Cipriani is waiting on Jones before making next move - Andy Goode
It’s not time to throw the baby out with the bathwater but England’s wretched Six Nations campaign showed change is overdue and Danny Cipriani and Joe Simmonds have to get the nod for South Africa.
I spoke to Danny the other day and he’s basically waiting to see if Eddie Jones picks him before he makes up his mind and finalises where he’s going to be next season, so the ramifications of whether he’s selected or not are enormous.
I was in a similar situation when I left Leicester, who were winning trophies and my last game was against Wasps in the European Cup final in 2008, to go to Brive but I thought I wasn’t going to be picked by England and got offered a far bigger contract so I took it.
You would have thought that Jones could have had an encouraging word in his ear already to get him to stay in the Premiership but now it’s make or break time and as a player you have to make the most of your opportunities if you’re overlooked.
On form, you have to take him and there’s definitely a case for him to be starting in the first test in Johannesburg as well now. Owen Farrell goes and is captain but if you stick with him at inside centre, then Cipriani has to be the man to start inside him.
He’s been head and shoulders above George Ford this season and I’d take Simmonds as the other back up fly half after the form he’s shown and how impressive he’s been in displacing Gareth Steenson in the best club side in the country.
Marcus Smith has been in the England squad as an apprentice and many people will expect to see him in there but he’s been playing in a poor Quins team and I don’t think you can ignore how Simmonds has been controlling games for Exeter.
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Ben Te’o, Henry Slade and Alex Lozowski will all be putting their hands up to start at inside centre with Farrell at fly half but I think Cipriani has earned the opportunity to show he can perform the role that Ford has been playing for the past couple of seasons and do it better.
Defence has never been Danny’s strong point. Dai Young even joked that he made his first tackle of the season against Northampton last week, but Ford has been a liability in defence at times and what Cipriani brings to a team’s attack is far and above what Ford has been offering over the past 12 months.
Right now, there’s no better number 10 in the Premiership. He attacks the line and keeps his shoulders square, which draws defenders in, and nobody else can do that to the level he can in England at the moment.
England’s attack was poor in the Six Nations and they’ve stagnated. Change is needed, he can add a new dimension to their play and he turns 32-years-old on the day of the 2019 World Cup final so there’s no question of his time having passed.
Why England don’t have a full-time backs coach is beyond me. Eddie Jones is the boss but I think he takes on too much himself at times. You need a backs coach and I think an appointment should be made for someone to come in and work towards the World Cup rather than it being just for the South Africa tour.
Glen Ella had a lot of success when England toured Australia in 2016 and Sam Vesty has worked with them before as well. Both would be good additions if it is to be one of them but a long-term solution would definitely be preferable.
I think England are the only top tier international team that brings in an attack coach, then lets them go and then brings them back for a few games so it’s a bizarre situation for me.
Elsewhere, it’s really unfortunate that Anthony Watson has picked up an Achilles injury because it looked like he was going to be the full back moving forwards but that has opened the door for Jason Woodward, who is the form man in that position for sure.
I think Manu [Tuilagi] wants to have a full pre-season and get himself fit and ready for next season with Leicester, so I’ve left him out of my predicted squad but Eddie Jones is the boss and might just decide he wants to take a closer look at him.
Mako Vunipola has played a lot of rugby and needs a rest and I think Danny Care will be another to take a break but I don’t think there’ll be a massive group of players rested.
I think Maro Itoje will go but I’ve watched Dave Attwood a lot for Toulon lately and he’s playing some of the best rugby of his career, so I’d be tempted to give him a go if Maro is rested. The Top 14 final being on June 2 could be an issue if Toulon get there but he’s still a Bath player so I don’t see any reason that he shouldn’t be selected. Jonny Hill at Exeter would be another outside bet in the second row.
The back row is the area where I think we should see the most change after England’s struggles at the breakdown in the Six Nations and I think the likes of Gary Graham and Jack Willis have played their way in alongside Don Armand and Brad Shields, who looks like he’s on the plane before he’s even touched down in Coventry.
Last summer or before the Six Nations, with where England were and how South Africa looked, you would have expected a 3-0 series whitewash. However, with a host of players missing, England having a disastrous Six Nations campaign and things looking a bit more promising in South Africa, the landscape has changed.
Anything less than a series victory will still be considered a massive disappointment and underachievement for England though. It’ll be hard fought as it always is in South Africa but I expect England to take it 2-1.
My England Squad for South Africa
BACKS | FORWARDS |
Jason Woodward | Jamie George |
Mike Brown | Luke Cowan-Dickie |
Denny Solomona | Tommy Taylor |
Jonny May | Ellis Genge |
Jack Nowell | Joe Marler |
Elliot Daly | Alec Hepburn |
Ben Te’o | Kyle Sinckler |
Henry Slade | Harry Williams |
Alex Lozowski | Jake Cooper-Woolley |
Owen Farrell | Joe Launchbury |
Danny Cipriani | Nick Isiekwe |
Joe Simmonds | Charlie Ewels |
Ben Youngs | Maro Itoje |
Dan Robson | Brad Shields |
Ben Spencer | Don Armand |
Jack Willis | |
Gary Graham | |
Tom Curry | |
Billy Vunipola | |
Sam Simmonds |
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Comments on RugbyPass
Anna, You are right, we need to have patience whilst the others catch up to England and France. Also it is the PWR that has been the game changer for England. the RFU put money into that initially at the expense of the Red Roses. I was sceptical at first but it has paid off in spades.
1 Go to commentsI think Matt Proctor became a 1 test AB in the same fixture. Cameron is quality and has been great this season, can’t believe’s he only 27. Realistically how would he not be selected for ABs squad this year. Only Dmac is ahead of him as a specialist 10. With Jordan out, it will come down to where and when Beauden Barrett slots back in, and where they want to play Ruben Love. Cameron seems an absolute lock in for the wider squad though. Added benefit of TJ-Cameron-Jordie combination at 9, 10, 11 too.
1 Go to commentsFarcical, to what end would someone want to pay to keep this thing going.
1 Go to commentsHavili, our best 12 by a mile, will be in the squad, if he stays fit. JB is the most overrated AB in the last 50 years.
61 Go to commentsWe had during the week twilight footy, twilight cricket, tw golf plus there was the athletics club. Then the weekend was rugby 15s plus the net ball, really busy club scene back then but so much has changed and rugby has suffered. And it was all about changing lifestyles.
6 Go to commentsIn 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 getting 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.
6 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.
8 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
6 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.
8 Go to commentsGood luck Aussie
11 Go to commentssmith at 9 / mounga 10 / laumape 12 / fainganuku 14
61 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.
61 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.
8 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
61 Go to comments