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England's backline maybe its heaviest ever

By Ian Cameron
England wing Joe Cokanasiga

With his backline selection for Italy, Eddie Jones may have created one of heaviest back divisions in the history of English Test rugby.

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There are five changes to the starting XV that played Wales a fortnight ago. Joe Cokanasiga starts on the right wing for his fourth cap while Ben Te’o comes in at inside centre with Manu Tuilagi moving to outside centre.

The combination of those three players tips the scales for England, who will bring in a significant weight advantage when the two sides line out this Saturday at Twickenham.

England have fielded outsized backs before of course. The 103kg Ben Cohen and 102kg Mike Tindall were a mainstay in Sir Clive Woodward’s 2003 Rugby World Cup winning side.

Following the Woodward era the 102kg Shontayne Hape, 112kg Lesley Vainikolo and 108kg Andy Farrell all won caps as England continued a largely failed experiment with Rugby League converts in it’s midfield and on its flanks.

The 6’7, 114kg Matt Banahan would win a total of 16 caps between 2009 and 2011, playing in the centre and on the wing, before 103kg Joel Tomkins – a converted League secondrow – went on the win 3 caps in 2013.

The arrival of the 6’5, 116kg frame of NRL star Sam Burgess at centre in 2015 saw the 6’4, 109kg Luther Burrell dropped.

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Yet no combination can boast a heavier average weight than the one lining out this Saturday.

The back division as a whole weighs 702kg, and average of 100.2kg a man, or 15 stone 11Ibs.

11 to 15 weigh and average of 103.6kg, or 16 stone 4Ibs.

15 Elliot Daly (Wasps, 28 caps) – 98kg

14 Joe Cokanasiga (Bath Rugby, 3 caps) – 112kg

13 Manu Tuilagi (Leicester Tigers, 30 caps) – 110kg

12 Ben Te’o (Worcester Warriors 16 caps) -106g

11 Jonny May (Leicester Tigers, 43 caps) – 92kg

10 Owen Farrell (Saracens, 68 caps) (captain) – 92kg

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9 Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers, 83 caps) – 92kg

They are by no means the heaviest backline ever assembled however.

In 2017 Fiji named what is almost certainly the heaviest backline ever assembled in international rugby for a game with Ireland.

The outside backs – 11 through 15 – are so massive, that their average weight would see them compare with a mid-sized forward pack.

From 137kg Nadolo at 11, they include: 103kg Levani Botia, La Rochelle’s coverted backrow; 112kg Pau centre Jale Vatubua, slimmed down from 125kg; Montpellier’s 106kg Timoci Nagusa and the comparatively lightweight La Rochelle fullback, 97kg Kini Murimurivalu.

Their average weight was 111kg. That’s 17st 7Ibs in old money or 245Ibs in American.

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Adrian 30 minutes ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

6 Go to comments
T
Trevor 3 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

21 Go to comments
B
Bull Shark 7 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

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