'Lightbulb moments': Farrell, Mo'unga research inspires Atkinson
Wasps boss Lee Blackett has revealed his excitement over how age-grade England out-half Charlie Atkinson put his recent lengthy injury layoff to good use by researching how Owen Farrell and Richie Mo’unga play the game in an effort to accelerate even more his own progress at the Gallagher Premiership club.
The 20-year-old missed the start to the domestic season in England as he needed an operation to mend the meniscus tear suffered in a pre-season friendly for Wasps versus Coventry. Aside from doing the usual necessary rehab to regain full fitness from that knee injury, Atkinson embarked on a research project at the behest of assistant coach Ed Robinson, who worked in last season’s Six Nations as England’s temporary skills coach.
The remit was simple: take some time looking at the styles of England skipper Farrell and All Blacks out-half Mo’unga and Wasps boss Blackett has been impressed by what he has seen from Atkinson since the youngster returned to first-team training, going on to complete his comeback with a first appearance of the Premiership season off the bench in last weekend’s loss at Sale.
There was irony in Atkinson going to the bother of researching Farrell. It was September 2020, in just his second-ever Wasps appearance as an 18-year-old, when the England U20s pick was mowed down by Farrell with a red-carded high tackle, an experience that Atkinson spoke about in an in-depth interview with RugbyPass last July.
It was a follow-up enquiry by RugbyPass at this week’s Wasps media briefing that led to Blackett revealing what Atkinson got up to during his enforced lay-off. The coach had mentioned how players such as Joe Launchbury usually “come back better, more knowledgeable about the game” after a considerable length of time out with injury.
'…he came into the changing room on his own, grabbed one of the coaches & said, ‘Can you grab Charlie?’
Rising England prospect @atkinsonc_ talks to @heagneyl ???about his rise, being thrown in the deep end at @WaspsRugby & THAT Farrell tackle #ENGvUSA https://t.co/GJbBXQ2VeU
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) July 4, 2021
This led to Blackett being asked to elaborate on examples of what “more knowledgeable” meant and it resulted in him speaking about the recent homework done by Atkinson to try and improve himself. “I say that because I experienced it and I have also seen it recently with Charlie Atkinson,” said the Wasps boss.
“I thought the way he has come back into the mix from being out for nearly four months, he has watched the game, has studied the game. Charlie did this thing with Ed Robinson and me where he went and looked at the best tens in the world. He studied them and came back and told us what he had seen in the likes of Owen Farrell and Mo’unga. They were the main two that he looked at.
“Just things like that. When players are not playing, they see the game from a different perspective rather than going week on week and just looking at their performance. I find when players do that come back better. I am just giving you an example of Charlie and I thought at the weekend and having seen him back in training, he is a lot more composed as a 10 coming back.
“I have seen Ryan Mills come back in and there were certain things we have been working on in training, without giving too much away, and Ryan Mills has come straight in and he has seen it and he is fixing things he has seen on the side of the field. So little things like that. Players study the game and I think they come back better.”
Blackett admitted Atkinson’s study was the brainchild of Robinson. “Ed is good at things like that, he is very good on that side. We talked about Charlie staying involved as much as possible but doing it in a different way. When these guys are injured they can work on themselves physically but can they become better rugby players?
“It’s vital for someone like Charlie in that time. He studied both of those players and fed it back what he had seen in the two and how he could change his game and who was better at doing certain different things. I thought it was really beneficial. Sometimes those moments are lightbulb moments, it changes him.
“What probably got me when he did it was how accurate he was. I don’t think he was seeing it from an angle, he saw it with a clear mind and when he described both tens and the differences between them, I thought it showed a mature character considering he is only in his second year out of school, he is still a young guy. That was just maturity in what he had seen, trying to take aspects to help his experience.
“I’ve seen it more in training the last few weeks. He seems to have come back as a better leader for me. Before he was really quiet and I am just seeing a more controlled Charlie out there and at times taking the lead.”
Atkinson has since been chosen as the starting Wasps out-half for next Sunday’s Premiership derby versus leaders Leicester.
WASPS (vs Leicester, Sunday)
15. Ali Crossdale
14. Francois Hougaard
13. Sam Spink
12. Jimmy Gopperth
11. Josh Bassett
10. Charlie Atkinson
9 Sam Wolstenholme
1. Tom West
2. Tom Cruse
3. Jeffery Toomaga-Allen
4. Vaea Fifita
5. Elliott Stooke
6. Alfie Barbeary
7. Brad Shields (capt)
8. Tom Willis
Reps:
16. Dan Frost
17. Robin Hislop
18. Biyi Alo
19. Tim Cardall
20. Thomas Young
21. Will Porter
22. Ryan Mills
23. Rob Miller
Comments on RugbyPass
This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?
