Your take on the weekend's action!

Robinson to go, White to follow, welcome the Pumas, what happened to France, and you have to love those All Blacks! That pretty much sums up your opinion of what happened at the weekend, but for a more detailed analysis, have a look below...

As outstanding as the All Blacks were yesterday, by stark contrast the French were inept in equal measures.  I have never seen a top 5 rugby nation capitulate so emphatically. The sight of the French playing with no structure at all midway through the second half was nothing short of embarrassing to watch, having had the fight knocked out of them by that stage. 

Where do the French go from here? Known for their penchant for inconsistency, one could argue that history suggests they might just turn up next week and beat the All Blacks through a mixture of Gaelic flair and fire. But I suspect this side is not capable of the feats of previous teams.  That is because this New Zealand team has laid down some serious demons in the minds of Fabien Pelous Frenchmen and I don't think that they will exorcise them any time soon.

The AB's were simply ruthless from one to fifteen, as well as the reserves. Every man making an impact. You will not see a better forward display, be it tackling, scrummaging, lineout or passing skills. And as for the backs? Six tries amongst them tells it's own story. No point in singling any player, they all stood up to be counted. That is what great rugby teams do and make no mistake this is a great rugby team. They'll need to seal the deal in France again next year to prove to themselves and also to the ever hopeful cynics out there that they are a champion side. 

The bad news for all comers is that, according to Graham Henry, they are yet to put out their strongest team. That's tough on yesterdays side, who would grace any world cup final with the brand of rugby they played. Roll on France 2007!

- Grant Crawford

These are hard times for French rugby as supporters have understood that we could not reasonably win our French WC 2007 (as newspapers and media name it here.)

At least four points are crystal clear after our arch-defeat against the ABs:
1) Our professional rugby had to adopt a provincial squad system to get better suited players for high octane international fixtures. We have kept our ancestral club rugby, it's a failure.
2) Bernard Laporte and his staff (Brunel, Ellis) had been named in 2000 to win the 2003 WC. They failed, and yet they remained at their posts. The French Rugby Federation assigned them in 2003 the task to prepare our national team for the home 2007 event. We are now 40 points away from the AB and only equal to the Celtic nations. Laporte and his men must resign (but the won't, be sure...)
3) Our game plan was all along Laporte's reign to dominate up front with strong scrums and mauls. Yesterday, the NZ backs were full of our so hyped flair, but their front row outclassed ours and at least one of seven tries was consecutive to a down going scrum.
4) Our team had yesterday an average age of 28. The AB team had one of 24. Where have gone our U19 World Champions in 2000 ? And our U21 World Champions last year? The selection policy has constantly been more than conservative, sticking with old pals from the amateur era like Pelous or Ibanez. It's really time for new thinking.
 
- Cory Sellin
 
Thought the French gave up after some very dubious refereeing.  Did the referee actually know the laws of the game, or was it ok in this instance to allow the All Blacks to bring down every rolling maul? I always thought that was illegal, but perhaps the ref hadn't heard of that one!  On another note, France were already on a looser, too many injuries and Laporte's odd selection process hampered their game further.  With a back up plan of 'if Trye gets injured we'll put Jauzion into the 10 spot', they were never going to make an impact in the backs. Although I thought that France had them in the forwards, something that will be a worry to Graham Henry.
 
- A Welsh Fan

To put it bluntly, Corry should get out of the England setup.  From what I have watched and read he is an uninspiring captain, an average player and a weak decision maker. Why he is STILL captain is beyond me. While the head honchos should try and achieve some measure of stability, it shouldn't come at the expense of poor leadership and sub-par players. It's probable that Sanderson would be a better captain, but I'm sure they could do even better elsewhere.  Aside from Corry, I think that England have the makings of a decent team, if only they could gel together.  They basically have a decent set of backs, and most of the forwards are strong, mobile and keen. 
 
- Marcus Breese

I was at Twickenham on Saturday. It is well past the time for Mr Robinson to go, he should have gone last year when the coaches were made scape goats.  I've watched the willy-nilly substitutions and the headless game play for too long. 
 
We need a coach and a captain who will give direction.  Mr Robinson criticised the kicking away of the ball.  I can only say that must be an England tactic, those players don't do that week by week in the premiership.
 
Corry is not a good enough captain.  When things are going bad you don't see him pulling the team together like Johno.  We need Lawrence back or, dare I say it out loud, Andy Farrell.
 
