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'He's a horrible person to run into if you're an attacker': Why Cowan-Dickie should keep his England place against Wales
Guinness Six Nations round two against Italy on February 13 was a rare thing for England hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie. A first-ever start in the championship at the age of 27, a first Test start since Kobe in September 2019 and just his fourth start ever in a 28-cap Test career where he has largely played back-up to the preferred Jamie George.
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Was the switch-up against the Italians – starting Cowan-Dickie with George held in reserve as a finisher – a sign of things to come in the England set-up under Eddie Jones or just a one-off in response to the opening round defeat to Scotland which resulted in the coach making five changes to his starting XV, four in the pack?
We’ll know more on Thursday at 11am when Jones unveils his team to take on Wales in round three of the Six Nations this Saturday.
A back-to-back selection in the No2 jersey for Cowan-Dickie would be massive and reigning Gallagher Premiership champions Exeter have their fingers crossed for some good news from England team HQ in London, not only for their hooker but also Jonny Hill and Henry Slade.
“Fantastic to see them all in starting line-ups together,” said Exeter boss Rob Baxter. “I will be honest with you, I thought Luke had started more games. When we saw it was only four I was a little surprised. I thought he had started a few more than that. It was nice to see him getting the start (against Italy) and nice to see him play well and getting a performance. You have just got to hope now he is right back in the reckoning to start the game this weekend.
"He has learned that lesson"#PremRugby #EXEvNORhttps://t.co/Eypd0mPsWD
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) February 23, 2021
“Whether we [Exeter] start him or whether we sub him here he has always brought massive energy, an ability to break tackles, he is a horrible person to run into if you’re an attacker. You talk about guys who give you momentum and stop opposition momentum, that is what he is and that is why he has been a key player for us.
“He just makes things happen around him. It’s very rare you don’t see good things happen around him – whether that is breaking a tackle or he manages to hold his feet and the ball gets away in an offload, he gets off the line and he shuts down an attack with a quality low chop tackle.
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“That is just the kind of stuff he can bring and he is probably a better set-piece player than he gets credit for. I don’t know whether you would say it will take his game on by starting more games with England but it will give him a bit of confidence if he gets back that he is retaining that level of becoming a starter international player.
“It won’t do him any harm but I am not sure what it is going to develop because I don’t think there are too many areas of his game that need development to be playing international rugby. He is right there, he is on form and he adds something to a team when he plays. That is what he needs to be focusing on, he needs to be focusing on being Luke Cowan-Dickie.”
Exeter claim they are unsure of player release rules if Scotland match with France is delayed a week#SixNations #PremRugby
https://t.co/Sd80Gj26XF— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) February 23, 2021
Comments on RugbyPass
A wallaby front-row of Bell, Blake and Tupou…now that would be hefty
1 Go to comments“But with an exceptional pass accuracy rating “ Which apart from Roigard is not a feature of any of the other 9s in NZ. Kind of basic for a Black 9 dont.you. think? Yet we keep seeing FC and TJ being rated ahead of him? Weird if it’s seen as vital to get our backline beating in your face defences.
1 Go to commentsThanks BeeMc! Looks like many teams need extra time to settle from the quadrennial northern migration. I think generally the quality of the Rugby has held up. Fiji has been fantastic and fun to watch
13 Go to commentsLets compare apples with apples. Lyon sent weak team the week before, but nobody raised an eyebrow. Give the South African teams a few years to build their depth, then you will be moaning that the teams are too strong.
41 Go to commentsDid footballs agents also perform the scout role at some time? I’m surprised more high profile players haven’t taken up the occupation, great way to remain in the game and use all that experience without really requiring a lot of specific expertise?
1 Go to commentsSuper 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?
11 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.
10 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.
11 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.
24 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.
10 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…??? 🤑🤑🤑
35 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
35 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
17 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 comments