ENG 21-10 IRE- The Billy Vunipola show!

Eddie Jones has had, arguably, the easier of introductions to England coach life having had Scotland and Italy as his two first opponents. This week, however, put him up against the reigning champions Ireland and I think the whole of Europe was looking at England to see if they can beat the big boys in the 6 Nations.

Well, they showed they could still play against the big teams, even if Ireland are riddled with injuries at the moment.

ENG 21-10 IRE.

It's a scoreline that probably is a fair evaluation of the match. 

Ireland did look a little lost without many of their usual starters and England did look inspired by the Twickenham crowd. 

But what can we take away from the match as whole?

Well I think the win is the first thing to look at. Regardless of Ireland's struggles in this year's 6 Nations, they are still the team to beat and England did this with relative ease. This isn't to say the win was easy but England certainly looked like the probable victors throughout the match. They looked creative, confident and powerful in defence and well structured. But regardless of the entire team's performance there's only one man who can be talked about.

Billy Vunipola.

What a performance from the Saracens number 8!

By the end of the match his carries added up to around 100 meters! That's to say that he single handedly carried, smashed, demolished and ran the entire length of the pitch in just carries. It was incredible to see. If you didn't see the game then watch it just for his performance. The Irish defence looked genuinely confused into how he was still powering through, even when they threw everything at him. There were moments when two or three players who assigned to taking him down but still he'd make 10 meters in gainage. I have to admit that I used to think that Ben Morgan was England's best number 8 but after that game there's only one man for the 8 shirt with England.  

Two other notable performances were from Anthony Watson and Mike Brown, the pair of them being massively influential on the scoreline having both scored tries. 

The highlight for me though was something that was slightly overlooked by the highlight reel as most, understandably, discussed Billy Vunipola's performance.

The tackle from Jack Nowell in the last quarter of the match, for me, sealed our win and was one of the greatest displays of defensive work I have ever seen in an England match. 

Jonny Sexton broke free on the right wing and then smartly offloaded the ball to Robbie Henshaw who looked to be in the clear as he past the 22 meter mark in a shot of green and white. But just as he approached the tryline Jack Nowell who had been on the opposite wing comes flying into view and smashes in Henshaw's waist and just does enough to force the Irishman to spill the ball just centimetres from the strip of white paint that was the tryline. There was a little confusion into whether it was a try or not at first but by looking at Henshaw's expression, the result was pretty obvious. 

If Nowell had not made that tackle then the last 5 or so minutes would have been a very different story and I could be here moaning about a loss rather than praising a win. 

Overall I was incredibly happy with the England performance. All that lacked was that cutting edge to them which if they did have would have meant the result could have been well into the thirties and beyond. 

A little tidying up and Jones' England could be the force he so wants them to be. 

Who is Maro Itoje?

At 10am this morning Eddie Jones announced the England squad to face Ireland at Twickenham on Saturday. As expected Jones has picked a squad with plenty of experience on the international stage, but for one name - 21 year old Maro Itoje. Itoje came off the bench two weeks back in Rome in the 40-9 victory over Italy and was placed at blindside-flanker, however this weekend he has been picked to start at second row alongside Saracens teammate George Kruis.

Ahead of Maro Itoje's first England start this weekend, we've picked out a few key points on England's fresh-faced second row for you which should help you become more familiar with a player who will no doubt be on England team sheets for many years to come:

• Itoje captained the England Under 20 squad to the 2014 IRB Junior World Championship in a 21-20 victory over South Africa. 

• Itoje also represented England at under 17 level in the shot-putt.

• He captained the England under 20 team during the 2014 Under-20 Six Nations tournament in which he scored a try in every match, resulting in Itoje being named England's Man Of The Tournament.

Eddie Jones has announced that Maro Itoje will make his
first England start against Ireland on Saturday.

• The Saracens lock was playing in National One with Old Albanians until he made his Saracens debut in the 2014/2015 season. Since then he has climbed up the ranks at the club and captained the first team and started a European Champions Cup semi-final in his first season.

• Camden-born Itoje started his studies at the same Hertfordshire school as Owen Farrell and George Ford, before finishing his studies at the same school as Billy Vunipola.

• As well as a professional rugby career, Itoje is currently reading for a degree in Politics at the School of African and Oriental Studies.