31 Go to commentsWow, didn’t realise there was such apathy to URC in SA, or by Champions Cup teams. Just read Nick’s article on Crusaders, are Sharks a similar circumstance? I think SA rugby has been far more balanced than NZs, no?
2 Go to commentsBut here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.
15 Go to commentsIt could be coincidental or prescient that the All Blacks most dominant period under Steve Hansen was when the Crusaders had their least successful period under Todd Blackadder and then the positions reversed when Razor took over the Crusaders.
15 Go to commentsDefinitely sound read everybodyexpects immediate results these days, I don't think any team would travel well at all having lost three of the most important game changers in the game,compiled with the massive injury list they are now carrying, good to see a different more in depth perspective of a coaches history.
3 Go to commentsSinckler is a really big loss for English rugby.
1 Go to commentsThanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause
15 Go to commentsNo way. If you are trying to picture New Zealand rugby with an All Blacks mindset, there have been two factors instrumental to the decline of NZ rugby to date. Those are the horror that the Blues have become and, probably more so, the fixture that the Crusaders became. I don’t think it was healthy to have one team so dominant for so long, both for lack of proper representation of players from outside that environment and on the over reliance on players from within it. If you are another international side, like Ireland for example, sure. You can copy paste something succinct from one level to the next and experience a huge increase in standards, but ultimately you will not be maximizing it, which is what you need to perform to the level the ABs do. Added to that is the apathy that develops in the whole game as a result of one sides dominance. NZ, Super, and Championship rugby should all experience a boom as a result of things balancing out. That said, there is a lot of bad news happening in NZ rugby recently, and I’m not sure the game can be handled well enough here to postpone the always-there feeling of inevitable decline of rugby.
15 Go to commentsNo SA supporter miss Super Rugby - a product that is experiencing significant head wind in ANZ - the competition from rival codes are intense, match attendance figures are at a historical low and the negativity of commentators such as Kirwan and Wilson have accelerated the downward spiral in NZ. After the next RWC in 2027 sponsors will follow Qantas and start leaving in droves.
2 Go to commentsLike others, I am not seeing the connection between this edition of the Crusaders and the All Blacks future prospects under Razor. I think the analysis of the Crusaders attack recently is helpful because Razor and his coaching team used to be able to slot new guys in to their systems and see them succeed. Several of Razor’s coaches are still there so it would be surprising if the current attack and set piece has been overhauled to a great extent - but based on that analysis, it may have been. Whether it is too many new guys due to injuries or retirement or a failure of current Crusaders systems is the main question to be answered imo. It doesn’t seem relevant for the ABs.
15 Go to commentsharry potter is set in stone. he creates stability and finishes well. exactly what schmidt likes. he’s the ben smith of australian rugby. i think it could quite easily be potter toole and kellaway for the foreseeable future.
5 Go to commentsThis is short sighted from Clayton if you ask me, smacks of too much preseason planning and no adaptability. What if DMac is out for a must win match, are they still only going to bring their best first five and playmaker on late in the game? Trusting the game to someone who wasn’t even part of planning (they would have had Trask pinned in as Jacomb preseason). Perhaps if the Crusaders were better they would not have done this, but either way imo you take this opportunity to play a guy you might need starting in a final rather than having their 12th game getting comfortable coming off the bench.
1 Go to commentsThanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.
21 Go to commentsWhat a load of bollocks. The author has forgotten to mention the fact that the Crusaders have a huge injury toll with top world class players out. Not to mention the fact that they are obviously in a transition period. No this will not spark a slow death for NZ rugby, but it does mean there will be a new Super Rugby champion. Anyone who knows anything about NZ rugby knows that there is some serious talent here, it just isn’t all at the Crusaders.
15 Go to commentsI wouldn’t spend the time on Nawaqanitawase! No point in having him filling in a jersey when he’s committed to leave Union. Give the jersey to a young prospect who will be here in the future.
5 Go to commentsIt was a pleasure to watch those guys playing with such confidence. That trio can all be infuriating for different reasons and I can see why Jones might have decided against them. No way to justify leaving Ikitau out though. Jorgensen and him were both scheduled to return at the same time. Only one of them plays for Randwick and has a dad who is great mates with the national coach though.
53 Go to commentsBrayden Iose and Peter Lakai are very exciting Super Rugby players but are too short and too light to ever be a Test 8 vs South Africa, France, Ireland, and England, Lakai could potentially be a Test player at 7 if he is allowed to focus on 7 for Hurricanes.
7 Go to commentsPencils “Thomas du Toit” into possible 2027 Bok squad.
1 Go to commentsDon’t see why Harrison makes the bench. Jones can play at 10 if needed, and there is a good case for starting her there to begin with if testing combinations. That would leave room for Sing on the bench
1 Go to commentsWhat a load of old bull!
1 Go to comments