Andy Goode: My takeaways from England's Six Nations selection
A couple of names may be making the headlines but England’s Six Nations squad is largely as expected and they should be able to play their way into the tournament.
Some people will say that makes me an arrogant Englishman but I don’t think you can argue that the fixtures have fallen kindly for England with the two weakest teams in the tournament historically over the past decade or two at home to start off with.
Scotland may well fancy their chances after drawing at Twickenham a couple of years ago and looking at how little rugby some of the England players have under their belt recently but they still haven’t won away at their ‘Auld Enemy’ since 1983.
England’s preparations have to be a concern given that the coaching staff are self-isolating, the players don’t go into camp until Wednesday and the likes of Owen Farrell, Maro Itoje, Jamie George and Elliot Daly haven’t played for two months.
Billy Vunipola has only had one run out against Ealing Trailfinders as well and the likes of Courtney Lawes and Mark Wilson haven’t played a lot of rugby this season either. However, it would be more of a worry if they were starting with away trips to France and Ireland.
Harry Randall and Paolo Odogwu’s inclusion shouldn’t be a surprise because they’ve been tearing it up in the Premiership but they have raised eyebrows because Eddie Jones hasn’t picked on form in the past.
Some people will say they’ve been included because they’ve been attracting the attention of Wales and Italy respectively, in which case Joe and Sam Simmonds must wish they had an Italian grandparent, but they have more than earned their place in the squad.
Odogwu, in particular, has made more metres and clean breaks than any other player in the Premiership this season and that’s despite only starting four of Wasps’ league games so he certainly merits his inclusion.
Of course, Kyle Sinckler’s omission is going to create headlines but Jones has said he will “judge his selection when he becomes available”, which suggests he will try to bring him into the squad as soon as he can.
He will miss Bristol’s Premiership games against Bath and Sale because of his suspension and then could be brought back into the squad for England’s game against Italy in Round 2. It was initially indicated that the 28-man squad would only be changed in the event of injury but it seems like there is leeway.
Joe Heyes is a tighthead and has been named in the 12-man shadow squad, though, so it’ll be interesting to see what happens after the opening round or two.
The selection of a shadow squad, who will be part of the same testing protocols as the tournament squad, and the fact that half of that group are uncapped and very green is an interesting call but we can fully expect players from outside of the 40 names to play a part later in the competition.
Jack Willis is probably the player most unfortunate to miss out on a place in the 28-man squad but back row is an area of real strength for England at the moment and Jonathan Joseph is another notable absentee from the main group.
He started three times on the wing and once at centre in the autumn but clearly his form isn’t where Jones wants it to be and maybe the touch rugby game he watched between Bath and Wasps where Odogwu got the better of Joseph was the deciding factor.
You could look at the squad and say England have only picked two bonafide centres in Ollie Lawrence and Henry Slade but obviously Farrell will be used there and I think Odogwu has been picked more as an outside centre than a winger.
He’s always been a winger in the past but he’s been picked at centre four times by Lee Blackett this season. He’s openly said recently that’s where he prefers to play and that’s where he’s shone the most for me.
He perhaps doesn’t inspire massive confidence under the high ball as part of a back three but Eddie likes one of his centres to be that power runner, with Lawrence blooded in the autumn as well, and Odogwu very much fits that mould as well.
As with some of the forwards who can cover both second row and back row, it’s great to have players in the squad who have the flexibility to play a couple of positions but I think he’s been picked as an out-and-out number 13.
This is possibly one of the most difficult ever Six Nations to predict with postponements and cancellations having the potential to heavily affect the outcome and it’d be good to hear clarification on exactly what the protocols are on that with just two weeks to go until the tournament begins.
France and Ireland will both fancy their chances but, despite having a smaller main squad officially than their rivals, England are the reigning Six Nations and Autumn Nations Cup champions and there is no doubt they will be favourites.
Comments on RugbyPass
In the 70s and 80s my club ran 5 Senior sides plus a Vets. Now it is 2 sides with an occasional 3rd team. Players have difficulty getitng to training now, not sure why and the commitment is not there. It seems to me more a problem of people applying themselves and not expecting to turn up and play whenever they want to.
5 Go to commentsROG’s contract is until 2027. The conversation about a successor to Galthie after RWC 2027 may be starting now. We can infer that Galthie’s reign stops then. He is throwing the Irish Coaching Job angle in because he is Irish. The next Irish coach MUST be Leo Cullen. As well as being the best coach available, coaching the vast majority of Irish Internationals week in week out, he has shown incredible skill at recruiting the best coaching staff for the job in hand. That was a failing in France. Cullen is a shrewd guy and if there is a need for foreign coaches underneath him he won’t hesitate. Rightly so. Ireland does need to start to bring Irish coaches through. Not just at the professional level but we need to train coaches to man new pathways for developing kids from schools/clubs up through the divisions.
