Summer Switch: Who should England pick for the Summer Tests?

While the attention of many Home Nations fans will be focused on the British & Irish Lions Tour to South Africa this summer, it should not be forgotten that the Home Nations are also still playing Tests of their own.

With a large number of players set to tour with the Lions, England clearly expected to be missing some key players, so will spend this summer facing the USA and Canada, while the England A (no longer called the Saxons) will also play a match against Scotland A.

Now no offense to the lads from across the pond, but I think that if England picked their ideal available squad, it would probably be a pretty easy summer for the men in white, so I feel that—after a Six Nations that saw Eddie Jones’ tried and tested failed miserably—this is a chance to also give some regulars a summer off to recover, while giving a shot to form players who continually miss out on the squad.

So, with that in mind, I’m going to talk through the squad that I would be selecting this summer.

Hooker

With both Luke Cowan-Dickie and Jamie George on the plane to South Africa, we’re guaranteed to see some different faces here. This would have been the perfect chance for Harry Thacker to have shown his quality at international level, but unfortunately he has been out since having neck surgery in October and is still not back playing. This chance probably comes a little early for Alfie Barbeary, who has also had some injury issues of late, so I can see him featuring for England A if available while Jack Singleton and Tom Dunn get the spots in the squad.

Prop

With Mako Vunipola the only England prop in the initial Lions squad, England have plenty of options here. After missing out on a Lions spot, Kyle Sinckler will be desperate to prove himself in a Test match and will likely be the first-choice injury replacement for the Lions at tighthead, so I keep him in the squad to keep him match-ready. This will also be a perfect opportunity for Ellis Genge to show his quality against slightly weaker set pieces, while hopefully also showing a bit more carrying ability in what should be some fine open games of rugby. Behind them, Will Stuart is the obvious second choice at tight head, who probably gets the starts here to show his quality, while his Bath teammate Beno Obano provides a solid back-up option behind Genge. With 1 spot remaining, the final selection goes to Tom West, who has been around the England squad after a strong season for Wasps.

Lock

This is an area where England’s depth will be tested, with Maro Itoje and Courtney Lawes in the Lions squad, George Kruis ruled out by his move to Japan and Joe Lunchbury missing through injury. As such, Charlie Ewels is probably the next man up, providing a solid and reliable option with a fair degree of experience. Despite having spent the last season in the Championship, this could be a chance for Joel Kpoku—who will surely be a regular post-RWC2023—to show what he can do, while Nick Isiekwe could make his long-awaited return to the national team. The final spot would then go to Wasps-bound Elliott Stooke, who has found himself in and around the England squad in recent years.

Back Row

This would have been an ideal opportunity for Zach Mercer and Sam Simmonds to show their quality, but Mercer will be out of contention following his move to Montpellier and Simmonds has deservedly found himself on the plane to South Africa. We all know what Billy Vunipola can do, but England’s struggle has often been in his absence, so I would give him a summer off and use these 2 matches as a chance to look at other options. To me, the answer is obvious, with a thunderous ball carrier, who can also hurt you if given too much clear air: Alex Dombrandt. Ben Earl has found himself as somewhat of a regular on the bench recently and this should be his chance to start, with Mark Wilson or Sam Underhill taking the final starting spot to provide some experience. Filling out the back row spots would be Ted Hill and Lewis Ludlam.

Scrum Half

As if the potential of that back row wasn’t enough for you, here’s where things get fun. Ben Youngs ruled him out of selection for the Lions and I see him being given the summer off, while Willi Heinz has missed much of the season through injury. Harry Randall finds himself missing out by the decision to only pick 2 scrum halves for the 2 Tests, but as a result would likely start for England A, while Danny Care unfortunately misses out as the team looks to the future with the 1-2 punch that I have been arguing that England should have used for the last couple of years: Ben Spencer and Dan Robson.

Fly Half

Due to some of the selections elsewhere in the backs, I see England only going for 2 specialist fly halves in this squad. With Owen Farrell out of the picture, I also have George Ford being given the summer off, while the reins of the team are given to Joe Simmonds and Marcus Smith. This then allows for a look at other youngsters in the England A squad, with Jacob Umaga the likely starter and Gloucester’s George Barton backing him up.

Centre

Owen Farrell could have appeared here to give some extra playmaking support to the young 10s, but he going to be on Lions duty, while Manu Tuilagi is given the summer off to get fully ready for next season and both Henry Slade and Jonathan Joseph are given a break to test the depth at the position. And what incredible depth there is. Ollie Lawrence will be an obvious pick at 12 as he looks to prove himself at this level, while Joe Marchant and Paolo Odogwu can fight it out for the 13 shirt. Finally, it was hard not to reward Mark Atkinson for his efforts over recent years with Gloucester, but I instead see Piers O’Conor taking the spot due to his versatility.

Back 3

With both Anthony Watson and Elliot Daly on the Lions Tour, the fullback position seems to be open for Max Malins, who would also be an emergency option at fly half should the worst happen. While he did not have the best of times when previously called up, George Furbank has earned another chance in the squad. With very few caps in the backs, Jonny May retains his place to provide some experience, while Joe Cokanasiga also looks to rekindle his international career. The final spot is taken by May’s Gloucester teammate Ollie Thorley, who has found himself on the fringe of the England squad of late.

How do you think this squad would perform against the USA and Canada? Who would you select if you had the chance?

Thanks for reading! Until next time!

Six Nations 2021: England v France

After a COVID outbreak caused their Round 3 match against Scotland to be delayed, France returned to Six Nations action in Le Crunch at Twickenham. England were coming in off a chastening loss to Wales and things did not look good as it took them only 80 seconds to concede the opening try, Teddy Thomas beating Anthony Watson out wide and chipping over Max Malins, with Antoine Dupont winning the race to the bouncing ball at Matthieu Jalibert adding the conversion. England quickly hit back but their first attack of substance resulted in them being held up over the line, however they were on the board just a few minutes later as Henry Slade slipped through a gap to reach the French 5m line and George Ford followed up on the next phase with a flat pass that sent Anthony Watson over in the corner. Owen Farrell was successful with the conversion and followed up with 2 penalties, with Jalibert adding one of his own. The French were looking dangerous every time they entered the England half and showed how clinical they could be n the half hour mark. With a lineout just outside the England 22, Les Bleus deliberately overthrew the pack, with the midfield running straight crash ball lines to hold the English defence, allowing Dupont to loop behind with the ball and spread to Jalibert, who took advantage of the English being caught narrow and released Damian Penaud to go over in the far corner, Jalibert converting. Each team had one more attack of note before the break, with Brice Dulin just beating Owen Farrell to Henry Slade’s kick to the corner, while Tom Curry won a crucial turnover penalty on his own try line following a French break down the left wing, and the half came to a 13-17 end.

The second half became a much tighter affair. Farrell and Jalibert traded penalties, but with the clock ticking down, England still found themselves behind. That all changed with just 4 minutes left though, as England won a lineout in the French 22. The drive was brought down illegally short of the line, but England kept calm and continued to probe around the fringes, and after a couple of phases Maro Itoje found his way over the line, with TMO Joy Neville confirming that he had grounded the ball. Farrell kicked the conversion, but there was still time for one more French attack. Les Bleus were making ground but inaccuracy cost them as Dupont knocked on at the back of a ruck, and the final whistle went to confirm England as 23-20 victors.

England

This was arguably the best England performance since they took down New Zealand in the semis of the 2019 Rugby World Cup. There was attacking intent throughout the team, Billy Vunipola was carrying better than he had all tournament, Tom Curry was carrying hard and frequently and even Ben Youngs was rolling back the years – bar a few errors. Meanwhile, the penalty count was significantly lower despite facing a much more dangerous attack than they have been in recent weeks.

The question now becomes why we only get to see performances like this once every couple of seasons. You don’t see New Zealand trying to play anti-rugby for 9/10 matches and then just switching it on for the odd game, they go out to play rugby and win every game. We know that this England team has the capability to play like this, and that is what makes us even more frustrated when we see performances like the opening 3 weeks of this tournament.

These are the performances that we should be seeing on the regular from England. If the players can’t put in that kind of performance regularly, then it’s time to give the next man up a shot. And if the coaches can’t get England to playing this kind of rugby regularly, then it is time for them to move on and let someone capable take over.

France

Getting to watch Les Bleus currently is a treat. The French have historically had that mentality of being willing and able to play from anywhere, but that disappeared somewhat over the last 10 years. Now that Fabien Galthié has the helm though, that attacking mentality has returned, combined with a staunch defence and improved discipline, courtesy of Shaun Edwards.

Unfortunately in this match, that French willingness to attack from anywhere probably proved costly, as the French frequently tried to play out from their own 22 in the first half but ran into trouble against a solid English defence. Antoine Dupont saw himself charged down as the team were a little too casual trying to kick clear following a lineout off the top, while Farrell’s 2 penalties midway through the opening half came from breakdown penalties after France tried to run from deep. In the second half, the team became more pragmatic, but unfortunately the damage had been done by that point.

Of course, this is a very young French team, and they will learn from this experience. Don’t be surprised to see a more pragmatic approach from Les Bleus inside their own third next time they play a solid defence.

Lions Watch

With the quality of players available in the back row, big performances are vital and Tom Curry put in a huge one on Saturday, being much more noticeable and influential in attack to go with his defensive effort. Similarly, Kyle Sinckler put in another massive performance at the set piece against a strong French scrum.

