Well it’s 1 of those perceptions things I think. If, e.g., reffing the Ireland tour last time, the ABs looked anything other than they were ‘slipping’ then too. However, they went on to put 60 on the Irish in the last game & not too long ago put 7 (I think) past the Boks @ their ‘graveyard’ @ alt @ Ellis Pk.

Thats’ why it seems prem to say otherwise. I mean if they go out & do a real no on England nxt Sat, what will be said then? 1 game can seemingly change opinions pretty quickly methinks. Too quick sometimes.

On the other hand, as SL said, they have 9 over 30 in the squad & guys like Ritchie have seemed less prominent of late. This may be a decline in his game due to age & also with some others, or maybe not. A team needs an exp core, esp with decsion makers, piv players, in a WC. Brad Thorn was no spring chick last time… & incidentally, the Saffas have recently recalled Burger, Botha & Matfield.

Anyway, the ensuing yr will likely be a better guide for me.

I’ve just got used to seeing ABs not giving an inch, even when the match is well won. Yes the game was won, but the ABs usually delight in not just winning, but the manner of the win too. Are standards slipping? Last week they came good at the end becuase they had to to win, but this week the game was won, yet they allowed Eng to come away with some positives (however bittersweet or misplaced these may be).

It’s 1 game. Altho I agree that the ABs’ don’t usually ‘switch off’ during a match, saying that that they did so this time may be premature. I mean they came on strong enough at the end in the 1st test didn’t they?

1 swallow & all that?

Yr team also looks ok to me, but as I prev mentioned, I don’t know if it matters that much who England put out, esp @ fwd, altho I acknowledge that if Engalnd want to power over NZ, ‘the bigger the better’ philosophy may hold sway.

The S Times hacks, i.e. both Barnes! & Jones, advocate England’s abandoning of the running game & reverting to R1. They seem to be of the opinion that the dastardly ABs lured them into a hi tempo match in which England couldn’t match up!?

For me tho, this is ltd & retrograde thinking. As I’ve said b4, teams need to score when they have the ball (& tries are worth 5/7) & to stop the oppo from doing so when they don’t have the ball. In other words a team must surely have an all round game & adapt it (that’s the trickey bit) as approp during a game.

Which brings me back to yr pick. It seems more enlightened to me for u to have made the braver call for Cip @ fly, but I’m not sure that Burrell @ center inside Tui is a compatible mix. Would Eastmond not be a better bet, esp as Burrell didn’t really feature as an Int’al. Eastmond has lightning hands & feet? Worth a punt now I’d venture. Not much too lose now in seeing what initiative he’s got. Besides, Burrell could be brought in if nec to beef up midfield.

I generally agree that 12Ts has not cemented his place, he is droppable, but I still think that he deserves the 12 shirt for now. He passing game is so underrated – it really stretches defenses. He can make breaks, and has a good kicking game (Saturday was not a good example, but we all know he does!).

12Ts still has a long way to go before he is a world class 12, but he is still our best option the closest thing to an all round 12 that we have.

Yr side looks ok to me, apart from Cip @ fly. Why is SL so conservative abt DC? Doesn’t he like skill? Is it a case of ‘can’t play, won’t play’ Cip due prev trust issues? Besides Farrell, of Churchillian will & all that, actually wasn’t really all that was he?

Also ironic for me in that u go for Attwood as does the S Times Taff. When I’d asked yonks ago why Atters wasn’t given more time as he’d been around & mentioned for a while, I was put in my place by being told he was only 4 in the peck order. Mmmm. How times change?

12T on the other hand has a series of mediocre to poor games under his belt where everything good he does is over-balanced by a series of bad things – poor execution, missed tackles and silly errors.

He has had more than enough chances to cement his place in the side and has not done so. SL should bite the bullet and drop 12T, whether for Eastmond or Burrell

i just hope that SL can admit his mistakes and put things right. He managed to get over his obsession with A Goode at fullback, hopefully he can get over 12T as well

(Also really, really hope he’s realised that putting Tuilagi on the wing was a silly idea)

I think Twelvetrees is really beginning to take a lot of unwarranted stick. In the first half, when England looked really good IMO, his passing game really spread the NZ defence. His passing games forces NZ to defend 5 or 10 meters wider that they would do without 12Ts playing. Add in his kicking game (which was poor on Saturday, but is actually very good), and he offers a lot. He made more breaks that Eastmond as well.

Clearly, he needs to cut the errors out! His offload to Wood that led to the try could have ended in a try for England. He draw two defenders brilliantly and got his arms free. Yes the offload was sh*t and went straight to ground, BUT, on another day he could have been the hero!

A lot of England players made silly errors this week, none more so than Care and Brown, but that doesn’t mean we just drop them.

If we need a creative player at 12, then stick Eastmond back in, or play Cipriani at 12 alongside Farrell. I actually think they could work quite well as a partnership. We have seen Cipriani’s willingness to tackle this season, and I think he would be up to the job.
Or we play Burns or Cipriani at 10, and play Burrell and Tuilagi together in the centre.

I think Burrell needs people to run lines off, and this week he was missing the go forward ball that Vunipola creates. In the 6N we saw him running great support lines off Care, Farrell and Vunipola, and without Vunipola on the pitch we didn’t create the same chances. I would at least give Burrell and Tuilagi a chance to play together in the centre. Start with Burns or Cipriani, and have Farrell on the bench to cover fly half and centre.

Also thought that Wood was a little anonymous this week, and we missed the pressure that Haskell was laying down last week.

With these points in mind, my squad for next week is:
1. Marler
2. Hartley
3. Wilson
4. Launchbury
5. Lawes
6. Haskell
7. Robshaw
8. Vunipola
9. Care
10. Cipriani
11. Yarde
12. Burrell
13. Tuilagi
14. Ashton
15. Brown

16. Webber
17. Waller
18. Sinckler
19. Attwood
20. Morgan
21. Dickson
22. Farrell
23. Foden

Because of this, and because England were the better side for the first half, I don’t think that the score flatters England at all. I wouldn’t argue that New Zealand were deserved winners for that period after half time BUT, that was it.

I have seen plenty of comments along the lines of “If NZ play like that for 80 etc, etc” – but they don’t.

Sad to say that I thought Burrell was poor, and Tuilagi did OK on the wing BUT he was missed in the centre.

Again – what does Twelvetrees offer, that Eastmond doesn’t?

Launchbury, Wood, Brown, Care – they all look like they need a rest.

How good was Ben Smith (and for that matter Folau and Le Roux?)?