• He was involved in the school choir and thoroughly enjoys writing poetry. With his family roots in Nigeria, Maro often gears his university studies towards underdevelopment in Africa.

Itoje captained the England U20 squad to the 2014 IRB Junior
World Championship.

• Itoje has been given the nickname 'FEC' by his England teammates, meaning 'Future England Captain'. He also has the less-imaginative nickname 'mophead' because of his haircut. 

• At 6ft, 5in and almost 19 stone, Itoje's mobility allows him to play either at second row or in the back row. 

• England's defence coach Paul Gustard has compared the 21 year-old to the likes of Martin Johnson and Paul O'Connell. 

Is the 6 Nations harming the domestic leagues?

The 6 Nations is the greatest annual tournament in the world.

End of.

But is it coming at a bit of a sacrifice for our leagues that the faithful fan still turns out for every week when they can't afford tickets for the internationals?

Now if you're a fan of a lower table club then maybe this post is a little irrelevant. And if you are a fan of a higher table club which is doing well throughout the 6 Nations period then you may think I'm wrong too. But to be frank, that's half of the fun of doing these posts; to irritate someone somewhere. 

So... where am I going with this.

Imagine you're a fan of Northampton, Leicester, Saracens, Bath etc... You have an abundance of quality players, plenty of which are internationals. 

When the squad announcement is made you see 5 or 6 of your club's players being selected for their respective nation. 

It feels great. You fill up with pride that one of your own is going out onto the world stage and prove why he plays, in your eyes, for the greatest club in the country, world, universe...

But then they scamper of to leafy Surrey for the England camp and you sit there thinking, 'wait, so if they're playing for them, then what about... oh bollocks'. 

You turn up on the Saturday and you look at your club's line-up and you realise that it's much, much weaker than it usually is. You have players coming in that aren't tested as much or bench players that are good impact subs but only that. Then you look at the opposition, a club in the bottom three of the table, for example, and they have a fully fit, well gelled squad with maybe 1 or 2 players missing, if that. They come out, play like a team that know each other's ins and outs, play you round the park and present to you why your bench players were only just good enough for that. You then return home to see that your lads from the week before are walking out Murrayfield, Twickenham, The Aviva Stadium etc and they play like the little legends you know they are. So then you drink a beer to get over the 'surprising' loss to the team fighting relegation as you slip to 3rd or 4th and think, 'maybe this isn't such a good thing.'

Been there? Of course you have! It's gut-wrenching, frustrating but worst of all understandable. You take an extra large gulp of the good stuff, sit back and realise you have another month of unpredictable results which usually, with a full strength squad, you could bet your house on winning. 

So, is this anyone's fault?

Well... it's hard to say really. 

The players certainly aren't to blame as they've worked hard to get to the test stage. The management have picked the best men for the job.  The RFUs have made sure the best players are available. The clubs have bought the best players for their clubs. 

So surely it's not fair on the clubs who buy well?

Well... again it's hard to say.

It does give the lower league clubs a little bit more of a chance and certainly makes it more competitive. 

You could also argue that the bigger clubs should be able to weather the storm and have the resources to keep on competing. 

But in my eyes, a fan of a certain 'higher' club, it is something that maybe should be addressed. 

For example, why doesn't the RFU start the season a little earlier and make the 6 Nations period a 'break' period? That way the players can patch up for the second half of the season and refuel. Then, when the 6 Nations finishes the break ends and the league gets back underway. 

Everyone will say that they want their respective nation to win, no matter what. It's spine tingling hearing your national anthem being blasted out by 70,000 fans and seeing them win against a national rival. But we all, mostly, have a club we hold dearly too. And to see them become weak due players missing is horrible. 

Is it impossible to have a 6 Nations without a weakened league and should it just be accepted or is there a way around it?

ITA 9-40 ENG: Don't be fooled by the scoreline!

Hmm,

This post is a little difficult to put together as it requires me to criticise a side that won by 31 points.

But it is necessary.

For those of you who did not watch the game on Sunday and think I have lost the plot then just hear me out. The scoreline was NOT a fair reflection of the game or England's performance.

Let's begin with the first half.

At half time the score ITA 9-11 ENG and how Italy weren't ahead I do not know.

Ford with a tidy finish against the Azzurri.

