autumn internationals
Good win for England albeit a rather rusty first half .Having said that I thought Oz were poor ,especially at scrum time.On this evidence they'll get beat again during this autumn.As for England and after a long period since their last matches, they showed a lot more commitment than they did the last time they played Oz.Having said that I can see a few changes for the next match especially at hooker , maybe second row i.e. Parling in , inside centre( Twelvetrees had a mare) and I think Wade is due another go in place of Ashton who simply hasn't rediscovered his mojoI should add i thought england controlled most of the match and if wasn't for the fact Farrell missed 3 kickable goals and they gave away a soft try( both Ashton and Twelve trees guilty of poor defending), they would have gone in at half time with a decent lead
Further good news- Quins beat Tigers at Welford roaddata:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7 Bit of a non game for me, was really looking forward to it but it just didnt happen, both sides were just to scared to play any rugby I think they were both to frightened of losing. I would have thought the Aussies would have been more in tune having played together for a while but the skill levels were awfull. Good on the posh boys though for the win (albeit 2 dodgy non calls by the refs) but you play to the whistle. Cant really comment on the selection as I dont watch the English Prem much so dont know the players very well, but I can say there are a lot of good new guys on that field who will make an exellent world cup squad once they learn how to play rugby at the next level so good on SL for picking on form and picking future stars. Looking forward to the Wales V SA game. Looks like the roof will be open so a messy forwards game I suppose if its pissin down. I cant see my team beeating SA in those conditions but if dry and we can cope with the physical assault (and it will be an assault) I think we shall stay the same and lose by a point or two as allways. Hope Im wrong. Average first half followed by a brilliant second half. Australia have been poor this year and New Zealand will be the acid test of how far we have come they need more quick ball.I wouldn't be surprised if Kvesick gets the nod in the none too future as he is a proper 7 and a very good player, thebest since Back in that position My predictions for today:
England to beat Argentina by 10
Wales to beat South Africa by 6 ...... which just goes to show what I know data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7 Unfortunate result for which the injuries did not help one bit,Its also shows that Wales(and England) have some way to go to become-a) clinical,b) consistent.Both teams achieved notable results last year(England v NZ, Wales v England) but other than that were mediocre at best.
As for England again maddeningly inconsistent .Having played very well for 40 minutes against a poor Argentine side they then went AWOL.Next saturday it will be a question of how many points they lose by.Wales should have the beating of Argentina tho.Ireland should be interesting because with their new coaching set up, could well become formidable and a good bet for the 6N I have no doubt England will probably defend very well ,its one of their strengths but I can't but help feel a bit disappointed they adopt such a conservative attitude and don't select players fro their attacking capabilities such as Freddie Burns who with Twelve trees and Henry Trinder could make a for a potent midfield . Wales are not shy of picking flair players and their defence is still strong although one could argue their record against SH sides is even worse than England's , in fact its abysmal.
I still rather watch England throw the gauntlet down and have a real go.Last years win was very much due to the fact NZ were not quite right on the day because of a virus which had hit the camp prior to the match.Of course they made no excuses because they don't any more than they did when they lost the 95 WC to SA just after an outbreak of food poisoning .They will be seeking revenge in a big way so i expect a slaughter but I just wish England were a bit more bold and show some ambition The kiwi press has been obsessed with the game on Saturday and the kiwi camp have already stated that this is the big one for the series....should be a cracker. If you are a kiwi yes .If you are a Pom then get drunk and forget the day as quickly as possibledata:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7.As the Welsh fans used to say back in the 70s it will be a case of "English lambs to the slaughter, boyo"data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7