Torquemada 1420 wrote: Sat Mar 27, 2021 7:24 am
This team is massively far away from being World Cup contenders.
Structurally, they have no answer to consistent pick and gos which was evident against England, Wales and Scotland. Against the former 2, there was no ability to slow England down in the 1st half at the breakdown and non at all for the entire game against Wales. Scotland came with a plan having learned from that. South Africa would destroy us. This means not giving the ball away because getting it back relies on an opposition mistake.
For all the merits of that backrow
1) It is not slowing or turning over enough ball.
2) It presents no offensive threat against opposition lineouts.
Even Wales and Scotland who had sh*those lineouts throughout the comp had an armchair ride there against France.
I’d rather see a Macalou or Woki in there. At least they are lineout disrupters, do effect turnovers and also offer more mobility around the park. You lose some tackling, but that alone is not stopping opposition making infinites phases to the tryline.
Players.
Tighthead is 3rd rate. Haouas is just about holding his own in the scrum and offers little around the park. Atonio is an arthritic hippo. Needs Bamba.
Lock depth is worrying outside of pillaging South Africa. Tao had his one game of his career against Wales.
Serin remains f**king useless and slows the ball down more than Ben Youngs. With Couilloud, Iribaren and even Machenaud out there, one wonders if Serin has pictures of Galthie in a brothel?
Flyhalf. I am not a fan of Ntamack. He is a 2nd rate Russell. I’ve not been convinced with Jalibert at inl level either because he doesn’t bring his UBB attacking game (seems happy to kick) but he has got better each match. Carbonel and Belleau are both better players than Ntamack.
Dicking around with Fickou. We are told he is the defensive leader……. which you can only do from 12…… and then, not for the 1st time, in a crucial game, he is moved to the wing. This time to accommodate empty shirt Vincent: the new Richard Dourthe i.e. nothing beyond giving 100%.
Villier turns over more ball than the backrow. Which says as much about the need to include him as the need to look at that backrow.
Tactics and composure.
Well, discipline quickly went to sh*t under pressure. Hoofing the ball away to England all 2nd half? Doing the same against Wales when they were running riot? What about opting for the scrum against Wales at the end…. which risked running off the clock. Not competing against the Scots at the lineout. Not running the ball off the park at the end.
There is a lot of ability in this side but not a shred of evidence of brains.