Eddie Jones questioning Rhys Patchell was a risk – Andy Goode
England against Wales is always a huge fixture but this one has a very different feel about it after the results and performances in the opening weekend of the Six Nations.
A lot of people questioned Wales prior to last week and some wrote them off but they proved what they’re capable of and will be in bullish mood coming to Twickenham. The mind games during the week between Warren Gatland and Eddie Jones have been fun but they both know it’ll count for little come Saturday afternoon.
Gatland suggested his English counterpart would do a great job as the next British and Irish Lions coach earlier in the week and that a 3-0 whitewash would be expected in South Africa and it’s all a bit of paper talk that’ll be forgotten once the game is done and dusted.
Questioning Rhys Patchell’s ability to handle the pressure is a bit of a risk as that could backfire on Jones but it’s all aimed at taking the pressure off his own team and piling it on the opposition.
As a fly half going into a game of this intensity you are under a huge amount of pressure already and there will be no easy holes for Patchell to exploit. Jonathan Joseph has proven himself to be pretty adept at the intercept and if Jones planting an extra seed of doubt just buys England’s defence half a second because he’s thinking about the possibility of someone flying out of the line, then I’m all for it.
I was surprised Ben Te’o was picked last week with him not having played at all for over four months and therefore having no form to judge him on but Joseph is still the first choice outside centre, especially with Elliot Daly being injured.
If anything, Te’o’s size could have been useful this week to match the physicality of Hadleigh Parkes and Scott Williams but George Ford, Owen Farrell and Joseph at 10, 12 and 13 is the combination that has served England so well in winning 23 of 24 Tests under Eddie Jones.
And, what you lose in physicality with Joseph, you make up for in pace and they’ll be looking to find some space for him in the outside channels.
You want it to be a really attacking, free-flowing game and both teams showed some real quality in attack last week but Paul Gustard and Shaun Edwards are two of the best defensive coaches in the world and both sides will pride themselves on their defence in a game of this magnitude.
England’s defence was patchy in Rome last week and they need to bring the intensity that Wales had against Scotland when they didn’t concede a point for over 78 minutes.
Wales have got some confidence now with ball in hand if they’re allowed to play and if England don’t dent that early, then it’ll be tough to dominate them physically when they’re trying to get the ball out of the contact and that’s the key battle for me.
To win against Wales you need to be physical and win the gainline battle. England had Nathan Hughes for this fixture last year but the best player in the pitch by far was Ross Moriarty and Wales lost a bit of intensity when he went off because he was playing like a man possessed.
It’ll be a huge test for Sam Simmonds after an exceptional Six Nations debut last week. Can he carry in traffic and make yards and who are the other hard-nosed ball carriers that are going to do the same against a tough Welsh defence?
That gainline and breakdown battle is going to be key and whoever dominates those areas and wins the physical confrontation will win the game.
Wales have beaten England three times at Twickenham in eight Tests there under Gatland and 10 of these players have experience of doing so, so there’ll be no fear factor among them and they’ll certainly have real belief that they can win.
However, England have won 13 straight Tests at Twickenham since the World Cup and I expect them to make that 14 against Wales. If you’d asked me two weeks ago, I’d have said it’d have been a comfortable victory by 15 points but now I think it’ll be an England win by five to seven points.
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Why cant I watch Rugby games please?
1 Go to commentsBeautiful shot from Finau, end of story. Gutted for Shaun Stevenson though.
4 Go to commentsThe Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to commentsWasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
4 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
4 Go to commentsBig difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
3 Go to comments🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
30 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
4 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusaders , you can keep going.
3 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
30 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
30 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
30 Go to comments