Huwipulotu has to start the first Test surely

France have been absolutely ridiculous at the ruck - scramble defence at it's absolute finest

French 16 getting out of that ruck is my new favourite thing - practically trying to start a mexican wave he kept his arms up for so long 😂

Real talk: A Kiwi team as weak as this French one would lose by 50+ to a full-strength French side

That is an absolutely vintage Genge carry, just charging his way up the middle 🦏

Ladies and gentlemen, it's Pollock time

Well the ideas are there for the Lions, just the usual clunkiness and lack of cohesion for a first outing

Genge and Bealham absolutely flying into tackles already. Some massive shots going in

Nothing like getting a message to let you know you've lost every single day of commentary work you had booked in for the rest of the calendar year...

I guess I'm a former CS commentator now? 🙃

Back row is stacked but surely Pollock is walking into at least the midweek Lions squad now? The rate at which he has ascended needs to be studied, it's genuinely ridiculous

Too on the nose?

Generational

Of course Pollock picks up a try in his first senior start. Of course he does 😂

What a half that is from England. Absolutely ruthless. If we can keep that up for 80 minutes it'll have been a real statement performance

But fundamentally his biggest strength is individual talent as opposed to ability to bring others into the game.

It creates a dilemma of two incredible 10s with completely contrasting styles. If England solve the conundrum of involving them both, it could define English rugby for a generation IMO

Where he can float in and out of the play at the opportune moments, picking gaps and beating defenders when they appear (he was great at that today, ran some brilliant lines and got a lot done).

He has a fantastic game management that he's built (more rambling below ⬇️⬇️)

Having digested it, here's my probably naive and ill-informed view:

Finn Smith works at 10 because he fits a classical interpretation of a fly half - involved in everything, selecting runners, hands on the ball. He's great at that.

M. Smith suits a 9 centric style (this is gonna be a thread ⬇️⬇️)

Gonna be one of those days for England, just got to play our own game

Shaun Edwards is going to be steaming out of his ears here, what on Earth has happened to France's defence

Welcome back Wales!

Rode our luck but you saw the blueprint there. Attack clicking, defence ferocious. Fucking brilliant

What a way to get Twickenham bouncing again

The Menoncello differential captain pick backfiring epically so far 🙃

It's the hope that kills you

England are properly up for this. Defending ferociously but with an added intelligence that was missing previously, attack looking promising

Think the last 15/20 minutes will be where it swings, tiring players and bench impact going to be critical

And there it is. Likely a ban and I could see it being a few games as well. Just back in and could be straight on the way out

What a brain fade from Ntamack - arm tucked, no need to go anywhere near that and contact to the head. If you ask me that's a red

Well if they were trying to protect Dan Edwards and ease him in gently that's gone out the window

Can't even remember where I nicked it from so feel free 😂

Merry Sixmas to all who celebrate - a little palate cleanser before the festivities begin