England v Wales has a weird feel but hosts need to finish on a high - Andy Goode
There may be a weird backdrop to England v Wales that makes it feel like there’s less than usual riding on it but the home side need to end their tournament on a high.
The whole Six Nations feels very strange now with at least Ireland v Italy and Italy v England falling victim to Coronavirus and it’ll be incredibly tough to reschedule those games so there’ll be a lot of people hoping France can win their remaining two games and clinch a Grand Slam.
Of course, England can still win the tournament if they don’t but, even though not many will be thinking about that at Twickenham now, it’s important to finish on a high and continue the momentum from an impressive performance against Ireland a couple of weeks ago.
A huge amount of the build-up to the game this week has been spent talking about Dan Biggar, who has made a Lazarus-esque recovery after suffering a nasty looking knee injury for Northampton against Saracens last weekend.
There is still a major question mark over his fitness and all England should be doing with their first five bits of playing is testing him out and, specifically, giving Manu Tuilagi the ball and sending him down his channel.
It isn’t just Biggar who’ll be tested early on though. George North has been out with concussion again recently and some have questioned whether he should still be playing the game so he’ll receive a stern examination, and Liam Williams hasn’t played for a while either.
If they all pass with flying colours, it could be game on which a lot of people, including me, didn’t think would be the case at the start of the week.
I still think England have the edge, though, and it’s in the tight five where I think they have the biggest advantage. The set piece battle will be epic and I expect England to put Wales under a similar amount of pressure to what they did to Ireland.
That pressure comes from the kicking game as well as physicality and if Dan Biggar does struggle, that’s another area where England will have a significant advantage.
England and France are kicking the ball more than the other teams in the tournament and it isn’t just putting high balls up, it’s using the tactical kicking game to turn defences and win the territorial battle.
New Zealand kicked more than anyone else in the world for a long time and were the number one team in the sport. That’s obviously something Eddie Jones has looked at and it was really effective against Ireland in the last round.
A lot of these players know each other very well from working with one another at club level but I don’t think that’ll have a massive bearing on the game, apart from perhaps Owen Farrell having an insight into Nick Tompkins’ defensive reads.
Tompkins has shone with ball in hand at times in this tournament but been found wanting defensively and Tuilagi is arguably England’s biggest weapon if used correctly so that could be key.
I started the week thinking England could run away with it and win by 20 points. Wales have put out a team that looks as strong as any they’ve named in this tournament on paper so that’s narrowed the margin but I’m backing England to come away with a 12-point victory.
Comments on RugbyPass
Except for the injured Zach Gallagher this would be Saders best forward pack for the season. Blackadder needs to stay at 7, for all of Christies tackling he is not dominant and offers very little else. McNicholfullback is maybe a good option, Fihaki not really upto it, there was a reason Burke played there last year. Maybe Havilli to 2nd five McLeod to wing. Need a strong winger on 1 side to compliment Reece
1 Go to commentsTo me TJ is clearly the best 9 in the competition right now but he's also a proven player off the bench, there's few playmaking players who can come off the bench as calm and settled as he is, Beauden can, TJ can and I doubt any of the scrumhalves in contention can, if they want to experiment with new 9s I want him on the bench ready to step in if they crumble under the pressure. The Boks put their best front row on the bench, I'd like to see us take a similar approach, the Hurricanes have been doing similar things with players like Kirifi.
33 Go to commentsROG has better chance to win a WC if he starts training and make himself eligible as a player. He won’t make the Ireland squad but I reckon he may get close with Namibia (needs to improve his Afrikaans) or Portugal. Both sides had 1000:1 odds to win the RWC in 2023 which is an improvement on ROG’s odds of winning a RWC as a coach. Unlike Top 14 teams, national teams can’t go shopping and buy the best players - you work with the available talent pool and turn them into world beaters.
2 Go to commentsthat backline nope that backline is terrible why would you have sevu Reece when he’s not even top 5 wingers in the comp why have Blackadder when there’s better players no Scott barret isn’t an automatic the guy is more of a liability than anything why have him there when you have samipeni who’s far far better
33 Go to commentsAh, good to find you Nick. Agree with everything about Cale. So much to like about his game
49 Go to commentsNot too bad. Questions at 6, lock and HB for me. The ABs will be a lot stronger once Jordan and Roigard return. Also, work needs to be made to secure Frizzell back for next season and maybe also Mo’unga; they’re just wasting time playing in japan
33 Go to commentsOn the title, i wonder for many of those people it is a case something like a belief in working smarter, not harder?
1 Go to commentsForget Sotutu. One of those whose top level is Super Rugby. Id take a punt on Wallace Sititi Finau ahead of Glass body Blackadder.
33 Go to commentsI’m a pensioner so I've been around a bit. My opinion of SBW is he is an elite athlete and a great New Zealander and roll model. He has been to the top and knows what he's talking about. To all the negative comments regarding SBW the typical New Zealand way, cut that tall poppy down.
17 Go to commentsI'm not listening to a guy moralise over others when this is the guy who walked out mid season on Canterbury RLFC when he had a contract with them, what a hypocrite. Those praising him are a joke.
17 Go to commentsI’d put Finau at 6 instead of Blackadder but that’s the only change I’d make. Can’t wait to see who Razor picks.
33 Go to commentsTamati Williams, Codie Taylor, and Same Cane? Not sure about Hoskins Sotutu at test level. Wasn’t that impressive last season. Need a balance between experience and talent/youth.
33 Go to commentsInteresting insight. Fantastic athlete, and a genuine human being.
17 Go to commentsThey played at night in Suva last weekend and it’s an afternoon game forecast for 19 degrees in Canberra this weekend. Heat change is a non issue.
1 Go to commentsWishing Rosie a speedy recovery
1 Go to commentsObscene that SA haven’t been knocking
1 Go to commentsChances of Blackadder being injured seem too high to give him serious consideration. ABs loosie combination finally looked good with 2 committed to tackling and clearing rucks in the centre and Ardie roaming. Hoskins/Ardie together would force one of them into where they don’t excel and don’t get to use their talent, or require a change in tactics. If we continue to evolve last years systems I would take Papali’i and Finau at 6 and 7 (conceding that Blackadder will be injured) and Ardie at 8.
33 Go to commentsArdie’s preferred position 7? Where do they get these writers from? I've no idea where he's playing in Japan, but the previous two seasons he wore the 7 jersey exactly twice.
17 Go to commentsNot good to hear Ulster described as “financially troubled”. Did not think it was getting to that level. I would hope the Irish system of spreading players of talent away from Leinster would kick in now. Better to have a Leinster fringe player with Ulster or Connacht, then getting only a few games a season in Dublin. 10, for example, would seem to be a case for spreading the talent. I would not be at all adverse to a SA man coming in as head coach/DR. Ludeke is worth trying. Certainly got a long and impressive coaching career at this level…..149 games in SR, then Japan, 30 years experience. And Ulster’s ledger of successful SA coaches and players is on the positive side. Is talk of Ruan Pienaar interested in coming back as a coach…..could be a good combination with Ludeke. And Pienaar and family would have no settling in to do, one would judge. He loved life in Ulster when there, by all reports.
1 Go to commentsSome thoughts to consider here, Sam. Thanks
2 Go to comments