2007 Report Share Posted September 18, 2007 A teddy bear has been found lying on the pavement outside the office. It is wearing an England rugby strip. The only clue to ownership is the label sewn on to the back of the bear which reads “Made in England – Stuffed in Paris “ Any takers? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted September 18, 2007 Report Share Posted September 18, 2007 For fecks sake.. he's named Corry as captain again, when in the feck is he going to realise that the shouldn't even be on the field, let alone captain Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torino101 Posted September 18, 2007 Report Share Posted September 18, 2007 Not only is there a good chance we will lose to Samoa, but also I could see Tonga springing a surprise on us. Part of me hopes it happens so that the team is such a joke, it has to be rebuilt from the bottom up.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D1MAC Posted September 18, 2007 Report Share Posted September 18, 2007 [ QUOTE ] Farrell is just too slow for top class rugby. [/ QUOTE ] Yes and no - too slow but not too slow for 'top class rugby' (whatever that means in an England context ). Slow yes as he was only any good as a forward when he left the dark side, but whoever thought that he should play centre in either code at around 30, 6-4 and 17-18 stone ought to be in a white jacket asap. The Farrell experiment is something that has just gone bad due to a lot of factors. Had he not been injured a lot, got the game time needed to overcome any issues in terms of understanding AND been played in a proper position, things might have been a bit different. However, as good a player/captain as he has been (and might have become??), there is much more wrong than just the one man - it's just that as an expensive recruit from a game that some will never accept in any form (even though that's rather two faced) he's an easy target. [ QUOTE ] And then we lose our best player - a true great at both league and union. Hats off to Jason Robinson. [/ QUOTE ] Having watched the man in his real prime, I agree and think he's ended up as a top player and top man. However, just to kinda add a little force to my argument about Andy Farrell, Robinson actually started off as a scrum-half and had the people in the know at the time not realised that wasn't a good position for him (too dumb to remember ANY moves and team mates had no idea what was coming next) then he wouldn't have amounted to a hill 'o beans in either code. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D1MAC Posted September 18, 2007 Report Share Posted September 18, 2007 [ QUOTE ] Part of me hopes it happens so that the team is such a joke, it has to be rebuilt from the bottom up.... [/ QUOTE ] Arrange a job share with the cricketers - can't be any worse for either than it is at the moment Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tizzy Posted September 20, 2007 Report Share Posted September 20, 2007 I was actually at Stade de France, on a corporate jolly entertaining clients (two of whom were South Africans!) Awesome stadium and the atmosphere before the start of the game was amazing. How quickly that changed after the first 8 minutes. The sea of white shirts in the 80K strong crowd only attempted one half-arsed chorus of "Sweet Chariot" early on and what was perhaps most telling was that you could see them leaving in significant numbers well before the full time whistle. Many of those that did stay loudly booed the England team as they left the field. Probably the worst international I've ever seen..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted September 20, 2007 Report Share Posted September 20, 2007 It was dire enough at home, I can't imagine travelling to watch it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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