Five key players in England's record-equalling run
Eddie Jones has been lauded for guiding England to a record-equalling 18 consecutive Test wins and he has called upon 49 players to help achieve that goal.
Saturday’s match against Ireland offers the chance to secure an outright world record, along with a second Six Nations Grand Slam in a row.
Only three players – Danny Care, Dan Cole and George Ford – have featured in every game along the way.
Here, we take a look at five key players in England’s remarkable run.
18 – @EnglandRugby have won their last 18 games, equaling the @AllBlacks’ record for most consecutive victories by a Tier One team. History. pic.twitter.com/BbpDyRiqmf
— OptaJonny (@OptaJonny) March 11, 2017
Owen Farrell
When England’s winning run was still in its infancy – a mere seven games, in fact – Jones took his side to his home country for a test more rigorous than the Six Nations, at which the Red Rose had swept all before them.
With such a stern examination in store across three matches in Australia, Jones needed something special from his team and no individual delivered more emphatically than Farrell.
His 66 points helped England to a first series whitewash on Australian shores and Farrell’s continued fine form has seen him rack up 259 points during the streak, in which he has played 17 times.
Jonathan Joseph
Of the 72 tries scored by England, 11 have come from the irrepressible Joseph. The Bath centre’s hat-trick in the 61-21 thrashing of Scotland was his second Six Nations treble.
His virtuoso display versus Vern Cotter’s side provided a telling response to the fact he was dropped for the previous clash with Italy, against whom he scored three tries in 2016.
Boasting a lethal combination of power, pace and dazzling footwork, Joseph is a formidable force for club and country.
Top tackler
Most metres made
Defenders beatenFind out who England’s key men were with #IBMTryTracker pic.twitter.com/nXOOITTokS
— England Rugby (@EnglandRugby) March 12, 2017
Billy Vunipola
An on-song Vunipola gains metres that win matches. During England’s spell of apparent invincibility, in which the imposing number eight has made 12 appearances, Vunipola has undertaken 176 carries, made 575 metres and scored two tries.
Vunipola’s impact opens up opportunities for England’s finishers – the likes of Joseph – to flourish and gets his side into threatening areas through fewer phases of play.
Having conceded that fitness was once a weakness of his, it is clear Vunipola has addressed that concern and is now setting the standards in his position.
Maro Itoje
Itoje was spared the humiliation of England’s abysmal 2015 World Cup campaign, having been axed from Stuart Lancaster’s initial training squad.
Jones was evidently more keen on the loose forward and has suggested the 22-year-old has the potential to become a world-class player.
It could be argued Itoje is very close to that status now, having established himself as an integral player for England after adopting a more aggressive and menacing approach.
Chris Robshaw
Injury denied Robshaw the chance to join his team-mates in finishing what he had helped start, a shoulder issue ruling him out of this year’s Six Nations.
It was a cruel blow for a player so central to England’s upturn in fortunes. Despite stripping him of the captaincy in favour of Dylan Hartley, Jones never diminished Robshaw’s role.
The flanker took more criticism than most following the World Cup embarrassment, but he embodies the incredible revival of an England team whose historic winning run started amid the turmoil of a premature exit from their own tournament, when the armband was still his.
Comments on RugbyPass
Very unlikely the Bulls will beat Leinster in Dublin. It would be different in Pretoria.
1 Go to commentsI think it is a dangerous path to go down to ban a player for the same period that a player they injured takes to recover. Players would be afraid to tackle anyone. I once tackled my best friend at school in a practice match and sprained his ankle. I paid for it by having to play fly-half instead of full-back for the rest of that season’s fixtures.
5 Go to commentsJust such a genuine good bloke…and probably the best all round player in his generation. Good guys do come first sometimes and he handled the W.Cup loss with great attitude.
2 Go to commentsWord in France is that he’s on the radar of a few Top14 clubs.
2 Go to commentsGet blocking Travis, this guy has styles and he’s gonna make a swift impact…!
1 Go to commentsWhat remorse? She claimed that her dangerous tackle wasn’t worthy of a red! She should be compensating the injured player for loss of earnings at the minimum. Her ban should include the recovery time of the injured player as well as the paltry 3 match ban.
5 Go to commentsArdie is a legend. Finished and klaar. Two things: “Yeah, yeah, I have had a few conversations with Razor just around feedback on my game and what I am doing well, what I need to improve on or work-ons. It’s kind of been minimal, mate, but it’s all that I need over here in terms of how to be better, how to get better and what I am doing well.” I hope he’s downplaying it - and that it’s not that “minimal”. The amount of communication and behind the scenes preparation the Bok coaches put into players - Rassie and co would be all over Ardie and being clear on what is expected of him. This stands out for me as something teams should really be looking at in terms of the boks success from a coaching point of view. And was surprised by the comment - “minimal”. In terms of the “debate” around Ireland and South Africa. Nice one Ardie. Indeed. There’s no debate.
