Discussion
AndySA said:
Just to remind you the score was 58 v 10! Looking forward to this weekends game any predictions for the score. I will go for 63 v 18 for the Boks.
I reckon you're in the right ballpark with that predicted score. I have no idea why the RFU agreed to have the SA tour now - it's not surprising that all the England players are injured/ill/knackered after the end of another tough Premiership season. They need a break before building up to the World Cup, not a trip to get thrashed by the Boks.
I thought we did surprisingly well- i had absolutely zero expectations of winning and just wanted to see improvements.
I thought SA capitalised extremely well on the mistakes we made- about 40 of those points were gifts due to inexperience and nerves. I think the first 30 mins of the second half were a much more indicative of the game as a whole. There were certainly occasions where had we had some finished on the ground we could have put away another 3 tries.
I'm quite happy that we are blooding new talent on old experienced guys like the boks- wecould have done with more experience in the field to back the young guys up.
I don't think the second match will be such a whitewash- hopefully the sickness in the squad will have abated and the boys will be fresher and more up for it. Thank god balshaw isn't gonig to be playing though. Just wish we could get rid of flood who doesn't seem to be able to tackle a fly.
in conclusion- SA were always goign to win (and they are extremely strong at the momet- world cup is between them and the kiwis i reckon) but i think the score line was extremely flattering.
I thought SA capitalised extremely well on the mistakes we made- about 40 of those points were gifts due to inexperience and nerves. I think the first 30 mins of the second half were a much more indicative of the game as a whole. There were certainly occasions where had we had some finished on the ground we could have put away another 3 tries.
I'm quite happy that we are blooding new talent on old experienced guys like the boks- wecould have done with more experience in the field to back the young guys up.
I don't think the second match will be such a whitewash- hopefully the sickness in the squad will have abated and the boys will be fresher and more up for it. Thank god balshaw isn't gonig to be playing though. Just wish we could get rid of flood who doesn't seem to be able to tackle a fly.
in conclusion- SA were always goign to win (and they are extremely strong at the momet- world cup is between them and the kiwis i reckon) but i think the score line was extremely flattering.
HSVGTSCoupe said:
give it to em Zak, what a suprise all the pom rugby boys on here don't want to show their faces - they are all too busy trying to work out if the cricket will be rained into a "winning draw" (a term invented by the poms)
Im not sure Aussies should be crowing about rugby union issues at the moment, your nearly as bad as we are.Not much to say. Whe sent a B team to SA for various decent reasons, half the 15 that would have started that game get injured or get a virus, your then sending out an inexperienced B/C team into the most physical and demanding rugby country in the world. SA are also the form nation in world rugby. If anyone who knows about rugby didnt expect a 40/50 point win for SA, you should stick to other games. SA are an immense team right now with top players in form and strength in depth. I can't wait to see the NZ vs SA tri nations games, Australia will simply be making up the numbers in that tournament.
Eng now have Hazel, Mike Brown, Andy Farrell and James Simpson Daniel added to the mass injury list for the 2nd test. I suppose a few of you will be back on here crowing when we get beaten by 40/50 again?? So i shall say congratualtions now.
Eng come the WC will be a totally different team, not a team capable of winning it, but a team with a few upsets on the cards. SA have never been able to play in Europe despite how good their team has been. England will run SA damm close in Paris in the pool game and i back Eng to win it. Thats the time to crow about a victory. There were many good things to come out of our thrashing too, our 3rd string front row were effective to the point Smit said we had to be cheating after the game, Mathew Tait looks a good centre, Jones, although playing at 6 should be a good lock and showed some good touches. Majority of SA's tries came from England errors from deep where they counter attacked and scored from deep.
As far as Australia go, your as bad as we are, but we have a decent front row. Looking forward to seeing some of your results in the near future, should be game for a laugh. Impressive last sec victory over a Welsh B team in Syd last weekend. Good work
Hardly a surprising result as it didn't even amount to a B team (over 30 players out through Cup final, injury or illness). It's good to see some of talent for the future getting a run out. Will be interesting to see what happens in the second test. Can't see us winning it, or coming close, but i think the result will be closer than before. (let's face it, it couldn't be a lot bigger....!)
I havent even bothered looking at this tour as the results are a foregone conclusion. No international side from any country could go to SA with as many first team players out as England have and have a hope of even competing.
What I can't understand is why the RFU even committed to the tour! SA is the last team they want to be playing this close to the WC as the SA V Eng game is going to be one of the key group games. Why give the S.African's a psychological edge?? Madness...
What I can't understand is why the RFU even committed to the tour! SA is the last team they want to be playing this close to the WC as the SA V Eng game is going to be one of the key group games. Why give the S.African's a psychological edge?? Madness...
Twit said:
What I can't understand is why the RFU even committed to the tour! SA is the last team they want to be playing this close to the WC as the SA V Eng game is going to be one of the key group games. Why give the S.African's a psychological edge?? Madness...
