'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.
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.
“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
Except for the injured Zach Gallagher this would be Saders best forward pack for the season. Blackadder needs to stay at 7, for all of Christies tackling he is not dominant and offers very little else. McNicholfullback is maybe a good option, Fihaki not really upto it, there was a reason Burke played there last year. Maybe Havilli to 2nd five McLeod to wing. Need a strong winger on 1 side to compliment Reece
1 Go to commentsTo me TJ is clearly the best 9 in the competition right now but he's also a proven player off the bench, there's few playmaking players who can come off the bench as calm and settled as he is, Beauden can, TJ can and I doubt any of the scrumhalves in contention can, if they want to experiment with new 9s I want him on the bench ready to step in if they crumble under the pressure. The Boks put their best front row on the bench, I'd like to see us take a similar approach, the Hurricanes have been doing similar things with players like Kirifi.
33 Go to commentsROG has better chance to win a WC if he starts training and make himself eligible as a player. He won’t make the Ireland squad but I reckon he may get close with Namibia (needs to improve his Afrikaans) or Portugal. Both sides had 1000:1 odds to win the RWC in 2023 which is an improvement on ROG’s odds of winning a RWC as a coach. Unlike Top 14 teams, national teams can’t go shopping and buy the best players - you work with the available talent pool and turn them into world beaters.
2 Go to commentsthat backline nope that backline is terrible why would you have sevu Reece when he’s not even top 5 wingers in the comp why have Blackadder when there’s better players no Scott barret isn’t an automatic the guy is more of a liability than anything why have him there when you have samipeni who’s far far better
33 Go to commentsAh, good to find you Nick. Agree with everything about Cale. So much to like about his game
49 Go to commentsNot too bad. Questions at 6, lock and HB for me. The ABs will be a lot stronger once Jordan and Roigard return. Also, work needs to be made to secure Frizzell back for next season and maybe also Mo’unga; they’re just wasting time playing in japan
33 Go to commentsOn the title, i wonder for many of those people it is a case something like a belief in working smarter, not harder?
1 Go to commentsForget Sotutu. One of those whose top level is Super Rugby. Id take a punt on Wallace Sititi Finau ahead of Glass body Blackadder.
33 Go to commentsI’m a pensioner so I've been around a bit. My opinion of SBW is he is an elite athlete and a great New Zealander and roll model. He has been to the top and knows what he's talking about. To all the negative comments regarding SBW the typical New Zealand way, cut that tall poppy down.
17 Go to commentsI'm not listening to a guy moralise over others when this is the guy who walked out mid season on Canterbury RLFC when he had a contract with them, what a hypocrite. Those praising him are a joke.
17 Go to commentsI’d put Finau at 6 instead of Blackadder but that’s the only change I’d make. Can’t wait to see who Razor picks.
33 Go to commentsTamati Williams, Codie Taylor, and Same Cane? Not sure about Hoskins Sotutu at test level. Wasn’t that impressive last season. Need a balance between experience and talent/youth.
33 Go to commentsInteresting insight. Fantastic athlete, and a genuine human being.
17 Go to commentsThey played at night in Suva last weekend and it’s an afternoon game forecast for 19 degrees in Canberra this weekend. Heat change is a non issue.
1 Go to commentsWishing Rosie a speedy recovery
1 Go to commentsObscene that SA haven’t been knocking
1 Go to commentsChances of Blackadder being injured seem too high to give him serious consideration. ABs loosie combination finally looked good with 2 committed to tackling and clearing rucks in the centre and Ardie roaming. Hoskins/Ardie together would force one of them into where they don’t excel and don’t get to use their talent, or require a change in tactics. If we continue to evolve last years systems I would take Papali’i and Finau at 6 and 7 (conceding that Blackadder will be injured) and Ardie at 8.
33 Go to commentsArdie’s preferred position 7? Where do they get these writers from? I've no idea where he's playing in Japan, but the previous two seasons he wore the 7 jersey exactly twice.
17 Go to commentsNot good to hear Ulster described as “financially troubled”. Did not think it was getting to that level. I would hope the Irish system of spreading players of talent away from Leinster would kick in now. Better to have a Leinster fringe player with Ulster or Connacht, then getting only a few games a season in Dublin. 10, for example, would seem to be a case for spreading the talent. I would not be at all adverse to a SA man coming in as head coach/DR. Ludeke is worth trying. Certainly got a long and impressive coaching career at this level…..149 games in SR, then Japan, 30 years experience. And Ulster’s ledger of successful SA coaches and players is on the positive side. Is talk of Ruan Pienaar interested in coming back as a coach…..could be a good combination with Ludeke. And Pienaar and family would have no settling in to do, one would judge. He loved life in Ulster when there, by all reports.
1 Go to commentsSome thoughts to consider here, Sam. Thanks
2 Go to comments