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Newcastle Falcons: Why are England ignoring us?

By Chris Jones
(Photo by Alex Davidson/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)

Newcastle head coach Dave Walder believes the club are continuing to be ignored by England’s coaches, a view confirmed by the fact none of the England management will be at tonight’s home game with Northampton.

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Fans are being allowed back into Kingston Park following the easing of lockdown restrictions with 1,750 scheduled to be present but head coach Eddie Jones and fellow coaches John Mitchell and Matt Proudfoot won’t be included.

Falcons captain Mark Wilson is the only squad member to have been recognised by Jones and his coaches leaving Walder to lament the lack of interest in a squad including test centre Luther Burrell and try-scoring hooker George McGuigan.

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Walder said: “I hope they are looking at our guys and we haven’t seen the England coaches up here for a while. There are a few guys putting their hands up and George McGuigan has been outstanding all season, Sean Robinson has also been excellent and we know about Will Welch who has 250 appearances and don’t get that number without being a good player. Luther still had England ambitions along with Adam Radwan.

“It would good to see the England coaches here watching or communicating with us. It would be brilliant to have a few of our guys named in the squads. I see on the TV that Eddie and his coaching staff go to other games and I don’t know if the level of communications if any more robust than with us. Our players have to keep performing and if we get asked about the player then we will recommend them. I know that Jamie Noon used to feel pressure when he was watched by Clive Woodward who was the England head coach at the time but having the carrot there is really important.

“Anyone playing professional rugby wants to perform at the highest level. “

Walder confirmed that veteran England No10 Toby Flood is still battling back from a dislocated finger following a knee injury.” He still thinks like a young man but Floody is getting older and taking time to get back. He is training as often as he can.”

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Jonathan Foster 1 hour ago
Scott Lawrence: 'I think the forward pass for the Fiji try was a pivotal moment in the game'

In this match, Fiji’s performance was exceptional, and the statistics reflect that they were the superior team on the day.


For instance:


Possession: Fiji controlled 59% of the possession during the match, while the USA only had 41% (RugbyPass, 2024). This allowed Fiji to apply constant pressure on USA’s defense and create more opportunities for scoring.


Territory: Fiji spent 64% of the match in USA’s half, keeping the Americans under sustained pressure (World Rugby, 2024).


Offensive Play: Fiji made 7 line breaks, compared to USA’s 3. In addition, Fiji completed 12 offloads while USA only managed 5, highlighting Fiji's superior attacking ability and ball handling (World Rugby, 2024).


Scrums and Rucks: Fiji was dominant in the scrums, winning 100% of their own scrums (8 out of 8), whereas USA only won 71% of theirs (5 out of 7).


Additionally, Fiji won 6 turnovers compared to USA’s 2 (ESPN, 2024). This scrummaging and breakdown superiority was a critical factor in controlling the game.


Additionally, while forward passes can be contentious, it’s important to note that USA was also guilty of making 3 forward passes during the match, which resulted in lost opportunities and turnovers (RugbyPass, 2024).


These key errors disrupted momentum and contributed to their inability to maintain a sustained attack.


References

ESPN. (2024). Fiji vs USA match report. Retrieved from https://www.espn.com/rugby/match


RugbyPass. (2024). Scott Lawrence on the Fiji match and forward pass controversy. Retrieved from https://www.rugbypass.com/news


World Rugby. (2024). Fiji triumphs over USA in a thrilling encounter. Retrieved from https://www.world.rugby.com

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J
JW 3 hours ago
‘Did Conrad really score that many’: Rieko Ioane dismisses All Blacks drought

Indeed, but I also appreciate how Razor now has him covering the backfield more. Are they conflicting uses? Who was it that covered the Arg game, John(?), no it was a YTer (squidge?) suggested Jordies role was to chase and support the wing for a tap back.


That turnover try was actually a great example of were Jordies boot could have been used for territory instead of attacking (contestable). Hansen talking again about 'learnings' about what part of the field they want to play in. I would have thought that would be a basic principle about how the coaches want to play and it would be a bit late now to be learning that.


Nevrtheless we wait and see. One Barretts carrying though I'd suggest he only has a mandate to bring some physicality, not in how he does it. You can see how out of kilter he gets when he tries to do anything other than a simple cart up and pop. Just look at least week when he had two players on the outside to hit in multiple ways and he just indecisively takes the tackle before giving a poor overhead pop. That he still got the pass away hints at what he is "capable of" but as you saw, with free license, its just far off the mark. I've decided Rieko is my 12 from now on. I'd like Jordie to remain primarly at 12 at the Hurricans, as I feel that's were his best alround game can be kept in good shape, and you never know perhaps he will fill into the position after a while, but I'd like to try other centers essentially. But yes, if Razor/Hansen can get both him and Dmac humming in partnership they could also essentially cover many of the fb roles which aren't Jordans strength. Also obv happy to see Rieko tried on the wing just now I think that's more likely to fail than a Rieko/Proctor midfield.

17 Go to comments
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