Heartbroken by Ireland’s tragic crash-out last week, I forgot about putting up a new post yesterday. So this is a rushed affair.
Further reading
Don’t miss Deebee’s analysis of the quarter-finals, or Utnapistm’s predictions for this weekend.
On the telly this week
Friday 25th October
| Ulster v Cardiff | 19:35 | S4C / Premier Sports 1 |
| Munster v Ospreys | 19:35 | TG4 / Premier Sports 2 |
| Bath v Exeter | 19:45 | BT Sport 1 |
Saturday 26th October
| England v New Zealand | 09:00 | ITV |
| Dragons v Glasgow | 14:45 | Premier Sports 2 |
| Gloucester v Wasps | 15:00 | BT Sport 1 |
| Treviso v Kings | 15:00 | FreeSports |
| Connacht v Cheetahs | 17:15 | TG4 / Premier Sports 1 |
| Zebre v Leinster | 17:15 | Premier Sports 2 |
| Edinburgh v Scarlets | 19:30 | Premier Sports 2 |
Sunday 27th October
| Wales v S Africa | 09:00 | ITV |
| Leicester v Saracens | 15:00 | BT Sport 1 |
Ovally Balls 
If I have one minor criticism it’s that England should be more than 7 up.
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England also using scissors moves in the back. Always good to see that play.
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Nice reffing from Nige
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NZ lineout in meltdown
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Itoje backing up his big talk. Has been DOMINANT so far.
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Itoje and Lawes doing a number on UnZud’s ball at the moment.
Can they sustain it.
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Sinckler quite lucky here to avoid a FK at least. 3rd reset now
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England doing a really good job keeping NZ in their own half at the moment.
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NZ are just not competing when England go to ground. Must be part of the plan but at some point they need to slow the good ball down.
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That wont count
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That was blocking there, shirley.
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Hmm. Not convinced on first look. Looked a blocking run
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A 2nd try? Checking for crossing.
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Crossing shirley?
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I’d give that as a try but I can understand the check.
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Booooo!
(Probably fair)
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Actually should have been. He was tackling the wrong guy.
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Alright. Good explanation
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That should be a try, whitelock was milking that
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F
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Tough call but a bit more accuracy from England needed.
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Think that was correct.
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Turning point.
Doomed
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Fair call
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Big bad brodie got some wheels furra big man
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Watson’s having a great game so far.
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England really doing a number on the unzud lineout
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NZ all over the place. Just chucking it about, Cheika style. England wrecking their lineout and winning the breakdown.
As Dov said, England need to rack up some points before HT
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@refit
Watson v Bridge is a great little mini-duel
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I think Watson is injured though. Seems to be running on adrenaline
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The state of mako’s ears
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Good option. Unlucky miss
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Fazio fecked
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I can’t remember the last time NZ looked this rattled.
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Faz needs to go off.
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Ford misses with a drop. Good option but another miss for England.
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We have to get more points on the board.
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Not enough points they will score plenty second half
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I’ve *never* seen NZ look this rattled.
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“I can’t remember the last time NZ looked this rattled.”
First 20 minutes v South Africa last month.
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Fuck me LFB. Stop fannying around at the base of the ruck.
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We are going to rue these half chance misses. NZ not playing well but they are too good not to score at least two tries over the course of the match.
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England aren’t playing with the same pace now and making more mistakes in attack.
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An annoying drizzle coming down now. A lot of errors from both teams after that phenomenal first 20 mins.
I concur with Thaum, I haven’t seen NZ this rattled in a long time. England must capitalise, because NZ will get their act together soon
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Laidlaw gets all sort s thrown at him for being slow (in fact it’s all down to speed of the ball that is delivered) but Youngs is as bad if not worse
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Good reffing from Nige warning on the head pat
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It’s not rattled its weathering a storm. They are doing brilliant.
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Agreed ticht 0
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Good work by curry
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@ticht
Different case though. If Scotland are building their game around Russell, then they need a cool head at 9, even if they have had more exciting options available (as they have through most of Laidlaw’s tenure)
Youngs is simply the best England have. No other English SH is as good as Youngs, even if he does suffer in comparison to other top intl team’s 9s
In summary, Laidlaw and Youngs have been the best choices at 9 for their respective teams for a few years
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