Goodbye Mr Robinson!

- Alex Higgins

To the many anti English supporters that comment here I guess the latest result must have sent them into raptures of pleasure, but to the many English supporters who like me are sad at the state of English rugby, I say put pens to paper and write, e-mail or use any form of contact and bury the RFU and all involved in England rugby with paper, and tell them enough is enough, and severely reduce the number of overseas/foreign players currently employed in the premiership.

Every foreign player employed means that the choice of an England prospect is reduced, and if you look at the current choices in key positions you can see that the choices are limited because too many foreigners are taking the places of up and coming English players. It is obvious to the southern hemisphere unions, as is seen in their teams, home grown talent with a minimal use of foreign players.

It does not just affect the English, but the rest of the home nations as well. Look at Scotland and their use of the 'kilted kiwis' and their sad fall down the rankings. Now look at Scotland's comeback, their lack of foreign input and an increase in national pride has put them back up there. Wake up all you supporters! it may be exciting to watch your local team full of international names, but it does no good for the national side at all. Join the Scots and get some national pride back and send the foreign mercenaries back home.

If you have any doubts as to the way the game is going, look at English football, and see how poorly they perform on the international scene! in fact look how many 'English' premiership sides actually field a team comprised of mainly foreigners, and in some cases the whole team has not contained a single English player?? Is it any wonder the English team has gone downhill, with the English rugby team to follow suit in similar fashion, and very soon!
 
- John Korn

I think England need to stop blaming the loss of past players including Jonny Wilkinson, who in my eyes is now one from the past as was Martin Johnstone, and get on with what they have at present. I'm a Welshman and we have suffered lots of heartaches over the years, but you have to look at what you have now. i don't think Robbo is up to the job. He doesn't have the old Woodward way about him so I think he should go.

And the Andy Farrell thing? Well what a desperate move that was. I'm only saying what everyone else is thinking. It's nice to see England on the back foot - after all they didn't deserve to win the last World Cup... we all know that too!

- Welsh fan

Why shouldn't Andy Robinson keep his job?
 
Losing 7 out of 7?
 
Scoring 99 points for with only 244 against?
 
Losing at home against a scratch Argentinean side which is built on an amateur domestic game?
 
Anybody would think Robinson coached the national side of the most powerful rugby country in the world.
 
Does anybody remember Francis Baron's strategy document issued just after the World Cup win of 2003? England were going to win 3 out of 4 six nations. Two of them with Grand Slams. They were going to win 3 out 4 encounters with the southern hemisphere. According to the document, England had arrived at its rightful position as the dominant rugby nation. Oh, happy days.
 
Now, doesn't it all sound a little hollow. And what went wrong?
 
Time for Baron to answer the critics. He is, after all, in charge of the whole crumbling edifice.
 
- David Burdon (Kent)
 
Without really wanting to revisit Brian O'Driscoll's bitter comments after his visit here earlier this year, this weekend's results confirm that he had good reason to be disappointed. Back then, Ireland were frighteningly close to beating the All Blacks at home but for a "14-point" intercept from Luke McAlister. On that basis their fine defeat of the Springboks looks like a well overdue reward for a team that deserves to be rated a lot higher - especially when compared to the wandering stock that formed the backline of what was supposed to be the world No. 2 team in Lyon.
 
Nice work, guys.  See you in the World Cup final.
 
- Dave (New Zealand)

Rugby is not football, lets focus on improvement to English Rugby as a whole, i.e. the lack of skills rather than sack a perfectly able coach to satisfy an over-eager media. To give this new era with Rob Andrew only two games to manifest itself and then to call for Robinson's resignation is simply stupid.

Give the system time, only last week, many were commenting how well England had played against New Zealand, and how Robinson had made the right decision not to chop and change ahead of the Argentina game. One game later and everyone has jumped on the Anti-Robinson bandwagon.

France have lost to Argentina, New Zealand came very close, in England's present transitional period it is not surprising we lost to such a quality outfit. I believe it is hugely disrespectful to Argentina to label England to have lost the game rather than Argentina to have won it. If New Zealand had lost, would we be calling for Graham Henry to resign? Andy Robinson coached England to the World Cup, Clive Woodward managed the team. Now we have installed Rob Andrew to manage the team, let Robinson do his job as a coach and I urge every fan and media pundit to be a little more patient...

