Eddie can’t ignore Chiefs stars as they hit new heights
There were some terrific performances in the second round of the Champions Cup this weekend but Exeter’s win in Montpellier tops the lot and their stars picked the perfect week to shine brighter than ever ahead of Eddie Jones’ England squad announcement on Thursday.
The Chiefs have talked about the fact that they haven’t really imposed themselves on Europe in the past few years but they have certainly made an impression already this season and look like they really mean business.
They have built gradually in the past few campaigns, reaching the domestic pinnacle of winning the Premiership in May, and now they are taking that form into European competition.
At the start of the tournament, everyone looked at Montpellier as a team right up there towards the top of the Top 14 table that has really strengthened with their recent recruitment and put them down as serious contenders for the Champions Cup.
They had lost just one of their last 20 home games in all competitions stretching back over a year and have players like Nemani Nadolo, who is a physical freak and whose offloading game is just ridiculous. His finish in the corner was as good as you’ll see from a winger.
Exeter would have been licking their lips a bit when they saw a few of the names missing from the Montpellier team sheet yesterday, especially Aaron Cruden and the du Plessis brothers, but the Altrad Stadium is still up there as one of the toughest places to play in France and it was a hell of a win.
The Chiefs know their strengths so well and play to them and they’ve really laid down a marker in Pool 3 now. Rob Baxter, Ali Hepher and the rest of the coaching staff have done an amazing job of building a culture and getting the team playing a certain way and now the players are making a mark on the European stage, which is the closest thing there is to international rugby.
Don Armand was a man mountain and I think he is the best number six in England at the moment.
There is a lot of competition there with Courtney Lawes and Maro Itoje both playing blindside quite a bit and in outstanding form but he has got to be in the squad and he deserves a chance to show that he can do for England what he does for the Chiefs week in, week out.
I would expect Chris Robshaw to be in the squad as well but, on form, he’s not in the 23-man squad for me. Nobody can tell me that he’s playing better than Armand and Lawes as a number six and Jones has said he doesn’t see him as a number seven.
I think he’ll pick his strongest available team for the first two games because you can’t underestimate Argentina and Australia beat the All Blacks at the weekend.
As English people, we’re brought up with the desire to see Australia to fall flat on their faces in the sporting arena ingrained deep inside us but I was delighted that they beat New Zealand because you want a competitive international game and they’re great to watch when they’re in form.
They could have been 15 or 20 points ahead at half-time against England at Twickenham last December before fading away and Michael Cheika has a nice bit of history with Jones, so they will be competitive and it’s a real banana skin for England as they’ll be expected to win.
There will then be a chance to mix things up against Samoa, though, and play some of the younger players, such as the Curry brothers and Sam Simmonds.
Henry Slade put in another outstanding performance at the weekend and he is doing things now that haven’t really been part of his game before. We all now he’s a brilliant footballer with a great passing game, good footwork and a good boot but he’s now running hard lines as well and doing the tough, nitty-gritty stuff that people have said he was lacking in the past.
That means he’s analysed his own game and worked on what he needed to improve in order to make that next step up to international level and I think it’s impossible to ignore him now.
Jonathan Joseph has been the man at outside centre during England’s long unbeaten run and he will have some credit in the bank with Eddie Jones but Slade is the form man and deserves his chance.
If I’d have been asked this time last year, I would’ve said that Slade couldn’t play in midfield together with George Ford and Owen Farrell at the top level but certain facets of his game have improved so much, especially his physicality and his defence, that I would love to see that combination now.
Joseph has been brilliant in an England shirt in the past couple of years but he has been found wanting in defence for Bath a couple of times in the Premiership this season already and that is an area where Slade has excelled, so I don’t think that should count against him.
Harry Williams will be in with a shout of international selection again this week, as well as the likes of Armand, Slade and Simmonds.
There are only so many times that they can all perform at the very top level without getting international recognition and the autumn internationals is the time to see them all make that step up.
Comments on RugbyPass
Wasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
3 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
3 Go to commentsBig difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
3 Go to comments🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
30 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
3 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusaders , you can keep going.
3 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
30 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
30 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
30 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
9 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
30 Go to comments