England v Wallabies, Twickenham, Sun 10th Nov 2:10AEDT / 1:10AEST

[TSR]

Our line out wasn't as good as it should be today with our two preferred jumpers. Squeezing in Skelton will be interesting.

I got the impression both hookers missed 1-2 throws. Although couldn’t say for sure whether it was a throwing or a jumping issue.

 

[Derpus]

Our line out wasn't as good as it should be today with our two preferred jumpers. Squeezing in Skelton will be interesting.

I don't see how we can start that backrow and Skelton.

I like the shout to move JAS to 11. Lets see what sort of form Kerevi is in and put Lenny back in at 13. Good to have options for next year.

 

[Wilson]

Really liking how the balance of our backrow has developed this year. McReight and Wilson are in everything and making it to breaks early in support. It's really unlocking Valetini's game and letting him chime in with full noise carries and tackles a phase or two later.

 

[dru]

I got the impression both hookers missed 1-2 throws. Although couldn’t say for sure whether it was a throwing or a jumping issue.

We were up against a very good English line out who did (mostly) attack our throws. I thought a couple of throws managed to get over the English jumper and hit our guy. But we did drop a few. Hopefully incremental improvements continue with the set piece generally.

In the mean time making adjustments for Skelton would have been a lot easier if the line out had been on fire.

 

[Mr Pilfer]

What a win, best performance for years. Ikitau was amazing at 12.

Bell was huge but not sure he can play 70 mins every week, we really need to develop some more prop depth

 

[BDA]

Regarding Tupou, it is a shame he is not playing to his full potential. Maybe the injuries have gotten to his head. He used to be way more explosive.
Also around scrum time it appears every first scrum of the game he gets done for angling in. He is a big unit and should be able to get over his opponent fair and square. Not sure whats going on there.

Unfortunately there is no one really to challenge him for his spot at the moment. Hopefully one of the young fellas does come through soon.

Yeh he hasnt been at his best this year. I wish he was playing better but even if he's been poor by his standards he's still a tighthead capable of holding up the scrum against the top sides which is something a lot of wallabies teams of the past would have killed for. I like to see him lose a few kg and maybe try to simplify his game a bit. Seems to think its his job to top the offload count every game. Id tell him to bottle the offload and concentrate of his core duties

 

[Mr Pilfer]

Yeh he hasnt been at his best this year. I wish he was playing better but even if he's been poor by his standards he's still a tighthead capable of holding up the scrum against the top sides which is something a lot of wallabies teams of the past would have killed for. I like to see him lose a few kg and maybe try to simplify his game a bit. Seems to think its his job to top the offload count every game. Id tell him to bottle the offload and concentrate of his core duties

Yes exactly we need to remember we have lost a lot of games to England purely off the back of their scrum dominance so when we get parity there, then anything else he can do is a bonus

 

[molman]

Gee - I thought Frost was pretty good. Very industrious. Turned up a lot when we really needed him. Seemed a key part of defending the driving maul.

I know a lot will disagree but I’m happy if they stick with the three that got the job done knowing they will also be available for 100% of Australian tests.

I think he has to play Skelton in these next two just to see where he might fit in for the Lions series. I'm not sure who drops out as I agree I'd be tempted to name the same squad again, but Skelton also adds a dimension in being a type of player that we don't really have a like replacement for currently.

I actually think it's a shame that the Irish test is outside the window as that's the game I would have loved to have seen him in.

I'm curious to know where Kerevi is at with his match fitness and what the coaches are thinking. Bit of a interesting dilemma for the coaches as I feel you want to give the Sua'ali'i / Ikitau combo probably more time if they think this is the combo they may go with for the Lions.

 

[molman]

We were up against a very good English line out who did (mostly) attack our throws. I thought a couple of throws managed to get over the English jumper and hit our guy. But we did drop a few. Hopefully incremental improvements continue with the set piece generally.

In the mean time making adjustments for Skelton would have been a lot easier if the line out had been on fire.

The jumpers don't have to be just the locks though, Skelton could easily play a role hoisting someone up at a rate that would probaby be faster than the opposition are able to get their own locks up to compete.

I mean I keep waiting for Etzebeth to fling Kolbe up like a Cirque du soleil performer. It feels like such a Rassie move. I mean he's performing as a scrum half now too, why no give him a traditional lock role as well

 

[Overtime]

Really, JS did not deserve MOM. Bell, Wright, Lenny were magnificent, however I have never seen someone come into the Wallabies never playing a professional rugby game before and do what he did. While he played at Kings, he had never played club rugby before, it was a team effort and well done. However, what JS did was incredible. Lenny also best game i have seen him play.

