54 thoughts on “Rugby World Cup 2015: England team to play Wales”

1. Good looking side. Only change would be George in for Webber. I would have considered Slade and Burgess but Barrett is there for a reason.

   1. Engand lost at the breakdown, Robshaw is not good enough as openside flanker. Tom wood should be openside and Robshaw on the blindside

2. Agreed, will need to improve to secure another bonus point win. Australia V Fiji result puts our first game performance into perspective & gives confidence in our boys. Just got to see what rabbit Gatland pulls out of the hat now but will be great to watch the clash in midfield.

   1. Another bonus point win!? You’re setting your sights high!

      A win is all I care about. I’d take 3-0 and the most boring game in the history of rugby right now if it was offered.

3. Glad Vunipola is in. Would have like to have seen Launchbury but I think our bench could make a great impact again (in the pack). Could be the difference with some of Wales injuries.

   Barritt genuinely baffles me as a selection call, it had to be Slade. How do we expect to stretch Wales now? I ask knowing it means lots of kicking….

   I’d much prefer Nowell over Goode, but I guess SL still doesn’t trust Watson at full back, which is a shame considering his Bath form there.

   1. I would have thought about Nowell too. He must be screaming for a game. He could cover centre too as its a big ask for Farrell to play at centre when ford comes on as Burgess and Barrett can’t be expected to play a whole game. The idea is that brown is a wing cover but as fly half is covered I would have played Nowell as cover for 14/12/13/11/15.

4. For impact from the bench this looks odd — I assume they mean Ford comes on? So does this mean Farrel goes to inside centre? The forwards on the bench don’t scare either – losing Ben Morgan is a loss given the ability it would have given them to bring the ball carrying 8 on in their latter stages.

   Best selection Wales could have hoped for out of the squad SL took. Eng beat Wal in the 6Ns with footwork and guile that took advantage of the bashing it up the middle, not solely the bashing it up. I said it at the time – the team that beat Wales was forced on SL by injuries and he’s never felt comfortable with the non-northern, non-1D, non credit-in-the-bank nature of it so he’s reverted back to what he feels comfortable with. Gaving Hastings summarised it far better than me – a selection born out of fear.

   1. I suspect you are right and if it doesn’t work then Lancaster will hopefully be fired. I have tried to be supportive of Lancaster and get behind his selections but time and time again he keeps reverting to type and choosing dull blunt backline selections. If you are never going to give a player a chance, if you don’t trust them then why take them in the squad in the first place. i was happy when they selected Slade now I wish they had selected Burrell because at least he would have had a chance of being selected

   2. Have to agree about the fear part.

      Typical Lancaster reverting to type? Hermit into his shell? 1st whiff of buck shot & he goes for the broadsword, blunderbuss & cudgel.

      For me he’s setting England up to potentially fail with the gung ho rookie r. leaguer & the stolid Farrell. No doubt Winston Churchill would have approved, but where does SL think his tries are coming from? Or has he given up on his back line in doing so? Obviously, his via his fwds’ going R1… & that’ll be enough?

      Well, maybe. They are @ home & if the ref favours the home side it may be enough, but as for setting out a marker for the tournament, forget it.

      Just so depressing to contemplate this lack of will.

5. Is anyone else worried about the scrum? I’ve never seen a good scrumaging performance from England when we have Youngs partnered with Marler (hat was the combo in the 2013 horror show at the millenium stadium). I also read something interesting from Simon Shaw that he puts the blame on Courtney Lawes he wanted Launchbury to start. Either way i think that tight five doesn’t function as a scrummaging unit.

6. So same forwards as last week means that we are going to lose the scrums and have a slightly shaky lineout.
   Selecting Farrell at 10 means he will stand deeper, making it hard for burgess to get over the gain line. If we lose the gainline battle we will lose the breakdown too.
   Our best players in this team are in the back 3 but they aren’t going to see the ball due to low possession and two centers with slow hands and a truck it up the middle mentality.

   Congratulations Wales and good luck for the rest of the tournament. :-(

   1. Leon that is a brilliant summary.We will spend the game on the back foot.Given your diagnosis I am beginning to fear serious Welsh domination and a bonus point win for them.If that is only half true we will be the first host nation to go out at the group stage.If so the whole coaching squad has to go incl GR.Let’s hope we are way off in our thoughts

   2. Am also concerned that your analysis is correct. Back three will be tackling and that is about it – they’re not going to get any quality ball. Actually feeling a bit depressed about the team selections. Wales seem to have got it right, although happy Tipuric isn’t starting. Can feel a Welsh win coming on and am dreading he crowing that will initiate. Penny for every comment that includes arrogant and Englishmen in the same sentence! Still will be supporting the team all the way and hoping my pessimism is unfounded.

