I?ve been amongst those fiercely critical of Borthwick but I?ll cut him a little slack. He had very little time to prepare for the World Cup and inherited the squad from Jones so we shouldn?t be too surprised that he stuck with veteran players and a very basic (dull) game plan. Actually reaching the Semis was quite an achievement, even given the relatively easy group and the intensity yesterday was at a level we haven?t seen since the Semi Final against the All Blacks in Japan. Obviously the weather helped out game plan but even so, we really troubled the Boks until the front row replacements came on.
I was also encouraged by Borthwick?s comments about the youngsters in the squad which hopefully means we can retire a good few of the ponderous, well passed their best ?vets? that make up the bulk of the squad and plan for a more expansive game with a bit of pace in the back three. Hopefully we?ve seen the last of the likes of Cole, Marler, Daly, May and Tuilagi albeit they played well yesterday. If I ever see Vunipola in an England shirt again I?ll turn the tv over, total waste of space. Now that Tom Willis has signed for the cheats (that is still painful to consider) I doubt that Billy is going to get much game time. I?d like to include Farrell in that list but Borthwick seems to think he?s the Messia. Wonder if it?s occurred to him that Farrell?s backchat gifted SA 10 metres and an easy 3 points in a game we lost by a point?
Incidentally, I have to agree with a few posts I?ve seen regarding that last penalty, ?the Wasp that never was? Vincent Koch was boring in at 45 degrees, problem was the referee had already made his mind up who was going to be at fault. It infuriates me that this is so rarely penalised, Koch?s fellow countryman ?The Beast? who gave Phil Vickery such a torrid time on the Lions tour was always doing it. As a referee my front row briefing was always just that- brief. They aren?t interested, they?re busy with their pre match, so it would always be ?Straight and Square, safe and legal? Koch was NOT scrummaging square by any stretch of the imagination.