However, Sinckler’s front row partner Mako Vunipola did not have such a great time at the scrums, while a great performance from Luke Cowan-Dickie left Jamie George with just a 9 minute cameo that will likely see him dropping down the pecking order.

Six Nations 2021: England v Scotland

England kicked off the defence of their Six Nations title by hosting Scotland. Gregor Townsend’s team showed a vast improvement in 2020 but almost found themselves going behind in the opening seconds as Maro Itoje charged down Ali Price’s clearance, only for Jonny Hill to be penalised for sealing off 5mfrom the line. The Scots cleared their lines and took the game to the Auld Enemy and a series of penalties saw them work their way down the pitch and open the scoring with a Finn Russell penalty. The English indiscipline continued and led to Billy Vunipola being sent to the bin on 24 minutes for persistent offending by the team. Scotland looked to take advantage of the extra man by kicking to the corner, but Hamish Watson was held up on the line and 5 minutes of reset scrums resulted in a Finn Russell cross-kick that bounced just a little too high for even Duhan van der Merwe to claim. The Scots soon got the try they were looking for though, as Sean Maitland beat Jonny May to a high ball on the edge of the England 22, and when the ball was spread wide to van der Merwe, the wing powered through tackles from Elliot Day, Owen Farrell and Mark Wilson to score the only try of the game. Russell was unable to score the conversion from out wide, and when Rory Sutherland gave away a penalty for not rolling away, Owen Farrell kicked the 3 points to get on the scoreboard, before adding another penalty right before the half as Russell was sent to the bin for a trip on Ben Youngs, leaving the halftime score at 6-8, a scoreline that flattered the English.

The Scots had to see out the first 9 minutes of the second half a man down, but did so with aplomb by keeping the ball tight and drawing England into giving away more penalties, which allowed Russell to come back on and immediately kick the team back into a 5-point lead. The rest of the half saw England try – and fail – to produce anything that even resembled attacking play, while the Scots held firm in defence, and though Stuart Hogg’s team missed a couple of kicks at goal and began making a few errors, they were able to hang on for an historic 6-11 win to regain the Calcutta Cup.

England

This was a result that has been coming for England, and Eddie Jones has nobody to blame but himself. Over the last couple of years, he has created a team that actively discourages any form of positive rugby and instead focuses on defensive solidity, forward dominance, accurate kicking – both from hand and at goal – and taking advantage of their opponents errors in order to put points on the board. That’s all well and good, until your pack gets outplayed and you’re the team giving away all the penalties.

Of course, the selection can’t have helped either, with half the team having not played in months due to either the league not playing (the Saracens players who make up a key core of the team) or COVID outbreaks in the squad. This was a team coming in missing crucial rugby fitness and it showed, with flat performances across the board. Owen Farrell looked shell-shocked, Billy Vunipola could only make it just past the hour despite having a 10-minute break in the first half, while Ollie Lawrence and the backs outside him must have been wondering who they had insulted to get so little ball.

An when England so desperately needed an attacking spark coming off the bench, they replace Mark Wilson – a solid defensive player but not an attacking star – with Courtney Lawes, leaving Ben Earl on the bench. For so long, Eddie Jones has got away with his ridiculous selections and tactics by drawing out wins; now that their opponents have rebuilt, England are going to have a much harder run, and it’s time to move onto a coach that selects players on form and looks to play attractive and effective rugby at the same time.

Scotland

In an alternate reality, Cameron Redpath could have been playing for England today, instead he was making his debut for Scotland and playing a key role in the victory. Aged 18, he was called up to Eddie Jones’ England training squad but an ACL injury ruled him out for months. Tied in with the arrival of big names at Sale, he found his chances limited, but a move to Bath has really worked out for him and I feel that switching allegiance to Scotland will work better for him than staying with England as Townsend will do a better job getting the best out of him that Eddie Jones would.

In this match, he really showed England what they were missing, running brilliant lines and always being willing to take the ball on, while also earning a key turnover penalty on halfway that would have stretched the lead to a 2-score claim had Stuart Hogg not kicked wide. He will certainly face bigger challenges in defence, but he already looks like an established international rather than a debutant, and that is the highest of praise.

Could he be in with a shot of a place on the Lions Tour, assuming t goes ahead? I think that this Tour may have just come a little too soon for him, but if he can carry on performing like that, he could certainly push his way in as a late bolter.

Lions Watch

And so with the British and Irish Lions Tour to South Africa due to take place this summer, it is the return of Lions Watch, looking at players whose chances of making the squad were helped or harmed by this game.

As well as Redpath, fellow recent Scotland call-up Duhan van der Merwe showed his quality in attack, with his size and power giving an extra dimension out wide. Hamish Watson continues to shine every time he puts on a Scotland shirt and it’s hard to imagine that his power carrying and doggish determination at the breakdown would not see him make the plane. As for England, Maro Itoje was probably one of the few players to not do himself harm with a performance that saw him solid in defence and putting heavy pressure on Ali Price whenever he was kicking from the base of a ruck. Finally, Stuart Hogg put in such an assured performance including some inch-perfect kicks to touch that really highlighted his quality at a moment when the fullback shirt looks up for the taking.

On the flip side, Owen Farrell‘s struggles may lead to a worry that a lack of top flight rugby will see him fail to reach his heights this summer if he can’t turn things around quickly. Finn Russell had some moments of quality, but his trip on Ben Youngs was a timely reminder that he is not the most solid option in defence, while Ellis Genge may have taken a hit as his struggles against Zander Fagerson in the scrum may outweigh his carrying in the loose when you consider how dangerous a weapon the Springboks scrum is. Finally, Billy Vunipola looked far from fit and very rarely looked a threat with ball in hand – is his time at the top of the game over?

Six Nations 2020: The England Squad

We are less than 2 weeks from the beginning of the Six Nations and – as of today – we know the squads of all 6 teams in the competition. Eddie Jones announced his 34-man squad at midday today, with their first match since being humbled by South Africa in the World Cup final coming on Sunday 2ⁿᵈ February away to France.

England’s 34-man squad

(denotes apprentice players who are not full members of the squad)

Hooker: Luke Cowan-Dickie, Jamie George, Tom Dunn

Prop: Mako Vunipola, Ellis Genge, Harry Williams, Kyle Sinckler, Will Stuart, Joe Marler

Back 5: Alex Moon, Courtney Lawes, Joe Launchbury, George Kruis, Maro Itoje, Charlie Ewels, Ted Hill, Ben Earl, Tom Curry, Lewis Ludlam, Sam Underhill

Scrum half: Ben Youngs, Willi Heinz (Alex Mitchell)

Fly Half: Owen Farrell, George Ford, Jacob Umaga

Centre: Ollie Devoto, Manu Tuilagi, Jonathan Joseph, Fraser Dingwall

Back 3: Elliot Daly, George Furbank, Jonny May, Ollie Thorley, Anthony Watson (Josh Hodge)

So right now, I find myself less-than enthusiastic about this squad and don’t really understand what Eddie Jones is going for. Some selections suggest that this is a look to the future with some of the young talent being brought in, but there are then also other selections that make me wonder if Eddie is really caring about the future.

At hooker, there’s not really much surprise there with Dylan Hartley retired and Jack Singleton depriving himself of regular rugby by joining Saracens. George will be the starter and Cowan-Dickie will continue to make an impact off the bench.

Moving onto the props, it’s not really a surprise to see England move on from Dan Cole, but the form of Will Stuart for Bath means that things look promising at tighthead. I can see Sinkler starting at 3 with Stuart off the bench, while Harry Williams is a strong 3ʳᵈ choice here. I must admit that with the quality of looseheads out there, I am a little surprised that Joe Marler has remained available and think that this could impact England in the long-term if he does not plan to continue through RWC2023. To me, this was when Ellis Genge should have been becoming a regular in the 23, but it looks like he will be having to target the Italy match while Vunipola and Marler take most of the minutes.

And so we come to the locks, of which there are a lot, so many that I will actually just ignore Ted Hill here and count him as a flanker. There’s no real surprises in the selection of the usual 5 (Courtney Lawes, Joe Launchbury, George Kruis, Maro Itoje and Charlie Ewels), but Alex Moon is a massive shock and I don’t understand how he has justified a spot here off of so little 1ˢᵗ XV rugby for Northampton, especially when you consider it means that players like Lawes and Itoje will likely spend time in the back row in favour of top-quality specialist back rowers who have been ignored.

In the back row, there is a immediate and obvious lack of players at a key position. Ted Hill, Ben Earl, Tom Curry, Lewis Ludlam and Sam Underhill are all fantastic players in the back row, but with Billy Vunipola out injured, there is no specialist number 8 in this squad, which for a Tier 1 nation is frankly ridiculous. I am really happy to see Earl in this squad as he has been one of the form players this season for Sarries, but I can’t help feel that all of these players should have been included, with at least one of Moon and Ewels (or maybe Hill) being dropped for Sam Simmonds and Alex Dombrandt, who are more experienced number 8s and have been shown that good form means nothing to Eddie Jones – Alex Goode is sending them memberships to the snub club as you read this.

