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Big trio miss out again but England's Six Nations squad is an exciting one - Andy Goode
Alex Goode, Danny Cipriani and Don Armand may have been left out yet again but Eddie Jones is finally showing signs of picking on form and his latest England squad is one to get excited about.
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You can always pick out players who you think are in form and should be in there but I think this is a damn good squad on paper. Before the autumn, people were looking at the squad with all of the injuries and on the back of a poor Six Nations campaign and thinking that we could lose three of the four Tests.
However, we won three of the four Tests and have the likes of Billy Vunipola, Mako Vunipola and Joe Launchbury back fit again and there is now a renewed confidence ahead of the 2019 Six Nations.
The big trio of omissions again are Goode, Cipriani and Armand and, while I and others might have picked them, Jones clearly doesn’t fancy them and perhaps doesn’t think their style of play suits what he’s looking for.
There is definitely a feeling that the more people talk up their chances, the less likely they are to be picked because of the way Jones is but it’s his job to pick the people he thinks best fit into the group in order to head towards a World Cup and try to win it.
We can all sit back as pundits and fans and say who’s on form and act surprised that certain players aren’t being selected but the buck stops with him and it’s obviously his prerogative to pick who he thinks fits best into his system and environment.
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He has been heavily criticised in the past, including by me, for not picking players on form but there are a couple of new faces in there completely on the basis of their Premiership form, most notably Ollie Thorley.
He’s got ridiculous pace and power and doesn’t come with any of the baggage of being involved in previous squads, so it’s perhaps easier for him to pick Thorley than someone like Goode.
With the likes of Chris Ashton, Jonny May, Elliot Daly, Joe Cokanasiga, Jack Nowell and Mike Brown for competition, it’s hard to see him getting a look in really when it comes to making a match day 23 but it’d be great to see him given a chance against Italy later in the Six Nations.
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I think Alex Lozowski is probably the unluckiest player in terms of missing out on this occasion as he has been involved a lot recently but hasn’t really been given a proper chance. The only game he played in during the autumn was against Japan and that was at inside centre, rather than outside centre where he’s been playing for his club, and without Owen Farrell alongside him.
He got hooked at half-time but the game management issues England had in that first half weren’t down to him, so I think he’s really unlucky not to make the cut.
He’s even played on the wing for Saracens this season, as well as having the ability to play 12, 13 and 15 and maybe even wanting to go back to playing fly half eventually as well, so his versatility is likely to go in his favour when it comes to picking a 31-man World Cup squad.
I’m a massive fan of him, especially having seen the quality he has up close and what he produced at training day in, day out while playing with him at Wasps, but Ollie Devoto has been in fine form for Exeter too and his offload at the weekend was a bit special.
The back row is an interesting area again in this squad. There were lots of calls for Alex Dombrandt to be included with him scoring nine tries in 11 games so far this season but his team-mate Jack Clifford is in there ahead of him.
I think Clifford is a quality operator and, as well as his extra experience, I think he gets in on his versatility and because of the balance of the back row.
Dombrandt would only really be an option at blindside at the moment and it’s very early for him but if he keeps producing this level of performance over the next few months, he could make a late run for the extended World Cup squad.
Ben Earl is an exciting prospect, who went on tour to South Africa so has some credit in the bank, and he can play across the back row as well which helps his cause. Poor old Jackson Wray will be wondering why he doesn’t get a look in again, though, when he’s picked ahead of Earl at Saracens.
It’s great to see Dan Robson included and set to win his first cap, almost certainly off the bench, in Dublin. He was unlucky not to get any game time on tour to South Africa and then even more unlucky to get injured before the autumn internationals and he deserves his chance.
He’ll inject real pace coming on as a replacement and can perform a similar role to the one that Danny Care has done a lot in recent years. If there were to have been a third scrum half in the squad, I’d have liked to have seen Ben Spencer in there because of his kicking game as well as his sniping ability.
However, Care’s England career is far from over and he’ll be vying with Robson for a scrum half spot in the coming months I’m sure and could well be back in if he’s flying for Quins between now and the end of the season.
Care is in a similar position to Dan Cole to a certain extent. He was left out in the autumn but now more than deserves his recall. At the start of the season Cole wasn’t performing anywhere near the level of an England tighthead but he is now.
We don’t know whether that is because of good management by Jones, the change in management at Leicester, off-field factors or a combination of lots of things but it’s great to see him back.
Previously there have definitely been players in the squad based on reputation and as a result of them playing a part in England’s record 18-match winning run but that does seem to have changed a bit now.
You can always argue about the odd one or two selections but it’s an exciting squad and is a good blend of returning big names who played a part in England’s hugely successful winning streak not so long ago and a few new faces picked on form.
