England’s Mathew Tait, left, and Jonny Wilkinson react on the podium after the Rugby World Cup final match between England and South Africa at the Stade de France stadium in Saint Denis, outside Paris, Saturday Oct.20, 2007. South Africa won the match 15-6. AP Photo/Matt Dunham
How many writers on here are insomniacs? A quick dose of England’s recent clash with Argentina should cure you.
It was a dour, ugly, match, a great advertisement for boredom and lack of imagination. It was a display full of pointless kicking, with mistakes at both set-piece and in general play.
Take one before bed. Be warned: alcohol will increase the effects of this medication (if it can be called medication).
Watching the England team run and kick (and kick, and kick) should provide a complete lack of stimulation to the mind, allowing it to both relax and unwind.
England’s forwards have used this before and it’s clearly worked for them after several lethargic performances recently.
If this medicine doesn’t work, seek out your doctor or Martin Johnson for another subscription.
You might also consider trying an alternative: England’s upcoming match against New Zealand. It should be nothing but one-way traffic for the All Blacks. So one-sided that it could induce enough boredom to put even Miles Harrison and Stuart Barnes to sleep.
Knives Out
Guest
Did England ever have a hope of beating NZ? Not in this lifetime. Even with the big boys of 00-03 they always seemed to scrape home against NZ. Bloody talented Kiwis.
Alec Swann
Expert
Knives Out - Whatever optimism I had a couple of weeks ago has evaporated. England have two hopes- Bob and No - of beating New Zealand this weekend and Bob's gone on holiday.
Parisien
Guest
it seems kicking will be excused, as long as it gets the win, but to win scoring several tries, open the champagne!
Parisien
Guest
THATS FUNNY! (IN A WHISPER)
Parisien
Guest
that's being harsh OJ, England played two good games last 6N, and about two the season before, but overall have been really quite poor the last seven years since the RWC 2003. Australia have been poor this last 3N, but not all of the last seven years! They've produced some fine games and attacking rugby sporadically at least against NZ, SA, and the NH teams. Cast your memory back...
Knives Out
Guest
Life is a marathon and not a sprint, MT. No point in wearing yourself out before the home stretch.
mother teresa
Guest
KO;YOU DONT MAKE ERRORS MATE YOU JUST GO AWOL
Knives Out
Guest
If you check the stats kicking increased greatly during the ELVs. Just because two teams kicked prior to the ELVs does not mean that excessive kicking was an issue then.
Knives Out
Guest
That's not the point. The point is the intent of England. Most England fans expected poor execution from such a nascent team. However, apart from the first 30 minutes of the Argentina game they have tried to play rugby.
Knives Out
Guest
http://www.scrum.com/australiatour/rugby/match/98399.
mick h
Guest
Just thinking you have a kiwi fetish that's all. As stated on another thread just having some fun. I'll stop now.
Josh Dutton
Roar Rookie
I never said Australia aren't poor and regardless, can you really say that England's last two performances were really appealing to watch?
Skip
Guest
Viscount the ELV's were not a red herring. The excessive kicking started before the last world cup. Argentina and SA mastered it. England over the years have also used this affectivley. This strategy continued under the Elv's I beleive due to the fact that a lot of coaches and players didnt really know how to play under the new laws. Watching club rugby in Australia we saw a lot of running and innovation The succesful teams Sydney Uni and Brothers built this success on the back of very good forward packs. Sledge is absolutley right we have missed a great opportunity. The ELVs were not the complete answer but as we can now do some comparision between the 2 rules it is pretty obvious which is better.
Knives Out
Guest
'I don’t get Erinle’s selection. Why not play Erinle/Hipkiss with Tait? At least Tait has the distribution skills to give it to the wingers. He is also a very goo defender.' Tait hasn't been setting the world alight, Colin, and I suspect that Erinle's bulk was the key factor.
Colin N
Guest
"Not convinced by Cueto at 15 either. Ashton played him there a few seasons ago in the run-up to WC07 and he was terrible." I agree, although that was at a time when he was suffering with niggling injuries, which had a massive impact on his form. He's the one and possibly only England back who plays what's in front of him, rather than adhering to a specific game plan. He's done it for Sale all season, in a team that's lacked inventiveness. I don't get Erinle's selection. Why not play Erinle/Hipkiss with Tait? At least Tait has the distribution skills to give it to the wingers. He is also a very goo defender.
Knives Out
Guest
Who were these many debutants, Gary?
GaryGnu
Guest
Josh, I couldn't agree more. The English were timid, lifeless turgid and uninspired. Despite all that they managed to score a try and win the game against a team playing four amatuers and many debutants. It was two hours of my life that I will never get back. At least I was at a nice pub watching it.
Knives Out
Guest
It was a long time ago, and with the current injury/performances Johnson will have to either do well on the summer tour or England will have to be very close to winning the next 6N.
Blacky
Guest
I remember that England- France match, it was great. I forgot their were so many tries though.
Knives Out
Guest
You're not backing England to win by 27 this week then?