On to scrum half and this is only a look to the future if Eddie Jones has found the fountain of Youth. Ben Youngs has been in this squad on the strength of his name for a while and it was time for him to make way as he will be 34 come the next World Cup, while Willi Heinz is already 33! Neither of these has a long future in the England squad, whereas apprentice player Alex Mitchell seems to suggest that Dan Robson and Ben Spencer have just had the door slammed shut in their face again!

At fly half, George Ford and Owen Farrell are no real surprise, but Jacob Umaga was a shock. He has been playing well this season, but I’m not sure if he is currently ahead of both Marcus Smith and Joe Simmonds and a cynical part of me wonders if he is being selected so that they can cap him and make him ineligible for Samoa (who I had him representing in an ideal world where the game is growing and the Pacific Islands are looking attractive to eligible players). It will be interesting to see how much time he gets during the tournament, as the loss of Henry Slade to injury limits the number of playmakers at centre, so I wouldn’t be overly surprised if Owen Farrell is used more as a centre than a fly half.

At centre, Tuilagi and Joseph are a great combo (or Farrell/Tuilagi) assuming Manu can stay fit, while Ollie Devoto is a fine player who has done very well for Exeter. The Fraser Dingwall selection surprises me, however. He is certainly a future star but at the moment he isn’t even a regular starter at Northampton, while Mark Atkinson – who has been in the form of his life the last couple of seasons – appears to have not even been considered once again.

And finally we come to the back 3. Jack Nowell’s omission was a shock, but if he can keep himself injury free for the rest of the season and get back to top form then I think he has every chance of getting back into the squad for the summer tour. Being a Gloucester fan, I have loved watching Ollie Thorley over the last couple of seasons and think that he brings a great balance of pace and power that will cause people issues. At just 23, he could be the long-term future for England. May and Watson are fantastic wingers that will scare any opponent, but Elliot Daly at 15 is an experiment that should have finished last season and I really hope that George Furbank is given a legitimate chance to claim the 15 shirt. Finally a quick word on apprentice Josh Hodge, who impressed me when I saw him for the U20s, but similar to Mitchell, I don’t think a call-up is warranted at this moment, even as an apprentice.

What do you think of the squad?

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RWC2019: Predicting the England Squad

Ever since the Premiership finished for another season, thoughts have started to turn towards the World Cup and who Eddie Jones would be selecting to represent England in Japan. Having played a squad for the future against the Barbarians, Eddie Jones has spent the last couple of weeks bringing players in for training once 5 weeks had played since their last game of rugby, so was today able to name an official training squad with everyone available.

With England and the Premiership being one of my stronger areas of knowledge, it was no shock that this squad announcement saw me quickly starting to predict the 31-man World Cup squad as part of this ongoing series. Like the original article looking at the Wales squad, I have brought in the talents of a close friend and fellow rugby nut in the form of my colleague Phil. We will each pick our squads separately and I will then compare our selections to see how familiar they are. As a reminder, these are not the squads that we would be selecting (which I can imagine would look very different to this), but instead the squad that we think Eddie Jones will select.

Journey to RWC2019 series:

So without further ado, Phil and I think that Eddie Jones’ squad for the World Cup will contain:

Hooker

With Dylan Hartley confirmed to be missing the World Cup though injury, Jamie George becomes the clear starter. Luke Cowan-Dickie has been the next up of late and while Jack Singleton has made a strong push, both Phil and I feel that the Exeter hooker will take the second spot.

When it comes to Jack Singleton however, our opinions vary. I think that the former Worcester hooker will also travel to Japan to provide depth and competition for Cowan-Dickie, however Phil thinks that Jones will choose to take only 2 hookers, freeing up a spot elsewhere in the squad.

Prop

Mako Vunipola is one of the best props in the world, so it is no surprise that Phil and I both expect him to make the squad, provided he recovers in time. Joe Marler has come out of international retirement and we both feel that Jones will take him for his experience and scrummaging ability, while we also both feel that Ellis Genge will travel as either 2^nd or 3^rd choice loosehead depending on Vunipola’s fitness. On the other side of the front row, we both feel that Kyle Sinckler and Harry Williams have got ahead of Dan Cole on the pecking order, despite him being vastly more experienced at international level.

Given the state of Vunipola’s injury, I instructed Phil to also pick a player who would replace him in the squad should he fail to recover in time. On this we differed, as Phil went for a like-for-like swap by bringing in Ben Moon, whereas I felt that Jones would be happy with the combination of Genge and Marler, so choose to bring in Dan Cole as a more experienced presence in the squad.

Second Row

No massive surprises at lock, where both of us expect the usual 4 of Maro Itoje, Courtney Lawes, Joe Launchbury and George Kruis – who has really come back to form this season – to all make their way onto the plane.

Due to Eddie Jones’ history of utilising Itoje and Lawes at 6, I think that he will also include Charlie Ewels in the squad as another specialist lock, whereas Phil has stuck to the big 4.

Back Row

rugby chris robshaw samoa — Former captain Chris Robshaw looks set to miss out on a place in the squad

It looks like Phil and I are in agreement over who Jones will take in the back row, though I’m also pretty certain we would see some different players if we were picking our own squads. Billy Vunipola at full fitness is one of the best number 8s in the world, so was an easy pick, while Tom Curry has all-but cemented the 7 jersey. Sam Underhill will keep the pressure on Curry, while he could also be used as a 6 and will also likely find himself competing with Mark Wilson for that starting spot. Lewis Ludlam and Alex Dombrandt (who missed out on selection for the most recent training squad) have had great seasons but come on too late for this tournament, though they should start featuring straight after with a view to 2023. Ben Morgan & Matt Kvesic haven’t even featured in the training squads despite stellar seasons, nor have Zach Mercer, Don Armand or Nathan Hughes, who has really fallen down the pecking order. Chris Robshaw is another who has found himself out of the loop after other players took advantage of the space his injury created. The 5^th and final back row we each selected was Brad Shields, who has the versatility to cover multiple positions and also has experience of southern Hemisphere rugby.

Scrum Half

Though he has brought 3 scrum halves into recent squads, Eddie Jones generally prefers to have just 2 in his squads as otherwise it becomes difficult to spread reps. As such, Phil and I both found ourselves selecting just 2 players at the position when predicting the squad. Ben Youngs was the obvious option as he has remained Jones’ first choice despite times of poor form and also Leicester’s struggles this season. The 2^nd place looked difficult, until the most recent training squad was announced. The way that Danny Care has dropped down the pecking order over the last 12 months is incredible, but it looks like the Quins 9 is no longer in the hunt, while Dan Robson appears to have missed out after a season that has been severely hampered by injury and illness. This left Ben Spencer and Willi Heinz fighting for the second spot. While Heinz has more experience, Saracens’ success and the high number of representatives in the squad led to both of us giving the advantage to Ben Spencer, who has a great all-round game, can kick off the tee if needed and is also young enough to push for the starting spot over the next 4-year cycle.

Fly Half

Going on the last season, Owen Farrell is now seen specifically as a fly half and looks bolted on to start, while he could push out to 12 if needed to make room for George Ford, who we both felt makes the squad almost by default given he is the only other experienced fly half Eddie Jones has regularly had with the squad during recent international windows.

Beyond this, there were not really many other options, with Danny Cipriani the other name in the current training squad and Marcus Smith having come into training camps instead of Cipriani during the Six Nations. Perhaps it is Phil’s Gloucester bias coming through, but he managed to find a spot for Danny Cipriani in the squad, however I can’t see it happening given how little Jones has included him since the Summer Tour to South Africa and instead feel that Jones will take just 2 specialised 10s and rely on players elsewhere to cover the position in an emergency.

Centre

Henry Slade has become the constant in recent England squads and we both felt that his performances for England and Exeter solidified his seat on the plane. Ben Te’o gets picked by Jones regardless of how little rugby he has played, so will surely make the squad despite being currently unattached, while we also both agree that Manu Tuilagi makes the squad (if fit) as when he is on form he is a game changer who can cover either 12 or 13.

Both of us felt that Jones would go for 4 specialist centres (we have both counted Daly as part of the back 3 but he will also give some depth here), but we have varied in our final pick. Phil has gone for Bath’s Jonathan Joseph, who has been defensively solid at 13 and can also cover the wing if needed. However, given all the back 3 options in the training squad are able to cover wing and also 13 at a push, I instead picked Piers Francis, who has come off a strong finish to the season for Northampton and provides a playmaker option at 12, while he can also cover fly half in an emergency.

Back 3

Our thoughts surrounding the back 3 were very similar, the one difference being that Phil had 6 spaces left to fill, whereas I only had 5. Jonny May and super-versatile Elliot Daly have become ever-presents in this squad, while we both think that Anthony Watson’s speed and ability in the air have brought him back into the squad after a lengthy injury layoff. All 3 of these players are relatively lightweight, pacy individuals, but Joe Cokanasiga and Jack Nowell add a more physical attribute to the position group, while Nowell is able to cover 13 and 15 as well.

With Chris Ashton having pulled out for personal reasons, Ollie Thorley untested at international level and Denny Solomona & Nathan Earle having dropped down the pecking order of late – let’s not even get into Alex Goode! – I felt that there was nobody else that Jones would choose to include at this position, which led to me using the 31^st pick on Charlie Ewels, however Phil has chosen to include a bolter in Bath and former England 7s star Ruaridh McConnochie, who took advantage of injuries in the Bath back line to have a great season.

