Basil2
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Post by Basil2 on Jun 11, 2006 16:30:21 GMT -5
The first half was a boreathon, but the game came to life eventually in the 2nd. The following quote sums up much of the game:
"The 31-point margin was as much a reflection of England's struggles as it was of Australian dominance, because the Wallabies spent most of the game trying to match the World Cup champions for blunders and embarrassments.
But in the final half-hour they finally found the gear Connolly would have been waiting to see"
Some good rugby from an aust perspective in the last 30. The front row still looked dodgey under pressure, but given their inexperience could develop into something - looked a lot better when Paul came on. The less said about england the better.
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Post by kelvinn on Jun 12, 2006 5:52:23 GMT -5
The first half was a boreathon, but the game came to life eventually in the 2nd. The following quote sums up much of the game: "The 31-point margin was as much a reflection of England's struggles as it was of Australian dominance, because the Wallabies spent most of the game trying to match the World Cup champions for blunders and embarrassments.
But in the final half-hour they finally found the gear Connolly would have been waiting to see"Some good rugby from an aust perspective in the last 30. The front row still looked dodgey under pressure, but given their inexperience could develop into something - looked a lot better when Paul came on. The less said about england the better. I didn't see the game of course, but was disappointed by it. Disappointed that England didn't lose by more! Come on Oz, this English side is crap! |
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Basil2
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Post by Basil2 on Jun 12, 2006 5:57:45 GMT -5
The first half was a boreathon, but the game came to life eventually in the 2nd. The following quote sums up much of the game: "The 31-point margin was as much a reflection of England's struggles as it was of Australian dominance, because the Wallabies spent most of the game trying to match the World Cup champions for blunders and embarrassments.
But in the final half-hour they finally found the gear Connolly would have been waiting to see"Some good rugby from an aust perspective in the last 30. The front row still looked dodgey under pressure, but given their inexperience could develop into something - looked a lot better when Paul came on. The less said about england the better. I didn't see the game of course, but was disappointed by it. Disappointed that England didn't lose by more! Come on Oz, this English side is crap! The australian side is not a whole lot better. They lack at least one good front rower & a convincing inside centre. And they looked as though they han't played a game in weeks. |
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Post by kelvinn on Jun 12, 2006 6:09:49 GMT -5
I didn't see the game of course, but was disappointed by it. Disappointed that England didn't lose by more! Come on Oz, this English side is crap! The australian side is not a whole lot better. They lack at least one good front rower & a convincing inside centre. And they looked as though they han't played a game in weeks. But still managed to win by 31? Did England show any promise at all? |
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Post by kelvinn on Jun 12, 2006 6:28:15 GMT -5
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This is a report of the game from the English newspaper The Guardian.
New England 'bomb out' with same old mistakes
Australia 34 - 3 England
Robert Kitson in Sydney
Monday June 12, 2006
The Guardian
England's intended new era began in worryingly familiar fashion yesterday with a sound beating by a Wallaby side showing only glimpses of their best form. Instead of a morale-boosting victory the first outing for Andy Robinson's reshuffled coaching team exposed several of the same old faults and the men in white ultimately ended up chasing only the ghosts of their glorious World Cup triumph of 2003.
If the margin was less than the 51-15 stuffing in Brisbane two years ago, the omens for Saturday's second Test in Melbourne are not hugely encouraging. Heading to Australia without a platoon of first-choice players was always a risk and any similarity with the World Cup final was limited to the venue. England have now lost four successive Tests and, until they start converting the chances they do carve out, there will be no end to the drought.
Article continues
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At least three potential first-half tryscoring opportunities were squandered, prompting Robinson to renew his call for England to be more ruthless as they seek to climb back up Test rugby's greasy pole. Australia were desperately rusty for the first hour but still ended up with three tries despite spilling more balls than England's cricketers fumbled at Lord's last month. Whenever Pat Sanderson's team started something promising they were equally profligate.
A similar problem blighted England's Six Nations campaign, most notably against Scotland at Murrayfield. Admittedly it took an inspired intervention from George Gregan, who snaked out an arm to hold up a diving Iain Balshaw, to deny the tourists the lead just before the half-hour but a lack of composure was to blame for poor passes by Tom Varndell and Sanderson which cost two further chances.
With Olly Barkley also missing a penalty attempt from point-blank range, Sanderson argued his side should have led by 17 points at half-time. That assessment was wishful thinking but Robinson shared his captain's frustration. "The opportunities we did create we bombed," he sighed.
