1
What a game of rugby.
With the Championship decided the Twickenham crowd initially seemed more concerned with merriment that what was going on the pitch. England appearing to wrap up the game within 15 minutes didn’t help matters.
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And then the second half happened.
Six unanswered tries from Scotland and a George Ford try to snatch a draw.
15. Sean Maitland 5
Brought in for the injured Blair Kinghorn and questions were immediately asked of his decision making at 15. Nearly found out again for a non-tackle on Jack Nowell, if it was for the faintest of knock-ons by Ben Youngs. Looked lost at seas at times, which is saying something for a British and Irish Lion veteran. Brightened up in the secondhalf.
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14. Darcy Graham 8
Electrifying against Wales, Graham struggled to contain the rampaging English backline early doors. Was haunted by a Jonny May, who was at his fleet-footed best, biting in on Farrell for the Gloucester man’s first try. Took revenge in the secondhalf with two brilliantly taken tries. Survived an Owen Farrell armless hit in the 67th minute. He’s a keeper.
13. Nick Grigg 4
Scotland have missed Huw Jones greatly all tournament and it was no different today. Grigg is a game player but question marks remain over his abilities at this level. Tried hard all day but looked out of his depth.
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12. Sam Johnson 7
The Rugby League convert is learning the game rapidly, mixing odd errors and lasps in defence with some solid work elsewhere. Only really ignited in the 75th minute, and it was worth the wait. A phenomenal try that will live long in Calcutta Cup lore.
11. Byron McGuigan 5
Twelve metres with ball in hand was hardly a fantastic return for the winger. He also managed to miss four tackles. After a bright showing off the bench against Wales, will be disappointed with a patchy day at the office in what was a rare start for the Sale Shark.
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10. Finn Russell 8.5
Struggled with England’s line speed in the first half. A brilliant read for his intercept in the 58th and cemented his place as the tournaments most skillful flyhalf. Was magnificent at times, and you can’t help but wonder what might have been in 2019 had Scotland’s back division not been so depleted.
9. Ali Price 7
Held on to his spot after a decent showing against Wales. Was part of the secondhalf revival, pretty much setting up Bradbury’s try single-handedly. Fell off a few too many tackles to score too high.
1. Allan Dell 6
What Dell lacks in size, he normally makes up with his mobility around the park, but the Lion had a quiet game. Got through a fair share of the tackling duties.
2. Stuart McInally CAPTAIN 7
An unlikely but utterly brilliant 34th minute charge down and subsequent 50 metre run to the line broke the English onslaught and offered Scotland the faintest of hope with halftime approaching. Missed four tackles.
3. Willem Nel 6
Again, didn’t really show in the loose with his trademark carries. Still finding match fitness after a long time out we suspect.
4. Ben Toolis 7
Did he do enough to justify being selected ahead of Jonny Gray? Probably not. The Edinburgh man got through a hell of lot of the dirty work and got through 20 tackles, the highest of any Scot.
5. Grant Gilchrist 6
Tackled all day and when the Scottish pack finally started firing back, he was at the coalface. Carried nine times for the hardest of hard yards.
6. Sam Skinner 5
A relatively quiet shift. Did little on either side of the ball. Scotland have better backrows set to come back.
7. Hamish Watson 7
Earned his 25th cap coming off a barnstorming cameo against Wales. Didn’t quite reach the height of last weekend. Beat three defenders and carried well in general, as well as being his usual pesky self at the breakdown.
8. Magnus Bradbury 8
Was in the right place at the right time for his try. Was everywhere all day and looks to the manor born at Test level.
Replacements:
16. Fraser Brown 6
A high standard for Scotland to fall back on. Did however concede a penalty.
17. Gordon Reid 7
Scrummaged solidly and made 4 of 5 tackles in the loose after coming on early in the secondhalf.
18. Simon Berghan 7
Won a turnover when he came on for Nel and managed seven tackles in an industrious 20 minutes.
19. Jonny Gray 8
Made 13 tackles despite coming on in 56th minute. Still Scotland’s premier secondrow and should be starting.
20. Josh Strauss 6
Came on for Skinner in the 55th minute and was an improvement.
21. Greig Laidlaw 7
Steadied the ship when it needing steadying. Is his future on the bench?
22. Adam Hastings
Came on in the 67th for Maitland and Townsend will be pleased with his versatility. Looks very like American actor Oscar Isaac, although that’s largely irrelevant.
23. Chris Harris 5
Didn’t see much of the ball after coming on for Grigg to be fair. Looked busy.
Comments on RugbyPass
To be fair it was nowhere bear the Leinster first team (for which, btw, Leinster copped nothing like the outrage that Jake White did for sending a rotated team to the UK). But it’s fun to watch the Stormers doing their thing. They are attracting big, diverse crowds of young fans, and deservedly so. Great to see.
1 Go to commentsIt might be legal but he’s sailing pretty close to the wind. Not a lot needs to go wrong for Finau to end up in the bin. Was it late? Not quite, but borderline. High? A couple of CM within the laws, no room for error with that one. Did he wrap the arms? There was a token effort to wrap one arm, the intent was clearly to hit with the shoulder. So yeah, it’s legal, just. But as we all know, a very slight change in the dynamics could easily have him seeing red. Hopefully not when it really matters.
4 Go to commentsCan we also show some love for Tane Edmed’s fantastic draw and pass? Put his body on the line and committed the defender before letting go of that pass. Flawless skill.