So on the whole, we had largely the same squad, with just the last couple of positions on the fringes of the squad differing. This doesn’t surprise me too much considering how much we talk about rugby, we have probably converged our opinions over the last 6 years. Interestingly, I found myself putting more numbers into the pack to boost the chances of taking control of the game, whereas Phil included some very exciting backs to take advantage of the possession the forwards win.

Who do you think makes it onto the plane?

2019 Six Nations: 6 to Watch

We are just weeks away from the 6 Nations kicking off for another year. With the World Cup starting in October, the tournament will take on extra significance as not only will players be trying to win the tournament but they will also be trying to prove to their coaches that they should be on the plane to Japan later this year.

With the squads now released for the opening rounds, I’ve taken a look at each team and selected a player to watch. These are generally players who have either only amassed a few caps or not been an obvious name to those who only watch international rugby. How will these players do this tournament and how many of them will we see at the World Cup?

England: Tom Curry

The injury to Sam Underhill has opened the door for Sale flanker Tom Curry to likely take the 7 shirt for the tournament. At 20 years old, Curry has been capped 5 times since making his debut on the 2017 tour to Argentina. England have struggled to find a real “jackal” at flanker for a number of years but Curry is a real danger at the breakdown and if the support men are not close enough then expect him to add another turnover to his tally.

France: Demba Bamba

It’s not very often these days that we see a player in the 6 Nations who is not playing in one of the top 3 domestic European leagues (Premiership, Pro 14, Top 14). That will be the case though if 20-year-old prop Demba Bamba comes off the bench. Currently playing in Pro D2 for Brive, Bamba was one of the stars of the French U20s and made his debut for the senior international team against Fiji in November. It’s often said that a prop doesn’t reach his best days until much later in his career, this 6 Nations will give us the chance to see the early days of what could end up being a great career… assuming the team around him turns up this season.

Ireland: Tadhg Beirne

One of the older players on this list, Beirne is a hell of a player who I have really enjoyed watching for the Scarlets and now Munster over recent seasons. Having moved back to Irelend, Beirne made his international debut in the Autumn Tests. With James Ryan, Devin Toner and Iain Henderson all more experienced in the Irish second row there is no guarantee that Beirne will get massive game time (so I feel even more sorry for Ultan Dillane who is also in the squad) but when he is on the pitch his threat at the breakdown and his ability in the loose will show why I picked him in my Uncapped XV last year.

Italy: Seb Negri

Negri has been in and around the Italian squad for a couple of year now, having earned 12 caps since his debut in June 2016 and was a regular in the Italian XV during last season’s 6 Nations. Part of the Hartpury squad that won promotion to the Championship, the Zimbabwean-born flanker is a strong runner that will help the team got on the front foot. Parisse may be nearing the end of his career, but Negri is one of the new generation of stars coming through for Conor O’Shea and Italy.

Scotland: Adam Hastings

The son of Gavin and nephew of Scott, Hastings has the rugby pedigree. I was not overly impressed with the fly half at Bath but he has flourished since moving to Glasgow. He is likely second to Finn Russell on the depth chart but they did start together in November with Russell moving to 12 and Gregor Townsend may try this again during the tournament. A very exiting player, the 22-year-old’s chemistry with a number of his Glasgow teammates could see him be the breakout star of this year’s tournament.

Wales: Gareth Anscombe

With 20 caps to his name, 27-year-old Gareth Anscombe is probably the most well-known player on this list to the casual fan. Outside of the back row – which has been hit by injuries – I can’t see there being too many inexperienced players in the Wales XV, however Anscombe has only recently started to look like the starter at 10. Anscombe started the final of the 2011 Junior World Championship at fly half for New Zealand, with Beauden Barrett and Lima Sopoaga at 15 and 12 respectively, which shows the quality he has. He has a good enough kicking game to control the match but also has that attacking ability that takes Wales to a new level. Even if Dan Biggar starts at 10, with Leigh Halfpenny still to recover from concussion symptoms after Samu Kerevi’s late hit in the Autumn Tests, there is always a chance that Anscombe could line up at 15.

Eyes On: 2018 Autumn Internationals – Week 4

The Autumn Tests came to a close for most teams this week, but there was still much on the line. England and Australia both knew that a victory would go a long way to making a poor 2018 look better, but the Wallabies looked second-best throughout the match. The USA’s run of going unbeaten in Test matches in 2018 eventually came to an end against the Irish, but they made it a contest and have reached their highest ever position in the World Rankings as a result. The result of the weekend though belonged to Fiji, whose win over the French on Saturday night saw them leapfrog France and Argentina into 8ᵗʰ place.

The Week 4 results were:

France 14-21 Fiji

Ireland 57-14 USA

Wales 20-11 South Africa

England 37-18 Australia

Scotland 14-9 Argentina

Japan 32-27 Russia

Italy 3-66 New Zealand

Spain 10-28 Samoa

Georgia 20-9 Tonga

Romania 20-27 Uruguay

England

England have generally had an advantage over the Wallabies in the pack, but with Australia having improved in threat department and England missing so many starters (and replacements in some cases!) it would have been understandable if Australia had the edge there this week. They didn’t. Ben Moon has well and truly taken his chance this autumn and may have put himself in contention for a trip to Japan next year as he looks to have replace the now-retired Joe Marler as England’s best scrummager at loose-head. Meanwhile Kyle Sinckler put in a stunning performance and has surely guaranteed himself the number 3 shirt for the 6 Nations. Mark Wilson continued to put in strong performances and I think he could conceivably find himself starting at 6 next time England play. 2018 was not a good year for England on the whole, but the performances that some of the players have put in when given the chance this November has suddenly given fans some hope that things may be getting back on the right track for a strong World Cup campaign.

Australia

Having been unable to watch Australia face Italy last week, I was interested to see how a midfield with Matt Toomua at 10 and Bernard Foley at 12 would function. To say that Foley was anonymous for most of the match is an understatement as his 2 main impacts on the game were missing a despairing tackle on Elliot Daly as he went past for a try and his grubber kick to put Israel Folau over in the corner at the end of the match. While I am beginning to think Cheika has the right idea with Folau at 15 and Haylett-Petty on the wing (Folau appears to cut more effective lines entering the line late than Haylett-Petty), he still seems to be struggling to organise the rest of the back line, which is leading to an incoherent mess. If Australia want to have any chance of reaching another World Cup final next year, they need to sort something out quick!

Wales

Wales’ gameplan appeared to change the moment Dan Biggar stepped on to the pitch. After a game where they had been spreading the ball well and causing the Springboks across the park, suddenly the game devolved into kicking the ball back to South Africa and surviving another onslaught with their staunch defence. While Biggar and his back 3 – especially George North – caused the Boks problems as they tried to collect the high ball, it put so much pressure on the Welsh defence and against a team playing better that could have proved fatal. Dan Biggar is undoubtedly a talented player and a clutch goal kicker, but I do not think his style of play matches the style that Wales are trying to play. For me, Gareth Anscombe has nailed down the 10 shirt – even if he did miss a few kicks to touch – and it is now up to Warren Gatland to decide if he wants Rhys Patchell or Dan Biggar on the bench, though Patchell’s ability to play 15 will likely see both of them on the plane to Japan.

South Africa

I’ve often heard the phrase “earning the right to go wide” but I can’t remember a match where the need to do that was more obvious than in this one. Too often South Africa were looking to spread the ball wide early in their possession without the forwards having dragged in defenders or any backs running effective dummy lines. In fact, they were often throwing a miss pass to the winger, which allowed the defence to drift across. They are a team clearly building back to their best, but they need to learn to control the game better regardless of the personnel on the pitch if they are to become more consistent.

Scotland

Laidlaw, Hastings, Kinghorn, Russell, Jones, Maitland, Hogg

Scottish rugby has been so exciting in recent years, but when I saw this back line announced to face an attacking team like the Pumas I was thrilled. Unfortunately, the weather gods were not on our side and rain early in the first half denied us the expansive game we were hoping for. Personally, I like the look of a back 3 including both Hogg and Kinghorn as they are both such impressive players and with them both being fullbacks, it gives Scotland solidity under the high ball while also a great option to attack the high ball and try to win it back. Russell, Hastings and Hogg are all such great playmakers and controllers of the game with a range of passes and kicks and the legs to run it themselves, so having all three of them on the pitch at the same time could make it so hard for opposition teams to defend against them. I’m not sure if Russell and Jones is the best centre partnership defensively, especially in matches where the pack is not the most phyical, but I would love to see it used again in the 6 Nations to see how it can workout, with Alex Dunbar on the bench in case they need to improve their defensive solidity.

Argentina

I’ve got to admit, I’ve been really disappointed by the Argentinian’s attacking tactics during this tour. During the Rugby Championship, their attacking play through their backs was ripping through teams, however over recent weeks, the back 3 stars of Boffelli, Delguy and Moyano have had limited opportunities to attack and in this game, Nicolás Sánchez continually put boot to ball and forced the Scots to show their composure under the high ball with mixed results. I think that this is a team currently set to compete against more attack-minded teams like the rest of the Rugby Championship, while against Tier 1 teams who focus on a solid defence, as you find with most 6 Nations teams, they do not yet have the quality in their overall game to threaten the line as well.