6 Go to commentsNo Islam says it must rule where it stands Thus it is to be deleted from this planet Earth
18 Go to commentsThis team probably does not beat the ABs sadly Not sure if BPA will be available given his signing for Force but has to enter consideration. Very strong possibility of getting schooled by the AB props. Advantage AB. Rodda/Skelton would be a tasty locking combination - would love to see how they get on. Advantage Wallabies. Backrow a risk of getting out hustled and outmuscled by ABs. Will be interesting to see if the Blues feast on the Reds this weekend the way they did the Brumbies we are in big trouble at the breakdown. Great energy, running and defence but goalkicking/general kicking/passing quality in the halves bothers me enormously. SA may have won the World Cup for a lot of the tournament without a recognised goalkicker but Pollard in the final made a difference IMO. Injuries and retirements leave AB stocks a bit lighter but still stronger. 12 and 13 ABs shade it (Barret > Paisami, Ione = Ikitau, arguably) Interesting clash of styles on the wings - Corey Toole running around Caleb Clark and Caleb running over the top of Toole. Reece vs Koro probably the reverse. Pretty even IMO. 15s Kelleway = Love See advantage to ABs man for man, but we are not obviously getting slaughtered anywhere which makes a nice change. Think talent wise we are pretty even and if our cohesion and teamwork is better than the ABs then its just about doable.
11 Go to commentsCompletely agree. More friday night games would be a hit. RFU to make sure every club has a floodlit pitch. Club opens again Saturday to welcome touch / tag. Minis and youths on Sunday
5 Go to comments1.97m and 105Kg? Proportionately, probably skinnier than me at 1.82 and 82kilos. He won’t survive against the big guys at that weight.
55 Go to commentsThe value he brought to the crusaders as an assistant was equal to what he got out of being there. He reflected not only on the team culture but also the credit he attributed to the rugby community. Such experience shouldn’t be overlooked.
6 Go to commentsGood luck Aussie
11 Go to commentssmith at 9 / mounga 10 / laumape 12 / fainganuku 14
54 Go to commentsBar the injuries, it’s pretty much their top team …
2 Go to commentsDon’t disagree with much of this but it appears you forgot Rodda and Beale, who started at the Force on the weekend.
11 Go to commentsExcept for the injured Zach Gallagher this would be Saders best forward pack for the season. Blackadder needs to stay at 7, for all of Christies tackling he is not dominant and offers very little else. McNicholfullback is maybe a good option, Fihaki not really upto it, there was a reason Burke played there last year. Maybe Havilli to 2nd five McLeod to wing. Need a strong winger on 1 side to compliment Reece
1 Go to commentsTo me TJ is clearly the best 9 in the competition right now but he's also a proven player off the bench, there's few playmaking players who can come off the bench as calm and settled as he is, Beauden can, TJ can and I doubt any of the scrumhalves in contention can, if they want to experiment with new 9s I want him on the bench ready to step in if they crumble under the pressure. The Boks put their best front row on the bench, I'd like to see us take a similar approach, the Hurricanes have been doing similar things with players like Kirifi.
54 Go to commentsROG has better chance to win a WC if he starts training and make himself eligible as a player. He won’t make the Ireland squad but I reckon he may get close with Namibia (needs to improve his Afrikaans) or Portugal. Both sides had 1000:1 odds to win the RWC in 2023 which is an improvement on ROG’s odds of winning a RWC as a coach. Unlike Top 14 teams, national teams can’t go shopping and buy the best players - you work with the available talent pool and turn them into world beaters.
6 Go to commentsthat backline nope that backline is terrible why would you have sevu Reece when he’s not even top 5 wingers in the comp why have Blackadder when there’s better players no Scott barret isn’t an automatic the guy is more of a liability than anything why have him there when you have samipeni who’s far far better
54 Go to commentsAh, good to find you Nick. Agree with everything about Cale. So much to like about his game
55 Go to commentsNot too bad. Questions at 6, lock and HB for me. The ABs will be a lot stronger once Jordan and Roigard return. Also, work needs to be made to secure Frizzell back for next season and maybe also Mo’unga; they’re just wasting time playing in japan
54 Go to commentsOn the title, i wonder for many of those people it is a case something like a belief in working smarter, not harder?
1 Go to commentsForget Sotutu. One of those whose top level is Super Rugby. Id take a punt on Wallace Sititi Finau ahead of Glass body Blackadder.
54 Go to commentsI’m a pensioner so I've been around a bit. My opinion of SBW is he is an elite athlete and a great New Zealander and roll model. He has been to the top and knows what he's talking about. To all the negative comments regarding SBW the typical New Zealand way, cut that tall poppy down.
18 Go to comments