The good news, despite the final outcome, is that England are at least thinking smarter following the arrival of Brian Ashton, John Wells and Mike Ford. All three starting debutants, Peter Richards, Magnus Lund and Alex Brown, had their moments and Chris Jones, when he came on, added thrust to a forward effort unflinchingly led by Sanderson. Joe Worsley belatedly emerged to win a deserved 50th cap and George Chuter and Nick Walshe also earned their first caps. But, collectively, England suffered from too few ball-carriers up front and a lack of poundage behind. Neither could anyone match the all-round influence of the Wallaby flanker George Smith, nor the quality of the attacking angle which earned Chris Latham his fine 54th-minute try which forced open the floodgates.
Only David Campese has now scored more tries for Australia than Latham but no one would claim this Wallaby side, which had lost eight of its previous nine games, is anything like as formidable as the world champions of 1991 and 1999. "We were very rusty at the start and continually turned the ball over in the first half," admitted the coach John Connolly."
Gregan also acknowledged that England are not the same force without the likes of Andrew Sheridan, Charlie Hodgson, Danny Grewcock and Jonny Wilkinson - "We weren't up against a bloke with a mad left foot, thank God" - in their line-up. That said, Robinson must have hoped for a closer outcome despite the cool conditions and a heavy pitch. Conditions had improved from lunchtime when winds whipped up the Pacific waves and rustled the Norfolk pines outside the team's Manly hotel but the surface did neither side any favours. The South Sydney Rabbitohs had played rugby league on it in pouring rain 24 hours earlier and Robinson was unimpressed. "It's not an excuse but we've all got a responsibility to produce the best possible surface."
Only when the Wallabies cut loose in the final quarter, with tries from Mark Gerrard and the 20-stone debutant prop Rodney "Rodzilla" Blake, did rugby look a remotely easy game. Perhaps significantly both Mat Rogers and Lund suffered groin problems, with Rogers particularly doubtful for the second Test.
England's abysmal record with Irish referees also continues. This is the fourth successive match this season, and the third featuring Alan Lewis, in which England have lost with an Irish official in charge. They may also have to assess whether winding up Australia's captain before the game is a good idea. It is all very well for Ford to suggest Gregan is an "eastwest" player who runs only sideways but it is currently England who seem to have mislaid their compass.
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Basil2
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Post by Basil2 on Jun 12, 2006 6:52:09 GMT -5
The australian side is not a whole lot better. They lack at least one good front rower & a convincing inside centre. And they looked as though they han't played a game in weeks. But still managed to win by 31? Did England show any promise at all? Their scrum was solid & their ruck/maul was good. heir attack was hopeless - mainly one out & easily dealt with by the Wallaby backs. Plain hopeless sums their attack up. I mean Mike Catt - he must be nearly 40 & has always been considered a weakness here. The other centre, Tait, looked ok & one of the wingers showed real promise - made Tuquiri look 2nd rate on one occasion. Other than that they should be in for a real flogging in the 2nd test. Lucky they are not up against the ABs. |
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Basil2
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Post by Basil2 on Jun 13, 2006 6:16:21 GMT -5
The winger's name was Varndell - great footwork & speed to burn. Looked shaky in defence though but as I said in the above post made Tuquiri look 2nd rate at one point. In act he loked livelier than any of the gb rl wingers in the tri-nations. maybe one for wigan to chase kel!
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Post by kelvinn on Jun 13, 2006 7:30:39 GMT -5
The winger's name was Varndell - great footwork & speed to burn. Looked shaky in defence though but as I said in the above post made Tuquiri look 2nd rate at one point. In act he loked livelier than any of the gb rl wingers in the tri-nations. maybe one for wigan to chase kel! Think you may be forgetting Brian Carney there my friend, and expensive and pointless convert to ru, Chev Walker! |
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Post by Clive_Woody on Jun 15, 2006 8:05:58 GMT -5
The winger's name was Varndell - great footwork & speed to burn. Looked shaky in defence though but as I said in the above post made Tuquiri look 2nd rate at one point. In act he loked livelier than any of the gb rl wingers in the tri-nations. maybe one for wigan to chase kel! Varndell is a 7s player really, he is great in attack, but his defence needs some work and this shows more with 15 a side. He still lacks confidence, when he did run he left Tuquiri looking like a right kipper flapping at nothing. Mike Catt really is past his best, he has one Rugby World Cup Winners medal, he isn't going to get another one. Tait is on the wing for the 2nd game, he is a kid showing a lot of promise in 7s, he too has pace to burn and is a strong lad, give him a bit of space and he will cause problems. I am not sure Goode is the idea choice at FH to exploit fast wingers, but hopefully he will get us playing the game in the Oz half. Balshaw was awful once again, his suicidal runs inside his own 22 were shocking. How they hell he has avoided the drop is beyond me. Jason Leonard would be more use at FB. ;D |
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Basil2
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Post by Basil2 on Jun 17, 2006 8:23:18 GMT -5
43-18 to aus in the 2nd of this non-event test series. Its about time ru got serious & abandoned this type of "contractual obligation" provision of a test series for tv type of test. Just as its about time england drop that slug goode from 5/8. Looks more like a hooker than standoff! Aus at least played with purpose & improved on the 1st test. Engand were better but still played without purpose or skill for long periods. Fancy getting inside your opponent's 30m in the first few minutes & going for a field goal! For Christ's sake! Well now that that nonsense is over the real tests begin - the tri-nations & the Bledisloe & I can't see aus doing a whole lot better than last season. Hopefully I'll be proved wrong, which isn't such an uncommon event!