Ireland

The Irish are developing such depth in their squad! It’s fair to say that as things stand, only Garry Ringrose, Iain Henderson and Tadhg Beirne would be in contention for a place in the first choice starting XV, yet all the players who featured suggested that they would be more than capable of coming into that team and doing a good job. The pack may have had some issues against the American lineout in the first half, but they were too strong for the Eagles at the scrum and the entire team pounded away mercilessly for 80 minutes both in attack and defence, eventually grinding the tiring Eagles down enough for the back line to cut them apart as the game wore on. The incredible defensive efforts and ball-control tactics, combined with the depth they have developed in their squad is why Ireland are currently my favourites for the World Cup.

USA

The most successful season of all time for the Men's National Team caps off with a new No. 12 in the world.… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
—
USA Rugby (@USARugby) November 26, 2018

I never thought that the USA had a chance of winning this game, such is the strength of Ireland, but they came out the blocks so well and did better than the 24-14 halftime score suggests. The move at the lineout that saw them initially set up a maul but then get the ball back to Joe Taufete’e who had remained on the touchline to rampage into the 22 was really good to see and he reacted well to the poor tackling technique to go over for a try. Perhaps even more beautiful, but in a slightly different way, was the driving maul that resulted in a penalty try. In Taufete’e, Manoa and (currently injured) AJ MacGinty, the Eagles have some great talent to build the team around and the success that they have had this season will surely help get more Americans into the sport.

Japan

After what I feel should have been a Man of the Match performance against England, Michael Leitch saved Japan at Kingsholm on Saturday. The Japanese had played so well against England but struggled to reach the same heights against Russia. Leitch’s tries came at crucial times, with his first coming after a strong Russian start had the Brave Blossoms 3-16 down, while his second try with just 8 minutes left proved to be the match-winner. Japan need to make sure their talismanic captain stays fit if they want to have some degree of success when they host the World Cup.

Russia

Yuri Kushnarev is one of the stars of this Russian team, so to see him go off during the first half could have been a huge loss for the Bears. However Ramil Gaisin did a great job off the bench and gave his team every chance to win. He ran the back line well and did a great job of pegging Japan back with some of his kicks, while his cross-kick to hooker Stanislav Sel’skiy for his try was inch-perfect. Now I’ll be completely honest and say that I don’t know much about Russian rugby, so I have had to rely on Wikipedia a bit here and I noticed that Gaisin is listed as a fullback on the national team’s page. Vasily Artemyev is a great player but he did not look comfortable at fullback, especially when forced to kick, so I think it would benefit Russia to promote Gaisin to 15 and move Artemyev back to the wing while Kushnarev stays at 10. With 7s star Vladimir Ostroushko playing well at 13, the Bears have the making of a good back line that could cause opponents unseen problems at the World Cup.

France

This was not a good match for Les Bleus. The pack did well on their own scrum and in the lineouts, while captain Guilhem Guirado was the scorer of both tries on the night. However, the back line struggled to have a positive impact on the game. The back three were limited in attack and the centre pairing of Gaël Fickou and Mathieu Bastareaud were almost anonymous in this game. The French back line has to play so much better if they are to be competitive against other Tier 1 nations and the first thing is stability. With Camille Lopez and Matthieu Jalibert having both missed considerable time this year (Jalibert’s injury in his 6 Nations debut ended last season and he suffered another injury in preseason with Bordeaux) and that has seen the national team run though a number of options at 10, while the 9 jersey has also been a competition between Morgan Parra (due to start this match until he was injured), Baptiste Serin, Antoine Dupont and Sébastien Bézy. Less than a year out from the world Cup, finding consistency in your halfbacks is key and that is what France need to do going into 2019 is narrow down their selections and stick to the same players when possible. In my eyes, Lopez, Serin and Parra should be nailed onto the World Cup squad, as should Jalibert if he can get himself fit and perform as he did before his injuries. I would also take Dupont as a third scrum half option to keep things fresh in a dangerous pool, as Parra could (if needed) move to 10 as he has in the past – it may not be a natural it, but he has played there before at international level and has the skills to control the game.

Fiji

A day to remember for @fijirugby 🙏 https://t.co/UMo3TfAAaW
—
World Rugby (@WorldRugby) November 26, 2018

Last week I was saying how Fiji need to play against a competitor who will force them to play a more structured game. France were that team and so it was great to see how a more structured Fijian approach would look. What stood out to me was the lack of a kicking game from the halfbacks. Neither Frank Lomani nor Ben Volavola were looking to play a tactical kicking game, and while it did not cost them in this game, against better defences they will struggle if they are always trying to play the ball out of their own half. Equally costly could be their discipline. The Fijians had 2 tries cancelled out on the night and while Semi Radradra’s picking up of the ball from an offside position was an easy mistake to make, Tevita Cavubati’s late hit on Yoann Huget was just stupid and unnecessary. With Australia, Wales, Georgia and Uruguay as their opponents in Pool D of the World Cup, Fiji could come anywhere in the top 4 of this pool (sorry Uruguay) and improving their tactical kicking and discipline could be just what they need to make it into the top 2.

Eyes On: 2018 Autumn Internationals – Week 3

Week 3 is in the book and if we’re being honest, there’s only one result everyone is talking about. Ireland shocked the world when they beat New Zealand in Chicago in 2016 and they did it again at the weekend in front of a raucous Irish crowd at the Aviva Stadium. Away from this match, a number of Tier 1 nations gave the fringe players a run-out this weekend as they played nations a little lower in the rankings, with mixed results.

The Week 3 results were:

France 28-13 Argentina

Ireland 16-9 New Zealand

Chile 0-73 Maori All Blacks

Scotland 20-26 South Africa

England 35-15 Japan

Wales 74-24 Tonga

Italy 7-26 Australia

Georgia 27-19 Samoa

Uruguay 7-68 Fiji

Before we get into my thoughts, a quick thank you to my colleague and fellow rugby not Phil, who abandoned me for a trip to Twickenham this weekend but made up for it by sending me the photos you will see today and a few others that you will see in later posts.

England

With less than a year until the World Cup, a number of (largely fringe) players were given a chance against Japan to improve their odds of selection. Come full time, new cap Joe Cokanasiga was the only player from the starting XV to come away with a heightened reputation. Danny Care is so often a danger off the bench but once again he struggled to have the same positive impact from the start, as did Alec Hepburn and Harry Williams. Elliot Daly continues to struggle under the high ball in this series, Alex Lozowski made a crucial tackle to stop Michael Leitch but also missed a number of crucial tackles and did not bring anything to the attack. Once again George Ford showed that he is unable to effectively lead an international back line without Owen Farrell outside him to take the pressure off him. Meanwhile, Zach Mercer was treated awfully by being pulled for Dylan Hartley during Jamie George’s sin bin and then getting subbed early in the 2^nd half.

I expect the line-up against Australia will be very similar to what we saw against South Africa and New Zealand. So the question then becomes “what should be done in the 6 Nations?” Personally I think that if Eddie Jones plans to take Farrell and just one other out-and-out 10 to Japan, then George Ford has proved he is not the man and Danny Cipriani needs to be given a realistic chance to earn a spot in the squad. I would love to see Chris Ashton or Jack Nowell given the chance at 15 against Australia as the Wallabies are bound to target us with high balls for Israel Folau and Dane Haylett-Petty to chase.

rugEJ — With less than a year until the World Cup, Eddie Jones still has a number of big decisions to make

Obviously England are missing a number of top players and don’t want to peak too far ahead of the World Cup, but right now I struggle to see how this team will be competitive in the latter stages of the tournament… if they get that far.

Japan

I understand why Man of the Match is almost always given to a player from the winning team, but it was a travesty that Michael Leitch did not win the award for this match. The Japan captain was everywhere on the pitch and led his team from the front. He was involved in many of their best moments and scored a try where he broke a number of (admittedly poor) English tackles before stepping inside Elliot Daly. Japanese rugby may not have stepped on as much as some would have hoped since the last World Cup, but with players like Leitch there to inspire them, things will hopefully improve in the coming years.

Ireland

Not many teams can say they have a defence coach who has beaten the All Blacks. Ireland however can boast a defence coach in Andy Farrell who has beat them 4 times (with England in 2012, with Ireland this weekend and in 2016 and the 2^nd Lions Tests in 2017) and drawn once (2017 Lions Tour 3^rd Test). Andy Farrell has done a wonderful job of teaching his teams to front up at the breakdown and keep their discipline in defence. For Chris Robshaw in 2012, see Peter O’Mahony in 2018, the Munster skipper is a perfect representation of what Farrell is looking for from his back row. Meanwhile Johnny Sexton and Kieran Marmion (who arguably had his best match in an Irish shirt on Saturday night) did a wonderful job of controlling the game and the defence refused to give an inch and worked as a pack, forcing New Zealand to have the ball where they don’t want it. If you want to see how to beat the All Blacks, take a look at Farrell’s work.

