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Only months after Eddie Jones opted to take one specialist No.8 to the Rugby World Cup, it has quickly become one of the most competitive positions in the England squad.
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Harlequins’ Alex Dombrandt was a rising star last season, but failed to make the RWC squad, while an ACL injury to Sam Simmonds and a slump in form for Nathan Hughes saw them miss out as well.
Billy Vunipola was taken to Japan and was used frequently, as Jones clearly felt there was no point even creating the pretense that the Saracens No8 was not his first choice.
However, all of Vunipola’s competitors, which also includes his Saracens teammate Ben Earl, have started the season in blistering fashion with call ups to the Six Nations squad looking inevitable.
The 22-year-old Dombrandt has been tipped by many to feature for England, and he has only improved his chances recently. In what has not always been a Harlequins team on top, particularly in the recent loss to Ulster, Dombrandt has still managed to make an impact ball in hand, and will inevitably improve in a strong England pack.
Sam Simmonds > Billy V on current form. Has to have his shot 6 nations time @chjones9 @ugomonye
— Christopher Barnard (@CBarnard89) December 15, 2019
Exeter Chiefs No.8 Simmonds’ man of the match display against Sale Sharks in the Champions Cup at the weekend was perhaps the biggest statement to Jones so far this season, and proof that he has returned to top form following his injury. Not only did he go over for two tries, but he showed the athleticism and pace of a back when in space, and the power of a forward in the tight, which is what makes him such a unique player.
Billy Vunipola's arse-out pivot: pic.twitter.com/qqZ0fkvP73
— Charlie Morgan (@CharlieFelix) December 14, 2019
Vunipola’s performance against Munster at Allianz Park was just as impressive, particularly his assist for Sean Maitland’s try. The 27-year-old was able to attract four defenders before offloading to the Scotland international. This is not only an insight into the power he possesses, but the formidable reputation that he has. Such is his presence on the field, Keith Earls was understandably drawn in to try and help two of his teammates stop him, which created the space for the try.
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Even in defeat I thought @Alex_dombrandt played well for @Harlequins , great carries and added momentum when needed. Couple more of them, stay fit, and @EnglandRugby could be there for 6 nations??
— Hiding for a while (@LFCRulesOK) December 13, 2019
While he may be used sparingly this season, Vunipola showed that post-RWC fatigue is not an issue, with a workload few can match in his position. In his absence, the 21-year-old Earl has stepped up this season as well, and will undeniably be on Jones’ radar.
Meanwhile, Hughes has been reinvigorated since his move to Bristol Bears in the summer, and he would have caught the eye of the England selectors’ with a number of man of the match performances in the Gallagher Premiership.
https://twitter.com/jonnymango95/status/1202929606724116485?s=20
The best thing for England is that these players all offer something different. Simmonds and Earl may not have the size advantage over their competitors, but they have the pace and dynamism to trouble any defence, and also the versatility to play across the back row.
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Changes are expected to the England squad for next year’s Six Nations, and Jones will be in a quandary choosing who will make it.
Comments on RugbyPass
Who's Jarrad Hohepa?
1 Go to commentsSo let me get this straight. Say you have the dominant scrum. You are 99% sure you can go for a scrum pushover try on the line to win the game. The opposition knows it too. They give away a silly tap kick instead. You are now not allowed to scrum. This is ridiculous! *%@ing the game up as usual! The fact that the attacking teams are not allowed to scrum from a held up over the line is just as ridiculous. Really world rugby? Careful people might start a rebel league called True Rugby or Real Rugby.
72 Go to comments12 subs during a game? How has that been allowed to happen NB? I hate when the game goes in this monopolistic direction closing up shop, it just becomes non sport. Btw have you seen anything of how Liam Coltman was tracking for Lyon? He has just signed to return to Otago though we have a couple of young hookers developing here. He was a popular gentle natured character down here and I’m glad to see him back but maybe he will be a mentor primarily?
4 Go to commentsGreat breakdown and the global politics always confuses me a little. The southern hemisphere seems to be left out a bit but I wouldn’t even know where to start with fixing it. Club challenge could be a step in the right direction
4 Go to commentsSince he coached Free state, from that time onwards, I maintained he was the coach for the Boks. A nice, no nonsense guy with an excellent brain, who gets results.
11 Go to commentswell - they only played against 14 men and had the TMO team on their side - and still should have lost… so actually that makes sense.
