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[Ash_Smith]

Originally Posted by Dags

I'm hopeful that this week he has a session with Billy Twelvetrees about kicking out of hand. Probably whilst the rest of the team are being reminded that it's preferable to keep 15 men on the field for more than 60 minutes.

You talk like a fellow "shed-head" Dags???

[crosscourt]

You have to enjoy it when it comes along. I had a small amount of money on England to win by 10 points or more and so ended up buying drinks for 10 people for about 12 hours.

I think that partly by accident and partly by design we are starting to put a good side together. The only real problems are at 10, where Farrell is very good in defence and place kicking but struggles to get on the offensive, and in the centre where we have lots of options but no real creative talent that I can see. Tuilagi looks a certain pick for the foreseeable future so it will be a question of who plays with him. Perhaps Burns, perhaps Foden. Dunno. Other than that there seem to be good options for almost all positions. I like Goode, Brown and Ashton on the pitch at the same time.

[Dags]

^^ I was sure we'd already had this conversation. Cherry and White to the core (despite never having actually been inside Kingsholm. Driven past it many times in my youth though ).

[Dags]

Oddly enough, Tuilagi is one of my main issues with this side. There are some very promising wingers (cough *Sharples* cough), but no real point in picking them if they never get passed the ball. I think he's too predictable, taking the ball into contact every single time. I hope they can coach it out of him, because he's clearly one of the brightest talents.

Launchbury and the return of Wood were the finds for me this series. The dynamic of Launchbury reminded me of an era when Tim Rodber moved into the second row later in his England career, resulting in a front 4 and back 4. I can't decide if having him and Lawes in the same side would be too imbalanced, but I hope to find out!

I'd like to see Brown at 15 for the 6 Nations. I'm still not sold on Goode, and would place a fit Foden back above him.

[Dave M]

When they missed their first kick at goal i was hopeful it would be a close game yesterday, just seemed like each of the 1st 15 wanted to get at them from the start and not let the A B's have a moment to settle which surely is the way we should be playing.
However, I never expected them to do that well.If nothing else it shows 2 things, one the players are starting to play well with each other and know their roles and two, the coaching decision was te correct one.I really hope that style of play can be continued to the 6N but I (as some of the others of you have said) am a little concerned by the centre pairing.It does seem out of balance bu we've been a bit short of having a settled balanced pair for a while haven't we.
I will confess to being a little concerned earlier in the autumn test series when being in another room to the TV heard the announcer Goode was starting, for a panic filled second i thought they meant the (ex?) Leicester player...

[Dags]

Dave, are you seriously saying that you wouldn't quake in fear at the sight of this man running at you?



(he's with Worcester now. Still handy kicking, still dodgy tackling, but one advantage of being on the cuddly side means you don't really lose a yard as you get older.)

[Dave M]

There he is!
I remember seeing him on tv playing for Leicester not long after his debut for them and thinking he would be handy one day.Never did anything for ENgland though , as you say a total inability to tackle anything bigger than a small no.9 might of held him back a bit! You see why i paniced though, I thought we were returning to the Jonno years and the thought process of "hmm it's all gone wrong, we're loosing, lets call some old teammates of mine up"
Why doesn't he just cut his hair?

[Ross K]

Originally Posted by Marshredder

Anyone got a first Gen AeroPro Drive they fancy selling thats in good condition? Let me know

Playing squad on a friday night, -2 or whatever outside, court freezing over, lethal yet hilarious at the same time

Will keep this in mind if I do indeed finally leave the APD behind. Have been on the juice lately.

[crosscourt]

[quote=Dags;7043207]Oddly enough, Tuilagi is one of my main issues with this side...I think he's too predictable, taking the ball into contact every single time. I hope they can coach it out of him, because he's clearly one of the brightest talents.
QUOTE]

Interesting what you say about Tuilagi. I was sitting right above the corner where England scored all three tries -- have I mentioned that I was there? -- and could almost look into Tuilagi's eyes as he approached the line for the Barritt try. You could see him realise that he might be caught and you could see him suddenly work out that he could pass the ball and we could still score. It all happened in a flash of course but it was as if he had a moment of revelation. Let's hope so. If he has it could define England's fortunes for the next five years. Ashton is a superb finisher and will pick the scoring lines if Youngs and Tuilagi can make the breaks. But Youngs can't do it all on his own.

Have I mentioned that I was there on Saturday?

[Dags]

Originally Posted by Dave M

Why doesn't he just cut his hair?

Rumour has it he thinks he's like Samson, and is concerned he'll lose his strength. In actual fact, it was the result of a horrible misunderstanding; he misheard when someone likened him to Samsonite, as he's nothing more than baggage for the team to carry.

[Dags]

You know, it's a shame we don't know anyone who was there on Saturday who could give us a first-hand version of events. I imagine they'd probably still be somewhat hungover.

The World Cup draw was interesting. I'm glad England will have home advantage; Wales have 3 years to work out how to beat the Aussies.