   3. I think the emphasis on Burgess is ared herring. England will operate a kick chase strategy. The problem being that Eng have only successfully managed this once to my mind, vs Aus last year. Funnily enough that was with Ford at 10. Of course the past masters of the kick chase (Ireland), lost to Wales this year.

      I really don’t understand this strategy.

7. I have always defended Lancaster – I actually think he has done a brilliant job given the lack of real world class players we have. However for me this is the most disappointing selection since Tomkins-gate. Slade should have come in. It is so obvious it hurts. Especially with Ford cropped to the bench. No creativity in the midfield. Our best players have been our back three (won the majority of the last MoM between them), how are they going to get any ball? It will be like when we had Ashton in the team. Everyone cried out he wasn’t doing anything but that was because the ball never made it past Barritt and Tuilagi!

   Also our scrum has been weak – with Lawes off the boil and maybe Youngs too small for the scrummaging unit. Launchbury should have come in at tighthead lock and George should be at least on the bench.

   I hope to be proven wrong. I really do.

   1. W class players aren’t just born, nor appear naturally (usually), but most are honed & created by coaching in skills & thinking, esp under pressure & fitting into & understanding a team’s tactics & objectives & perfecting these abilities in that environment.

      It’s Lanc’s lack of understanding of the aforementioned & his defensive & conservative nature that inhibits England’s chances of producing w class players.

      Need a coach like Scotland’s Cotter’s to change & free mind sets up 1st of all. Are Scotland playing better rugby than a yr ago? Flatman for 1 certainly thinks so. It’s mainly down to the coach.

8. Well so much for the new era. Picking on form. Playing an expansive game. Blah, blah, blah. Confirmation that the hopey, changey cr@p we’ve had poured down our throat for the past 4 years is just PR bullsh*t.

   What must the likes of Ford, Slade, Launchbury, George and even Nowell be thinking.

   Advantage Wales. If we lose this the coaching team should walk, even if we make it out of the pool. Totally out of their depth.

   1. Why take George Slade and Nowell at all if you have zero intention of ever using them even off the bench. Might as well have picked a squad of 28

   2. The funny thing is those players you mention would straight away make this a better team!

      1. Why don’t you apply for the top job next time around? I bet the RFU would be thrilled to have you and your opinions on board

9. My god it’s all doom and gloom. Can’t we all just show support rather than being backseat drivers. I think this is a fine selection against a strong Welsh team. I have made two suggestions but I understand why neither have been made. Let’s get behind the team guysand stop being miserable so and so’s.

   *Swing low………….*

   Yes I’m singing in the office. Yes I’m getting weird looks. Yes it’s broken out into interpretative dance.

   1. Andrew – Well Said or should that be sung, totally agree, come on England time to slay that welsh dragon…..again

   2. Completely agree Andrew! We all know come Saturday night whether we agree with the selection, we will be singing along and cheering on our team of choice.

10. So negative, not the team the comments, all assume that our world class back 3 do not get involved, of course they will & they will be the beating of Wales.

    Our pack faced Fiji at their best & I would say did better than Australia, Fiji pushed the aussies off the park when the ball was stuck in the middle of a scrum – fabulous. I back them against Wales who if believed are suffering lots of fitness issues in the front row.

    Farrell and Burgess have been the choice for Wales from the start so only Barritt replacing JJ is the strange choice. Slade and Nowells time will come, just relax & enjoy our RWC

11. This is a very interesting team. Burgess is in there to bust a few holes, and Barritt is there to hold the defensive line, and tackle anything that tries to get through. Goode is on the bench to provide the extra playmaker if required.

    I would also like to have seen Slade on the bench, but probably not in a game of this magnitude. I’m sure we’ll see him get his chance in the Uruguay game, probably along with Nowell.

    Still can’t understand why George is not at least on the bench. What did Webber do to keep his place?!?!

    1. Must say Dazza you are the most blatant Sarries fan going ;)

       Slade shouldn’t be over Goode for a game of this magnitude but George should come in over Webber… spot the difference?

       1. Yeah it is pretty blatantly obvious, but it also makes sense. Slade has very little experience, and this will be a very tough game, and not one I would want to throw a young inexperienced player like Slade into. This is not a warm up/friendly like the France game.
          Whether you like him or not Goode has the experience and the ability to play as the link man in the backs to provide opportunities to score points. There is no doubt Slade has the ability as well, but on this stage I’m sure most coaches would go with the more experienced player.
          I guess you could say the same for the Webber/George selection, but as you so rightly pointed out I am a Sarries fan!! ;-)

          At least I didn’t say Kruis should be starting instead of Parling, but if you want me to make a case for that as well?!?!

          1. And if Barritt goes off injured, then what do we do? May, Burgess, Farrell at 13?

             For such a key position it leaves us very vulnerable. Surely a place for Slade could have been made?

