England – Strike Move Analysis
Nov27

England – Strike Move Analysis

The pressures of winning test matches, along with the set piece fiasco of late, have led to a decrease in 1st phase strike moves. Most test sides, at least in the northern hemisphere, have started taking the safer option of creating space through phase play, more often than not crashing up a runner first to set a platform they can build from. However with England, much as he did with Japan, Eddie Jones has started...

Read More
The Brad Barritt Question – Lets talk about stats.
Sep10

The Brad Barritt Question – Lets talk about stats.

Stats are a very useful tool, traditionally the preserve of the professional analysis team, over the last decade more and more stats have become available to aspiring Billy Beane III’s the world over. It’s an arms race my friend and numbers are the weapon of choice, often seen and defended as the one and only gospel truth. With access to stats opening up for fans it’s almost impossible to have a discussion without...

Read More
Anatomy of a Try – Mark Bennett vs England 2015
Mar17

Anatomy of a Try – Mark Bennett vs England 2015

It’s not been the most inspirational Six Nations so far but it has had its moments, and the two games that have jumped out at me the most have been Wales vs Ireland, mainly because of the sheer impact it’s had on the tournament, and Scotland vs England because it was a superb advert for running Rugby in which  both teams decided to cut loose and give it a go. It produced Four superb tries the pick of which I think was...

Read More
England 2014: Where are England’s ball carriers?
Dec24

England 2014: Where are England’s ball carriers?

View image | gettyimages.com 12 months is a long time in Rugby Union and it’s not that uncommon to see a well oiled machine start to stutter and splutter. England, whilst not awful, have gone from one of the strongest attacking teams in the Six Nations to a team searching for a spark. Additionally in the four weeks of the Autumn internationals they went from a team looking to put away the SH giants and set out their stall ahead...

Read More