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Freddie Burns names the Leicester No9 he wants England to start
Freddie Burns has put his head on the chopping block ahead of Thursday’s latest England team announcement and named the Leicester player he wants to start as Test scrum-half this weekend. Tigers teammates, the seasoned Ben Youngs and the rookie Jack van Poortvliet, are battling each other for selection to be the English No9 against the All Blacks this Saturday at Twickenham.
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They are Eddie Jones’ only two scrum-half options after the England coach cut his squad from 36 to 25 on Tuesday evening, further firing the debate over who should get the nod to start versus New Zealand.
Youngs, who started the Autumn Nations Series opener against Argentina, is a Test centurion who has seen and done it all while van Poortvliet, last Saturday’s starting No9 against Japan, is the coming man and many people’s favourite to make the England XV this weekend.
Burns, though, doesn’t agree, explaining on this week’s RugbyPass Offload show that Youngs would be the better option to start for England on this occasion and that the energy which van Poortvliet brings would be best utilised in the closing 20 minutes against a tiring Kiwi defence.
“I’m going to pick Ben Youngs every day,” said Burns with an air of confidence when asked to discuss the merits of his Leicester teammates who are challenging each other for the same club and country position with the Tigers and England. “If someone says there is a World Cup final tomorrow, I’m picking Ben Youngs.
RugbyPass Offload EP 54 with Elton Jantjies ?
What a guest
The Springbok star joins us to tell all on exactly what has been going on in his life, on and off the field ?
He also opens up about how important Rassie Erasmus has been to him ?
?? https://t.co/07u8vgwGv8 pic.twitter.com/2JmF6OJEcO
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) November 16, 2022
“Not because he is a good mate, but as a tactical thinker, as a leader, and that is one thing that wouldn’t surprise me this week with Eddie Jones that if they did go back to starting Ben Youngs at nine just because he can do what he does and then you can bring that speed and gung-ho of JVP when the game is broken up.
“It’s like I was saying earlier about Marcus Smith, if on 60 minutes you roll on JVP and Marcus Smith, Jesus, you start talking about tired defenders and stuff like that. I know it is never as simple as that but f*** me, I’d be scared as a defender seeing those two come off the bench and know that the game and the tempo is going to go up.”
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Asked to explain how they differ and what their individual strengths are, Burns added: “First and foremost, Ben Youngs is the best scrum-half I have ever played with. Like, he is an incredible player. He gets unnecessary flak from people outside of those England circles. There is a reason why he is Eddie’s go-to, there is a reason why he has a 100-odd caps for England.
“I know Jack van Poortvliet started at the weekend but in the game before, in the Argentina game, never underestimate the work that Ben Youngs does for 60 minutes that allows JVP to come for 20 minutes.
“I go back to the Prem final (last June for Leicester), we started Richard Wigglesworth and brought on Ben Youngs. There is a real string to England’s bow there having two such great nines. JVP is a bit greener behind the ears, he is a bit more gung-ho in terms of chucking him in there and he will just go, go, go.
“Ben Youngs is more of a thinker, more tactical and probably a bit more streetwise just from experience. But either way, whoever they start and put on the bench, you will see an injection of pace when either one of them comes on because of the work the other one does before.
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“They are both rapid, but JVP is a freak, he will do a 50kg chin-up for like two or three. Honestly, he is strong.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Super rugby is struggling but that has little to do with sabbaticals. 1. Too many teams from Aust and NZ - should be 3 and 4 respectively, add in 2 from Japan, 1 possibly 2 from Argentina. 2. Inconsistent and poor refereeing, admittedly not restricted to Super rugby. Only one team was reffed at the breakdown in Reds v H’Landers match. Scrum penalty awarded in Canes v Drua when No 8 had the ball in the open with little defence nearby - ideal opportunity to play advantage. Coming back to Reds match - same scrum situation but ref played advantage - Landers made 10 yards and were penalised at the breakdown when the ref should have returned to scrum penalty. 3. Marketing is weak and losing ground to AFL and NRL. Playing 2 days compared with 4. 4. Scheduling is unattractive to family attendance. Have any franchises heard of Sundays 2pm?
8 Go to commentsAbsolutely..all they need is a chance in yhe playoffs and I bet all the other teams will be nervous…THEY KNOW HOW TO WIN IM THE PLAYOFFS..
2 Go to commentsI really hope he comes back and helps out with some coaching.
1 Go to commentsI think we are all just hoping that the Olympic 7s doesn’t suffer the same sad fate as the last RWC with the officials ruining the spectacle.