New Zealand

I’ve been saying for a while now that New Zealand have looked beatable and boy did they look it on Saturday night! Under heavy pressure from the Irish defence, players were making uncharacteristic errors. Beauden Barrett has not had the best of seasons in my view and in this match his threat was almost completely nullified, while even Damian McKenzie struggled to positively impact the game. Ardie Savea is a talented player but it is clear that this team are missing Sam Cane at the breakdown. The All Blacks can arguably consider themselves fortunate to not find themselves with a man in the bin as they gave a number of penalties away in and around their 22, but Wayne Barnes was lenient towards both teams’ indiscretions in this match. With just one match against Italy remaining, I will be shocked if Richie Mo’unga is not given a starting spot as it is becoming clear that they need to look at their options beyond Barrett ahead of the World Cup. They have chopped and changed a number of players in 2018 – their strength in depth is incredible – but I feel that entering 2019, Steve Hansen needs to start narrowing down and looking at the players he will take to Japan and working on the combinations. They may look beatable right now, but actually doing so is still a challenge and it won’t take much for them to peak in time for another tournament.

Uruguay

As much as Uruguay struggled to be competitive in this game, there were some good moments from them and a suggestion that, given the right chances, they could become more competitive. As such, I was thrilled to hear during the commentary that almost half of their squad are set to compete in the upcoming season of the MLR. While obviously some way off the level of the top leagues, this is still a great way for Uruguay to benefit as the players will be facing a higher standard of competition weekly. Potentially they could look to enter their own expansion team in the future, similar to how Canada have the Toronto Arrows as of this season and make the MLR develop into a truly American league.

Fiji

No offence to Uruguay, but I don’t really see what Fiji really gained from this choice of opposition. With 8 places between the teams in World Rugby’s ranking system, there was a clear gulf in quality despite Fiji resting a number of players and giving players from the NRC team Fijian Drua a run-out on the international stage. We know how good Fiji are in an open game and unfortunately the Uruguayans could not give them enough opposition to make them work on a more cohesive performance. I feel that Fiji should be looking to arrange matches with teams that will force them to play a more structure style as this is going to be key to the national team moving up the rankings. Just take a look at the nations ranked higher than them following this weekend:

New Zealand
Ireland
Wales
England
South Africa
Australia
Scotland
France
Argentina

Fiji are putting together a group of players that can equal these teams and arguably play better rugby than some of them (looking your way Eddie Jones!) but the one thing they lack right now is the ingrained structure that they can build a match around to ensure they are playing in the right areas of the pitch. To quote Vin Diesel in The Fast and the Furious: “It don’t matter if you win by an inch or a mile. Winning’s winning”. Fiji now need an opponent that will teach them the importance of keeping the scoreboard ticking over force them to take their structured game to the next level.

Wales

Like England, Wales made wholesale changes to their starting line-up this week for the visit of Tonga. Unlike England, most of the players given a chance in this match showed they deserved to be playing on the international stage. One intercepted pass aside, Tomos Williams looked good at scrum half and Aled Davies also impressed off the bench, including finishing off one of the tries of the month. Even if Rhys Webb comes back to Wales, he’s going to have some competition for his place in the national squad. Dan Biggar had a solid game but for me still kicked too much (thought they were more attacking cross-kicks, which is an improvement), but Rhys Patchell also did a great job of bringing the back line into the game. Jonah Holmes was solid at 15 on his debut (but I imagine Liam Williams will take the 15 shirt in Leigh Halfpenny’s absence this weekend), Steff Evans was at his best in a free-flowing attacking game and the centre pairing of Owen Watkin and Tyler Morgan showed that there is some depth developing in the midfield and Wales may not have to rely so heavily on Hadleigh Parkes and Jonathan Davies. In the forwards, Jake Ball put in a timely performance to remind everyone of his credentials, while Aaron Wainwright and Seb Davies were wonderful throughout and Ellis Jenkins continued to cement himself as my latest man-crush while showing himself as a more than international captain. I don’t expect many of these players will feature against South Africa this weekend, but as the World Cup draws near they have done a good job of pushing themselves into contention for a seat on the plane.

Tonga

After a poor start not helped by a harsh yellow card mere minutes into the game, Tonga did a stellar job to get back into the match in the 2^nd quarter and draw the scores level soon after halftime. However, their higher average age showed in the second half as Wales’ fresher youngsters ran away with things, leaving a scoreline that did not do the islanders justice. Tonga’s issue right now is that too many of their top players are reaching their twilight years and not enough of the new generation are playing in the top leagues. Sione Vailanu looked great but he will not be a regular in the Saracens back row, while many of the players in the Southern Hemisphere will play in the Mitre 10 Cup or the NRC but not the Premiership. Tonga need to get more players into top level competition if they want to remain competitive in the foreseeable future. How can they do that? I have some ideas, which would benefit not just them but all the Pacific Island teams and I will look to write about that in the coming weeks.

Scotland

Watching Scotland in recent years, I have loved the way that they have been willing to try something slightly different to catch teams out in a game. In last year’s 6 Nations, they left the Irish pack looking stupid after putting Alex Dunbar in the lineout and throwing straight to him to run over from 5 metres out. Their latest lineout try was a little more conventional (it was actually scored by a forward this time) but no less clever. The movement forward of front man Gordon Reid and the lift of Ben Toolis by the front pod left a wonderful gap for Hamish Watson (standing in the conventional scrum half position) to run into to receive the throw and go over for a try. Add to that the incredible decision to set up a maul in the middle of the field during open phase play – a ploy which saw the Scots push the Springboks back. A team cannot rely on gimmicks to win games, but Scotland under Vern Cotter and now Gregor Townsend have done a wonderful job of playing smart rugby while also making it attractive and adding in the occasional clever ploy to catch the defence off guard. I can’t wait to see what they have in store when we reach the World Cup!

South Africa

The more I watch South Africa this season, the more I think they need Pat Lambie. Elton Jantjies has an incredible skill-set but I do not see him as a reliable 10 at international level and wonder if he would benefit from a move to 12 similar to Kurtley Beale. Meanwhile Handré Pollard is a more reliable option in general play but his kicking off the tee can be questionable. Meanwhile, it is likely too close to the World Cup for Damian Willemse to earn the 10 jersey, unless one of the more experienced fly halves would play outside him. It’s going to be very hard to reach the top without a consistent and reliable 10. If Rassie Erasmus can sort this, then I think this team is very close tot he finished article.

France

Argentina managed to get more ball to their electric back 3 this week compared to against Ireland last week. However they still struggled to have the impact they would want on the game as France were so disciplined at keeping their defensive line spread wide to ensure Ramiro Moyano, Bautista Delguy and Emiliano Boffelli had minimal space to work their magic in. The French have an annoying knack of peaking just in time for the World Cup, it looks like they’re building towards it again.

Argentina

The Pumas can be great to watch, but they can also be infuriating. One moment that stuck in my mind from this game was an Argentinian scrum in their own 22. The Pumas have struggled somewhat with the scrum this year, but in this scrum they got the push on against the French. Then they ruined everything by not listening to the referee’s instructions to use the ball, resulting in the scrum being reset with turnover ball. It is criminal to give away the ball at a set piece in your own 22 and it was only a great tackle by Nicolás Sánchez that allowed Argentina to get the ball back and clear their lines. They surprised the world when they reached the semi-finals of RWC2015 at Ireland’s expense, but they need to cut out stupid mistakes like this if they are to reach the semis again.

Eyes On: 2018 Autumn Internationals – Week 2

After last weekend’s early start for a number of teams, the Autumn Internationals kicked off in full force this weekend. The match between England and New Zealand that people wanted years ago finally took place and, despite England’s struggles in 2018, the match went right down to the final minutes. Wales finally ended years of hurt with a low-scoring win over Australia, while the USA got their first win over Samoa to continue their record of going unbeaten in Test matches in 2018, though that will likely come to an end soon as they face Ireland in a few weeks.

The Week 2 results were:

Brazil 3-35 Maori All Blacks

France 26-29 South Africa

Ireland 28-17 Argentina

USA 30-29 Samoa

Wales 9-6 Australia

England 15-16 New Zealand

French Barbarians 38-49 Tonga

Scotland 54-17 Fiji

Italy 28-17 Georgia

England

The first 35 minutes against New Zealand was probably the best I have seen England play all season. Players were tackling as if their lives depended on it and if someone missed a tackle, there was someone else there to put the carrier down. The rucks were being hit with a desire to get the ball back on the English side and the backs were pinning the All Blacks back with their tactical kicking. And that maul for Dylan Hartley’s try was like porn for a former prop like me!

Unfortunately, the team could not keep it up for the full 80 minutes and they struggled to have the same impact in the second half. While it could be said that England were handed the match against South Africa by Malcolm Marx’s throwing, this time it was England throwing he game away in the second half as Jamie George managed to connect on only 5 of his 10 throws, with a number of them being pilfered by Brodie Retallick. While the throws were by no means perfect as they did not seem to be hitting the golden “double top” (top of the throw, top of the jump), I do not want to put the blame fully on George as the lineouts were continually called to Maro Itoje (I got the feeling he was the one calling the lineout but am not certain) despite Retallick covering him at the set piece.

If England are to win the tight games, they need to make sure their set piece is flawless on their own ball.

New Zealand

Damian McKenzie was wonderful on Saturday. While I don’t rate him as an international fly half, he is a fantastic attacking fullback. Despite his small stature, he popped straight back up after numerous big hits from Sam Underhill and the rest of the England back row, while his footwork, vision, pace and ability to pick an attacking line played such a big part in New Zealand’s resurgence. He may not be the best yet under the high ball, but this is an area of his game that he can develop. If he’s given the number 15 shirt on a regular basis over the next year, he could be one of the best at his position in the World Cup.