Something that has stood out for me in England's first two matches of this year's RBS 6 Nations has been the horrendous amount of penalties given away. Versus Scotland England conceded 12 which might not sound like too many but when I was watching the game it felt like England were constantly giving them away and it was the fault of England, not the work of Scotland. Against Italy it was 15 penalties conceded. 15! Again, most of these were due to poor England discipline and not Italy being exceptional. 


If Italy had the extra talent required and made most of those penalties, England would have been in real trouble.

The only reason England won this game was because of a handful of star performers, namely Jonathan Joseph who bagged a hat-trick and MOTM Ben Youngs who dictated play wonderfully, and Italy's legs running weak towards the end of the game.

JJ scoring 1 of his 3 tries.

After the Scotland game and in our review of that match we were quite pleased with Jones' first match in charge and saw promise, while understanding that fluidity was to come with time.

After that performance it is a little less promising.

England showed glimpses of world class play but our work at the breakdown was very poor.

Our scrummaging was, however, very good but our lineouts were usually OK with them not showing much consistency.

What England need is a much improved back-row, something we have discussed before, and much tighter discipline.

If you look at the bench mark of good rugby, the All Blacks, you see why England are not ready for world class teams to face them.

Something I adore about the All Blacks is how they have always stated that it's not just about how many points you score but how many you concede.

If England were playing the All Black, the Springboks, the Aussies or Ireland, France or Wales it would be a very different story.

Teams will be better at making the most of penalties than the Italians. Teams will be better at forcing penalties at the break down from England. Teams will not run out of steam at 60 mins, unlike the Italians.

The game against Ireland on the 27th will truly show whether these issues have been patched up or not.

Don't get me wrong, it was a good win. Just not as good as the scoreline showed.

SCO 9-15 ENG- A solid and promising win

It was arguably the most anticipated game of the weekend and the Calcutta Cup clash certainly didn't disappoint.

It wasn't filled with tries or flashy feet but what we did see were two teams going hammer and tong at each other, both trying to set an underlining message to the rest of the tournament.

Scotland as ever looked resilient from the first hit to the last and understandably looked mentally and physically exhausted and disappointed at the end after losing 15-9.

England on the other hand looked like a typical Eddie Jones side; solid and doing the basics well.

Mako Vunipola getting to grips with the Scots

Anyone who expected to see England coming out and looking like world beaters would have been wrong to think so.

Eddie Jones has had a very short amount of time to instil his philosophy and it showed as the Red Rose looked to play direct rugby without trying anything too fancy.

What we saw was a very solid and very promising set piece from England with Dylan Hartley's throwing being perfect and the scrum looking consistent.

The only criticisms of England were the issues with discipline at the breakdown and the Ford-Farrell partnership.

During one period in the first half England were giving Scotland penalties left right and centre and if they had capitalised on them the scoreline would probably have looked very different.

The Ford-Farrell partnership looked a little forced at times but this wasn't so surprising with this being their first game together. Whether it was just first game blunders we will have to wait and see but I'm hoping to see a more fluid display next week against the Italians.

All the eyes were on Dylan Hartley as the pantomime villain took charge in his first game as captain and I think most England fans went away thinking that it was the right appointment. He kept his cool but kept his aggression. He was vocal with his players and lead from the front. Winning his first game as captain will have given himself a massive confidence boost and he can be very pleased with how he and his squad played.

All in all it was a good and solid win for the visitors.

Scotland is a team you should win but won't necessarily will win, especially at Murrayfield.

It was a tough test for Jones' men and England passed with next week's game being eagerly anticipated to see what they could next in Rome.

'New era' for England? Not with that XV!

As we predicted, bar two that is, the line-up for England's opening 6 Nations encounter with Scotland is very much a familiar site.

1. Joe Marler.
2. Dylan Hartley (C).
3. Dan Cole.
4. Joe Launchbury.
5. George Kruis (we predicted Courtney Lawes).
6. Chris Robshaw.
7. James Haskell.
8. Billy Vunipola.
9. Danny Care (we predicted Ben Youngs).
10. George Ford.
11. Jack Nowell.
12. Owen Farrell.
13. Jonathan Joseph.
14. Anthony Watson.
15. Mike Brown.

But with there having been so much promise for this England side to warp into something fresh and new, we ask why are we seeing much of the same?