Everybody outside the England camp, including me, will have Ireland down as favourites for the game in Dublin on the opening weekend of the Six Nations but they needed an unbelievable drop goal from Johnny Sexton to beat France in Round 1 last season, all the pressure will be on them and it might just be the best time to face them.
I’ve jokingly said that this England squad has got Six Nations champions written all over it and that is tongue in cheek but, while Ireland will undoubtedly be favourites, it is a strong looking squad and one that fans can get excited about.
Comments on RugbyPass
Hope he stays as believe he can do a great job.
1 Go to commentsMake what step up? Manie has a World Cup winner’s medal around his neck and changed the way the Springboks can play. He doesn’t have anything to prove to anyone. The win record of the Boks with him in the team is tremendous. Sacha can be wonderful and I hope he has a very succesful Bok career, but comparing him to Manie in terms of the next Bok flyhalf is very strange. Manie is the incumbent (not the next) and doing pretty incredibly.
1 Go to comments00 😍 U
1 Go to commentsSabbaticals have helped keep NZ’s very best talent in the country on long term deals - this fact has been left out of this article. Much like the articles calling to allow overseas players to be selected, yet can only name one player currently not signed to NZR who would be selected for the ABs. And in the entire history of NZ players leaving to play overseas, literally only 4 or 5 have left in their prime as current ABs. (Piatau, Evans, Hayman, Mo’unga,?) Yes Carter got an injury while playing in France 16 years ago, but he also got a tournament ending injury at the 2011 World Cup while taking mid-week practice kicks at goal. Maybe Jordie gets a season-ending injury while playing in Ireland, maybe he gets one next week against the Brumbies. NZR have many shortcomings, but keeping the very best players in the country and/or available for ABs selection is not one of them. Likewise for workload management - players missing 2 games out of 14 is hardly a big deal in the grand scheme of things. Again let’s use some facts - did it stop the Crusaders winning SR so many times consecutively when during any given week they would be missing 2 of their best players? The whole idea of the sabbatical is to reward your best players who are willing to sign very long term deals with some time to do whatever they want. They are not handed out willy-nilly, and at nowhere near the levels that would somehow devalue Super Rugby. In this particular example JB is locked in with NZR for what will probably (hopefully) be the best years of his career, hard to imagine him not sticking around for a couple more after for a Lions tour and one more world cup. He has the potential to become the most capped AB of all time. A much better outcome than him leaving NZ for a minimum of 3 years at the age of 27, unlikely to ever play for the ABs again, which would be the likely alternative.
1 Go to commentsJake White talks more sense than anything I've read in the last 5 years. Hope someone's listening.
9 Go to commentsThe Springboks tried going down the road of only picking home-based players and it was an unmitigated disaster in 2016 and 2017. Picking overseas-based players has been one of the main reason the Boks have done so well since 2018, not only because of the quality Rassie could call on, but because of the knowledge and experience those players brought into camp from England, France and Japan. With some of the big names playing abroad it also gave younger players in SA the chance to break through at franchise level. Would we have seen the emergence of a Ruan Nortje if RG and Lood were still at the Bulls? Not so sure. I understand why Jake would want to block players leaving since his job depends on good results but it’s an approach that would take Bok rugby back to the bad old days and no South African wants to see that.
9 Go to commentsExeter were thumped by 38 points. And they only had to hop on a train.
39 Go to commentsI am De Groot.
1 Go to commentsHad hoped you might write an article on this game, Nick. It’s a good one. Things have not gone as smoothly for ROG since beating Leinster last year at the Aviva in the CC final. LAR had the Top 14 Final won till Raymond Rhule missed a simple tackle on the excellent Ntamack, and Toulouse reaped the rewards of just staying in the fight till the death. Then the disruption of the RWC this season. LAR have not handled that well, but they were not alone, and we saw Pau heading the Top 14 table at one stage early season. I would think one of the reasons for the poor showing would have to be that the younger players coming through, and the more mature amongst the group outside the top 25/30, are not as strong as would be hoped for. I note that Romain Sazy retired at the end of last season. He had been with LAR since 2010, and was thus one of their foundation players when they were promoted to Top 14. Records show he ended up with 336 games played with LAR. That is some experience, some rock in the team. He has been replaced for the most part by Ultan Dillane. At 30, Dillane is not young, but given the chances, he may be a fair enough replacement for Sazy. But that won’be for more than a few years. I honestly know little of the pathways into the LAR setup from within France. I did read somewhere a couple of years ago that on the way up to Top 14, the club very successfully picked up players from the academies of other French teams who were not offered places by those teams. These guys were often great signings…can’t find the article right now, so can’t name any….but the Tadgh Beirne type players. So all in all, it will be interesting to see where the replacements for all the older players come from. Only Lleyd’s and Rhule from SA currently, both backs. So maybe a few SA forwards ?? By contrast, Leinster have a pretty clear line of good players coming through in the majority of positions. Props maybe a weak spot ? And they are very fleet footed and shrewd in appointing very good coaches. Or maybe it is also true that very good coaches do very well in the Leinster setup. So, Nick, I would fully concurr that “On the evidence of Saturday’s semi-final between the two clubs, the rebuild in the Bay of Biscay is going to take longer than it is on the east coast of Ireland”
11 Go to commentsWhat was the excuse for the other knockout blowouts then? Does the result not prove the Saints were just so much better? Wise call to put your eggs in one basket when you’ve got 2 comps simultaneously finishing.