Wales

Alan Wyn Jones was a lucky man on Saturday, as he probably should have seen a red card for leading with a forearm into Bernard Foley. While the incident didn’t look much, leading with the forearm is considered a red card offence. Alafoti Fa’osiliva received a red card for when playing for Worcester against Gloucester a few years ago and just the night before this match, USA’s Megan Rom was shown red for the same offence, which I would argue was even softer as she appeared to initially attempt to hand the player off in the shoulder – something Jones didn’t. Meanwhile in the Pro14, both Uzair Cassiem and Kieron Fonotia have both been banned this season for similar offences. All we ask for in the rugby community is consistency, and going by previous examples, the Ospreys lock should have been taking an early bath, but not even a penalty was given.

Australia

Jones wasn’t the only player who probably got lucky not to be penalised in this game, as Samu Kerevi also escaped punishment for a collision with Leigh Halfpenny that saw the fullback ft with concussion. This to me is a really difficult one and even after a couple of days thinking about it and discussing with a few friends, I still can’t decide what the outcome should have been.

Kerevi does leave the ground in an attempt to charge down the kick, which is the only reason I can imagine Ben O’Keeffe was willing to call it a “rugby incident” and play on – similar to Andrew Conway’s attempted charge down of Gareth Steenson’s conversion in the Champions Cup. However, it did not look like a wholly committed attempt to block the kick and he did end up leading into Halfpenny with his shoulder as opposed to an arm. Later that night, Faf de Klerk had a penalty given against him for a late hit on Camille Lopez that looked like a much more committed attempt to block the kick and a considerably less nasty looking contact with the kicker. What makes this incident even worse is that Kerevi’s shoulder appears to make contact with Halfpenny’s head, which is backed up by his concussion as his head does not bash against the floor as he drops. In this current climate, it is a shock that there was not even a penalty given for something that was at best reckless and at worst dangerous. Like with the Jones incident, all we ask for is consistency, there does not appear to have been much this weekend.

USA

They still have some way to go to take on the Tier 1 nations, but this USA team is one that’s on the up. Despite missing 2 of their stars in AJ MacGinty and Samu Manoa, and having captain Blaine Scully leave the field early, the Eagles impressed with some wonderful play from back rows Cam Dolan and Hanco Germishuys and powerful running form Joe Taufete’e and Paul Lasike. These two guys kept the Eagles on the front foot throughout the game and the Worcester hooker even continued his scoring run form the Summer Tests. Lasike, though really impressed me. The former NFL fullback, now playing in the Premiership for Harlequins consistently made ground when given the ball, but was not a one-trick pony (or shire horse given his size) and also worked the Samoa defence well by drawing them in expecting the crash ball but then playing the ball off to the men now in space outside him. If they continue to grow as a team over the coming years and more players like Psalm Wooching choose rugby over a career in the NFL, then the sky could be the limit for them.

Samoa

I really don’t understand the tactical decisions made in this game. Despite an experienced 10 in Tusi Pisi and players outside like Ahsee Tuala, JJ Taulagi, Alapati Leiua and Ray Lee-Lo, the Samoan strategy seems to have been to kick first. While it is great to see them playing a more structured style (something that has not always been seen with the Pacific Island teams), I really don’t think it played to their strengths. I have no problem with a tactical kicking game, but this should have been more interspersed with crash balls and spreading the ball wide to keep the defence on their toes. For so long, Samoa appeared to be the best and most well-rounded of the Pacific Islands, but now they are slipping down the World Rankings, which is a massive shame to see. They need to sort out their tactics soon if they want to start winning again on a regular basis.

Italy

Italy are a team on the up once again. Conor O’Shea has been improving Italian rugby as a whole and it is starting to show. They have some experienced internationals in captain Sergio Parisse (rested for this match), Leonardo Ghiraldini and Alessandro Zanni (who has converted from flanker to lock), but they also now have a generation of quality young players coming through. Michele Campagnaro has been on the scene for an number of years but is only 25, while Jake Polledri and Seb Negri have taken the back row to a new level and consistently give the team front-foot ball. Add in the currently injured Matteo Minozzi, who was a star in the 6 Nations, and the signs are positive for the national team. The important thing is to give O’Shea the time as this is not a short-term plan, but instead a long-term reboot of Italian rugby to keep them competitive.

Georgia

Talk for a number of years has focused on whether Georgia should replace Italy in the 6 Nations. While I do agree that they are at a stage where they are too good for their current competition, this game showed that they still have a way to go to compete in the 6 Nations. After this match, I had a look at both the Georgian and Italian squads for the Autumn Internationals to see how they compared in their top flight experience. The entire Italian squad play in top 3 European leagues, with Parisse and Ghiraldini in the Top 14, Campagnaro and Polledri in the Premiership and the remainder of the squad playing for Benetton or Zebre in the Pro14. In contrast, the Lelos have 1 player in Super Rugby, 1 in the Premiership and 9 in the Top 14. Beyond that, the team has 1 player in the Championship (English second tier), 2 in the Professional Rugby League (Russian top flight), 7 in Rugby Pro D2 (French second tier) and the remainder of the players (all backs) are playing in the Georgian top tier. To make the next step, the Lelos need to be able to pick a squad full of players who are in the top European leagues and therefore playing weekly against other internationals. Now I’m not suggesting an exodus from Georgia, but instead a Georgian franchise in the Pro14. They may not have immediate success, but if they can start to bring through the next generation then they could begin to reach the next level much as Italy are currently improving again.

Scotland

The Scots may have ran away with the match in the end, but the match remained tight for the best part of an hour. Part of that was due to Scotland missing chances. Fraser Brown may have scored towards the end of the first quarter following a series of pick-and-go drives from the pack, but the try should have been scored a number of phases earlier when Peter Horne drew the last defender and had a chance to put Tommy Seymour over in the corner but instead chose to dummy the pass and appeared lucky to avoid a knock-on decision as he was tackled just short. Later in the game, Horne made a break through the middle and again held onto the ball rather than play it back inside to Greig Laidlaw who had a chance to keep the move going. Horne is a good player, but as someone in as a second distributor, he missed the chance to distribute the ball too many times and will need to improve to hold his spot in a competitive midfield.

Fiji

It will come as no surprise when I say that Fiji play some beautiful rugby. Add to that a improving structure to their play and they are really beginning to turn heads in international rugby. Unfortunately they still have a way to go to regularly compete against the Tier 1 teams and a big part of that comes down to discipline. The Fijians conceded 12 penalties in this match, which is too many against a Tier 1 nation, and lost both Tevita Cavubati and Leone Nakarawa sin binned, with the 10 minute periods overlapping to leave the team with only 13 men for about 5 minutes. Against a team as dangerous in attack as Scotland, it is hard enough to defend with 15 men on the pitch; it becomes pretty much impossible when 2 men down. Even worse, it will make it harder for the other players to keep going for the full match as they need to work harder during the sin bin periods to cover the extra space. The have a talented team but will not win regularly if they can’t keep the penalty count down.

France

35 minutes in with the score at 9-9, Teddy Thomas broke out from his own 22 down the right wing. Getting up towards the South African 22, he had only Willie le Roux to stop him but numerous teammates in support to put over for the try. Instead, the winger chose to keep the ball and was well tackled by the South African 15. Luckily for France, they scored a few minutes later after the Springboks failed to clear their lines, but it is criminal to not finish that chance by being selfish.

After finishing the first half on a high with Guirado’s try, France continued to build the momentum with a try for Matthieu Bastareaud just 95 seconds into the second half. However they then shot themselves in the foot at the restart and lost all momentum as Sébastien Vahaamahina attempted to catch the restart over his shoulder while moving towards his own line, but fumbled, allowing S’busiso Nkosi to go over for possibly the easiest try he will ever score. This was a stupid mistake from a player who should have known better. One of the first things I remember being taught about catching a high ball is that if you are moving towards your own line and have a teammate coming forwards able to take it, they should leave it for the player coming onto the ball, yet this was not done by Vahaamahina despite Camille Lopez being in position to take the ball. As well as letting the Springboks back into the game on the scoreboard, this also shifted the momentum firmly in the direction of the away team.

Despite all this, with just 1 minute remaining on the clock, the French found themselves with the lead and a scrum inside the South African 22. There was no way they could lose from there… but they did. With half a minute remaining, they gave away a penalty at the breakdown and when the Springboks put a bit too much length on the kick, Damian Penaud caught the ball in play, but then stepped into touch just before the 80 minutes was up, giving the Boks one last chance in the French half. From here, a series of French penalties gave South Africa the chance to win the game by driving over a lineout from close range.

Typical France. This is a game they should have won but they managed to throw it away with stupid mistakes.

South Africa

This was not a good match for the South African backs. Faf de Klerk’s kicking game was nowhere near the level of his recent appearances, while conversely the back line struggled to adapt to France’s kicking game as they heavily varied their kicks from chips to cross-kicks (Penaud was mere inches from collecting one for an early try) to high bombs like the one that led to Bastareaud’s try. In attack, the back line seemed nowhere near as effective as against England, while on one of the few times they did beat the French defence, Cheslin Kolbe did not protect the ball well enough as he went over the try line, leading to a try being disallowed – which should have cost them the game if not for the French errors. There has been a clear improvement in the Springboks since Rassie Erasmus took over, but they still have some way to go to be more consistent.

