Farrel HIA

crossref


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So this is intriguing story from last weekend - Farrell was taken off the field (much to his annoyance :) ) by the Independent Match Day Doctor, for an HIA - which is quite unusual in itself, implies that the IMDD spotted something that the England team missed.

Ford was already off, and Dan Robson came on and played 10.

At the time I assumed that Ford must in fact be injured, otherwise why not bring him back on ?

In this article it's explained that no, Ford had been taken off tactically, so could come back, but England (well aware Ford was an option) actually preferred Robson at 10. ...

Farrell failed the HIA so the Robson substitution became permanent.

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/...an-robson-at-fly-half-england-claim-t5lx7lq88

Under the rules governing head injury assessments, Ford was permitted to return to the field to replace Farrell. It was at a point in the game when England were trying to engineer a comeback from 26-6 down with 25 minutes remaining.

However, Eddie Jones, the head coach, replaced Farrell with Robson and asked the scrum-half to fill in at fly-half for the remainder of the game, raising questions as to whether England had made a mistake.

England said that there was no misunderstanding of the regulations and that the decision to finish the match with two scrum halves on the field was a tactical call made by the coaches.

“In terms of George and Owen going off, at the stage of the game it did not feel like too big an issue because all bets are off,” Jonny May, the wing, said.

“We just wanted to whip it around a bit and have a crack. That’s what Dan has done in training the whole time so it felt like who cares now, let’s keep going till the end and give it everything we can.”

So has Ford been thrown under Eddi's bus ? Or Did England make a mistake, that they'd prefer not to admit.

Or is Robson simply the natural choice at 10 when you are 26-6 down with a full 25 mins to go
 
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didds

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My quess is a stuff up.

I'm not sure what thats ays in itself...

... but if its that robson is deliberate choice ... hmmm... lets not go there maybe...
 

BikingBud


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Sooner they consider Simmonds and Smith as the future the better.
 

didds

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EJ wont.

They don't fit his game plan.

Unless of course... he changes his game plan. EJ doesnt pick the best players and devise a game plan based on them... he has a game plan and selects players to (hopefully!) carry it out.
 
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