Man of the Match
England 70 Canada 0 - England cruise to victory
Man of the Match
By ClaireJ
November 14 2004
The spread betting said England by 62 and in the end it was a 70 point margin of victory. Yesterday’s run out against a weakened Canada side was the start of the new England and preparations for 2007.
Man of the Match
November 14 2004
The spread betting said England by 62 and in the end it was a 70 point margin of victory. Yesterday’s run out against a weakened Canada side was the start of the new England and preparations for 2007.
I’m not going to go through blow by blow how England demolished a spirited Canada side. Rather I’m going to look at yesterday’s match in terms of what England will face against the Boks and Aussies.
The key positions yesterday for me were the backs because we had acres of space and total domination up front. We had a sparkling display from Jason Robinson whose vision and pace get better and better. Josh Lewsey was outstanding on the left wing - sharp running and superb tackling - he scored wto lovely tries. Mark Cueto was solid if unspectacular - he scored twice. Tindall and Henry Paul need to talk to each other - they were too deep but they created space and ran some good lines. Greenwood is silky class - his try ooozed quality! I’d like to see him swapped with either Paul or Tindall for next week. Hodgson clearly has vision. However, his place kicking let him down but I liked the way he linked up with Gomersall. Gomersall marshalled his pack effectively and got the ball away reasonably well.
The forwards were totally dominant from the first tackle on Cudmore (which effectively took him out of the game) to the setpieces and the lose. The first scrum shot backwards and apart from occasional stupidity on England’s part, we dominated thereafter. The back row worked well together - Hazell and Corry both grew into the game - Hazell’s work on the floor was excellent. Moody was as effervescent as ever. Borthwick and Grewcock were in control in the line-out and I liked the way the team used Corry as an option. The front row was a bit creaky at times - White struggled to hold on to the ball and was pinged several times in the scrum - Sheridan on the other hand looked accomplished in the lose. Thompson source of much derision on this board, was all over the pitch, he drove well in the mauls and his line-out work was okay. We had a couple of wayward ones but Wally brings an enthusiasm and gusto to a pack that has lost a lot of leaders in the past few months. We need leadership in what seems a very quiet eight. Titterell came on at the end and will give Wally a run for his money - he’s very quick and could do well against the Aussies who are hopeless in the front row but I would worry against the power of the Boks. And I still don’t understand why Graham Rowntree has been picked!
But now a few grumbles which I hope they have got out of their system - kicking from hand was terrible - I thought I was watching a rerun of the Saints vs Sharks match earlier in the season as I watched Hodgson, Cueto and Paul kick possession away. Mark Cueto spurned a golden chance to score in the first fiive minutes by kicking the ball ahead - why? He had support and I’m told he has pace but he trusted neither! Our backs alignment was very strange for a team claiming they wanted to get the ball out wide - both Tindall and Paul were too deep. Too often Hodgson was miles ahead of two centres who were - well nowhere useful. The links between forwards and backs was unclear - I liked the way Hazell, Corry and Thompson worked the lose but somehow it never quite released the backs in the way it should have done. The following up was lazy - time and again it was Thompson or Hazell in midfield following up - where were the backs? And finally,some of the team play was poor - the place kicker is suffering so why didn’t Tindall, Cueto & Co run some of those tries under the posts? Forget the stupid celebrations Tinds - help the team!
Last words should go to a brave performance from the Canucks - world rugby needs team such as the Canadians. Rumour has it that the Canadian RFU did not get any gate money from yesterday’s match - if that is true the English RFU should hang its head in shame. The Canadians played their hearts out and ran every penalty - for them being nilled wasn’t a problem, they wanted a try and fair play to them. But world rugby needs to develop these teams and solving this problem is a major challenge before the 2007 World Cup. There is no professional league in Canada and they put up a hearty fight against 22 highly paid professionals.
For England it's roll on the Boks and good luck Captain Robinson and his team!
The key positions yesterday for me were the backs because we had acres of space and total domination up front. We had a sparkling display from Jason Robinson whose vision and pace get better and better. Josh Lewsey was outstanding on the left wing - sharp running and superb tackling - he scored wto lovely tries. Mark Cueto was solid if unspectacular - he scored twice. Tindall and Henry Paul need to talk to each other - they were too deep but they created space and ran some good lines. Greenwood is silky class - his try ooozed quality! I’d like to see him swapped with either Paul or Tindall for next week. Hodgson clearly has vision. However, his place kicking let him down but I liked the way he linked up with Gomersall. Gomersall marshalled his pack effectively and got the ball away reasonably well.
The forwards were totally dominant from the first tackle on Cudmore (which effectively took him out of the game) to the setpieces and the lose. The first scrum shot backwards and apart from occasional stupidity on England’s part, we dominated thereafter. The back row worked well together - Hazell and Corry both grew into the game - Hazell’s work on the floor was excellent. Moody was as effervescent as ever. Borthwick and Grewcock were in control in the line-out and I liked the way the team used Corry as an option. The front row was a bit creaky at times - White struggled to hold on to the ball and was pinged several times in the scrum - Sheridan on the other hand looked accomplished in the lose. Thompson source of much derision on this board, was all over the pitch, he drove well in the mauls and his line-out work was okay. We had a couple of wayward ones but Wally brings an enthusiasm and gusto to a pack that has lost a lot of leaders in the past few months. We need leadership in what seems a very quiet eight. Titterell came on at the end and will give Wally a run for his money - he’s very quick and could do well against the Aussies who are hopeless in the front row but I would worry against the power of the Boks. And I still don’t understand why Graham Rowntree has been picked!
But now a few grumbles which I hope they have got out of their system - kicking from hand was terrible - I thought I was watching a rerun of the Saints vs Sharks match earlier in the season as I watched Hodgson, Cueto and Paul kick possession away. Mark Cueto spurned a golden chance to score in the first fiive minutes by kicking the ball ahead - why? He had support and I’m told he has pace but he trusted neither! Our backs alignment was very strange for a team claiming they wanted to get the ball out wide - both Tindall and Paul were too deep. Too often Hodgson was miles ahead of two centres who were - well nowhere useful. The links between forwards and backs was unclear - I liked the way Hazell, Corry and Thompson worked the lose but somehow it never quite released the backs in the way it should have done. The following up was lazy - time and again it was Thompson or Hazell in midfield following up - where were the backs? And finally,some of the team play was poor - the place kicker is suffering so why didn’t Tindall, Cueto & Co run some of those tries under the posts? Forget the stupid celebrations Tinds - help the team!
Last words should go to a brave performance from the Canucks - world rugby needs team such as the Canadians. Rumour has it that the Canadian RFU did not get any gate money from yesterday’s match - if that is true the English RFU should hang its head in shame. The Canadians played their hearts out and ran every penalty - for them being nilled wasn’t a problem, they wanted a try and fair play to them. But world rugby needs to develop these teams and solving this problem is a major challenge before the 2007 World Cup. There is no professional league in Canada and they put up a hearty fight against 22 highly paid professionals.
For England it's roll on the Boks and good luck Captain Robinson and his team!
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