When Jones made his original squad announcement last month he brought in 7 uncapped players into the fold. This lead fans to believe that Jones had acknowledged that things weren't working with our current squad and a new approach was needed.

Yet as we look over the announced XV to face Scotland we feel bitterly disappointed that Jones has named a squad that is very similar to the one named by his predecessor, Stuart Lancaster.

England's potential answer to the 7 position, Matt Kvesic.

We're gutted that players like Maro Itoje didn't even make the bench and that Elliot Daly was not given a chance either.

Matt Kvesic has once again missed out on a place in the squad as Jones opts for Haskell for 7.

We're still missing out on a quality openside. Chris Robshaw had been our number 7 under Lancaster but he never really looked like the openside we needed. All Jones has done is swap Lancaster's 6 and 7 around and I believe this massively wrong. Haskell, as good as he can be, is not the 7 England need.

Farrell at 12 is another interesting call but not a surprising one. What we can't have is another constant change of midfield. If you look at any top side in world rugby you will see that they keep the 12+13 partnership consistent. Lancaster did not do this and it showed on the big stage. However, it is widely considered that when powerhouse Manu Tuilagi is fully fit, he will be in the midfield. Who will be partnering him? That's a whole other debate.

Scotland are luckily a very good side now and they had a tremendous World Cup. What this means is that England will be thoroughly tested and it will very interesting to see if Jones' selection has been the right one.

Obviously, as England rugby fans we want the answer to be yes. But will it be?

All I'll say is don't expect fireworks from this England side as it just looks like a re-jingled Lancaster XV. A XV that didn't even make it out of the group stages of their own World Cup.

Predicting England's Starting XV Against Scotland

This weekend see's the first time Eddie Jones takes charge of England in the Six Nations against Scotland at Murrayfield. Scotland, as we all remember are coming off the back of a frustrating, yet promising World Cup campaign in which they narrowly and controversially lost to Australia at the quarter-final stage. This is by no means an easy to introduction to life in England for Jones, which means he will need to be thinking long and hard about the fifteen players he will send out on to the Murrayfield pitch on Saturday evening. We've picked fifteen players who we believe could start for England on Saturday.

Eddie Jones will take charge of England for the first time
this Saturday at Murrayfield.

1. Joe Marler
Many people will think that Mako Vunipola will deserve to be ahead of Marler on the team sheet for this weekends Six Nations opener as he has had an impressive season at Saracens and his scrummaging has improved massively in recent times. However with 37 caps to his name, 34 of which have been starts we feel that Jones will give the nod to Marler simply because of his experience at international level.

2. Dylan Hartley
Without a doubt the first name of Eddie Jones' team sheet for Saturday's match, Hartley will have the eyes of the country on him, not only analysing his performance on the pitch, but also paying close attention to how he leads the squad.

3. Dan Cole
With the appointment of Eddie Jones as head coach Cole will be looking to re-cement his place in the England starting line-up and looks set to start on Saturday at Murrayfield. However the latest inclusion of Kieran Brookes, who returned from a knee injury at the weekend, may provide some stiff competition for Cole in the tighthead position for the other matches in the tournament.

4. Courtney Lawes
The Northampton second row looks set to regain his place in the squad under Eddie Jones despite missing the open training session due to a slight hamstring strain at Twickenham on Friday.

5. Joe Launchbury 
At only 24 years old and with 28 international caps to his name Joe Launchbury was one of the frontrunners to succeed Chris Robshaw as England captain before Eddie Jones appointed Dylan Hartley as captain. Nevertheless this will give Launchbury time to develop further and become one of the key players in England's squad, and who knows, he may well be the man to lead England in the years to come.

6. Chris Robshaw
Despite appointing Dylan Hartley as England captain, Eddie Jones looks set to pick Robshaw in his preferred and without a doubt his best position at number 6. The Harlequins flanker has been playing at number 6 all season and has put in some very impressive performances.

Chris Robshaw looks set to keep his place in the England
squad despite Dylan Hartley taking over as captain.

7. James Haskell
With Matt Kvesic having been sent back to Gloucester last week meaning that he will not be included in Jones' match-day squad, James Haskell seems the obvious choice to play at 7 on Saturday at Murrayfield, providing bags of international experience within the squad. However as we see the tournament progress we may see the inclusion of Harlequins back-row Jack Clifford over Haskell.

