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England to pick from 28-man squads for Six Nations under new protocol

By PA
(Photo by Dan Mullan/The RFU Collection via Getty Images)

England will be limited to selecting squads of 28 players for their Guinness Six Nations title defence in an effort to enhance coronavirus safety measures.

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The Rugby Football Union has struck an agreement with Premiership Rugby and the Rugby Players’ Association that enables the 28 to remain in camp for the entirety of a Test week.

It was previously customary for head coach Eddie Jones to pick an initial training squad of around 32 players that would arrive in camp on a Monday.

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This would then be trimmed to a smaller group of 23 to 25 on a Tuesday or Wednesday night, enabling those not in contention to play for England that weekend to turn out for their clubs instead.

But now the larger group of 28 will be kept for the whole week to help protect the bubble environment. Last autumn, players had to be brought in from Harlequins to make up the numbers in training.

“In recognition of the challenges presented by Covid-19, Premiership Rugby, the RPA and the RFU have agreed that England will retain a 28-player squad,” an RFU statement read.

“This will reduce movement in and out of the England team environment.”

The development comes after French Rugby Federation president Bernard Laporte said players would now be tested twice a week in response to fears from the French government over Les Bleus taking part in the Six Nations.

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So far France have been given clearance to play their opening match against Italy on February 6 but not for the trips to Dublin and London.

England launch their title defence against Scotland at Twickenham on the same day and will spend the first week of their build-up at St George’s Park, the Staffordshire training base used by England’s football team.

From there they will head to The Lensbury in south west London where they will be located for the remainder of the Six Nations, having been camped there for the whole of the Autumn Nations Cup.

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J
JW 27 minutes ago
Beauden Barrett weighs in on controversial yellow card

It’s an interesting question because a normal diberate knock on is just a penalty offense, an normal infringement like any other, so that’s deemed where the was not a reasonable chance to catch the ball.


But it’s a ruling that can also be upgraded to a foul, and by association, a yellow card, when it’s it was also deliberately trying to deny the ball to another player. For instance, that is why they are just given penalties up the field, because the player has just made a bad decision (one where he had no reasonable chance) and he doesn’t really care if the pass had gone to hand for his opponents or not (he was just thinking about being a hero etc).


So the way the refs have been asked to apply the law is to basically just determine whether there was an overlap (and not to try and guess what the player was actually thinking) or not, as to whether it’s a penalty or a YC.


This is the part Barrett doesn’t like, he’s essentially saying “but I had no idea whether they were likely to score or not (whether there was an unmarked man), so how can you tell me I was deliberately trying to prevent it going to someone, it could have been a blind pass to no one”.


It’s WR trying to make it clear cut for fans and refs, if at the players expense.

But yes, also you must think it entirely possible given both were foul plays that they could both go to the bench. Much the same as we see regularly when even though the play scores a try, they have started sending the player off still.


And while I agree Narawa didn’t knock it on, I think the ball did go forward, just off the shoulder. As his hands were up in the air, above the ball, basically like a basketball hope over his right shoulder, I guess you’re right in that if it did make contact with his hands it would have had to be deflected backwards onto his shoulder etc. Looking at the replay, Le Garrec clearly lost control of the ball forward too, but because Barrett was deemed to have committed a deliberate act, that overrides the knockon from 9.


I just don’t understand how they can consider it a deliberate attempt to block a pass when he actually lost the ball forward!

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