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Topic: Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Come on England...
Posted by: Francis Rowe
Date/Time: 05/10/15 10:09:00

The non-selection of Armitage was not Lancaster's decision.

The non-selection of Cipriani was harsh but he would have just been a bench-warmer and it made sense to pick Slade to give him tournament experience for next time.

Burgess is an immense talent but in retrospect Luther Burrell may have been a better option. It was a marginal call.

Most people would have gone for Farrell to start rather than Ford given the expectation of a tight game and Farrell's better record at kicking under the highest pressure and better defensive capabilities.

We can all quibble at details. I am at a loss to understand why Haskell wasn't at least given a place on the bench as he at least would have put up some resistance to Pocock and Hooper but all these decisions are complex ones and it is hard to be totally sure unless you have all the information about why they were taken.

The cold hard fact is that we are emerging from a relatively fallow period for English rugby talent. Unlike Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Ireland we don't have a squad packed with players at their absolute peak with bags of experience. They field teams with an average cap rate of over 40 whereas we field teams around half that. Is there any English player between 27 and 32 that you would describe as world class?

The good news for England, and the main reason why Lancaster should be kept on, is that this is changing. Ask anyone involved in youth rugby and they will tell you that there is a 'pig in a python' effect due to England's world cup win in 2003 when lots of boys were inspired to take up rugby. England have dominated junior World Cups in recent years and this generation aged 19-22 at the moment is just starting to make an impact at club level. Henry Slade is not the only extraordinary talent coming through. You will be hearing a great deal about players like Jack Clifford and Maro Itoje in coming years. They are all already World Cup winners at age group level and I advise you to put money on them now to win in Japan in 2019.

Unlike the current crop of younger talent they will be joining some top quality seasoned internationals with whom they will combine to make a much more formidable team - Courtney Lawes, Joe Launchbury, Jonathan Joseph, Luther Burrell, Owen Farrell, George Ford, Anthony Watson and even Sam Burgess will still be around.

As Jonny Wilkinson has made clear what this team needs is continuity and that includes keeping Lancaster on - of course the RFU will take the easy way out and sack him.


Entire Thread
TopicDate PostedPosted By
Come on England...03/10/15 10:31:00 R Rees Williams
   Re:Come on England...03/10/15 11:32:00 Ken Munn
      Re:Re:Come on England...03/10/15 20:54:00 R Rees Williams
         Re:Re:Re:Come on England...03/10/15 21:08:00 Julian Pavey
            Re:Re:Re:Re:Come on England...03/10/15 22:03:00 Julian Pavey
               Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Come on England...03/10/15 22:14:00 R Rees Williams
                  Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Come on England...03/10/15 22:17:00 Julian Pavey
                     Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Come on England...03/10/15 23:23:00 Francis Rowe
                        Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Come on England...04/10/15 09:16:00 Ken Munn
                           Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Come on England...04/10/15 09:35:00 Paul Pryce
                              Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Come on England...04/10/15 10:43:00 Michael Robinson
                                 Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Come on England...04/10/15 11:51:00 Richard Greenhough
                                    Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Come on England...04/10/15 12:47:00 Caroline Carney
                                    Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Come on England...05/10/15 08:23:00 Paul Wright
                                       Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Come on England...05/10/15 10:09:00 Francis Rowe
                                          Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Come on England...05/10/15 10:52:00 Ken Munn
                                          Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Come on England...05/10/15 11:03:00 Michael Robinson
                                          Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Come on England...05/10/15 11:09:00 Richard Greenhough
                                             Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Come on England...05/10/15 11:16:00 Michael Robinson
                                                Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Come on England...05/10/15 11:23:00 Richard Greenhough
                                                   Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Come on England...05/10/15 11:36:00 Michael Robinson
                                                      Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Come on England...05/10/15 11:51:00 Richard Greenhough
                                                   Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Come on England...05/10/15 11:47:00 Ken Munn
                                                      Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Come on England...05/10/15 11:56:00 R Atterwill
                                                         Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Come on England...05/10/15 12:02:00 Richard Greenhough
                                                      Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Come on England...05/10/15 12:18:00 Francis Rowe
                                                         Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Come on England...05/10/15 12:44:00 Michael Robinson
                                                            Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Come on England...05/10/15 13:40:00 Francis Rowe
                                                               Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Come on England...05/10/15 13:46:00 Paul Wright
                                                                  England's World Cup Winning Starting Line-up 201905/10/15 14:17:00 Francis Rowe
                                                                     Re:England's World Cup Winning Starting Line-up 201907/10/15 16:43:00 Paul Corcoran
                                                                     Re:England's World Cup Winning Starting Line-up 201907/10/15 17:25:00 R Rees Williams
                                                                        Re:Re:England's World Cup Winning Starting Line-up 201908/10/15 11:22:00 Francis Rowe
                                                                           Re:Re:Re:England's World Cup Winning Starting Line-up 201908/10/15 11:43:00 Michael Robinson
                                                                           Re:Re:Re:England's World Cup Winning Starting Line-up 201908/10/15 15:09:00 R Rees Williams
                                                                              Re:Re:Re:Re:England's World Cup Winning Starting Line-up 201908/10/15 15:57:00 Francis Rowe
                                                               Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Come on England...05/10/15 14:14:00 Michael Robinson
                                                                  Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Come on England...05/10/15 14:25:00 Francis Rowe
                                                                     Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Come on England...05/10/15 17:07:00 Ken Munn
                                                                        Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Come on England...07/10/15 17:59:00 Michael Robinson
                                                                           If Lancaster goes...08/10/15 15:41:00 Ken Munn
                                                                              Re:If Lancaster goes...08/10/15 16:02:00 Michael Robinson
                                                                                 Re:Re:If Lancaster goes...09/10/15 18:47:00 Ken Munn
   Exit Sam Burgess05/11/15 17:50:00 Richard Greenhough
      Re:Exit Sam Burgess06/11/15 07:49:00 R Rees Williams
         Re:Re:Exit Sam Burgess06/11/15 08:27:00 Ken Munn
            Re:Re:Re:Exit Sam Burgess06/11/15 08:41:00 Andrew Cumming
               Re:Re:Re:Re:Exit Sam Burgess06/11/15 09:11:00 Michael Robinson
   Exit Stuart Lancaster11/11/15 13:07:00 Richard Greenhough
      Re:Exit Stuart Lancaster11/11/15 15:32:00 Ken Munn
         Re:Re:Exit Stuart Lancaster11/11/15 15:48:00 Michael Robinson
            Re:Re:Re:Exit Stuart Lancaster11/11/15 16:02:00 Julian Pavey
   Re:Come on England...11/11/15 21:29:00 Ken Munn

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