Interesting comments. Agree with others in that it didn't look poor from where I was and didn't think that Ireland looked the better team apart from a few minutes after half time. Easy to be subjective though, so looked at the stats.
Ireland "dominated" possession & territory with 58% and 57% respectively. Must mean Wales "super-dominated" Ireland the week before with 63% and 65%.
Ireland starting tight 5 were heavier than England's, whose whole pack was only 0.04% heavier once you throw in the back row where the weight is less relevant.
Not sure minimizing mistakes or kicking penalties count as tactics particularly, but in WC 2003 England were third behind NZ & Aus in total tries scored after topping the try scoring table in the Six Nations that year.
Entry level ban for stamping is two weeks so that would be minimum if Healy does pick up a ban. He probably will but should be lower end, although it was an idiotic thing to do I hope he does another game in the Six Nations.
Agree with you on Kearney though, clever move from a certain Lions tourist.
Surprised by a lot of these. The last day any of the home nations played a test, England put on a pretty impressive display against NZ. None of the starting 15 from that match are included in this 15.
Not sure any players are nailed on this time round which makes selection exponentially more difficult than usual, (first names on team sheet then build balanced team around them). I know it's only January but would normally have some players with the shirt to lose going into the 6 Nations.
Too many injury and recent form worries in the 15 above as well. This is the toughest set of fixtures for a Lions tour I've ever seen and looking forward to the mid-week matches against the Super 15 teams. There's enough talent between the four nations to pick on form and take the series.
All I'll say is if Gatland et al get the selection right it should roundly disappoint any Welsh, Irish, English or Scottish fan with even a bit of national bias.
Owen Farrell kicks England to victory over Ireland in Dublin
Interesting comments. Agree with others in that it didn't look poor from where I was and didn't think that Ireland looked the better team apart from a few minutes after half time. Easy to be subjective though, so looked at the stats.
Ireland "dominated" possession & territory with 58% and 57% respectively. Must mean Wales "super-dominated" Ireland the week before with 63% and 65%.
Ireland starting tight 5 were heavier than England's, whose whole pack was only 0.04% heavier once you throw in the back row where the weight is less relevant.
Not sure minimizing mistakes or kicking penalties count as tactics particularly, but in WC 2003 England were third behind NZ & Aus in total tries scored after topping the try scoring table in the Six Nations that year.
Entry level ban for stamping is two weeks so that would be minimum if Healy does pick up a ban. He probably will but should be lower end, although it was an idiotic thing to do I hope he does another game in the Six Nations.
Agree with you on Kearney though, clever move from a certain Lions tourist.
3 Months, 1 Week ago
Inaugural HSBC Lions Monthly - Episode 1
Surprised by a lot of these. The last day any of the home nations played a test, England put on a pretty impressive display against NZ. None of the starting 15 from that match are included in this 15.
Not sure any players are nailed on this time round which makes selection exponentially more difficult than usual, (first names on team sheet then build balanced team around them). I know it's only January but would normally have some players with the shirt to lose going into the 6 Nations.
Too many injury and recent form worries in the 15 above as well. This is the toughest set of fixtures for a Lions tour I've ever seen and looking forward to the mid-week matches against the Super 15 teams. There's enough talent between the four nations to pick on form and take the series.
All I'll say is if Gatland et al get the selection right it should roundly disappoint any Welsh, Irish, English or Scottish fan with even a bit of national bias.
4 Months, 1 Week ago