             1. Goode to fullback, Brown to wing, May to o/c

                God I hope not.

             2. I would assume Ford would come on and Farrell would move to 13?

          2. Slade inexperienced? ??world cup winner is he not!

12. I do enjoy reading these comments dismissing Wales. I was finding myself in a bit of a malaise this WC due to the injury laden buildup but all of this stuff reminds me of why it is so pleasing to beat Wales. Excited now. Roll on a repeat of 2013. Or 2012 … or 2011 … ;-)

    1. Ha. Worst mental typo ever. Beat England of course.

       1. I’ve always thought that most Welshman are secret masochists. Nice to have my suspicions confirmed…

    2. Brighty, am not sure when you posted, but my reading of the comments above are about 60:40 in favour of a Welsh win, so suggest that the chip comes off your shoulder as you’re beginning to sound like the Prophet. Given your comments, I reserve the right to become very excited in the unlikely event that we win!

       1. Staggy, it’s not a voting contest, I wasn’t counting them. I read some comments (as someone else pointed out, from the ever reliable Welsh dismisser Col) and decided to respond in kind. I also wrote a more constructive reply/post in the spirit of the rest of the posts. Blimey mun, anyone would think you’re looking for reasons. I didn’t quote any historical injustices so can’t even compare with Enoch.

          You and I will both be extremely excited if our teams win, no doubt. And I genuinely can’t recall the last time someone on here, apart from Prince Glyndwr himself, mentioned any blanket phrase such as “arrogant English”? Yes, your press thinks you’ll win. All your ex players think you’ll win and most of your fans but there still isn’t any mention on here of arrogant Englishmen.

          1. OK I take the point on historical injustices and Enoch! I wasn’t counting either but to my mind the general consensus is that we might be struggling with this team. To only pick out the ones dismissing Wales, might be regarded as slightly one eyed (not something that I have cover accused you of before………!) Just annoyed me when I read your post. I think you said the same thing on the Wales team section too. If you judge us all by Col (who I fervently hope is right by the way), then please let us judge you all on the basis of Enoch. Hope you can therefore understand why your comment got my back up.

             I think that it is also fair to say that we have press and players criticising our selection while I can’t find ANY Welsh ex players, press or fans criticising your team selection or not thinking you will win.

             Am looking forward to the game, but with massive trepidation. My only straws to clutch to at this stage are that Fiji are definitely better than any of us thought they would be and we are at home.

    3. Head over to Wales Online and read the comments – you’ll see that Wales are going to muller us.

13. Just looked over the Wales squad for the game, this is gonna be fun. V.Happy that we got Amos on at the start. Should be a great game!

    Liam Williams, George North, Scott Williams, Jamie Roberts, Hallam Amos, Dan Biggar, Gareth Davies, Gethin Jenkins, Scott Baldwin, Tomas Francis, Bradley Davies, Alun Wyn Jones, Dan Lydiate, Sam Warburton (Capt), Taulupe Faletau.

    Replacements: Ken Owens, Aaron Jarvis, Samson Lee, Luke Charteris, Justin Tipuric, Lloyd Williams, Rhys Priestland, Alex Cuthbert.

14. Really disappointed that Morgan is out. I think that’s a blow for us even if Haskell does have one his 1 in 10 good games.

    Rather wish we had someone like Dave Ewers to put on the bench…

    I just can’t understand the thinking behind this selection. With the exception of the Ireland game, the forwards have been poor, not the backs – and yet all the changes are in the backs! We know we have scrum problems, yet nothing has been done to resolve them. Instead we see a massively conservative selection in the backs to try and make up for forward weaknesses – are Rowntree and Farrell just dictating to SL now?

    The omission of Slade has to be the most baffling England selction decision since Ayoola Erinle. He’s not like for like with Joseph but plays his club rugby there, is possibly a better defender, is quick and elusive, can kick and can distribute effectively. Why on earth would you not just switch him for Joseph – especially if you want to play the less creative Farrell at fly half?? If you’re worried about J Roberts, just keep Barritt at i/c

    Then to add insult to injury we have Goode on the bench. What on earth does he add there that couldn’t be much more effectively by Slade or Nowell. He’s hardly an impact player!!

    1. It’s not as if Barritt has a great record against Wales. Played 2 lost 2 with him in the team. Played 2 won 2 in the last 2 years with a more creative midfield.

       This selection has no logic. As Hastings said it smacks of a panic measure.

15. Could be a dreary game. Both packs look light and may struggle due to injury form. Perhaps Kruis should have played in front of Lawes on form for England, but arguably the rest deserve their starts.

    Surprised at Wales not starting the 2 fetchers. I think they could have won doing that as England struggled with turnovers against Fiji. Maybe Gatland thinks England are so weak on that he can be more traditional!.

    It’ll be a tight game. Glad it’s at home for England. Will be happy if we win by a point.

