Nine talking points from the Wallabies vs England second Test

How? The laws do not go into the specifics of actions. Only if tackles are high, foul play, etc.

Quite a few posters are not only incorrect in fact, but Law too. A neck scrag, as Robshaw's on Phipps was, is penalisable (but NOT the same as a neck roll at ruck) and not necessarily a YC. A shoulder charge at a player on the ground (ie in a defenseless position) IS in fact penalisable AND a possible YC card as well. Bakkies Botha pioneered this technique and, after a Welsh prop had his shoulder dislocated, the Law was changed. Moore might well have been carded, but aside from that Joubert went through the correct procedure when issuing the final outcome as a PK for the final and most serious offence of the first-half fracas. It was stupid play by Moore, but absolutely correct in fact and Law by Joubert.

And where is Mary to add her moan? :)

Moaman, the penalty was taken just after the ref delivered one of his final warnings. Maybe the Wallies thought the poms had a fair chance of scoring a card if they infringed in the possible maul from the line out? Had it worked it would have been called a stroke of genius.

Buk you make a good point - there aren't actually that many personnel changes from the RWC England team to now but the way they are playing is so much better. Three key partnerships that have stood out in 2016 for me under Eddie Jones are: 1) Kruis and Itoje - can now lay claim to being one of if not the best lock combo in world rugby 2) Farrell and Ford - beginning to play very well together and giving England lots of options and a kicking attack that the opposition should assume is going to give England at least 9 to 12 points every game 3) Back Row - Vunipola has really stepped up but I think most impressive is how Eddie Jones has turned Robshaw and Haskell into such a good outfit. Haskell was close to losing his place in the squad but in the last two games he has really shone. And Robshaw has gone from that good guy who you know is going to try his heart out to that good guy who will always try his heart out AND will win turnover ball, slow down the breakdown and mess with the opposition's attacking flow. They are not Pooper standard yet by any means but compared to 9 months ago they have come on leaps and bounds

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Far from perfect for abs mate

Good points Oliver. I too thought it a big turn around how England committed hardly any players to the ruck - we seemed to be sending in a couple of extras that were not needed. Its like one step ahead stuff - obviously Eddie is a smart coach who spends a lot of time figuring out ways to counter the opposition, and he has managed to restore confidence & belief back into England. Their guts & commitment was outstanding. Congratulations to them - we are now having to stomach what they had to stomach in 2015. One small consolation (sort of) is that it was an australian as head coach that this transformation occurred under.

Bakkies that's because most are identified by Private Schools before they get to senior rugby. Jarred Butler is an example.

Bakkies if that's the case, after 7 phases there had been no advantage. Blow the penalty.

Or take the very kickable penalties.

Stop talking about Foley struggling to at being the sole playmaker...,That is what he is paid for .If he cant do it.. He should be dropped.. No excuses

As I said last week, to be a good coach you need to be a good selector.. Cheicka is not the latter...

On the money! The decision by Moore making is non-existent.

And next line-out... England puts the ball up and the Oz wing runs back changing direction 3 times left, then right then left while looking over his shoulder at the advancing chaser - exactly the same intent; talk about slow learners...

Pulver signed off on the playing surface so can only assume he didn't check it as it was rubbish and looks like it had been for a long time. Suspect he chose just to ignore it. Why oh why in a very tight game on the scoreboard and with truckloads of territory and possession didn't the Wallabies kick just a couple of the numerous very kickable penalties they received in the second half? Did they not want to win the game ?

GPS schools do not exist to promote rugby.They exist to educate their students. Rugby is no more important than any other sport and sport is unimportant in the overall scheme of things. The numbers are contracting because students (and parents) choosing not to play rugby. Rugby is a very minor sport in Australia and its prominence is decreasing. This is not New Zealand.

Owens probably saw Foley fall over and thought that Farrell was at fault. My recollection though was that the initial indications was it was the Wallabies under investigation, that switched to Farrell at Owens' intervention, but then on review it was clear Farrell was going after the ball and Foley was going to block Farrell. A few minutes earlier an even worse case of blocking by a Wallaby was missed, too. Overall, a perfectly fair call and understandable. Only other option would have been to say nothing in it. No way that England should have been penalised from that. Which makes the carry on from the commentary team after it quite embarrassing. Gordon Bray and his crew are one eyed at the best of times, but they went way over the top after that call. There's no future for the Wallabies in blaming the refs every time they lose. But a pattern seems to be developing since Cheika took over.

Three big talking points for me are; 1. Again a poor kicking game and Foley is really struggling with being the sole play maker (you also see this when Beale is missing from the Waratahs team). Either bad decisions or lack of support options? 2. Moore is shaping as a poor captain this year. Always looking negative, always in the niggle and struggling with form. 3. Points decisions. Last week Hooper (when captain toward the end of the game) took the penalty when we desperately needed the try. This week, early in the second half, he did the opposite. And how many times was a simple field goal in play that was not taken. England never felt any scoreboard pressure. They grew more confident in defence as they held the us out and we kept trying the same things. A few field goals would have shaken England's game plan.

The first thing will be to approach the game as a test match and not a SR game. Imo they should have gone to the post when they had the opportunities and not for the touch. England was defending like lions and in that situations you should score points whith your foot when you have the chance. Games have momentums and I bet you you that if the score were 13-13 like it could have been some point in the middle of the second half the end result could have been different. Also the bench did not make an impact as it should so Cheika must think the bench diffently for the next game.