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Post by kelvinn on Jun 18, 2006 4:26:45 GMT -5
The winger's name was Varndell - great footwork & speed to burn. Looked shaky in defence though but as I said in the above post made Tuquiri look 2nd rate at one point. In act he loked livelier than any of the gb rl wingers in the tri-nations. maybe one for wigan to chase kel! Varndell is a 7s player really, he is great in attack, but his defence needs some work and this shows more with 15 a side. He still lacks confidence, when he did run he left Tuquiri looking like a right kipper flapping at nothing. Mike Catt really is past his best, he has one Rugby World Cup Winners medal, he isn't going to get another one. Tait is on the wing for the 2nd game, he is a kid showing a lot of promise in 7s, he too has pace to burn and is a strong lad, give him a bit of space and he will cause problems. I am not sure Goode is the idea choice at FH to exploit fast wingers, but hopefully he will get us playing the game in the Oz half. Balshaw was awful once again, his suicidal runs inside his own 22 were shocking. How they hell he has avoided the drop is beyond me. Jason Leonard would be more use at FB. ;D Bland, meaningless view points, expressing no insight or understanding of the sport. You can cut and paste these views from any rah rah message board, exactly where I think Clive got them. |
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Post by kelvinn on Jun 18, 2006 4:27:33 GMT -5
43-18 to aus in the 2nd of this non-event test series. Its about time ru got serious & abandoned this type of "contractual obligation" provision of a test series for tv type of test. Just as its about time england drop that slug goode from 5/8. Looks more like a hooker than standoff! Aus at least played with purpose & improved on the 1st test. Engand were better but still played without purpose or skill for long periods. Fancy getting inside your opponent's 30m in the first few minutes & going for a field goal! For Christ's sake! Well now that that nonsense is over the real tests begin - the tri-nations & the Bledisloe & I can't see aus doing a whole lot better than last season. Hopefully I'll be proved wrong, which isn't such an uncommon event! I told you about Goode ages ago and you defended him!!! |
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Basil2
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Post by Basil2 on Jun 18, 2006 5:41:42 GMT -5
43-18 to aus in the 2nd of this non-event test series. Its about time ru got serious & abandoned this type of "contractual obligation" provision of a test series for tv type of test. Just as its about time england drop that slug goode from 5/8. Looks more like a hooker than standoff! Aus at least played with purpose & improved on the 1st test. Engand were better but still played without purpose or skill for long periods. Fancy getting inside your opponent's 30m in the first few minutes & going for a field goal! For Christ's sake! Well now that that nonsense is over the real tests begin - the tri-nations & the Bledisloe & I can't see aus doing a whole lot better than last season. Hopefully I'll be proved wrong, which isn't such an uncommon event! I told you about Goode ages ago and you defended him!!! Well I could hardly agree with you kel, now could I! |
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Post by kelvinn on Jun 18, 2006 12:19:04 GMT -5
I told you about Goode ages ago and you defended him!!! Well I could hardly agree with you kel, now could I! Fair point!  So pleased to see the English side speed backwards so quickly. You really have to go some to get so bad, so fast. |
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Post by Clive_Woody on Jun 30, 2006 6:09:19 GMT -5
Varndell is a 7s player really, he is great in attack, but his defence needs some work and this shows more with 15 a side. He still lacks confidence, when he did run he left Tuquiri looking like a right kipper flapping at nothing. Mike Catt really is past his best, he has one Rugby World Cup Winners medal, he isn't going to get another one. Tait is on the wing for the 2nd game, he is a kid showing a lot of promise in 7s, he too has pace to burn and is a strong lad, give him a bit of space and he will cause problems. I am not sure Goode is the idea choice at FH to exploit fast wingers, but hopefully he will get us playing the game in the Oz half. Balshaw was awful once again, his suicidal runs inside his own 22 were shocking. How they hell he has avoided the drop is beyond me. Jason Leonard would be more use at FB. ;D Bland, meaningless view points, expressing no insight or understanding of the sport. You can cut and paste these views from any rah rah message board, exactly where I think Clive got them. You will have to do better than that to catch a big fish Kelvin. Very poor mate. ;D |
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