UKC

Joe Marler and James Haskell-are these the way forward for England -I watch both players mainly contributing penalties. I am not confident for tomorrow - any thoughts ?

In reply to robandian:

and Robshaw...

I quite fancy Scotland for this!

In reply to robandian:


I'm actually quite confident about tomorrow's game albeit I don't think it will be a classic but at least it will be a contest and which hopefully will be won by the home team

In reply to robandian:

I just don't rate England's back row. It's been a problem area for a while now.

In reply to robandian:

I think it can go either way. Should be a good competitive game. I just hope the Scotland boys all finish the game with their eyes intact.

Should be a good Saturday. Afternoon session at the Edinburgh Mountain Film Festival for Jon Griffiths talk, pub for the game, then back to the EMFF for Andy Kirkpatrick.

In reply to nathan79:

It's my daughter's 18th birthday family celebration today. Something tells me the sports fans will be sneaking regular peaks at the TV throughout the party. I'll try to time my speech for half time. And avoid rugby metaphors.

In reply to nathan79:



That's exactly my plan. The timing of the EMFF sessions has worked out quite well.

In reply to robandian:

Could be close one. England need to focus on becoming a great tight 5 again - and Scotland need to actually finish off a game!

Happy with Jones' approach so far. Out with the nice guys and heading back to what England do best.

I think tomorrows game will be the decider...

In reply to JMGLondon:
Well done Dylan H - good captain's performance. Dan Cole - is he the new Tom Youngs? Worth 6 points a game for the opposition!

In reply to BnB:

Do you rate them now? Especially the no 8.
Well done Billy. Deserved man of the match.

In reply to Gone for good: poor game overall but hopeful signs - Billy is a great player thought we (England) were ponderous and the tactic of kicking high ball to Hogg seemed risky -he is a good player !

In reply to robandian:

I agree. It was ponderous at times but some promising signs.
Ben Youngs will start the next game instead of Danny Care
Courtney Lawes will start as well.
Haskell was disappointing.
Mike Brown strangely indecisive and kicked away possession too often.
But the Scrum did well as did the line out.
The rolling maul worked when it was deployed.
Jack Knowles was outstanding.
A solid start and much to look forward to.

In reply to Gone for good:

Billy was outstanding going forwards. But I can barely remember England making a turnover. And for top teams like Aus and NZ, turnovers mean tries. Wales seem to have the best combination in that area. I'm looking forward to the decider tomorrow. Can't see the eventual winner coming from outside Wales/Ireland.

In reply to BnB:

Tomorrow's game will be interesting to say the least. A depleted Ireland will be up against it but expect plenty of high balls from Sexton although I expect Wales to win.

In reply to Gone for good:

I agree. I'll be cheering for Ireland for whom Sexton may be the most complete player in the tournament, but I expect Wales' size and experience to hold sway.

In reply to BnB:

7 turnovers according to the match stats. Typical 6N opening game, scrappy and not much of a spectacle. I wouldn't read too much into the team selection of performance, the win is what mattered. They move on with momentum that gives them.

In reply to robandian:

England were a bit of a scrappy mess, and Scotland made them look great:

Apart from Stuart Hogg, their backline was a total mess (which is funny because in the RWC the other backs basically carried Hogg). I don't know why there isnt someone better than Sean Maitland to pick for 11...he was dreadful today.

Finn Russell is capable of much better touch-kicking than that. Hurried and wildly innacurate stuff going on today.

A couple times Scotland had a 5 on 4 or so overlap but still chose just to play standard Northern Hemisphere crashball and slam right into the line, subsequently getting pinged or turned over.

No sign of Greig Laidlaw's flair or leadership that put him into contention for IRFU Player of the Year after the World Cup, instead he just took about an hour to pick the ball from the ruck EVERY TIME before passing to someone innapropriate, letting England's line reform and steel themselves, whilst taking the momentum out of Scotland's attack.

More defensive miscommunications than you could shake a LOADED GUN at. It wasnt like Jack Nowell made an unstoppable light speed attack on the lines for his try, they kind of just let him breeze in, rat-tail and all.

Just so frustrating to watch, Scotland just can't play well in the Six Nations. Fair play to England, you can tell they are being coached by an Aussie, lots of wide ball and quick plays despite the scrappiness (And owen farrell being a knob as usual). Same olf post-match guff about showing promise. Blehh.

In reply to andy:
But Old King Cole scrummaged superbly I thought - not that England could use any set piece advantage. It's easy to forget how far Scotland's defence has come. Ok the Cruis try, but that was an anomaly from a usually perfect British Lion. Southern Hem teams just keep playing the numbers game in those channels right there. I guess that's what Jones wanted. I thought Farrell responded to his Coach really well - not that he needed much encouragement to get in the Oppo faces.
A seemingly fitter Billy Vunipola was the difference in the back row. Finn Russel has had better games, but not by a lot. Scotland pretty unlucky in many respects.