Ireland

Ireland did not look at their usual level against the Pumas. Jordan Larmour surely knows that he will be put under some pressure with the high ball, but at this point there is a clear difference in how well Ireland deal with the opponent’s kicking game when he is at 15 compared to Rob Kearney, who is arguably one of the best in the world under the high ball. But it wasn’t just Larmour who struggled, as Jacob Stockdale also fumbled a number of high balls and the team also failed to deal with a couple of restarts. Heading into the coming match against the All Blacks, Ireland will have to do much better in this area if they are to beat the World Champions.

Argentina

In recent seasons, the best part of the Argentinian team has been their back 3. Bautista Delguy has been fantastic since coming on the scene and in my opinion should have been nominated for World Rugby Breakthrough Player of the Year 2018 and along with Ramiro Moyano and Emiliano Boffelli they have formed one of the most exciting and dangerous back 3s in World Rugby, yet they didn’t get much ball in this game other than when they were collecting Irish kicks and I think this limited the Pumas’ effectiveness during this game. I can’t help but wonder if the reticence to spread the ball was a worry as to Ireland’s effectiveness at the breakdown, so it will be interesting to see if their tactics will be any different this weekend against France, especially considering how good Bastareaud can be at the breakdown.

Eyes On: 2018 Autumn Internationals – Week 1

November is here and for rugby fans that means one thing: the Autumn Internationals are here. Following up on their Bledisloe Cup whitewash, the All Blacks fielded a much-changed XV against Japan to begin their journey to the Northern Hemisphere, while the Home Nations all kicked off their month, including a trip to Chicago for Ireland to face Italy.

The results from Week 1 were:

Japan 31-69 New Zealand

Wales 21-10 Scotland

England 12-11 South Africa

USA 22-59 Maori All Blacks

Ireland 54-7 Italy

Now unfortunately due to where certain games were televised, I was only able to watch the England and Wales games so this week I will be focusing on these 2 matches. But first a couple of other points that I felt necessary to mention…

Calendar issues

People may be surprised by the lack of international matches this weekend, but there is an important reason for this: World Rugby’s window for Test matches did not cover this weekend. For this reason, teams were not required to release players to the national teams, which is why players like Liam Williams and Dan Biggar were not involved in the Doddie Weir Cup game at the Principality Stadium and a number of influential South Africans like Willie le Roux, Faf de Klerk and Franco Mostert did not feature against England.

I do not understand for one moment why World Rugby are allowing these games to go ahead. Yes, players missing gives coaches a chance to test players on the fringe of the squad but they could do that in their other matches anyway. It’s just yet another match where players have a chance of getting injured (as happened to Tom Curry against South Africa and Ben Morgan & Manu Tuilagi in the preceding week) and in a time when many people would already argue that players play too much, this is yet another risk to those taking part.

I understand the unions need to generate revenue, but in a week where the WRU and SRU have had to be publicly shamed into donating to the My Name’5 Doddie Foundation, it just feels like this is another example of the greedy unions putting money before player well-being.

That tackle

Watching the England match at home with my colleague Phil was a roller coaster of emotions, and none more so than in the final moments of the game as Owen Farrell put in a huge hit on André Esterhuizen. Next to me, Phil was yelling out a slightly less polite variant of “what a hit!” and while I initially began to cheer, the moment quickly caught me as I began to wonder if the hit was legal, not helped at all when I saw that referee Angus Gardner was speaking with the TMO. My heart was in my mouth and the relief when Gardner announced he was happy with the challenge and ended the game was overwhelming.

Unsurprisingly, this became the most talked about moment of the weekend’s action, but I must admit I was shocked by how many fans, reporters and pundits felt that the hit was illegal, with people throwing out sanctions from just a penalty all the way to a red card! My personal feeling when I saw the replays along with the officials was that it was a legal hit.

Seem to be in the minority here that thinks the tackle at the end was legal. Contact was with the chest so not high… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
—
Tim Etheridge (@PStetheridge) November 03, 2018

I saw some people online comparing this to Danny Cipriani’s red against Munster and – while I didn’t agree fully with that call – I don’t see how that comparison can be made here as Cipriani clearly did make contact with the head, whereas Farrell’s shoulder made contact with the head. To me the question about legality came down to whether this was a tackle or a shoulder charge. Farrell hits with his right shoulder and I won’t argue that his right arm is down by his side, but the angle from behind Esterhuizen showed that his left arm did attempt to wrap and he in fact almost managed to rip the ball out, but the force of the hit pushed them apart.

What I have not seen many people mention online was that South Africa’s penalty to go 9-11 up came after Thomas du Toit and RG Snyman tackled George Kruis together, each with the arm they were tackling with down by their side. If you say Farrell’s was illegal then so are those hits, so the blame cannot be put on Angus Gardner or the officials for “blowing” the call at the end. Gardner has been consistent on his rulings in this match, it is now up to World Rugby to ensure this consistency continues. Farrell may have avoided a citing, but I doubt we have heard the end of this just yet.

England

Back when I was playing junior rugby, I remember being constantly coached that the first tackler should go low to stop the ball carrier, then the second man should go high. It seems that not many of the England team remembered this at the weekend. Going into the game, I was worried by how the pack would front up against the Boks and I would argue that the answer was all too often not very well. Players continually went high and it allowed players like Eben Etzebeth and Damian de Allende to continually make ground and put the Springboks on the front foot for much of the match. One of the few times that someone went low on Etzebeth, Kyle Sinckler stopped him in his tracks and dumped him on the floor. While I understand going for the ball, the important thing must always be to stop the carrier first.

Looking ahead to the next match against the All Blacks, I think Eddie Jones has to make some changes. While I thought Alec Hepburn was unfortunate to be pulled at halftime, I think Ben Moon did very well off the bench and would in fact suggest starting Moon and Williams (probably the stronger scrummagers) then having the more mobile Hepburn and Sinckler come off the bench in the second half. I have been critical of Mark Wilson’s selection previously, but I think he went about his business well and think he has earned his spot for the next match. I would also give Zach Mercer an overdue first Test start as I feel he made a really positive impact off the bench and (assuming Tom Curry is fit to face New Zealand) I would drop the largely ineffectual Brad Shields to the bench. I don’t think there should be any changes to the back line – though I do wonder if Elliot Daly’s struggles under the high ball may see a return for Mike Brown – but if Manu Tuilagi is fit then I would love to see both him and Ashton on the bench in place of George Ford as they would probably be bigger game changers, while Henry Slade can play 10 if something happens to Farrell.

South Africa

Regardless of your thoughts on Farrell’s tackle, that one moment did not lose South Africa the game. Malcolm Marx is a fantastic player – he recently made my team in my World XV Challenge – but he had a poor game at Twickenham and overthrew a number of crucial lineouts. In the 10 minutes that Maro Itoje was in the sin bin, England won 3-0 despite the Boks starting the period with a penalty 5m out from the England line. Perhaps even worse, they made the same mistake that New Zealand did against them in the Rugby Championship by not going for the drop goal. They had Handrè Pollard and Elton Jantjies both on the field and had the ball pretty central int he England 22 with just minutes left, yet neither made an attempt to get in the pocket or set up for a match-winning drop goal and instead Lood de Jager allowed Owen Farrell to rip the ball away. Had England been a little smarter with their time management and held onto the ball for just a few phases after this, that would have been the match over and the debate about Farrell’s tackle would have never begun. This South Africa team has come a long way since Rassie Erasmus took over and they wee arguably missing a number of key players due to European clubs not releasing them, but if they want to take the next step then they need to start managing the game better in the key moments.

Wales

With Warren Gatland having returned to New Zealand ahead of the Doddie Weir Cup following the passing of his father, I can’t help but feel that Shaun Edwards took charge of training in his absence. This was a vintage performance from the Welsh reminiscent of some of their most successful seasons with Gatland at the helm.

The Scottish forwards were unable to get on the front foot, such was the physicality of the Welsh defending, and this then allowed the defence to hassle Adam Hastings and make it all but impossible to get the back line working effectively on a regular basis. I was surprised and disappointed when I saw Dan Lydiate had been named in the starting XV as I was really looking forward to seeing Ellis Jenkins get a shot in the team but the Ospreys flanker rolled back the clock with a wonderful performance and with so many back rows currently unavailable he may have just put himself back in contention for the World Cup squad.

Scotland

Despite the dominance of the Welsh defence, Scotland still had some great chances and could potentially have come away with victory. George Horne (who did a wonderful job off the bench) put in a lovely little chip into the Welsh in-goal area for his brother Peter, but the centre just couldn’t quite get hold of the ball and dot it down. Jonny Gray did actually dot the ball down over the line but the try was rightfully disallowed and a penalty given against the lock for a double movement.

While the Horne drop was unfortunate, it was by no means an easy catch to make, but to me the Gray penalty was so stupid as he knows that he is making a double movement (I have been in a similar position before where I have started reaching for the line and realised that I will be short, so instead presented the ball to my team) and his support is clearly there. It is not a matter of reach for the line or get turned over, if he presents the ball back, Scotland keep the pressure on and potentially score a couple of phases later. Instead, a penalty allows the Welsh to not just clear their line but also get possession back. This was a costly mistake from one of the most experienced players in the squad.

Eyes on the Ball

Thoughts from the world of sport and the Schmoedown

Tag: England Rugby

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