But doesn’t this just bear out my view about 1 swallow etc?

I don’t nec see a blackwash either. Too early to say that just yet.

Well it was yr loss.

Interpreting my comments as you do surely minimises yr & England’s chances.

Are you saying if England had gone more R1, they would have won the series? And what of SA? You intimate that it’s unwise to take them on with R1, so what DO you (England) do?

What can be wrong with an all round game? That’s a rhetorical ? really methinks.

Liked you on that Napoleonic TV series.

Interesting comment regds coach. The other H Unions have already gone down this route, but I understand that anyone would pref a home grown person.

However, I believe a SH coach like Joe Schmidt would turn around the culture, mind set & how the game COULD be played.

England had a chance to go for Mallet (born here BTW) or Eddie Jones prev, but declined.

Need much hammering needed yet to change, but then SL may pull it of come nxt yr, who knows?

If they play like they did on Saturday, it’ll be a blackwash.

‘You’ll need to raise your game to beat the Boks in South Africa’.

Oops! Maybe so, but did you see the Kiwi ref rescue the Boks v Wales? Sealed lips gather no… etc?

And isn’t that what many said last yr, pre Ellis?

Been there before with Armitage, not my loss tho.

The 1st 1/2 wasn’t so terrible from my POV.

The thing is, many seem to have their knives out, e.g. Ashton, but didn’t he stop the sitter from the Kiwi hooker? On the other hand, Yarde is the good guy, yet he missed a tackle or so & butchered a try when, just like Tui in the earlier game, he didn’t FEND the tackler. Basic stuff, surely. Also a wayward kicker. Needs working on this & his ‘D’.

But all this is not that constructive & it’s not just the backs who ‘let England down’. The coaches were out thought by Hansen. The ABs mauled more than previously. Not just to drive England or to go for pushovers, but to suck in the opposition forwards. The gaps between the backs, which would normally filled with fatties, were exposed for the ABs to exploit. They duly did so with pretty much orthodox, precise (mostly) backline moves.

Much here sounds also like a bit the same old deck chair shuffle on the boat that ran into the ice block… & retro wisdom after the event?

It’s not just the players, it’s about the coaching, skills & experience too.

IMO too much was too hyped, too early, by too many for so few who, in the end, came up short. May have been wiser to have waited until after the series before extolling opinions of England’s prowess. 1 (or 2) swallow/s don’t always make a summer. Now where have I seen this before? And perhaps my view about the AB ‘Norovirus’ test wasn’t just about whining after all? Methinks more than a few misread my comments then.

Also, if, as usual, the old line about England’s ‘learning lessons’ from this tour is actually to be meaningful, it’s precisely what they, or more specifically Lancaster, will ‘learn’ from these last 3 matches.

This is not to say that England won’t do well in Autumn. They may well, but does their current outfit have the experience & nous to win the WC? That is the real question… including for all participating teams.

Cheeky!

What about Cipriani to start? Farrell, whilst suiting the ‘English’ mould, doesn’t have the quick feet, hands or sharp mind skills of Cip. Farrell also has disciplinary issues & his kicking tends to go off with a bit of hair dryer therapy.

How long have I been advocating Armitage? Not on the agenda I was told & that was that! Ah well,… but after getting (according to S Jones of the S Times) flogged @ the breakdown last Saturday, is he now a ‘special case’ enough for England?

Attwood over Launch? Offers something a bit different, but Lawes and Launch seems to click very nicely, would prefer Attwood on the bench though.

Robshaw at 6 loses us a lineout option (or at least a good quality one).

Devoto has a lot to prove yet, but may well be the future.

Youngs did not have a good game. A few good runs != a good scrum half, his passing was so slow, even at the base of good front foot ball.