@MajorRage said in England vs Springboks:

@OomPB said in England vs Springboks:

Bok team suppose to be release today. Springboks will need to play open rugby on saturday.

They will need to do the inverse.

SA should take this easily.

If they take your advice then I agree the Boks should win easily.

Really I think that was the lesson of the semi. It’s also what made that game so compelling. Boks arrived looking to run at England. Libbok and Willemse were primed to attack from deep. And it really didn’t work especially with Curry being a total savage at the breakdown. England controlled field position, put boks under pressure and harvested points. Rassie reacted fairly quickly but still 15 minutes too late and then it was a race against the clock for the boks to reel in the English.

Boks would’ve lost it too, if someone hadn’t worked out that Curry needed to be dealt with. Whoever did that was the man of the match alongside Ox and Pollard.

Which is what I’m really looking for this weekend: the boks sorting out their offensive breakdown work. It’s a serious issue with a fair few aspects to it.

Biggest easy fix is for our forwards to carry harder and worry less about offloads initially. And RG needs to be banned from throwing a pass until he’s made 20 post contact meters.

I appreciate some of the positive 'it could come together' sentiment above about England but i'm not sure what its based on at the moment, at the end of the 6N we looked like we were gradually beginning to find a style in attack and defence, but the defence, in the absence of Jones now looks shambolic, half of them drifting, half of them blitzing, scramble is almost non existent as a result.

In attack, we look confused most of the time, Smith is playing well but we're rarely getting quick enough ball to play from and we look disjointed outside Smith.

Our forwards aren't good enough, particularly the front row, which means we're struggling at set piece to secure our own ball or attack the oppositions.

On top of the crap being served up on the pitch, our coaching set up is in total disarray and i'd love to know why, it looked like Borthwick was building a strong team but the best coaches have left very quickly which speaks to the environment and the quality of the head coach IMO. I was at the game last week, and am going again on Saturday, i repeat my earlier assertion, its going to be painful.

Which is hilarious to say when you consider you could very easily be 2-0.

we could very easily have won the last 6 games, but we've lost 5 of them.

Look like I will get my wish. AE, Pollard, Wiese and Wilco Louw will play

@Dodge said in England vs Springboks:

we could very easily have won the last 6 games, but we've lost 5 of them.

Think positive. At least you don't have to put up with an Eddie Jones post-defeat presser.

And you're not a Welsh supporter.

Good point. After he's trashed Japanese confidence perhaps the Welsh will invite him to replace Gatland.

@nostrildamus said in England vs Springboks:

Good point. After he's trashed Japanese confidence perhaps the Welsh will invite him to replace Gatland.

We’re dumb, but we’re not that dumb

@OomPB said in England vs Springboks:

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That really is a high quality Bok squad. I've been thinking all week that England do genuinely have a chance (although certainly not favourites). Seeing that squad, I'm not so sure now.

I know it's part of their strategy, but I'll always think it's criminal that Malcolm Marx doesn't start. He's not at this peak, but he's still a phenomenal player, significantly better than Mbonambi in my view.

No bomb squad this time ...

@MajorRage

It beats me how Am does not start either.

Borethwick announces the England squad with changes.

England: Steward; Freeman, Lawrence, Slade, Sleightholme; M Smith, Van Poortvliet; Genge, George (capt), Stuart, Itoje, Martin, Cunningham-South, Underhill, Earl.
Replacements: Cowan-Dickie, Baxter, Cole, Isiekwe, Dombrandt, Randall, Ford, Roebuck.

4 changes to the starting XV, 2 of which were forced and the two that weren't go to his old Leicester protégés. Steward presumably in for his aerial skills but this Bok team have more strings to their bow than a simple kick and chase. JvP at 9 will guarantee us slow service and the potential for an intercept. Pretty much the same bench that cost us both the last games.

Sigh.

blurgh. Seen a lot of speculation in the last couple of weeks about a return to full backs who dominate in the air because of the inability to run blocking lines, which obviously just encourages more kicking and more competition in the air. Can't believe we've dropped Furbank, he was basically the first name on my team sheet at the beginning of the AIs.

that team is pretty bang average and the bench is worse than that.

@Catogrande said in England vs Springboks:

Borethwick
Sigh.