- Tim Harper

It was meant to be a game of the 1st ranked team against the 2nd ranked team, but as it turned out, France were made to look like pansies by an All Black team rubber-stamped with the inscription of "TDG" meaning TOO DAMN GOOD!

If this is any indication of what's expected at RWC 2007, then please, save World Rugby from further embarrassment and give NZ the William Webb Ellis trophy now!

However, as we have come to know, All Black teams of the past, with the exception of 1987, have often fallen at the final hurdle, or just before the final hurdle. They have been favourites at every World Cup but have only come away with the prize in the competition's inaugural year. Which is why I am not too fazed on this result. Let's also remember that the French, although they are ranked number 2, they tend to send either 1 of 2 teams.
Their A team, or their B team....A for Almighty or All-conquering, and B for Below-par or Bon jour thanks for coming. I take it they sent in their B team against the AB's at Lyon!

The Boks showed this year that the All Blacks can be beaten, and I know losing that game had no bearing on the AB's stance in the Tri-Nations, but when you play a team on a regular basis, that team is able to suss out how they play and can focus on the areas which they think they can pose a threat in. The All Blacks may have been complacent in that match, but they were expected to win! So maybe, we might see another Mortlock intercept in France next year!

Yes, the AB's are a superior team to any other team in International Rugby, and they deserve the mantle as the world's best team, as they were in 1990, 1994, 1998 and 2002....a worrying pattern for the All Blacks?...or will they finally break their duck?

- Brian Kolia

WHAT A GAME! (for Kiwi's anyway)

To win in such a commanding way clearly shows who is leading the charge towards the 2007 World Cup (and the AB's didn't have to cheat)
What's more frightening is that Henry's 30 odd group of players will now knuckle down and begin to perfect all of the coaches game plans and their individual skills. Improvement will now begin!

As for France? It's back to the drawing board. Their second half performance was woeful. They seem to have ran out of ideas. But it gets worse for France. Henry will now (finally) reveal our number one team this week. I'm sure they will want to, not only win, but to play the perfect game, which Henry and Co. have been searching for since they began as our coaches.

It wont be about the final score-line, it will be about dominating every position, opposition player, scrums, lineouts, kicks....everything. The points will come by themselves.
 
Go All Blacks!

- Gene

Rugby World Cup 2007. Unless the ABs do what they usually do at this tournament, and choke, which is always a possibility, then the competition is already signed and sealed.
At least England did manage to score some tries against the Kiwi's, which the woeful French did not manage.
As a Brit living in France and a passionate follower of BRIVE, I couldn't believe the dreadful performance of Les Bleu. We are constantly told how strong and important the scrum is in France. Is that important or impotent.
 
At least NZ rugby has been intelligent in its coaching selection with Henry,Hansen and Smith all having huge experience of Northern Hemisphere rugby and using this experience accordingly. Fair play to them.
And I have to say what a pleasure it was to see the traditional Haka performed before the game rather than the provocative, aggressive pretence that we have seen recently.
 
I can see no other result than an emphatic AB win next week.
 
Both England and France got it completely wrong when Rugby went professional in that their respective International Bodies allowed Clubs to control the players. The International teams are paying for that now.
 
One last point in Andy Robinson's favour, Argentina have beaten France in their last few outings and even managed to give the ABs a close game.
 
BUT when, oh when are the poor old Argentines going to be allowed to join either the Tri Nations or 6 Nations tournaments. Surely every normal rugby enthusiast whether they are from the North or South Hemisphere would acknowledge that the IRB is letting Argentina down.
 
Well Done the ABs.

- Keith Charge

The Pacific Islanders lost to Wales and flogged the Frenchies in the same weekend - amazing they could back up ; ) - oh stop crying AB fans!   The AB performance was ominous, a marker before the WC next year. Swarming defence with slick counter attack.  Unfortunately I had to watch it with the views of the blinkered Murray Mexted.   Frenchies didn't seem to know what they doing with aimless kicks and throwing the ball wide without any penetration.  They'll need to improve dramatically next week otherwise the AB steamroller will keep on rollin' - has there been a hotter fave for the WC?

Ozzies were surprisingly poor against the Italians.  Is there a bounty on Tuqiri's locks - everyone wants to pull them?