 

[LeCheese]

 

[TSR]

I think he has to play Skelton in these next two just to see where he might fit in for the Lions series. I'm not sure who drops out as I agree I'd be tempted to name the same squad again, but Skelton also adds a dimension in being a type of player that we don't really have a like replacement for currently.

I actually think it's a shame that the Irish test is outside the window as that's the game I would have loved to have seen him in.

I'm curious to know where Kerevi is at with his match fitness and what the coaches are thinking. Bit of an interesting dilemma for the coaches as I feel you want to give the Sua'ali'i / Ikitau combo probably more time if they think this is the combo they may go with for the Lions.

I agree if he wants to see him in play he’ll have to pick him in the next 2 games and I feel he probably will.

Maybe it’s just a big day for me to back my favourite played but personally I think the combo of Wilson, McReight & Valetini has been a real positive even in the RC. Maybe I’m looking through red coloured glasses but I wouldn’t be breaking them up and I therefore wouldn’t be starting Skelton. So maybe you bring him off the bench with Williams moving to 6 when he comes on and Wilson making way.

Personally I think Skelton’s selection is still problematic in that it compromises other selections. Like you say - he is a unique player profile. That is a strength and a weakness IMO. And I like how Williams & Frost are developing as a locking pair and Salakai-Loto gives us a big, athletic presence off the bench.

I definitely wouldn’t be bringing Kerevi in unless he is 100%. Even then I’m dubious. Who for? After rolling the dice on Ikitau & Sua’ali’i I’m bot breaking them up after that performance. And Jorgensen is a more flexibly reserve with Kellaway able to cover the centres.

Anyway - in Joe I trust.

Both of them.

 

[dru]

The jumpers don't have to be just the locks though, Skelton could easily play a role hoisting someone up at a rate that would probaby be faster than the opposition are able to get their own locks up to compete.

I mean I keep waiting for Etzebeth to fling Kolbe up like a Cirque du soleil performer. It feels like such a Rassie move. I mean he's performing as a scrum half now too, why no give him a traditional lock role as well

Geez, molman, you think I haven't worked that out? We had two jumpers out there today, not three. It suggests that there is not a jumping skillset within the trained preferred back row. At least not currently. As usual, the issue with Skelton is that you need a game plan around him in the set piece and that leans toward different backrow selections than without him. Given he has chosen to limit his availability to what suits his club, we then need two quite different game plans and two different training paradigms. From todays game there was not a lot of evidence that the B plan including Skelton is highly advanced. In deed our A plan needs improvement in the line out.

It does not mean that Schmidt isn't thinking about doing it, I'm just saying it would have been easier if the line out was on fire. As I understand it, Skelton is a lifter in France, but he does also jump occasionally. But is our set piece ready for it? Maybe it is.

 

[Ignoto]

I like the shout to move JAS to 11. Let’s see what sort of form Kerevi is in and put Lenny back in at 13. Good to have options for next year

Nah, JS and Lenny played the house day. Joe took his opportunity with both hands and made that spot his next week.

By not dropping JS for Kerevi, it shows the risk you run of not being part of the Australian set up. If you give someone the chance to take your spot, you shouldn't be surprised if someone does.

 

[Ignoto]

Does anyone have any stats around how much time the ball was in play?

Subjectively it felt like a polar opposite game compared go when we play the Saffers. There seemed to be large portions of the game where it was end to end stuff and the stoppages felt minimal.

 

[Pfitzy]

Totally ripped their blitz defence apart

It's a simple game. If they're cutting you down in the second channel, roll your sleeves up and do the grunt work in closer

 

[TSR]

Does anyone have any stats around how much time the ball was in play?

Subjectively it felt like a polar opposite game compared go when we play the Saffers. There seemed to be large portions of the game where it was end to end stuff and the stoppages felt minimal.

I felt like that really worked in our favour and took a lot of gas out of the English forwards.

 

[Drew]

Really what I want from Tupou above all else is the scrum, after that start with simply "do no damage". Bell often frustrates me being great around the park but less so in the scrum - today though his field was so good (MOTM for me) I'd live with it. It was frustrating that the broadcast did not show what was happening when Tupou was being pinged. Does anyone know what was going on?

The coverage kept insisting the spider-cam/drone footage was the best view. It wasn’t

 

[NCT]

What benefits do you think Skelton would bring to the team? I have never been a fan but haven't watched him much in recent times and know that he is well regarded in France. But apart from scrummaging what would he offer over Frost and Williams (who I thought played well)?

 

[Spamnoodle]

Really liking how the balance of our backrow has developed this year. McReight and Wilson are in everything and making it to breaks early in support. It's really unlocking Valetini's game and letting him chime in with full noise carries and tackles a phase or two later.

Yep, it's in perfect balance imo. Don't know why we'd change it to fit in a lock.