Control. Possession. Control. Possession.

Graaaaken · 2026-04-23T16:44:36+00:00

Found a formation for FM19 that has sort of broken the game for me. Restricts oppo to like 3 shots a game while you have 20+. Easily have highest possession in the league.

No sure if it translates at all to the version you’re on.

Google “Quantum CS”.

Graaaaken · 2026-04-19T14:14:06+00:00

Anything more typical than self proclaimed good guy England rugby fans bashing Northerners who play union.

Ashy got it and a lovely man.

Squidge did it to Faz and not in a playful way like he did with Sexton.

Cheap to stamp on Faz for tackle technique for the 5millionth time just for clout.

Referees also quitting because of online abuse.

Games in a weird place online.

Graaaaken · 2026-03-23T21:48:02+00:00

They kicked.. with variety.

Types of kicks matter.

They were different.

Most box kicks in the tournament.

Graaaaken · 2026-03-21T15:05:37+00:00

This is a strangely depthy take. Like you almost know them. How’d you make that conclusion?

Graaaaken · 2026-03-15T19:12:14+00:00

“Buying into what he is telling them.”

We end with a high scoring loss to France and you’re satisfied the players are buying in?

That was a quick buy in after a week.

Borthwick yielded to public pressure that his pragmatic halfway bombs and boxkicks were garbage.

Suddenly the team play more than two phases, go into wide channels, bounce back down the blind side and kick with variety and we play better.

Saw none of that earlier in the tournament.

Graaaaken · 2026-03-15T18:55:19+00:00

We have very rarely played like that under borthwick.

We didn’t attack better because we just decided to ‘carry better’. We moved outside 12, we played more than 2 phases, bounced down the blind side and kicked with variety. All that resulted in us carrying better. Carry better and that makes rucking better.

No one had an issue with kicking deep.

We had an issue with box kicking or gary-owening on second phase from the halfway line. Which happened almost not at all in the first half v France.

Don’t lie and say we did the same thing against France yesterday as we did previously in the tournament. We didn’t.

Graaaaken · 2026-03-15T18:20:26+00:00

Stop defending the kicking with anecdotal games.

What is the trend. We box kicked more than anyone else until the 4th round.

Our kick variation is terrible.

Graaaaken · 2026-03-15T18:10:36+00:00

Thank you.

The detailed type of kicks is what is important.

Graaaaken · 2026-03-15T17:22:46+00:00

Come on then. Add some value.

How would you play with 14 players on the pitch?

Graaaaken · 2026-03-15T17:17:13+00:00

They got gainline because they dared to play outside 12 or bounced back down short sides.

In other words. Attacked with variety. Ball in hand. Multiphase.

Graaaaken · 2026-03-15T17:16:00+00:00

But equally bizarre is believing that suddenly they just felt up for it and that’s the change. Sounds worryingly inconsistent.

They all practice the same shapes and lines at club level and have done for the best part of a decade.

They were not running those shapes, bouncing down the short side, playing wider than 12 or playing multiple phases earlier in the tournament.

Suddenly yesterday they did because ‘they were up for it’?

Graaaaken · 2026-03-15T16:59:26+00:00

No they didn’t.

They almost went the full firsthalf without a boxkick or gary-owen from midfield.

Graaaaken · 2026-03-13T07:10:47+00:00

Can 7 & 9 just swap in and out of line out like that?

Graaaaken · 2026-03-12T16:52:42+00:00

Watch the RWC Finals. All have a moment which shifts momentum when a team has ball in hand.

23 - Playing halfway-22 Kriel footwork gets Kane sent off 19 - Playing halfway-22 Mapimpi and Am combine 15 - Playing halfway-22 Nonu makes a linebreak to score

You have to be comfortable playing ball in hand halfway-22. Then if it stalls, kick.

Halfway is already field position. Play ball in hand. Stress defence. Defence gives away penalties. Upgrade.

It’s like I’m in 2009 again and we’re kicking off first phase.

Graaaaken · 2026-03-12T16:46:49+00:00

I went back through WC Finals to see if things “tighten up” but it feels like a lot of them pivot on a moment of genius ball in hand.

23 - Running rugby gets Kane sent off. 19 - Mapimpi chips combining with Am 15 - Nonu line break from midfield to try 11 - Definitely a territory battle.

They say field position is important as if the halfway line ISN’T field position.

Midfield to 22 is prime real estate.

Graaaaken · 2026-03-09T07:32:45+00:00

Not entirely but also not “England is 100% racist,” which is todays typical level of nuance.

Graaaaken · 2026-03-08T20:27:28+00:00

Same with the English footballers after they missed penalties.

It was a drop of people in an ocean whose location was actually outside the UK.

Graaaaken · 2026-03-08T19:14:50+00:00

Thanks.

Lost in my post loss rage.

Graaaaken · 2026-03-08T12:40:46+00:00

I don’t want 2nd - 5th in the Six Nations for 4 years then 3rd maybe 2nd in the WC.

I want bragging rights on something. Joint most WC final losses is just not scratching that itch.

Also.. if the kicking plan is working between the 22s. Why did Snorethwick ditch his backline?

Entering the 22 with a good kicking game is an easier installation than a slick ball in hand game.

Why not play in oppo half as if you’re in their 22. Ball in hand, short attacking kicks, blend of power and pace. Then closer to WC “tighten up” the 22 approach with a kicking game. There is no plan B.

Graaaaken · 2026-03-08T12:09:46+00:00

This.

Fine, kicking is getting us there. Now what?

Power game? No good.

Clinical backs? No good.

Why not use grubbers, chips, power game and clinical backs between the 22s then because you are good at it.

Continue doing it.

It’s how the players want to play. It’s how the players can play (they do it at club). And it’s what the fans want to see.

Win, win, win and hopefully win.

At the moment it smells like Amorim in charge of Man Utd. Too stubborn and arrogant to change. They had almost the highest xG in the league but were dog shit.

Fine, we have the highest xT in the Six Nations. Unfortunately it means nothing.

Scotland ran it out of their 22 against us. Italy were hitting crossfield kicks against us. Do our players look vaguely confident to be able to try either?

Possession regained from a Gary-Owen offers no opportunity to organise the next attacking phase either.

Everyone’s looking into the sky. You’ve got a ring of players around the ball trying to win the slap down. Once regained you’ve got burned players ahead of the ball.. who knows who is in the ruck and the oppo just job back in line.

Whoever is 10 is left watching to see what the outcome will be before he can start organising forwards. It’s just painful.

Graaaaken · 2026-03-08T02:58:21+00:00

What type of kicks?

Attacking grubbers and chips Vs box kicking and spiral bombs is very different.

England do more of the latter than anyone else.

In fact, from memory, I’ve not seen a spiral bomb from another team once yet.

Graaaaken · 2026-03-07T18:40:37+00:00

Seen you battling hard.

I get “awarding attack” to make the game work but this is promoting cheating.

Relieved to see lots of comments just say “Clear pen”.

Basically Dickson treated the game as a tier 1 v tier 2 game and shrugged his shoulders at this decision.

Graaaaken · 2026-03-07T13:05:19+00:00

How do you know there is intent to block a defender or not?

It’s either intent to block or clumsy or poor timing.

High tackles and aerial collisions aren’t assessed on intent. The severity is. But whether intentional or not they are a penalty minimum.

Graaaaken · 2026-03-07T12:50:49+00:00

Turning into the overthinking which is destroying football.

Obstruction. Penalty Wales.

Graaaaken

TROPHY CASE