Former England international Jonathan Joseph, speaking exclusively to BoyleSports, has analysed what went wrong for England in their heartbreaking loss to the All Blacks last weekend.
Joseph was critical of substitutions, full of praise for Marcus Smith and refused to use ‘finding a rhythm’ as an excuse for The Red Roses falling short at Twickenham.
Bet on Rugby Odds at BoyleSports.
Marcus Smith Could Have Stayed On for 80 Minutes Against New Zealand
For the past two years England have been there or thereabouts in many games. And that's the problem. We're there, but we can't quite finish the job off.
It would be nice to see us pull away a bit and not have it come down to that last play at the end of the game. Because we've been in these situations quite a lot now. We’re that team where we're really good, but we just can't quite get to that final hurdle.
In terms of the substitutions, I mean, I'm no specialist, but I think Will Stewart and Genge were doing a really good job scrum-wise, Jamie George as well.
I don't know what happened there when the other front-row boys came on, that obviously was a big moment. There are moments in the game where you say that shouldn't have happened such as ill-discipline, tackling someone without wrapping your arms or whatever. It is things like that.
And Marcus Smith was on fire. On the flip side, if George hits that drop goal, we say, what a genius!
But I am a firm believer that if someone is steering the ship like a fly-half and he is having a very good game, I wouldn't want to see him come off.
*Bet Marcus Smith @ 11/4 to score a try this weekend against Australia courtesy of the latest rugby betting at BoyleSports.
Fly halves can stay on for 80 minutes. We've seen it time and time again.
I would have, I would have kept Marcus on purely because he was in the groove, he's playing well, and he's high in confidence.
Finding Rhythm Is a Feeble Excuse for New Zealand Loss
It was the first game since the summer so it's tough to find your rhythm, to find your combinations so early on. But that is a feeble excuse. We've got to pick our best players, but we've also got to pick our players that are in really good form.
*Prices are subject to fluctuation.
Remember, Always Gamble Responsibly.