4 Go to commentsYou forget this is Rassie Erasmus who is still holding the Springbok keys. Even with Felix Jones orchestrating a really tight RWC SF last year. It still wasn't enough to get England past their particular Springbok Monkey in world cups. The reason is FJ was going off of what they did in 2019 not necessarily adapting to current Springboks. So yes, Australia can get passed England because let's be honest, England have a one track strategy, Springboks do not. Even with rush defense I wouldn't be surprised if Rassie continually tweaks it. Also bear in mind Rassie is happy to sacrifice a few mid year and inter World Cup matches to pin point how opposition plays and how to again tweak strategies to get his Springboks in peak performance for the next World Cup. As much as most teams like to win games in front of them and try to win everything, Rassie always makes sure to learn and train for the greatest showdown International Rugby has to offer. Tbh, most people remember World Cup wins and ignore intermediate losses as a result but will remember also WC losses, Ireland, even if they won games in the interim. So even if games are won against the Springboks, it's likely Rassie is just getting a feel for how opposition is moving and adapt accordingly…in time. For Rassie, a loss is never a loss because he uses it as a chance to learn and improve. Sometimes during a game, again like the England match in last year's Semi Final.
7 Go to commentsDanny don't care. He pretends to care but he don't. He says all this stuff to justify his reasoning but no one can claim that legitimately. He knew exactly what he was doing and wondered if his old team mate would overlook it, which he did. Ref has got to be sidelined or properly trained. It's one thing for refs to move up the ranks but if it was me I would require refs to either have played in different clubs or not at all having the temptation to bias in high stakes games like this. This has got to be stamped out. But then again World Rugby is so destroying the game of rugby in an attempt to be more “safe” and “concussion free”. What they are doing is making it more infuriating for the fans and more difficult for the refs to officiate evenly and consistently. It's fast become Australian Rules football. If guys don't want concussions, they should have played chess. Stop complaining you oldies of the game. When they played the game was vastly heavier hitting than it is now but of course they can't see that.
2 Go to commentsJa, why do Bulls get flack for not bringing their best but Leinster never bring their best and it goes “unnoticed”?
3 Go to commentsIt’ll be very interesting to see how Razor’s AB’s handle the new England rush D. It’s basically the Bok recipe they copied, so if England goes well then we know most likely the Boks will go well too. If England cops a hiding then we’ll have to study and adapt.
7 Go to commentsTypical trait of an australian is to moan. Goes well with there lack of humbleness as evident by the Reds bench on the weekend.
4 Go to commentsSBW’s bro’town commentary and lazy default to hyperbole should be ignored, a technical analyst he is not. Sotutu is a good player when games get goosey loosey, high skill set that fans of Zinzan recall with starry eyes. But you need power and mongrel at no8 in the Test arena and Sotutu gets found wanting there, much like Akira Ioane. No8’s like Zinzan and Ardie have bucketloads of mongrel and power and tenacity which allow the skill sets to flourish.
11 Go to commentsAn inside pass to attacker on the angle can make a drift defence look lead footed. Relies on fleet footed forward/s to get across from the breakdown. An argument for the smaller faster 7 perhaps?
7 Go to commentsSensational tackle. The reds one was late and rightly penalised. The other two were simultaneous with the pass. If nitpicking TMOs can’t find fault there clearly isn’t any.
4 Go to commentsBrumbies fully deserved their win on the back of their physicality and desire to control the ball. Xavier Numia, Asafo Aumua and Tyrel Lomax should be the ABs starting front row when we start our test schedule. They have “come of age” and have bested all they have faced as well as been dominant with ball in hand in making the gainline. With De Groot, Tamaiti Williams and Fletcher Newell backed up by Taukei'aho and Cody Taylor there's not an international front row that can trouble us. Can't wait to face the Boks over there, won't be no one point game this time.
7 Go to commentsKinda strange that he wasn’t with a premiership team or a higher level of rugby? Start playing late or something? With that kind of size and athleticism you’d think someone would have picked him up?
2 Go to commentsShows how much attitude matters. Last week the Brumbies got done, this week they dominated the tournament leaders, who were likely thinking they could cruise to victory.
7 Go to commentsA Turtle has more pace and leg drive than Owen Franks, so it’s a good thing he only had to run 90 metres for that try.
2 Go to commentsOh Tamati Tua was in the vastly over-rated Leon MacDonalds Blues system? Well, no wonder he was wasted, much like Emoni Narawa and Jacob Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens under MacDonald. now look at them. Good thing Tua isn’t eligible, the Aussies latch on to any player who isn’t tied down.
7 Go to commentsMark Telea is a lot of things, but a defensive juggernaut has never been one of them. There will be far bigger tests in that regard for the youngster.
11 Go to commentsLove and respect to Fiji but not a chance outside of 7s
4 Go to commentsGood summation Ned. Agree the Canes were out-muscled for once (except at the scrum!) by a focused Brumbies outfit. Tua deserves consideration for higher honors after the way he humbled Jordie and the Canes defense. Thankfully, his lack of eligibility for Oz keeps him from Joe’s plans. While I also agree the injuries affected the Canes performance, some players seemed to lack focus and intensity for this match. Perhaps after the Blues demolished the Brumbies, they thought it was going to be easy? A good reminder that any slip up in preparation can have a big affect on the result. Brumbies deserved that win.
7 Go to commentsKarl Dixon should never have been appointed this fixture, absolute disgrace, He’s not much of a referee anyway, didn't have the balls to send his mate care off
5 Go to comments