I see what you did there

Chapeau

last week i was convinced Borthwick should go, now i'm fucking certain of it, can't build and keep a coaching team, can't back a style of play, can't select a bench with any impact. The coaching set up is a genuine shambles. worst case scenario is scraping a dull 1 point win and pretending its progress

@MajorRage There are a few unlucky Springboks but then Rassie decided before departure about the rotation and teams he want. Thought Willie (he is chasing his 100th test) and AE is unlucky after last week. However Fassie is very good under the high ball and a scoring machine. Also no lock on the bench meaning PSdT will be backup and need to play 80 mins. Will be interesting to see Libbok performance against England's rush defense. If he pass this test we will be good.

wouldn't worry, we don't have a proper lock on the bench either

@NTA said in England vs Springboks:

@OomPB said in England vs Springboks:

@W32
Nick still hurts after losing to our A and B team at home.

Not as painful as listening to Bok fans on Twitter.

I expected the Wallabies to lose.

I didn't expect quite the level of man-child idiocy I got out of some corners of social media, with dark green icons as their avatars. Most Bok fans are just happy to win, and remember it wasn't always this good.

Some are miserable fluffybunnies with a serious victim complex.

The worst of Bok fans today are easily the most ungracious winners since the angry edge crowd of millennial Kiwi fans in the McCaw era, who are in a dead heat with part time England fans under Eddie for second.

Pushing hard behind them all: bandwagon Aussies around the turn of the century.

No mention of Irish fans...?

@W32 said in England vs Springboks:

@mariner4life said in England vs Springboks:

@OomPB said in England vs Springboks:

Real rugby supporters respect the opposition and understand winning and losing

so there are no real rugby supporters from South Africa?

Some South African fans are a little like some New Zealand fans. They can’t believe that their side could lose through not playing well enough. The other side win because of crap reffing, or cheating..

NZ fans can certainly believe that - it's the other teams playing well and beating us on merit that we struggle with

@Dodge said in England vs Springboks:

wouldn't worry, we don't have a proper lock on the bench either

Or proper back row cover...

TBH the make up of the bench just screams muddled thinking to me. On the one hand you have George Ford (and I'm not one of the haters) there to close things down but then your back row cover and your 9 are "open it up" type players. What is the use of picking Randall and then making him box kick for 20 minutes?

My bandwagon is picking up speed! Get orrrrn!

Like the bok bench. Happy with the team. Libbok gets his chance to get it right against the bullies of the NH

@Smuts said in England vs Springboks:

@reprobate counterpoint: that semi was the best game of the World Cup.

Huh?

On further thought. We are going to kick the leather of the ball all bloody afternoon. Which, when you are existing on 40 something % possession and most of that is a bit dirty, is a grand way of perpetuating the cycle.

I am also aware that in the terminology of the great Barry MacKenzie, I am in danger of crying stinking fish in my own back yard..

@booboo said in England vs Springboks:

@Smuts said in England vs Springboks:

@reprobate counterpoint: that semi was the best game of the World Cup.

Huh?

I’m a purist. Also the best in game tactical adaptation ever. And scrums.

Just watched the semi from last year again. No commentary, ref mike only. The amount of time England spent in BOKs ear holding the game up was astonishing.

@Catogrande said in England vs Springboks:

I am also aware that in the terminology of the great Barry MacKenzie, I am in danger of crying stinking fish in my own back yard..

Cheer up.

@Bones

I saw that somewhere else and thought wtf?

@Catogrande said in England vs Springboks:

@Bones

I saw that somewhere else and thought wtf?

I know right, would've thought the boks would get at least one try.

@Bones

Not with our watertight defence.

@Bones said in England vs Springboks:

@Catogrande said in England vs Springboks:

@Bones

I saw that somewhere else and thought wtf?

I know right, would've thought the boks would get at least one try.

personally i'm furious about the 3 points, Marcus Smith was on his feet over the ball and shouldn't have been pinged. Hell of a kick from 75 metres out though

@Smuts said in England vs Springboks:

@booboo said in England vs Springboks:

@Smuts said in England vs Springboks:

@reprobate counterpoint: that semi was the best game of the World Cup.

Huh?

I’m a purist. Also the best in game tactical adaptation ever. And scrums.

Purist Smuts? Not a combo I've encountered before.

@Catogrande said in England vs Springboks:

@Bones

Not with our watertight defence.

Well it was tight as water.

Strong start from England.

Beautiful by Smith, terrible by South Africa

Ollie Sleigtholme scores a try after clever play by Smith. A dream start from England.

England 7 Boks 0

Marcus Smith seems to have come of age. Great vision to set that try up.