Its all politics. We haven't travelled to SA for a tour in a seriously long time, think it goes back 8 or 9 years, yet they have come over to Twickers nearly every season. The fact that for 6 or 7 years SA took a pasting everytime they came over added to their frustration that the RFU didnt organise tours there, Eng had to go there. The one and only time i will defend the RFU is that they could not forsee a Tigers vs Wasps HC final, which is the main f**k up for this tour. I would bet quite a few senior players wouldnt have travelled anyway.I do find it quite ironic that Graham Henry has slated the UK teams for not bringing serious squads when he has had the luxury of resting his AB's for half the season and Jake White left all his main players at home the last time SA toured Eng.
Pot, Kettle, Black, get on with it. Everyone is as bad as each other, its all about the WC anyway and Eng WILL compete with SA in that pool game.
Edited by stimmers on Thursday 31st May 13:56
So, the result was a foregone conclusion. Good play by England for 50 / 60 minutes, but then we lost the plot. Not bad considering many of the players were probably not expecting an England call up this season and the pace of the international game is significantly higher than the premiership.
Interesting that the Saxons beat the NZ Maori though.
But, overall do people think this has been a worthwhile learning experience for the young england players and Brian Ashton? Could it be the kick up the backside we need to get us in the right frame of mind for the world cup? I can't see us challenging to be honest, but i do wonder if other teams are beginning to underestimate England?
We put together a reasonsable game against SA for 50 minutes, with 38 players missing according to some, so it was effectively an England C team, with a few 1st team names. What do people think?
Interesting that the Saxons beat the NZ Maori though.
But, overall do people think this has been a worthwhile learning experience for the young england players and Brian Ashton? Could it be the kick up the backside we need to get us in the right frame of mind for the world cup? I can't see us challenging to be honest, but i do wonder if other teams are beginning to underestimate England?
We put together a reasonsable game against SA for 50 minutes, with 38 players missing according to some, so it was effectively an England C team, with a few 1st team names. What do people think?
Yeah I agree, the fact that the scores were level for 50 minutes is a big positive. However, conceding that many tries in the amount of time at the end will be a concern for any team.
It will have given Ashton a few more options for his world cup squad, but other than that the tour won't have been very prodcutive. Surely at this time before a world cup, a first team line-up should be known, and they should be playing together now. Ashton says he only knows 5 of his first choice players, and only one or two of them would have been on the tour. The 2003 world cup squad were a very well established team and knew each others games perfectly.
Saxons did very well to win that in my opinion as it was effectivly a 3rd/4th england team.
It will have given Ashton a few more options for his world cup squad, but other than that the tour won't have been very prodcutive. Surely at this time before a world cup, a first team line-up should be known, and they should be playing together now. Ashton says he only knows 5 of his first choice players, and only one or two of them would have been on the tour. The 2003 world cup squad were a very well established team and knew each others games perfectly.
Saxons did very well to win that in my opinion as it was effectivly a 3rd/4th england team.
johnnywb said:
So, the result was a foregone conclusion. Good play by England for 50 / 60 minutes, but then we lost the plot. Not bad considering many of the players were probably not expecting an England call up this season and the pace of the international game is significantly higher than the premiership.
Interesting that the Saxons beat the NZ Maori though.
But, overall do people think this has been a worthwhile learning experience for the young england players and Brian Ashton? Could it be the kick up the backside we need to get us in the right frame of mind for the world cup? I can't see us challenging to be honest, but i do wonder if other teams are beginning to underestimate England?
We put together a reasonsable game against SA for 50 minutes, with 38 players missing according to some, so it was effectively an England C team, with a few 1st team names. What do people think?
I think Eng have got more out of the two games than SA did. All SA ended up doing was beating an Eng B team by a lot of points. However that 50 min period really is massive for the players and even more so for the players who were not there. The reason that we only lasted 50 mins is because we didn't have the legs to cope with their physicality and simply couldnt match them for the entire game, when the legs went, they really went. No problem there. With the possible exception of Mark Regan, none of the players in the pack on that tour will play in the Pool Game, so a B team matched a full strength SA team in their own back yard. Thats massive. Add in the fact that SA historically do not perform on European soil and this pool game is looking very very tight.Interesting that the Saxons beat the NZ Maori though.
But, overall do people think this has been a worthwhile learning experience for the young england players and Brian Ashton? Could it be the kick up the backside we need to get us in the right frame of mind for the world cup? I can't see us challenging to be honest, but i do wonder if other teams are beginning to underestimate England?
We put together a reasonsable game against SA for 50 minutes, with 38 players missing according to some, so it was effectively an England C team, with a few 1st team names. What do people think?
I expect the Eng team for the World Cup to look like the below. In that team Tait played both games in SA, Robinson 1, Wilko 2, Stevens 1- thats it
15)Morgan
14)Strettle
13)Tait
12)Catt
11)Robinson
10)Wilkinson
9)Richards
8)Haskell
7)Rees
6)Worsely
5)Palmer
4)Corry
3)Vickery
2)Chuter
1)Stevens
16)Regan
17)Sheridan
18)Deacon (*shudder*)
19)Moody
20)Gomarsell
21)Hodgson
22)Noon
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