39 Go to commentsReally hope Kuruvoli and his partner rock the Canes.
1 Go to commentsI wonder what impact Samson has had on their attack, as the team seems less prone to trundle it up the middle, take the tackle and then trundle it up again. I lost faith in the coach last year as the Rebelss looked like a 2nd/3rd rate South African team. I also disliked Gordon standing back, often ignored as the forward battle went on and on. Maybe its our Aussie way of not getting off our A***’s until the enemy is at the gate.
86 Go to commentsThanks for the write up. Great to see the Rebs winning, I am a little interested in how they will go against the remaining kiwi teams, I think they’ve only played Hurricanes and Highlanders but how great to see these players performing!! I also see Parling has a job beyond June 30! A good move by RA? Also how do you fix the Rebels previously scratchy defence?
86 Go to commentsbe smart - go black
13 Go to commentsNext week the Crusaders hopefully have Scott Barrett back. Will be great to have the captain back. Hopefully he will be the All Black captain as well.
12 Go to commentsExciting place to be for the young fella. I expected he was French Polynesian when I saw him included in the France 6N squad (after seeing him in NZs), and therefor be strong grounds we might loose him to rugby down here. Good, in that he is good enough to warrant such a profile, and from a journalism’s fan interaction aspect, to finally get a back ground story on the fella. Hope he has settled into NZ OK and that at least one rugby country will fit with him to help his development, which, if so, he should surely continue for a few years, and then that he can experience France to it’s fullest with a bit more maturity and less reliance on family than you would have at his current age. A good 3 or 4 years before he would be ready for International duty if he wanted to wait. Of course he already sounds good enough to accept a call up, and to cap himself, in the more immediate future (he’d have to be very very good in the case of the ABs), and he’ll get a great taste of that being with the Canes who have a bunch who are just a few years further into their career and looking likely Internationals themselves.
13 Go to commentsI remember towards the end of the original broadcasting deal for Super rugby with Newscorp that there was talk about the competition expanding to improve negotiations for more money - more content, more cash. Professional rugby was still in its infancy then and I held an opposing view that if Super rugby was a truly valuable competition then it should attract more broadcasters to bid for the rights, thereby increasing the value without needing to add more teams and games. Unfortunately since the game turned professional, the tension between club, talent and country has only grown further. I would argue we’re already at a point in time where the present is the future. The only international competitions that matter are 6N, RC and RWC. The inter-hemisphere tours are only developmental for those competitions. The games that increasingly matter more to fans, sponsors and broadcasters are between the clubs. Particularly for European fans, there are multiple competitions to follow your teams fortunes every week. SA is not Europe but competes in a single continental competition, so the travel component will always be an impediment. It was worse in the bloated days of Super rugby when teams traversed between four continents - Africa, America, Asia and Australia. The percentage of players who represent their country is less than 5% of the professional player base, so the sense of sacrifice isn’t as strong a motivation for the rest who are more focused on playing professional rugby and earning as much from their body as they can. Rugby like cricket created the conundrum it’s constantly fighting a losing battle with.
9 Go to commentsOh wow… “But as La Rochelle proved in winning in Cape Town this season, a cross-continental away assignment need not spell the end of days.” La Rochelle actually proved quite the opposite. After traveling to Cape town and back they (back-to-back and current champs) got mercilessly thumped the next week. If travel is not the reason, why else would a full-strength powerhouse like La Rochelle get dumped on their @r$e$ one week later?
39 Go to commentsYou know he can land a winning conversion after the full time siren is up. (Even if it takes two attempts.)
5 Go to commentsA very insightful article from Jake. I would love to know how South African’s feel about their move to Europe. Do you prefer playing in Europe or want to go back to Super Rugby?
9 Go to comments