32 Go to commentsSouthern hemisphere Rugby is exactly that, boring. Northern Hemisphere Rugby is soooo much more entertaining and better with better players.
2 Go to commentsIf he was to be cited for a dangerous behavior, then it’s natural that he should be. Then NTamack too, yes? And I’ll add a good whataboutism - Yeandle eye-gouging on Richie Arnold: not cited. Eye-gouging. Not high tackle. Eye-gouging. It was on French TV, with French TV directors.
5 Go to commentsReally poorly written rambling piece ..
4 Go to commentsIt was so boring
2 Go to commentspersonally I’d go with : 1. France 2. NZ 3. England 4. Ireland 5. Scotland
32 Go to commentsAndy everything becomes easier with experience therefor counting etc straight after a match becomes easier when you have 100+ caps vs 17 which is the experience you speak from.
160 Go to commentsGetting rid of the Dupont Law is a good thing and ought to have been done months ago! Officially getting rid of the croc roll is a good thing. The law about no scrums from a short arm is well intended in terms of speeding the game up but it’s an overreaction to a clever yet calculated gamble that could have blow up in South Africa’s face if they conceded a penalty from the scrum that was set after Willemse took claimed the mark in the World Cup QF.
72 Go to commentsRassie The GOAT
11 Go to commentsOf their 5 big matches in RWC Scotland and NZ were the easiest. They took a 12-3 lead against NZ and after the red decided it was best to hold the lead and take chances that came. None came and it was tight but they dug a lot deeper in the other two knock out matches. They had trounced NZ in Twickenham in a fixture that NZ must now regret. Psychology was clearly with SA in the final as a result.
32 Go to commentsMy favourite line/exchanges from Chasing the Sun 2. News headline: “SA. The last hurdle in ABs World Cup glory”. Something like that. “You’re all just a hurdle. A hop, skip and a jump”. Coming from Rassie and Jacque. Basically - nobody thinks you’re going to win. You’re just a pushover team. Nobody respects you. When the camera shows the players faces, you can see the effect. You can see the rev meters (die moer metertjies) firing up. Mitchell said he felt it prior to the 19 final. He said to Eddie watching the teams warming up that it was going to be a tough day at the office. Wave a red flag in front of South African, and you can expect a reaction. This is not unique - many teams rev themselves. And Bok teams in particular. With horrific consequences (discipline, poor thinking under pressure) because that’s the drawback to using emotion right? But what this Bok team does better than many since 2007 is channel the emotion and stay on task. Despite the emotion. Why, because while Rassie might play mind games - he talks about creating a safe environment. Listen to his recent honorary doctorate acceptance speech. While he uses psychology he creates psychological safety. He’s a damn fine coach. Can’t wait for Pretoria. It’s going to be a hummer.
11 Go to commentsWhat Rassie does for SA is big. It has helped people to unite and see we can win with the right people in place.
11 Go to commentsTerrible conditions for young players to express themselves just enjoy it guys. As a saffa great to see Ausie youth looking good. Wow SA have some great talent also.
2 Go to commentsYes, another example of French tv directors ensuring that incidents like this are swiftly glossed over for the benefit of their teams…
5 Go to commentsThe prospect of the club match ups across hemispheres is surely appetising for everyone. The reality however, may prove to be slightly different. There are currently two significant driving forces that have delivered to same teams consistently to the latter champions cup stages for years now. The first of those is the yawning gap in finances, albeit delivered by different routes. In France it’s wealthy private owners operating with a higher salary cap by some distance compared to England. In Ireland it’s led by a combination of state tax relief support, private Leinster academy funding and IRFU control - the provincial budgets are not equal! This picture is not going to change anytime soon. The second factor is the EPCR competition rules. You don’t need a PhD. in advanced statistical analysis from oxbridge to see the massive advantage bestowed upon the home team through every ko round of the tournament. The SA teams will gain the opportunity for home ko ties in due course but that could actually polarise the issue even further, just look at their difficulties playing these ties in Europe and then reverse them for the opposition travelling to SA. Other than that, the picture here is unlikely to change either, with heavyweight vested interests controlling the agenda. So what does all this point to for the club world championship? Well the financial differential between the nh and sh teams is pretty clear. And the travel issues and sporting challenge for away teams are significantly exacerbated beyond those already seen in the EPCR tournaments. So while the prospect of those match ups may whet our rugby appetites, I’m very much still to be convinced the reality will live up to expectations…
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