And on to England… can it get any worse? Of course it can, two games against a fired up Boks side after they surrendered tamely to the Irish.  Had it been a good performance against the Argy Bargies then we could argue we're turning the corner.  Alas, it was an error strewn punctuated with two individual tries.  Time for Andy Robinson to go, the players aren't performing under him.  World champs with a woeful win / loss record and now 7 straight defeats, I'm struggling to type, its becoming all too much  : (

- Scottie (Englishman in Oz)

Oh how the English love to suffer. Why is it that the English press cannot stop moaning about England playing badly and give some credit to worthy opponents such as Argentina? 

- Brian Jackson (USA)
 

After an embarrassing and painful evening spent watching the centenary test vs Ireland,I along with many other South Africans are at our wits end with Jake White's enormous, incredible and incomprehensible stubbornness. There are two head coaches that absolutely refuse to pick form players of proven quality, and also insist on playing players out of their positions. One is Andy Robinson, and the second is White.
 
No prize for guessing whose teams are struggling inordinately and quite frankly unnecessarily, not to mention their respective supporters.
 
The fiasco that we witnessed on Saturday can only be laid at the door of the Bok coach. Pierre Spies was out of position, as was Habana and Francois Steyn. Were the forwards even instructed to get to the breakdown?
 
To try a new combination against a proven and quality side like the Irish one is inexcusable stupidity a school first team (or third team for that matter) would not make.
 
I feel that for a centenary Test like this, those senior players being "rested " could have accompanied the tour and been used as impact players when disaster threatened. The rugby supporting public are extremely suspicious of the statements from Springbok coaches, we get nasty flash-backs to the last world cup, Kamp Staaldraad and Rudolf Straeuli.
 
Keep it simple. Give the team fetchers (Luke Watson, Kabamba Floors), play players in their positions and don't choose has-beens like Sephaka. We do not need the humiliation of such unnecessary defeats and easy stats against the  Boks.

- Sebastian Prinsloo (South Africa)

Andy Robinson must go. Some people think it is too close to the World Cup but personally I believe that it is never too late to try to steer a boat away from the rocks! Doing nothing is surely not an option. Consistently he has proved that he not up to the job. (Now whether we wait until after the Autumn international to get rid of him or fire him now is a moot point.) 

Personally I have never seen one interview with him that has inspired confidence. His interview after the Argentina match confirmed he really is clueless. In his defence, the players let their country down on Saturday, however no one can put their hand on their heart and say this was a "one off". 
 
My biggest concern is that if the England players respond positively to this defeat and then go on to  beat a disjointed out of form South Africa team (with several key players missing) that the England management will continue to bask in denial and refuse to make the decision (of getting rid of Robinson) that they should have made months earlier!
 
It is already too late for this World Cup but please don't let us crash on the rocks!
 
- Tim Culhane (Surrey)

This weekend's results should serve as a wake up call to certain Unions and IRB.
 
Firstly, let's get Argentina into what is currently the 6 Nations, and as Scott Johnson suggested base them in Spain to stimulate the development of that country's interest in the sport.
 
One imagines England and France with their cluttered club scene will object, but frankly these Unions could certainly use the challange the Pumas represent; while their over loaded club game doesn't appear to be doing anything more than exhuasting their players, oh and loyal fans wallets, a real example of more being less.

The complete capitulation of Toulouse against Ulster found national expression with Les Bleus' performance against New Zealand, pathetic.

While the attritional nature of England's top flight is grievously damaging the national side's ability to select a side let alone develop its play.

Anyone thinking ridding England and France of Robinson and La Porte is enough to salvage the RWC hopes of these nations would be mistaken, particularly in England's case.

Team England's performances are as much a demonstration of the state of its club game as it is management shortcomings, yet I believe they can win this coming weekend and emphatically.
 
The failure this weekend of England and France, is balanced by Ireland's efficient dismanteling of South Africa. OK this was an experimental Boks, yet one displaying all the usual composure of a Jake White side, beyond conditioning his players what exactly does Jake think his job is?

Ireland may not always make best use of its talanted back line, but they are the most improved Northern Hemisphere squad of the last 18 months and possibly this hemisphere's best bet for RWC honours?
 
Italy demonstrated evidence of their rapid improvement by running Australia close, and while Romania are tragically deminished Scotland are clearly developing a competative squad.
 
Wales revealed real strength in depth against a Pacific Island team which one sincerely hopes provides these exciting and deservng players an alternative vehicle for expression and opportunity from playing for Australia or New Zealand.
 
Nick Parry-Jones (France).