NWR 6N 25

Dan Baillie said:
I did have an issue with that line out decision. If the rule was interpreted the way this ref did, that call could probably be made on every single line out. He made it once in the game and without any prior warning. That’s poor refereeing in my view.
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Never usually watch the commentators looking over the weekend but did so today. They. Picked up on another poor decision. The kick at the end of the match. VdM touched down a foot no more inside the 5m line. Itoje made a point of running up an unduly influencing the ref as to where Russell placed the ball. As a consequence he put it 2m inside the side line. Conceding at least 2m. Also running down the shot clock. Not only a door decision from the ref for not stopping the clock and talking to the TMO about where it should be placed, but very poor sportsmanship from Itoje, he lied and his motivation surely was the running down of the clock to make Russell rush his kick.

Now Russell might still have missed. But considering he missed by a metre, likely there may have been a different result.
 
Sean Hardon said:
Never usually watch the commentators looking over the weekend but did so today. They. Picked up on another poor decision. The kick at the end of the match. VdM touched down a foot no more inside the 5m line. Itoje made a point of running up an unduly influencing the ref as to where Russell placed the ball. As a consequence he put it 2m inside the side line. Conceding at least 2m. Also running down the shot clock. Not only a door decision from the ref for not stopping the clock and talking to the TMO about where it should be placed, but very poor sportsmanship from Itoje, he lied and his motivation surely was the running down of the clock to make Russell rush his kick.

Now Russell might still have missed. But considering he missed by a metre, likely there may have been a different result.
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Agree. Ref shouldn't have had any of that....and should certainly have stopped the clock while he told Itoje where to go.
Also surprised he didn't have a look at whether England's try was in fact grounded....
...still not sure how Scotland lost that game. Should have been further ahead at half time. Would not want to watch England every week though.
 
Mark Colman said:
Agree. Ref shouldn't have had any of that....and should certainly have stopped the clock while he told Itoje where to go.
Also surprised he didn't have a look at whether England's try was in fact grounded....
...still not sure how Scotland lost that game. Should have been further ahead at half time. Would not want to watch England every week though.
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First thing talked about. The ref was in primary position and saw the point of the ball grounded. TMO can't have all the angles and you have to accept the refs decision.
 
I think the most worrying thing for England is that you can see what the other teams are trying to do, the attacking moves are repeatedly creating openings, whereas Wigglesworth is fashioning a game in his own tedious box kicking image. It is of course a device to create pressure, but God is it dull and if sloppily executed like England do it, often gives the ball back to the opposition cheaply. There never seems to be any thought given to the end product eventually being an overlap to create a try scoring situation. Creating pressure to force penalties to accumulate points in multiples of 3 may be a legacy of old Saracens/Venter days but everyone these days has moved way beyond that.

Borthwick was forced into that kind of gameplan in the lead up to the RWC as he got the job earlier than planned, and it was the only viable option. But now he has new personnel and should be well on the way to developing a new England look. I don't see any progress, I'm afraid
 
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Best team won @Antoine Singer - the Dublin performance sealed it tbf and how England pickpocketed one point wins against them and Scotland I will never know but happy to accept such largesse. Scotland made it a contest but lacked the power in vital moments. I think any assessment of genuine England development has to be on hold until after Autumn internationals. Ireland retirements mean their squad for autumn will have a more youthful feel. Finally imagine if Italy had a pack like France.
 
The Lions tour will show us how far England have come on, and they have come on. Consistency has got to be the way forward for them now. Games against Ireland and Scotland, showed how inconsistent they can be not putting in an 80 minute performance which is largely error free, to superb games against France and Wales, where they showed they could stick to a game plan for 80 minutes. Like so many successful English teams, the back row has been the starting point to success. I will find it hard to understand why, the Curry boys and Earl won't be on the plane. Also Finn Smith deserves a place, so do Genge, Stuart and Otoje.

It's taken Borthwick 3 6N's, but he's finally molding together a world class side. If he can maintain the consistency, his place is finally justified.
 
I think the Lions team for the first test will contain mainly Irish forwards and Scottish backs. I agree that the Curry brothers and Earl should be in the squad along with Genge and Stuart. Otoje will probably be in the team. It might be a bit early for Fin Smith but his namesake might be chosen as a utility back.
 
I'd back Fin Smith over Russell for the number 10 shirt. The game against France shows how, despite great individual skills, he just gets totally confused/exposed at times. I think he's too maverick for the Lions. Who do people have marked down for the number 9 shirt? And is there anyone in the Welsh team who merits consideration?
 
Richard Zambuni said:
I'd back Fin Smith over Russell for the number 10 shirt. The game against France shows how, despite great individual skills, he just gets totally confused/exposed at times. I think he's too maverick for the Lions. Who do people have marked down for the number 9 shirt? And is there anyone in the Welsh team who merits consideration?
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Gibson Park has to be up there. Mitchell has done well enough, other than his bout of kickitis he had in the Scots match, he gave a good account of himself. Ben White was electric though. There's only James Ritchie in the Scottish forwards who impressed. Top of the turnover stats.

Fin Smith has done enough for a place, and you can't not take Russell. I thought about Marcus Smith, I'm not too sure. Keenan I think will go for one of the fullback slots. Aki and possibly Lowe. Doris and Conan, I don't think VdF did enough. Dan Sheehan is a shoe in and possibly Porter.
 
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Sean Hardon said:
Fin Smith has done enough for a place, and you can't not take Russell. I thought about Marcus Smith, I'm not too sure. Keenan I think will go for one of the fullback slots. Aki and possibly Lowe. Doris and Conan, I don't think VdF did enough. Dan Sheehan is a shoe in and possibly Porter.
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I don't think Marcus Smith is Lions material, like Russell. At a certain level they excel, but both get exposed at times and there are other players who just don't expose a team to unnecessary risk. Agreed about Doris, Conan and Porter. I like Lowe's competitiveness and he is definitely a finisher. Aki has a lot of muscle and a fair bit of talent, but is probably marginal for the Lions - if he makes it to the team all well and good though. Agreed about Jamie Ritchie too. Finally, I thought Cowan-Dickie and Cunningham-South had a good six nations. Cowan-Dickie is a reliable line-out feeder and Cunningham-South carries the ball really well and makes ground - his tackling is good and his jackaling improving. And how big is the Lions squad?
 
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My take on this tournament:
- France was significantly the best team
- England made progress and are just second in my ranking, although they were not good when they beat France (who granted them the match)
- Ireland are still very strong but going down. Can they stop the rot?
- Scotland are a very exciting to watch and progressing team but ultimately did not deliver as they lack a bit of strength up front (they need to grow a few stronger Aberdeen Angus)
- Italy were irregular but deserved a bit better (again miss a bunch of strong forwards)
- Wales... one half decent match ... but may need a union with say Cornwall and Devon to get a full team (and a decent coach)
 
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