By Kath / Barney Burnham
October 22 2005

England v Canada Churchill Cup Match Review. A very boring performance from England. Maybe it was because no caps are awarded for this tournament - I don't know but some players I felt missed their opportunity to show Andy Robinson over in New Zealand what they can do

England v Canada - Churchill Cup Match Review

What a disappointing match this was.  I was expecting a good display of running rugby by England's A Team - but it was the most boring match I have watched in ages and our discipline was disgraceful.  The coaches need to shoulder some of the blame for that performance!  Yes we won 29-5 but really against Canadian part-timers who played their hearts out.   We had two men sin binned, playing with 13 men at one point and I am astounded at Joe Lydon's comments today.  

England coach Joe Lydon said after the match:-."I thought our discipline was fantastic - we were very disciplined," he said.

"We tried to keep to the gameplan and do what we set out to do. I have to give my players a lot of respect. Yes we had two people sin-binned, but I was pleased.

"I don't think there was any provocation. We knew Canada would play a physical game and we had to match them in that, to be physical and also to be disciplined. I thought the players did very well."

I bet Andy Robinson was not pleased to see that performance, but maybe he does not care?  - Many think he should have been in Canada with the Churchill Cup Squad and not with the Lions.  

Andy Goode looked very sluggish and overweight, he had the opportunity to shine yesterday but he blew it in my opinion.  Voyce was the difference when he arrived on the field, a fantastic performance by him.  Some players seemed to think this was a fun game in particular when Voyce smashing through knocked over the Ref.,  what did most do?  They laughed at the situation along with the Referee but not Voyce, the referee went over, Voyce knew he had hit him but he continued on, until the referee blew the whistle.  And that was the difference Voyce wanted to show Robinson and England what he could do.  Some of the others well.......

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This is what our Unofficial England Reporter Barney Burnham had to say about the match:-

 

Firstly, anyone planning to watch the final should have binoculars trained on their TV set. The coverage was unusual, to say the least. The match was being played in Edmonton, but the main camera position appeared to be in Vancouver. Long shots can be effective, but long-distance shots leave rather too much to be desired.

The referee was seriously under-miked, but the idiot stadium announcer could be heard all the time, announcing every decision. His crowning moment came as the Canadian kicker began his runup for his conversion attempt. He screamed out details of the try. What a plonker.

Game itself - some great tries, completely out of context with the rest of the game, which was pretty dire.

Scrummaging and lineouts went well. Voyce looked superb when he came on, scoring one magnificent try and making several defence-splitting runs. Peter Richards was also very impressive, when he replaced Gomarsall, who was not at his best. Sackey was sharp - scored one excellent try, but had few opportunities.

Erinle made some powerful tackles after coming on, but he hardly received a pass, which was a criminal waste.

Simpson-Daniel looked very classy.

Vesty took his try superbly. Did a lot of good things, but didn't look as dangerous as Voyce.

Goode's distribution, defence and kicking were below par. He seemed to be carrying a sizeable paunch.

Monye - took time to settle down. He seemed to be finding his feet when he was taken out by a trip which didn't even merit a talking-to. You could just hear the ref describing it as 'reactionary'. Yeah, right. Wasps fans remember Betsen's criminal 'reaction', which broke Stuart Abbott's leg. This 'reaction' ended Monye's match.

The Canadian leftwinger tried to take Voyce out with a double-footed lunge, after he'd scored. Could easily have injured him seriously, but no action was taken. Inexcusable.