Forget the openside options, it's time for England to find their Pieter-Steph du Toit on the blindside
You would struggle to find too many individual campaigns that top that of the one turned in by Pieter-Steph du Toit last year, as the gifted blindside flanker set new standards at his position.
The Springbok was named World Rugby Player of the Year in 2019, in the wake of his nation lifting the Rugby World Cup for the third time and his wonderfully complementary performances alongside talismanic captain, Siya Kolisi.
Despite the trend of playing with two more mobile and defensive breakdown-oriented flankers in recent years, with the Australian combination of Michael Hooper and David Pocock and the English duo of Tom Curry and Sam Underhill chief among the impressive proponents, du Toit and South Africa went back to basics and it is something which paid off for both the individual and the team.
Beyond his strong all-round skill set, perhaps the areas where du Toit most impressively singled himself out last year were with the physicality he brought on both sides of the ball, his ability to clear out aggressively and accurately at the breakdown and his presence as a lineout option. In those facets, du Toit was as good, if not better than anyone else at his position.
There are not many players with du Toit’s ability in world rugby, though he has become a torchbearer for the more traditional blindside flanker, whose value in international rugby seems to currently be trending up. You need look no further than the impact Courtney Lawes has brought to the role for England in recent seasons to see a homegrown example of this.
Even for Eddie Jones and England, whose array of openside flanker options seems to be overflowing, with Curry and Underhill joined by the likes of Ben Earl, Jack Willis, Lewis Ludlam and now a rumoured call-up for former Wales U20 captain Tommy Reffell, the temptation to go down the size route at six is surely a tempting one.
In addition to Lawes, whose displays on the flank in recent years have been highly impressive, both Nick Isiekwe and Ted Hill have been championed as contenders for this spot moving forward.
Isiekwe has been shining at Saracens for multiple seasons now, though it was his man of the match-winning performance on debut for Northampton Saints, away from the strength of his Saracens’ teammates, that has particularly caught the eye of late. As for Hill, he has seemed to take to captaincy at Worcester Warriors like a duck to water and has continued to maintain his lofty standards of performance, irrespective of the expectations now on him as a leader.
At 22 and 21 respectively, Isiekwe and Hill have plenty of time on their sides and both have already made their international debuts for England. The higher they take their games, the harder pressed Jones will be to more regularly adopt a traditional and physical blindside, over the mobility and fetching skill that opting for the ‘Kamikaze Kids’ combination that served him so well at the Rugby World Cup in Japan would provide.
The well is far from dry beneath that, too, something which is being exposed as a much-needed silver lining by the recent Coronavirus outbreak and its subsequent impact on professional rugby.
The 19-year-old George Martin was excellent for Leicester Tigers in their home loss to Bath, exhibiting all of the work rate and physical presence that had become synonymous with Leicester forwards during the club’s heyday. He packed down on the blindside in that game, though he is more than comfortable stepping into the row, a position he played throughout his U18 seasons with the Tigers academy.
At London Irish, Ben Donnell has begun to come to the fore, with Adam Coleman continuing to rehab from injury in Australia, and the academy product has looked comfortable at lock, despite Irish’s post-pandemic struggles. He could well be seen as difference-maker at blindside moving forward, especially with Chunya Munga beginning to emerge at Hazelwood and arguably possessing the more natural frame for a second row.
Both Martin and Donnell are benefitting from the short turnarounds between games that are forcing Gallagher Premiership sides to use the entirety of their squads and though the quality of games is being affected as a result of this heavy rotation, these are experiences which will be critical to their development during these formative years of their professional careers.
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All four have the versatility to switch between lock and blindside, something which they will hope provides them with an ace up their sleeves when they attempt to crack Jones’ fiercely contested group of second and back rows.
George Kruis’ departure for Japan creates a potential short-term opening, whilst Lawes is set to turn 32 next season and there will be attention focused on whether or not there is any of the physical decline that inevitably comes to all players. Given the strength of the second row unit in particular over the past five or so years, this seems as good a time as any to be pushing for England involvement at the position.
As for the back row resources, that’s going to be a tougher sell. The cadre of openside options mentioned earlier are all in the early stages of their careers, with none yet even having approached what would traditionally be considered their ‘primes’. If these blindsides are to successfully make the case for the balance they would provide in that loose forward trio, they are going to have to do it by outplaying their vaunted, fleeter and smaller back row colleagues.
Reports suggest the top South African teams could make the move up North very soon.https://t.co/Bgwr7V9yyg
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There has understandably been a lot made of that impressive depth at seven, especially when compared to a dearth of options in that traditional mould in years gone by, though that should not diminish what is rapidly becoming a rather impressive array of talent at blindside, too.
Isiekwe and Hill are among the hottest properties in English rugby, whilst Martin is beginning to prosper in the East Midlands and Irish will be hoping that Donnell’s performances are not attracting too much attention from their Premiership rivals. For those with their eyes on a succession plan beyond that, you need look no further than recent schoolboys Ewan Richards at Bath and Kayde Sylvester at Northampton, or Saracens U18 prospect and Felsted pupil Obinna Nkwocha.
With English schools and academies producing these versatile forwards at a fair clip, England fans should be wary about diving too deeply into the pool of opensides, with the Springboks and du Toit having emphasised strongly the value of having a true blindside in a balanced back row.
One thing is for certain, though, and that is that England have not had such a deep and talented pool of flankers to pick from in many years.
Comments on RugbyPass
Word 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.
4 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.
1 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 commentsHis value is stabilizing the ship 20 - 40 minutes out from the final whistle plus his valuable experience to the underlings coming through.
10 Go to commentsWhat is criminal is she acts like it's no problem her actions have have cause the Italian player to lose her playing career, lose salary, if she did this in day to day life she would be in jail, she is a complete thug!!!
4 Go to commentsCorrect me if i’m wrong but the sadas have to win all games running into the finals yeh nah?
1 Go to comments