Former England boss Sir Clive Woodward calls for return of special All Blacks-style trial
England’s World Cup-winning coach Sir Clive Woodward has called for incumbent English boss Eddie Jones to take a leaf out of New Zealand’s book and stage a trial match before finalising his Six Nations squad later this month.
Woodward wants to see England’s best starting XV from last year’s World Cup go up against a team of possible contenders for the Six Nations side, of which he believes should be captained by gifted yet frequently discarded playmaker Danny Cipriani.
Such a scenario would force England’s established stars to fight for their right to stay in the national set-up in a fixture that mirrors that of the Probables vs Possibles trials that the All Blacks held until 2005.
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Writing for the Daily Mail, Woodward said that the existence of trials used to be commonplace in first-class rugby, but “went out of fashion” when the game went professional in 1996.
However, the 64-year-old – who coached the British and Irish Lions to New Zealand in 2005 in addition to leading England to their only World Cup title two years beforehand – believes there is still a place for trials at the elite level of the game.
“As a short sharp shock to the system, I reckon an official trial match in front of a paying audience still has it uses,” he said.
“I remember on the Lions tour in 2005, New Zealand staged a final trial, televised live from Napier soon after our arrival, to see who wanted it the most and for Graham Henry to conduct a final talent sweep to make sure they hadn’t missed anybody.
“Following that game, Sitiveni Sivivatu was accelerated into the All Blacks Test team. There was also the sight of Conrad Smith and Ma’a Nonu together in the centres for the Possibles, a combination which was to serve New Zealand brilliantly.”
The @ChiefsRugby pocket rocket should be back in action when @SuperRugby kicks off later this month – but will he be playing in the 10 or 15 jersey?https://t.co/Gp7twnzpOf #SuperRugby
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Woodward predicted that given England’s golden run to the World Cup final, where they were defeated 32-12 by South Africa, would result in Jones staying “loyal to the majority of those involved” in that squad.
“But someone has to ask: ‘What exactly happened and what lessons have been learned?’,” Woodward wrote.
“England need to reboot and hit the reset button. I would like to see everybody in the England squad required to earn their spurs again against the young pretenders.”
While he conceded that a trial match was unlikely to be held before England’s Six Nations opener against France on February 2, Woodward said he would still like to see a Possibles team, made up of players not at the World Cup, in action.
“I would further ramp things up by giving Danny Cipriani a final chance to prove his worth at No 10, and make him captain to boot. Meanwhile I’m hitting the phone right now and seeing if [former England wing] Christian Wade is able to fly back from NFL training.”
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Comments on RugbyPass
Kinda strange that he wasn’t with a premiership team or a higher level of rugby? Start playing late or something? With that kind of size and athleticism you’d think someone would have picked him up?
2 Go to commentsShows how much attitude matters. Last week the Brumbies got done, this week they dominated the tournament leaders, who were likely thinking they could cruise to victory.
4 Go to commentsA Turtle has more pace and leg drive than Owen Franks, so it’s a good thing he only had to run 90 metres for that try.
2 Go to commentsOh Tamati Tua was in the vastly over-rated Leon MacDonalds Blues system? Well, no wonder he was wasted, much like Emoni Narawa and Jacob Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens under MacDonald. now look at them. Good thing Tua isn’t eligible, the Aussies latch on to any player who isn’t tied down.
4 Go to commentsMark Telea is a lot of things, but a defensive juggernaut has never been one of them. There will be far bigger tests in that regard for the youngster.
10 Go to commentsLove and respect to Fiji but not a chance outside of 7s
4 Go to commentsGood summation Ned. Agree the Canes were out-muscled for once (except at the scrum!) by a focused Brumbies outfit. Tua deserves consideration for higher honors after the way he humbled Jordie and the Canes defense. Thankfully, his lack of eligibility for Oz keeps him from Joe’s plans. While I also agree the injuries affected the Canes performance, some players seemed to lack focus and intensity for this match. Perhaps after the Blues demolished the Brumbies, they thought it was going to be easy? A good reminder that any slip up in preparation can have a big affect on the result. Brumbies deserved that win.
4 Go to commentsKarl Dixon should never have been appointed this fixture, absolute disgrace, He’s not much of a referee anyway, didn't have the balls to send his mate care off
5 Go to commentsBrilliant article! Harry of 8/9
2 Go to comments‘UK athletes' have been in the NFL from the start.
2 Go to commentsIt’s going to be Scott Barrett. He’s the coaches mate and captain of a previously elite team. Ardie a great option but scooter has worked with the coach and Ardie still as big a leader as needed.
23 Go to commentsI commend Colin Scotts bio All Balls. He was the first Aussie to make it to NFL. But he was poached and did a full apprenticeship at the University of Hawaii. He was 130kgs surfed played 1st grade cricket etc. big guy by normal but not NFL standards and a top athlete. Even then the nfl were picking up Tongans and Samoans for their natural size and explosive power. They want explosive power not cardio from the big boys so a guy like Taniela Tupou would have been good if picked up young enough. He has fast twitch and they’d bulk the little lad up and give him something to do. soccer teams set up academies and look for Over Sara’s talent eg Messi was at Barcelona since a teenager and harry kewell went to Leeds as a teenager like 16 or something.
11 Go to commentsThe article alludes to the fact that this isn’t about picking a captain. But picking a great captain. So who would make for a great All Black captain - not just an obvious or safe shoo-in? I’m not sure Ardie’s the guy and Barret doesn’t stand out either.
23 Go to commentsI guess we may all agree on the fact, that the ABs and Boks are the two in contest for No 1 in rugby history (the triple-A sort of) …. the Wallabies, England and France are the next tier, with Ireland being the new kid in town (AA) …. in my view it makes little sense creating imaginary competitions (unless you have too much time to waste)
45 Go to commentsWhat a joke. Total joke and the pundits commentating, all of whom know a bit about the game, could barely disguise their contempt. Reaching for the card then pulling back when he realised a red card would carry further match suspensions is simply not his decision to make. A clear and obvious influence on the outcome of this match and indeed, the championship path.
5 Go to commentsI like the idea, in NZ the Ranfurly Shield and NPC coexist, both having their own bragging rights. The World Cup would be the pinnacle, but the competition and travels of these trophies would be interesting.
45 Go to commentsDon’t worry Sonny bill Williams leave that awkward situation about the curfew in the pass whoever it was it doesn’t matter its no big deal we back our All Blacks through the storm and the thunder until we see the Sun light again.
42 Go to commentsWho listens to this retard? He was a massive liability as a player but obviously a media sensation
42 Go to commentsI’m not surprised by such ‘virtue signalling’ by Sonny Boy. Butter wouldn’t melt in his mouth. He’s such a pious Islamic muppet, imo.
42 Go to commentsI’ve actually never heard of the guy (then I don’t watch League as it is boring). But if he is good enough.. then good luck to him. If not, well, he can always return to league.
2 Go to comments