16. Think SL is expecting a very tight first half, with few chances, and Farrell probably has the edge with his kicking to try and secure any penalty chances. Ford to come on second half if/when a more expansive approach is needed. The creativity is going to have to come from Brown coming into the line with a service to the wings. Best bit about the Fiji game was Burgess drifting of Nadolo and missing the tackle, won’t happen again. Biggest worry is getting the set pieces wrong, if the scrum starts to falter, I hope they follow the Japanese and push the ball through for a quick recycle and no time to get pinged. Still got back England at Twicks……

17. I rather see Slade in the starting team. Why because playing Slade is no more than a risk then playing barritt at 13, this will be a new centre paring, while Slade and burgess have been together in the camp playing together most likely And have more caps together then this paring.

    Burgess will mostly likely suffer the same problem as Joseph being well marked with extra defenders maybe forcing burgess not to offload and go for the recycle. Where Wales could try to murder us at the breakdown. Interesting to see what farrell will do without a second playmaker and yes I know what he did on that final but the true credits should belong to the forwards who made that platform.

    This match will probably be decided by forwards, breakdown and our centres.

18. I am excited to see Burgess play. All of my friends are excited to see him play. It only seems to be on the comment boards where there’s doubt. The lunatic fringe? ;)

    I think he’s played well for England so far. He certainly has a presence, which both worries the opposition and galvinizes his teammates.

    Barritt is there to tell him where to stand in defence and isn’t as bad as everyone makes out.

    I like Farrell, he seems better at game management than Ford. Ford hasn’t been ‘dropped’, it’s a tactical switch, and if he’s been ‘mentally scarred’ then he doesn’t have the mental strength to be a professional rugby player. I reckon Ford will come off the bench for Barritt and we’ll play with two flyhalves.

    I find it incredible naive of the rugby journalists to display this as panic and a tactical u-turn by Lancaster. Why do they think England selected Burgess! They always intended to play him and I’d be very surprised that after 2 months of training together, that this week is the first time they’ve practiced this line up in training! Also, Farrell, Barritt and Tuiliagi were Lancaster’s first choice, Burgess is coming in to play the Tuilagi role.

    There’s been a lot of histrionical nonsense in the papers and online.

    1. My concern about Burgess is not to do with his tackling or go forward, but with his inexperience in the union game. Every game that I have seen him play, he has been caught out of position both in attack and defence and against top class opposition like Wales, it could be crucial. I am yet to make up my mind about his distribution, but between Farrell and Barritt, it may not matter anyway. Personally, I think that in 12 months time he will be a great player when his instincts catch up with his physicality. SBW still isn’t a regular starter for the ABs.

       1. But if SBW had put all his energy into his union game rather than swanning off to do whatever takes his fancy- box, play league for a season, fight a kangaroo wrestle an alligator, etc etc. – he’d have been a union legend a couple of years ago

          I don’t think Burgess is as flaky and is giving this his full concentration. I think and hope that he will flourish in pressure situations

          I’d just rather see him do it next to someone creative who can really bring his talents out.

19. When you think about the four tries we’ve scored v Wales in the two wins, one was Care catching them cold and two were grubber kicks in behind the defensive line. Only JJ’s came from a “proper” backs move and even then I’m not sure anybody, even Slade, could squirm out of 3 tackles like he did. (The Haskell and Attwood almost-tries were a result of trucking it up the middle) Perhaps Bomber’s selection is simply respecting a defence that gives little change?

20. I will make a prediction. Whoever is left standing after the first Burgess / Roberts collision will win the game.

    It really is going to be a case of immovable obect meets irresistable force.

    1. So we have a rookie 12(who is a better 6)against a double 1st choice Lion.Win that battle and I’ll start to believe in you.Meantime my jury is very much out Sam-and I suggest you keep your mouth shut until you are a Proven union player.Like the whole England pr machine over promise under deliver.Lets hope results meet claims for once.Rant over-c’mon England!!

    2. “It really is going to be a case of immovable obect meets irresistable force.”

       if only you could say the same about our scrum

       1. Arrrgghhh…don’t mention the scrum!

          If our scrum was performing to its 6 Nations level, I reckon we’d have the Welsh on toast. Their tighthead is young and inexperienced, I don’t rate Jenkins as a scrummager and their bench props are quite possibly crocked.

          As it is, if Marler can’t find a way to scrummage with Youngs and if Cole can’t pick his game up, I can see us being whistled off the park at scrum time

          We may see the Brookes, Vunipola, Webber unit being bought on quite early – which is fine by me – I reckon they might be better than our starting line up at the moment …

          1. Wales wales wales all the way

21. If English football and rugby was as good as the fans think. They should win everything lol. Wales small in comparison to England and ready to pound the English even with a very weakens team.

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