2 Go to commentsThere’s a bit of depth there but realistically Australian players have a long way to go to now catch up. The game is moving on fast and Australia are falling behind. Australian sides still don’t priories the breakdown like they should, it’s a non-negotiable if you want to compete on the international stage. That goes for forwards and backs. The Australian team could have a back row that could make a difference but the problem is they don’t have a tight five that can do the business. Tupou is limited in defence, overweight and unfit and the locks are a long way from international standard. Frost is soft and Salakai-Loto is too small so that means they need a Valentini at 8 who has to do the hard graft so limits the effectiveness of the backrow. Schmidt really needs to get a hard working, tough tight 5 if he wants to get this team firing.
3 Go to commentsSorry Morgan you must have been the “go to for a quote” ex player this week. Its rnd 6 and there is plenty of time to cement a starting 15 and finishing 8 so I have no such concerns.
2 Go to commentsGreat read. I wish you had done this article on the ROAR.
2 Go to commentsThe current AB coaching team is basically the Crusaders so it smacks of wanting their familiar leaders around. This is not a good look for the future of the ABs or the younger players in Super working their way up the player ladder. Razor is touted as innovative, forward looking but his early moves look like insecurity and insular, provincial thinking. He is the AB's coach not the Golden Oldies.
10 Go to commentsSimple reason for wanting him back. Robertson wants him as captain. Otherwise he wouldn’t be bothering chasing him. Not enough reason to come back just to mentor.
10 Go to commentsI had not considered this topic like this at all, brilliant read. I had been looking at his record at the Waratahs and thought it odd the Crusaders appointed him, then couple that with all that experience and talent departing and boom. They’ve got some great talent developing though, and in all honesty I don’t think anyone would be over confident taking them on in a playoff match, no matter how poor the first half of their season was. I think they can pull a game out of their ass when it counts.
2 Go to commentsNot a bad list but not Porecki and not Donaldson. Not because they are Tahs, or Ex Tahs, they are just not good enough. Edmed should be ahead. Far more potential. Wilson should be 8 and Valentini 6. Wilson needs to be told by his father and his coach, stop bloody running in to brick wall defence. You’re not playing under the genius Thorn any more. He’s a fantastic angle runner. The young new 8 from the Brumbies looks really good too. The Lonegrans are just too small for international rugby as is Paisami, as is Hamish Stewart at 12. Both great at Super Rugby level. Stewart could have been a great 10 if not for Brad Thorn. Uru should be there and so should Tupou. Tupou just needs good Australian coaching which he hasn’t been getting. I don’t think Schmidt will excite him.
3 Go to commentsIf he wants to come back then he should. He will be a major asset to the younger locks and could easily be played as an impact player off the bench coming on in the last 30. He is fit, strong and capable and has all the experience to make up for any loss in physical prowess. He could also be brought back with a view to coaching within the structures one day. Duane Vermeulen played until he was 37 or 38. He is now a roaming coach within the South African coaching structures. He was valuable in the last world cup and has been a major influence on Jasper Wiese and other young players which has helped and accelerated their development and growth. Whitelock could do the exact same thing for NZ
10 Go to commentsBrett Excellent words… finally someone (other than DC) has noted that Hanigan is very hard and very good at doing what Backrow should do… his performance via the Drua sauna was quite daunting for those on the other side… very high tackle count… carries with good end result… constant threat to make a good 20-25 meters with those long legs… providing his mass effectively to crunching the Drua pack… Finally he is returning to quality form… way to much injury time over the last 2 years… smart-strong-competent in his skills… caught every lineout throw aimed at him and delivered clean pass to whoever was down below… and he worked hard for the whole 80 minutes… Ned has to be in the top 5 for backrow honors… He knows what is required as he has been there before…
20 Go to commentsI think Sam Whitelock should not touch a return with a bargepole. He went out on a high, playing in the RWC Final. He would be coming back into a team that will be weaker than last years, and might even be struggling to win games, especially against the Boks. Stay in France, enjoy another year with Pau, playing alongside his brother.
10 Go to commentsRyan Coxon has been very impressive considering he was signed by WF as injury cover whilst Uru has been a standout for QR, surprised neither of those mentioned
3 Go to commentsIt’s the massive value he brings with regard team culture/values, preparation, etc. Can’t buy that. I’m hoping to see the young locks get their chance in the big games though.
10 Go to commentsAll good, Gregor, except that you neglected to mention Sam Darry amongst that talented pool of locks. In fact, given Hannah’s inexperience and the fact that Holland won’t be eligible until next year, Lord and Darry might be the frontrunners this year, to join Barrett, Tuipoluto, Va’ii and possibly Whitelock. In fact there might be room for all of them if Barrett played 6 (like Ollie Chessum).
10 Go to comments