Solomon Alaimalo joins Moana Pasifika with renewed ambition

As usual you blow a lot of hot air with nary a fact in sight. Of course your fragile ego won't allow you to either admit to a bit of hyperbole or, taking the mature route, simply move on.

It didn't happen, except in your imagination.

While I’m sure Finn Smith is going to take his opportunity - I can’t help but feel he’s going to have to play the game of his life now. Borthwick picks this game to make this change?

Good luck to him. I mean it.

If anything these players deserve a win for having to endure Borthwick’s folly.

1: The attacker does not have time to readjust and run over you (like Aki did to Smith)

2: The attacker comes down fast making a try scoring offload very difficult.

As you say the tackling ability of these players at the very top is usually not noticed until you see someone without this ability get exposed.

Ollie Sleightholme has a 69% tackle success rate for England. France can also exploit Slade in so many ways.

They’ve definitely got the answer to England’s blitz and any dog legs or gaps are going to be punished.

England’s attack is non-existent - so putting 20 past France is also not going to happen. The French defence looks tops.

Their defence got cynical last week under massive pressure. In the danger zone. That blitz of theirs is too desperate at times. With the French blockers, and the English blitz could see a few late hits, early hits, hits without the ball, Deliberate knock ons. And a resulting yellow or two.

Ramos will also take kickable penalties all day long - unlike the Irish.

England need a miracle.

Beating the best teams in general is another test.

His career is now in it's 9th year, He is 3/6 against Ireland and 1/3 at Aviva, 1/4 against SA, and 2/3 against NZ. Only 4 of those games have been away.

There is no doubt about his actual skills, he is completely unique in his ability in my time watching rugby. I don't think any other player can do the range of things he can do, and very few can do any one thing he can do as well as he can. But in terms of game play against the best teams and best players in the world 1) he doesn't face this test very often 2) only faces it away once every 2 years against Ireland and 3) does not have a winning record.

You have to take the quality of the opposition, the difficulty of the challenge, and achievements into account.