'He's boisterous, he's loud': The forgotten England fringe player looking to remind everyone that class is permanent
Nathan Earle is unfortunately used to enduring long gaps without Gallagher Premiership action for Harlequins. He initially went 16 months on the sidelines, his return from the torn ACL suffered in April 2019 getting delayed until August of last year due to the pandemic suspension of the 2019/20 season.
Then came this winter’s setback, Earle shipping another leg injury when featuring against Racing in the December Heineken Champions Cup action. His rehab thankfully wasn’t as long on this occasion but by the time he put his hand back up for selection, he had slipped way down the pecking order at a souped-up Harlequins who had gone flying up the league following the January exit of Paul Gustard.
Earle was given a run in the forgettable early April Challenge Cup round of 16 battering, a fixture where Harlequins essentially played their reserves and were duly hammered by Ulster. It meant the winger had no form to force his way back into the Premiership reckoning and it required an injury to finally re-open that door, his inclusion at Leicester on May 15 being his first outing in the league since the December 6 game against Gloucester.
The 26-year-old hinted on his return that his class is permanent, pouncing for two tries in the Welford Road loss, but it will be interesting to see whether Earle can now sustain selection with Harlequins entering the business end of their Premiership title challenge.
So much of the current talk surrounding the London club is about the uncapped Marcus Smith and how he must now be an England pick when Eddie Jones unveils his squad for the upcoming summer series. It is a hype that Earle well knows as has also been in that fringe category touted for international honours.
There was initial speculation that the assistant coach would be a good candidate to take over at Harlequins https://t.co/EmvCbv8mZK
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) May 26, 2021
He toured Argentina uncapped in 2017 while at Saracens and even post his serious ACL injury at Harlequins, he was included in an October 2020 England training squad but the highest level he has reached in his representative career was scoring against the Barbarians and it now seems a long way back to the Jones fold when you are struggling for regular selection at club level. “It was great to see him back,” said assistant Quins coach Nick Evans about the impact Earle made when he finally got a Premiership appearance after a five-month wait during which there has been speculation that he might move to France for next season with Perpignan a possible destination.
“He had that horror run, he had that horrendous knee injury last season. He got himself back fit and looked really dangerous and then picked up another injury. He has been on a wretched run with injury and then guys have been playing well on the wing. We had Aaron Morris, Cadan Murley, Joe Marchant, Tyrone Green playing really well and Louis Lynagh progressed out of nowhere, got given a chance and performed really well.
“He [Earle] found it tough to get back in and it’s the competition in the squad, that is the environment you want to create. He had to bide his time and then it was great to see the opportunity that he got and he scored two good tries and finished them well. He knows he has got a lot to work on to get up to the speed of the game more but it was great to see him and he is going to have a big part of the run-in.”
Evans added his admiration for Earle’s mental toughness. “For someone like that after the injury he had… he has just had a new baby as well so we joke about the lack of sleep that he is going to have, but he is such an influence on the group. He is one of those guys that is given the role of just getting the guys up. He is boisterous, he’s loud so it is great to have him back on the field and in and around training.”
'As a black player, you get pigeon-holed. You’re either an athlete and you’ll get stuck on the wing or he’s big, let’s stick him in the second row' @Harlequins wing @natenate174 talks about gaining coaches' trust, his ACL, BLM & more, with @heagneyl 👨💻https://t.co/qxaJxTQeXM
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) August 2, 2020
Comments on RugbyPass
The Black Ferns 7’s have been without Captain Sarah Hirini now since Dec 23 in Dubai where she suffered a bad ACL injury - hopefully she is on the road to recovery for Madrid and Paris. Now also have Tyler King and Shiray kaka on the Injured List but the Team still found a way to win in Singapore and claim the overall Title.
1 Go to commentsUtter grub, hope he gets his leg broken. Shocking he is still playing after intentionally breaking quinn tupaeas knee
2 Go to commentsGreat to see NZ 7s teams finally coming into form and playing at the level that is expected of them.
2 Go to commentsChief Cheapshot on the market again.
2 Go to commentsCrusaders went all in to buy Hotham and Kemara staight from Hamilton Boys. Then they picked up Reihana and Hohepa; all have been dropped for superstar Havili, who is a very good fullback, that’s it. Ennor and Goodhue were schoolboy stars too but went backwards at the Crusaders. Maybe they have finally decided to give another poach Levi Aumua the ball?
10 Go to commentsJoe S has some talent to pick from. The Reds loosies look the best in Super? Aus might just give Razor a headache this year. Int. experience v Cantab greenhorn:) Should be fun.
10 Go to commentsEnd to end play, “THE FANS” this game was entertainment of the best. The conditions added to the spectacle.
1 Go to commentsSorry to say, but sadly the sadas were just ordinary and havilli at 10 as an abs selection just won’t cut it. He’s better suited in the centre’s and is a victim of past charge down kicks, he’s too slow under pressure. There’s better talent further north and I don’t mean dmac however I believe razor will sort him out. A feature of his presents on the park is the fact that the guys will follow him.
10 Go to commentsMarler was brilliant throughout both in the scrum and open play. His slap made virtually no contact with Ramos who milked it for a penalty when he could have been a decent sportsman and laughed it off, it was non-violent and shouldn't have been penalised. Smith failed repeatedly to kick when necessary and put up a couple of bombs into the TLS 22 that just handed back possession at key moments to the other side.
3 Go to commentsCros was outstanding and rightly awarded France TVs player of the match award. Mallia was brilliant as usual (the y is below the 6 on a UK keyboard and he deserves better than that). Level also seems to have been scored harshly as he walked the ball into touch under pressure from a Lynagh kick from well outside his own half which should never have led to a 50-22. Agree with BullShark that Dupont, while class at times, seemed to go missing for patches in the second half with props, hookers and wings frequently filling in at 9 as he couldn't get off the deck and up to the next ruck on time. A 7 by his standards at best, his kicking was also too long, too often. Kinghorn's overall contribution was worth well more than a five.
3 Go to commentsThe Harlequins team must be in minus figures. Did the reporter actually watch the game?
3 Go to commentsHow on earth did Walker escape a red card? Not dangerous? Dupont has his face in a mask earlier this season. Shocking decision. What is the point of TMOs? We had the Fassi ‘non-penalty try’ yesterday and now this.
2 Go to commentsCould have been a different result but yet again French tv able to affect the result by not showing the very clear high shot on harlequin centre if this would have been on a French player would have been on screen at least five times
3 Go to commentsAmazing. The losing team’s ratings are higher than the winning team’s. Mallia definitely didn’t deserve a y. What game were you watching? Should have got a w or an x. ADP hardly featured in that second half. At one point I wondered when he’d been subbed. Seems to me as if he gets an automatic 9 just for getting onto the team sheet.
3 Go to commentsI’m sorry. That second half was far from enthralling. It was painful to watch.
2 Go to commentsVery generous! If you’d missed the game, reading this you’d conclude that it was the Quins front row that cost them the game. Marler getting a blanket 6 for his demented contribution to the game. Puzzling.
3 Go to commentsCan’t see Toulouse beating Leinster at this rate.
7 Go to commentsADP was having a very average game until winning that penalty for Toulouse, sticking his big head in the way. “The head of God”?
7 Go to commentsHarlequins doing their best to do as little damage as possible with all the possession. Looks like they skipped catch and pass drills this week.
7 Go to commentsSeeing pictures of Jacques high-fiving it with Irish players breaks my heart. Too soon. I need more time.
1 Go to comments