Comments on: The trials and tribulations of England

By: Joe

Joe — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 15:58:43 +0000

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=8101405535 Iain Balshaw Should Never Play For England Again. Ever. JOIN IF YOU AGREE … WE WANT TO PROTEST!!!

By: rugbyrwgbi

rugbyrwgbi — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 13:42:56 +0000

Poor old Lesley: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ciCo7N9xZ_c …unfair? probably not.

By: Chris

Chris — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 19:20:20 +0000

Dude, would you want to be second row if you were training naked??
I thought not……….

By: Rob Watson

Rob Watson — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 21:20:22 +0000

You see, I keep saying that Ashton has taken us backwards – the Boks were training naked 5 years ago, and it was the whole squad not just 2 of them.

Once again we’re years behind the times!

By: They get paid 80 grand a year and they still can't catch..

They get paid 80 grand a year and they still can't catch.. — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 15:59:54 +0000

I feel sick ……

Sorry to share this with you guys but I think I have found the reason why England have been putting in some odds performances of late. Their training regime is a bit … well ..

If I had to do this to get into Brian’s good books then I too w…

By: Chris

Chris — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 11:58:41 +0000

Mat – I guess that is because he is dead, and no reflection on his commitment to the team. I’m sure he still has more to contribute than Brian.

By: Uncle Mat

Uncle Mat — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 02:32:02 +0000

Sorry Rob – bad news. I called the executors of the Barry White estate on your behalf. Unfortunately the miserable buggers refused to make any commitment to release him for England duty. This country.

By: Chris

Chris — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 23:45:47 +0000

Barry White? Just had an awful image of Ashton crooning “can’t get enough of your love baby” to Mr Balshaw. But you may be right about the “two years of cr*p rugby” scenario. Maybe the RFU want to lull our opponents in the 2011 world cup into a false sense of security.

I don’t understand it. When you look at the guys who are playing (well, 14 of them anyway, no names mentioned like Balshaw) we should have a class team.

OK. You’re right. It’s Ashton and a clear lack of leadership from within the team. Remember the Bismarck was almost impregnable, but then someone took out the rudder and it was game over.

By: Rob Watson

Rob Watson — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 21:43:32 +0000

Well I’ve had a moment of clarity today where I think I’ve sussed out exactly what’s going on.

The RFU have put Ashton up to this and told him to turn us in to a laughing stock for a year or two. ‘Why?’ I hear you ask.

Because they really want to employ Jake White but at the moment there are lots of ardent patriotic fans who can’t bear the thought of a non-Englishman taking the job.

Much more of this though and even the proudest of Englishmen will be screaming “give us anyone, anyone but Ashton!”. Never mind Jake White, I think I’d rather see Barry White than Ashton.

You might not agree with my theory, but I can’t think of any more plausible ones to explain his continued employment can you?

By: Chris

Chris — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 20:30:58 +0000

The second half collapse seems to be a combination of the mental discipline and the scoreline. I wonder if things would have been different had ENgland been leading by, say, 3 points or trailing by several. The point is that a team like New Zealand, regardless of who they are playing, keep on, and on, and on, and on….racking up huge points tallies. So why don’t England?
I’m sure it is not smugness or laziness but something is going wrong and it cannot just be a leadership issue. We have all seen England look good in the first half only to press the “eject” button at 55 minutes or so. I don’t know what the answer is but I am still leaning towards a quick rolling substitution of the pack/backs as necessary in order to keep up the momentum and to get the ball out to the wings instead of bringing the ball back into the centre and taking hit after hit, tiring out the players even more rapidly.
Oh and not playing Balshaw of course ;-)

By: Uncle Mat

Uncle Mat — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 17:27:06 +0000

I don’t think it’s a fitness issue. With the exception of the tubby no.8 of course. It’s a mental discipline issue. Everyone starts to feel tired after 60 minutes or so, but the mental discipline and focus is what should drive you on. Having players on the pitch like Johnson, Dallaglio, Back, etc makes a big impact in reinforcing that drive. So who have we had on the pitch at the 60 minute mark in the last few games? Vickery, when playing, tends to get subbed by then, leaving nodoby to demand that 100% commitment (not really sure Vickery does that when he’s on). Layer this on top of an uninspiring and aimless head coach, and it’s no surprise we fade away.

PS – if Balshaw gets picked ahead of Lewsey for the France game I’m going to kidnap him

By: Rob Watson

Rob Watson — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 13:31:59 +0000

The whole second half collapse is a great point Chris. The mind boggles as to what (if anything) they are doing in training.

Has anyone noticed any of the England team flagging in the last 20 minutes of club games? I certainly haven’t (other than my previous comments on here about Wasps falling away in the second half of some games).

I’m sure anyone who’s reasonably fit and active will agree that even when you’re at your fittest, a week or even a few days without intense training can leave you feeling like you’ve lost your fitness (like myself this morning, feeling like death after my first gym visit in 5 days!).

The way our boys just fold after 55-60 mins (three points in each second half so far) is alarming. We’ve not scored a second half try since Tonga and they were so bad that Faz got a try! What do you think’s the cause? Any fitness experts out there that can explain our collapse?

They should sack Dave Reddin. Oh yeah, they did already!