[Dave M]

samsonite, brilliant!
A friend of mine from my school days was up there, she and her hubby had exec VIP box seats, she was excted before the event the status updates made little sense by the end of the evening.
Wales have 3 years to figure out how to beat any of the big southern hem sides, I wouldn't mind us and them going through.The Aussies are not far ahead of us in terms of age and experiance though so their guys will be good for a while too. Isn't it time the NZ captain retired, i'm a bit bored of hearing how brilliant Mccaw is!

[crosscourt]

Originally Posted by Dags

You know, it's a shame we don't know anyone who was there on Saturday who could give us a first-hand version of events. I imagine they'd probably still be somewhat hungover.

Ah well, I am tempted to say that if you were there you shouldnt remember it -- either the game or the celebrations afterwards. But of course you may support NZ -- there is a difference between not remembering and wanting to forget -- or you may have made an error and driven to the ground.

My recollections are first of how cold it was. Farrell did really well to kick his first five penalties. The ball didn't travel well off the ground and there was a strong breeze to make it worse. Then of course there was the girl in a red evening dress who sang the national anthem. She must have been freezing. The haka was one that I hadn't seen before. But you couldn't hear it because of the singing from the England supporters. The atmosphere was good. Not quite as tense as England v Wales last year but not far off. The first half was very close. My overall recollection is of the England back row and the midfield defence covering everything and being everywhere. They had to. NZ just launch attack after attack. They don't try to break you down at once, they just try to move you out of position until they have a numerical advantage which allows them to more or less walk the ball in. Most of the first half, when England recycled the ball at ruck or maul they were outnumbered at once and it just got worse. NZ are so quick and play to such a disciplined game plan. Conrad Smith butchered a good chance for NZ.

Farrell looks like a lad on tv. But he is a big athlete. His defence, with the centres, was instrumental for England. They are like a second back row. Brown is a combative character and when he has the ball he makes the first tackler miss. This got us out of trouble a number of times. It moved the point of attack/defence a little way from what NZ expected and allowed us to relieve the otherwise enormous pressure. Goode is interesting. You can't really see this on tv but he checks his run brilliantly to give himself a split second to move in. Time and again NZ found themselves having to use their second and not first line of defence. All this gave England fractions of seconds more time to play. Some of Farrell's passing is good too. He checks his pass momentarily to give Tuilagi space. But with the exception of the penalties, much of the first half was about surviving. We actually survived very effectively but at half time we couldn't really believe that we were so well ahead.

The second half started so well with a penalty. Then it seemed like disaster when NZ scored twice. But we were all exultant for 20 minutes as England stormed ahead. Tuilagi, put into space by Farrell, made breaks and the England support was exceptional. For the first time we ran the ball where we had parity of numbers -- off a set piece or where we had made them commit defenders to the breakdown -- and the rest is history. Or a bit of a blur depending on what you were drinking. I remember feeling slightly anxious that we might have made too many substitutions but at the end NZ only managed one try and it wasn't as close as it might have been.

Woods, Tom Youngs, Morgan, Launchbury, Cole, Cornbisiero, Parling and Robshaw worked really hard. Tom Youngs gives England good penetration. He breaks tackles and moves the forwards in the right direction. Likewise Morgan, though he needs to be given more space to play in.

Ben Youngs and Ashton look like world beaters waiting for the rest of the team to catch up with them. Their attacking abilites are exceptional. There is just a sense that we may be getting there.

Did I metion that I was there?

[Marshredder]

Originally Posted by Ross K

Will keep this in mind if I do indeed finally leave the APD behind. Have been on the juice lately.

Yeah let me know for sure. I wasn't bothered at first but now I've got every generation of this racquet but the first I kinda want to check it out!

[Dags]

Thanks for the write-up, CC. I'm sure more beer was involved though.

And to completely change the subject: Ash, pretty cool to hear that the Wheelchair Tennis Masters is coming to London in 2014.

[Ash_Smith]

Loving the rugby chat! Have to disagree with Crosscourt though, Ben Youngs is at least 50 shades short of world class!

Dags, yes it's incredible to have the Singles Masters, it's been a long bid process but very exciting for us to be hosting the first legacy event at the Queen Elizabeth Park!

[crosscourt]

Originally Posted by Dags

Thanks for the write-up, CC. I'm sure more beer was involved though.

I found the Veuve Clicquot tent. It helps with the quality/quantity conundrum

[forthegame]

Slow on here.
Did everyone have a good Christmas?
Still not played any tennis hence my activity here has waned considerably.
What's your reaction to the Nadal pull out? Easy ride for Djokovic?

[Dags]

^^ Is it injury preventing you from playing, or just persistent rain?

I've been pleased to keep up a reasonable volume over the festive period, though free courts have been on the slim side due to the junior tournaments. The EXO3's will be on their way out; currently hitting with the TGK's whilst I decide whether to stay there or try something else.

[prostaff junkie]

Originally Posted by forthegame

What's your reaction to the Nadal pull out? Easy ride for Djokovic?

Probably, but it would be good to see one of the other guys to step up and challenge. Delpo or even Tsonga? Personally I'd like to see one of those guys in a semi.