8. Billy Vunipola 
The younger of the Vunipola brothers looks set to regain his position at the rear of the England pack after his inclusion in England's World Cup campaign was cut short due to a knee injury.

9. Ben Youngs
A lot of people will feel that Danny Care will deserve a place in Eddie Jones' starting fifteen at Murrayfield as he has been in blistering form for Harlequins this season, however Ben Youngs can offer England a lot more than Care when it comes to the crucial defensive and physical side of the play. Nevertheless, we would expect to see Care come on at some point in the match and use his brilliant pace from the breakdown.

10. George Ford
With Owen Farrell seemingly being the only first choice Centre to play along side Joseph in the midfield, we would expect Jones' to pick George Ford who has, despite Bath's poor season been in good form in recent weeks.

11. Jack Nowell
The Exeter winger has been on fire for the Chiefs this season and looks certain to be included in the starting XV to face Scotland.

Owen Farrell looks set to start at Centre for England
on Saturday alongside Jonathan Joseph.

12. Owen Farrell
Without a doubt the most experienced inside Centre selected by Jones in his 22-man squad to face Scotland. With no place in the squad for Luther Burrell or Brad Barritt and Henry Slade injured Farrell looks like the only option really. We would expect to see the likes of Sam Hill and Ollie Devoto come in to the fray as the tournament progresses however Jones will almost certainly start at 12 on Saturday.

13. Jonathan Joseph
Elliot Daly has been in sparkling form for Exeter this season and will no doubt get his chance in the Six Nations, but with Jones hesitant to blood new players in such a testing first game up at Murrayfield, Jonathan Joseph will no doubt get the nod.

14. Anthony Watson
Hands-down the standout player during a stuttering season for Bath, Watson had a very promising World Cup and looks set to keep his place in the England starting XV this weekend.

15. Mike Brown
England's best player during the dismal World Cup campaign, Brown has to keep his place in the No.15 jersey this weekend. Despite Alex Goode's great form for Saracens this season, Brown can offer a fair bit more attacking threat than Goode.

The secret to any good rugby side.

Rugby sides are funny old things.

You have the 20 stone, face for radio, beer guzzling and usually stupid props all the way to the gym fanatic, hair perfected and protein guzzling wingers.

The array of personalities and physiques is something to be admired but this post is looking to focus on one particular position. It is a position that we think is one of the most underrated positions in the game.

It is the flanker. 

When you think of rugby 'superstars' you think of your Wilkinsons, Carters, Sextons, Saveas, Lomus etc...

But you don't, with the exception of one Richie McCaw, think of your flankers and here's why you should be. 

Who remembers last year's rugby world cup?

As an England fan I remember it for all the wrong reasons but something quite clear came out of that tournament. That if you're team does not have a quality set of flankers, you're going to struggle to compete, let alone win. 

Want an example?

Australia. 

They were, and this is with no disrespect, not thought to be getting that far in the tournament. Their team since 2011 had been disorganised, lost a lions tour, and frankly confusing. 

The Aussies are known for being at the forefront of world rugby and they hadn't been for quite some time. 

But at RWC 2015 something changed and the whole world watched them in awe.

Michael Hooper and David Pocock were, for me, the two standout players in that tournament and at the heart for their incredible performances. 

Every breakdown they hit they won, every turnover possible was achieved and every tackle was made. 

They dominated every game and as a pair they allowed the backs to attack and the fly-halves kick. 

Let's contrast that to England's back row. 

We had, usually, Robshaw at 7 and Haskell at 6. 

Haskell was very poor and looked a little all over the shop and Robshaw was once again being played on the wrong side of the scrum. Luckily Jones has acknowledged this and looks to be playing him at a much better 6 at next week's starting 6 Nations. 7 should have been Steffon Armitage but let's not get into that... I've had many disputes over the overseas selection process and can only describe it as bullsh*t.

England's lack of quality in the backrow meant that we struggled at the breakdown and found it almost impossible to win turnovers against the head. 

This meant that when England played Australia in the game that HAD to be won for the hosting nation, it was men against boys and England deservedly lost. 

If you think of all top sides don't go straight for the fly-halves or the wingers but think of the pack and most importantly the flankers. 

If your team has a good set of 6s and 7s you'll have a great base. That way you know that turnovers are strong possibility and tackles are a given.

I challenge you to give me a good side with a poor back row.