1 Go to commentsPersonally, I’ve lost the will to even be bothered about the RFU, the structure, the participants. It’s all a sham. I now simply enjoy getting a group of friends together to go and watch a few games a year in different locations (including Europe, the championship, etc). I feel extremely sorry for the real fans of these clubs who are constantly ignored by the RFU and other administrators. I feel especially sorry for the fans of clubs in the Championship who have had considerable central funding stripped away and are then expected to just take whatever the RFU put to them. Its all a sham, especially if the failed clubs are allowed to return.
9 Go to commentsI’m guessing Carl Hayman would have preferred to have stayed in NZ with benefit of hindsight. Up north there is the expectation to play twice as many games with far less ‘player management’ protocols that Paul is now criticising. Less playing through concussions means longer, healthier, careers. Carter used as the eg here by Paul, his sabbatical allowed him to play until age 37. OK its not an exact science but there is far more expectations on players who sign for Top 14 or Engl Prem clubs to get value for the huge salaries. NZR get alot wrong but keeping their best players in NZ rugby is not one of them. SA clubs are virtually devoid of their top players now, no thanks. They cant threaten the big teams in the Champions Cup, the squads have little depth. Cant see Canes/Chiefs struggling. Super has been great this year, fantastic high skill matches. Drua a fantastic addition and Jaguares will add another quality team eventually. Aus teams performing strongly and no doubt will benefit with the incentive of a Lions tour and a home RWC. Let Jordie enjoy his time with Leinster, it will allow the opportunity for another player to emerge at Canes in his absence.
8 Go to commentsLove that man, his way to despise angry little men is so funny ! 😂
4 Go to comments“South African franchises would be powerhouses if we had all our overseas based players back in situ. We would have the same unbeatable aura the Toulouses, Leinsters or Saracens of this world have had over the last decade or so.” Proof that Jake white does not understand the economics of the game in SA. Players earning abroad are not going to simply come back and represent the bulls. But they might if they have a springbok contract.
22 Go to commentsA lot of fans just joined in for the fun of it! We all admire O'Gara and what he has done for La Rochelle
4 Go to commentsThe RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
9 Go to commentsWell that’s the contracts for RG and Jordie bought and paid for. Now, what are the chances we can persuade Antoine to hop over with all the extra dosh we’ll have from living at the Aviva & Croke next season…??? 🤑🤑🤑
14 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
14 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
14 Go to commentsIf someone like Leo Cullen was in O’Gara’s place I don’t hear Boo-ing. It’s not just that La Rochelle has hurt Leinster and O’Gara is their Irish boss. It’s the needle that he brings and the pantomime activity before the game around pretending that Munster were supporting LaRochelle just because O’Gara is from Cork. That’s dividing Irish provinces just to get an advantage for his French Team. He can F*ck right off with that. BOOOOO! (but not while someone is lying injured)
4 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to commentsWhat a player! Not long until he’s in the England side, surely?
5 Go to commentsHe seems to have the same aura as Marcus Smith - by which I mean he’s consistently judged as if he’s several years younger than he actually is. Mngomezulu has played 24 times for the Stormers. When Pollard was his age he had played 24 times for South Africa! He has more time to develop, but he has also had time to do some developing already, and he hasn’t demonstrated nearly as much talent in that time as one would expect. If he is a generational talent, then it must be a pretty poor generation.
6 Go to commentsThe greatest Springbok coach of all time is entirely on the money. Rassie and Jacques have given the south african public a great few years, but the success of the springbok selection policy will need to be judged in light of what comes next. The poor condition that the provincial system is currently in doesn’t bode well for the next few years of international rugby, and the insane 2026 schedule that the Boks have lined up could also really harm both provincial and international consistency.
22 Go to commentsJake White is a brilliant coach and a master in the press. This is another masterclass in media relations and PR but its also a very narrow view with arguments that dont always hold water. White wants his team to win, he wants the best players in SA and wants his team competitive. You however have to face up to the reality of a poor exchange rate and big clubs with big budgets. SA Rugby cant compete and unless it can find more money SA players will keep leaving regardless of Springbok eligibility and this happened in 2015 - 2017. Also rugby is not cricket. Cricket has 3 formats and T20 cricket is where the money is at. When it comes to club vs country the IPL is king but that wont happen because the international calendar does not clash with the club calendar in rugby. So the argument about rugby going down the same path as cricket is really a non-starter
22 Go to commentsNZ rugby seem not to have learnt anything from professional rugby. Super rugby was dying and SA left before they died with the competition. SA rugby did a u turn on their approach to international players playing overseas and such players are now selected for Bok teams. As much as each country would love to retain their players playing in local competitions, this is the way the world is evolving my friends. Move with it or stay 20 years behind the times. One more thing. NZ rugby hierarchy think they are the big cheese. Take a more humble approach guys. You do not seem to have your players best interests at heart.
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