Wales put in a hugely passionate performance but I'm not sure how England lost. At half time you guys had a dominant scrum, lineout and Wales were being driven back at every opportunity. I think Farrell gave you poor direction in the second half. He kicked away a lot of ball which wasn't even contestable - Burgess did one kick like this as well. I think Burgess got shown up a fair bit. The referee blew a lot of whistle but was very consistent. He was maybe a bit harsh in terms of rolling away but correctly penalised players for going off their feet.
No one said that when Japan went and won. I take your point though; a draw was probably enough for England to get through even if they lost to Australia. Stop watching now. That was a classic game which the people of Wales will talk about in 50 years time. If you didn't like that then rugby just isn't the sport for you.
Folau to rip you a new hole. Things could be even more interesting if England beat Aus and Aus beat Wales. Bonus points are a must. That being said the RWC could be all but over for England by next weekend should they lose to Aus.
England went to sleep the last 20 or so minutes. That's how they lost. Very poor because they should have gone on and won that one, with a margin too.
I think our kick-chase just wasn't as good in the second half, but we definitely kicked away too much ball. If we hadn't butchered one of a couple of opportunities in the second-half to score a try, we'd have been alright, but 7 points never felt like enough.
We have a far better back 3 than Wales. Not necessarily bigger but definitely more skillful. You will be under a lot more pressure at the breakdown against us than you were in this game.
Fiji have the ability to beat Wales, but surely Wales will get up with all they having knowing that if they win and then Australia win they are through and the Aussie game would have a lot less pressure on it.
One thing I've never understood about Union is why there is so much more kicking than league. I'm guessing for territory, but on a few occasions tonight a hurried kick that didn't find touch I thought was pointless, when it could've been worked up the field instead of turning it over. Thats the newbie coming out in me, I suppose
Farrell definitely kicked too much, but that's just what he does as we've come to hate. Hope we drop him next week, hate to see what would happen with him against actual running rugby. Burgess' kick was clearing from just about on the goal line wasn't it? Looked shoddy but you gotta clear the ball.
You never want to play rugby in your own half. A turnover or a penalty conceded can be costly, not to mention how much harder it is to score tries from your own half. Not every kick is necessarily a good one and territory battles normally commence from it.
Want to clear from your 22 in general as you could give away a penalty or lose the ball. In league you can't lose possession from a turnover (apart from a one on one I guess) so there is no need to kick.