Can anyone work out Eddie?

I am really struggling. England play a team miles down the pecking order at home and we constantly kick the ball away in the last third of the game. Great we can score from rolling mauls but what happens when NZ, SA, and Argentina stop these. The game is won by half time and yet E insists on giving even more game time to the likes of Youngs, George, Itoji, Farrell and spurning the chance to build up the minutes for those players who may well be needed in the future. Is he the Boycott of coaches-simply worried about his own stats?

Raider you may have a fair point about the half time weather -although we do have to play in the rain in this country- but for the second match in a row against non top flight opposition we have kicked the ball away in the first half when tries through handling were on offer. Is this why when the rare opportunities appear we are so poor at converting them as was the case yestrday?  Playing the percentage game against the likes of Italy and Georgia will illicit a victory but will simply not be enough when a different way to win is required ie the recent World Cup Final. Being four tries up at half time and with the game won I would definitely expect more than 2 scores in the remaining 40 minutes against a severely tiring opposition-otherwise what is the point of tiring them? I note you have no riposte regarding the failure to give vital game time to players who may well have need of it in future more important matches. Sadly this will come back and bite England.

I guess we may not fully appreciate how good a job England did (or didn't) do against Georgia until the Lelos have locked horns with Ireland and Wales...

I did notice that England were afraid of the Georgian maul at the line out and resorted to arriving late,  standing well behind the mark and throwing to the front of the line and relying on the fact that the ref would let them get away with it. Frankly I would have called them for not straight and would have called it a penalty for the deliberate offence.

I do think that playing Joseph on the wing was a little short sighted when they are so many up and coming youngsters they could be blooding in.

Edited by front5 - 16 Nov 2020 at 19:57

Raider999 wrote: Also would like to see Dombrandt get a go - has he upset Eddie somehow, as most people consider him to be the understudy to Billy V., but he never gets picked.

Yes but most players tend to rate a coach who picks them I find.