England v Australia, Sunday 19 November 2:00am AEDT

[Ballboy]

I expect them to target our scrum and Beale , lots of high ball to Kurtly who has been known to drop a few .. need a special one from McMahon who think is a terrific player , if he is on he will take on the pom forwards and the like of Arnold TPN Kepu McCalman ( should be starting ) will follow . I know there are a lot of supporters but i am yet to be convinced of Hunt as a star , this is his chance though and i think his big game experience might just come out and he has a cracker on a BIG stage . MUST WIN ..

 

[Derpus]

If we are relying on Hodge to solve this let’s hope there is a strategy to offer some (legal) protection in order to provide some time for Hodge’ glacially slow boot.

He'll take penalties to the line but he won't be clearing in open play for the reason you state. I think we'll see a few shit ones from Foley but it'll be Beale's job predominantly.

 

[Derpus]

Hopefully, someone has been reminding Hooper every hour that he has to come in through the gate for any jackal attempt now.

 

[dru]

He'll take penalties to the line but he won't be clearing in open play for the reason you state. I think we'll see a few shit ones from Foley but it'll be Beale's job predominantly.

If we are relying of Beale and Foley, then we are not going to see big distance nor an ability to put England well back. So the kick becomes primarily "get out of gaol", not a strategic option.

 

[Derpus]

If we are relying of Beale and Foley, then we are not going to see big distance nor an ability to put England well back. So the kick becomes primarily "get out of gaol", not a strategic option.

Yep.

 

[Up the Guts]

If we are relying of Beale and Foley, then we are not going to see big distance nor an ability to put England well back. So the kick becomes primarily "get out of gaol", not a strategic option.

I'm not that worried about the lack of strategic kicking options in our game plan. If we need variation in our attack Foley, for all his faults in the long kicking department, isn't too bad with the cross field kick or the chip in behind. These are fairly potent weapons with Koroibete chasing, whose acceleration is just about unparalled, as all Foley has to do is find a bit of grass and Koroibete will steam through and either contest or whack the guy who has just caught the ball.

I think we're also better at dealing with teams who just want to roost it down our end than we were last year. New Zealand tried the tactical kicking game in Brisbane against us and it wasn't very effective. In fact it was eventually shelved when they were sufficiently behind on the scoreboard.

 

[Brumby Runner]

I reckon Lawes has been the outstanding lock for England over the past twelve months. The matchup of the second rows is fairly heavily in favour of the poms I believe, especially with Coleman's injury and his probably early exit. Should give Matt Philip quite a bit of game time I think, so hopefully, in just his second test (?) he can match it with the England two, for I'm sure our other lock won't.

I am fearful that England will prove to be too strong in the second row and back row, and will dominate the breakdown leading to a handy win, on the back of a string of penalties if not on tries scored. And it won't be because it's been a long season for the Wallabies and England are fresh. The Wallabies should be game hardened while the English side will still just be getting into their international stride.

 

[Lindommer]

Cheika's obviously considering a 6-2 bench, which may not be a bad idea given the sheer intensity that will be offered by Vunipola, Launchbury, Lawes, Underhill and Hughes in the starting XV, alongside George, Itoje and Simmons off the bench. Being able to bring Ala'alatoa, Philip, McCalman and Timani off the bench will go a long way to countering that pressure.

If he does elect to go with a 6-2 bench that means we have to decide who to carry as the second back reserve. We all want to see Hunt get more game time, and he can realistically cover 12, 13 and 15. In the starting XV, Kerevi, Beale and Hodge can cover 12, with the latter two being able to cover 15. Hodge, Kerevi, Kuridrani can all cover 13, but not many of our utility backs can double as specialist wingers. That makes me think that Speight may be the better choice on a 6-2 bench. Of course, Phipps has covered wing for the Wallabies in the past (and pretty well too, remember his try last year?) but that doesn't help the fact that, even moreso than the others, he is certainly not a winger.

I, too, think Cheika will go with a 6-2 bench, but I'd prefer Hunt over Speight for the second back reserve. If a winger goes down Hunt to 12 and the two Ks go out one. Although there's nothing wrong with your reasoning, M, and you could well be right.

 

[Antony]

I'm amazed they haven't picked Itoje. I haven't watched much of him since the Lions tour - has he come off the boil?

 

[Micheal]

I'm amazed they haven't picked Itoje. I haven't watched much of him since the Lions tour - has he come off the boil?

He's played an unbelievable amount of rugby for Saracens. Similar to Foley and Hooper, but England's decided the best route was to rest him last game and ease him off the bench for this one. He's popped out of the starting XV but he certainly hasn't been dropped.

 

[Up the Guts]

I am fearful that England will prove to be too strong in the second row and back row, and will dominate the breakdown leading to a handy win, on the back of a string of penalties if not on tries scored. And it won't be because it's been a long season for the Wallabies and England are fresh. The Wallabies should be game hardened while the English side will still just be getting into their international stride.

I'm not as concerned about the breakdown. For one thing the new law changes mean that it's much harder to jackal if you're the tackler and the result has been a significant decrease in the number of penalties/turnovers at the breakdown. The other factor is that Hodge can potentially hurt England from anywhere inside their own half and inside the Wallabies own half. If they go too hard at the breakdown then they will see the scoreboard start ticking over fairly rapidly which is always the most effective deterrent against breakdown pressure. We're not used to having a guy with a boot as prodigious as Hodge's so I think as supporters we tend to underestimate the effect that a long can have on the game and how it is played.

 

[Derpus]

I'm not as concerned about the breakdown. For one thing the new law changes mean that it's much harder to jackal if you're the tackler and the result has been a significant decrease in the number of penalties/turnovers at the breakdown. The other factor is that Hodge can potentially hurt England from anywhere inside their own half and inside the Wallabies own half. If they go too hard at the breakdown then they will see the scoreboard start ticking over fairly rapidly which is always the most effective deterrent against breakdown pressure. We're not used to having a guy with a boot as prodigious as Hodge's so I think as supporters we tend to underestimate the effect that a long can have on the game and how it is played.

Unless they go hard at the breakdown accurately.

 

[Viking]

Coleman is starting. I genuinely think discipline will decide this match. Not just around the breakdown but also in possession. We will inevitably find it hard to break down the worlds best defence. If we remain calm and in control in our own possession we should be fine but if we start pushing things England will pounce.

Nah England will just turn this into a kicking match, and win that battle easily. In addition attack the scrum for easily penalties and points. Game. Set. Match. But then theirs the deciding factor for me, can we match their kicking game? Foley wasn't bad last match but wasn't great either. There is at least potential we can match it. There is also a chance we can match the scrum, but ref's always have a big say in this.

 

[wamberal]

There is no way we can match any decent kicker. If you think that Popgun Foley is the answer, you are asking the wrong question.


We have consistently, for many many years, totally ignored the science of kicking. More fool us.

 

[Warpath]

they named 24, did they drop Speight or one of the forwards on the bench?

 

[tragic]

This game will come down to discipline, the scrum, and our success rate kicking for goal.
If Sio can stay off the deck and we have scrum parity, and if we don’t get pinged off the park I actually think we’ll win.
Provided foley doesn’t get the yips.

 

[pissedoffihavetoregister]

So who is the ref?

 

[RugbyReg]

Coleman out. Enever to start.

 

[jimmydubs]

The weather prediction in Fogistan for tomorrow is actually ok. Probably won't rain. Based on that and the last few games betwixt us I think it could be pretty high scoring.

 

[KOB1987]

Coleman out. Enever to start.

There goes our lock parity. Hopefully the 'blinder on debut' phenomenon comes to fruition, good on him and good luck to him.