Neil Back: England will target Biggar and his injured knee
Neil Back spent his England career hunting outside halves and today warned Wales No10 Dan Biggar to expect a torrid examination of the knee injury that threatened to rule him out of tomorrow’s Twickenham clash.
Wales, the defending Grand Slam champions, have lost their last two Six Nations matches and new coach Wayne Pivac needs Biggar, who injured his right knee against Saracens last Saturday, to provide the tactical experience to move the team around the pitch in an attempt to outsmart Eddie Jones, the England head coach.
There are concerns over Biggar’s true state of health, but Pivac is adamant the 30-year-old will start his 83rd test match two weeks after triggering debate over his arm waving and public displays of dissatisfaction over refereeing decisions in the loss to France and just seven days after being helped off against Saracens in obvious pain after hyperextending his knee.
Instead of being a target for Saracens flanker Ben Earl – the obvious choice to replace the injured Sam Underhill – Jones drafted in Mark Wilson, who is more familiar with blindside or No8 roles to play No7 against the Welsh who have assembled a combative back row of Ross Moriarty, Justin Tipuric and Josh Navidi.
Back is intrigued by this latest twist in the England backrow tale which has dominated debate around the team ever since Billy Vunipola, the Saracens No8, suffered a fourth broken arm and Jones opted to move Tom Curry to No8 rather than give one of the young guns such as Harlequins Alex Dombrandt a chance to break into the team. Back admits criticising Jones’s selection policy is difficult with the team having got back to winning ways against Scotland and Ireland after the early loss to Slam chasing France.
The back row against the Welsh sees Courtney Lawes at No6, Wilson No7 and Curry at No8 and without Underhill there are concerns about the team’s effectiveness at the breakdown. However, all three know that hitting Biggar hard will be a main priority to test the knee out and unsettle the Welsh attacking game plan.
Back, a 2003 World Cup winner, told RugbyPass: “England will understandably target Biggar and you always look at that channel particularly if someone has had an injury with some doubt to see if they are 100 per cent. Biggar does make his tackles but tends to be upright and he will be tested by players such as Manu Tuilagi running at him. Biggar will have to stand up and be confident and his back row will be trying to add protection.
“Wales have lost two on the bounce and lose another one and it is going to be a poor Six Nations and a disappointing one for coach Wayne Pivac. They could and should have won against France although when the French are going well it does bring a bit of joy to everyone.
“When you are winning your selection is justified. Putting Curry in at No8 in the French game I just hoped he got a steady scrum which we largely did but their scrum half ( Antoine Dupont) got in there and disrupted. After three games at No8 Curry is far more used to the position and we have won the last two. When I saw the selection for Wales I smiled, Tom would rather play 7 or 6 but if you look at my era then three flankers ( Back, Lawrence Dallaglio and Richard Hill) worked well.
“I feel for Sam Underhill who has been playing well and Ben Earl will be disappointed. Wilson has played just one game for Sale because of his knee injury and I am assuming he is 100 per cent fit otherwise Eddie would not have picked him.
“We got dismantled in the 2019 World Cup final at scrum time and now Eddie Jones has brought in that Springbok scrum coach ( Matt Proudfoot) to help with that area of the game. All eight England forwards now scrum longer and the back row is not looking to get their heads up because they are moving forward.”
Back’s major concern for England is the decision to go with a six forwards/two backs split on the replacements bench which worked for South Africa at the World Cup. “ If we lost a Ben Youngs and a couple of backs it then becomes interesting,” added Back. “This is game is all about England getting a good start again and if Wales are to get the win they have to match that start and then keep the Twickenham crowd quiet. All the teams have lacked consistency in this championship and I believe England will dominate physically and at gain line and the backs will profit from it. While we can’t underestimate Wales, I expect England to win well.”
WATCH: Jim discusses the ramifications of the Six Nations going behind a pay wall and no longer being shown on free to watch TV.
Comments on RugbyPass
No Islam says it must rule where it stands Thus it is to be deleted from this planet Earth
18 Go to commentsThis team probably does not beat the ABs sadly Not sure if BPA will be available given his signing for Force but has to enter consideration. Very strong possibility of getting schooled by the AB props. Advantage AB. Rodda/Skelton would be a tasty locking combination - would love to see how they get on. Advantage Wallabies. Backrow a risk of getting out hustled and outmuscled by ABs. Will be interesting to see if the Blues feast on the Reds this weekend the way they did the Brumbies we are in big trouble at the breakdown. Great energy, running and defence but goalkicking/general kicking/passing quality in the halves bothers me enormously. SA may have won the World Cup for a lot of the tournament without a recognised goalkicker but Pollard in the final made a difference IMO. Injuries and retirements leave AB stocks a bit lighter but still stronger. 12 and 13 ABs shade it (Barret > Paisami, Ione = Ikitau, arguably) Interesting clash of styles on the wings - Corey Toole running around Caleb Clark and Caleb running over the top of Toole. Reece vs Koro probably the reverse. Pretty even IMO. 15s Kelleway = Love See advantage to ABs man for man, but we are not obviously getting slaughtered anywhere which makes a nice change. Think talent wise we are pretty even and if our cohesion and teamwork is better than the ABs then its just about doable.
11 Go to commentsCompletely agree. More friday night games would be a hit. RFU to make sure every club has a floodlit pitch. Club opens again Saturday to welcome touch / tag. Minis and youths on Sunday
3 Go to comments1.97m and 105Kg? Proportionately, probably skinnier than me at 1.82 and 82kilos. He won’t survive against the big guys at that weight.
55 Go to commentsThe value he brought to the crusaders as an assistant was equal to what he got out of being there. He reflected not only on the team culture but also the credit he attributed to the rugby community. Such experience shouldn’t be overlooked.
3 Go to commentsGood luck Aussie
11 Go to commentssmith at 9 / mounga 10 / laumape 12 / fainganuku 14
54 Go to commentsBar the injuries, it’s pretty much their top team …
2 Go to commentsDon’t disagree with much of this but it appears you forgot Rodda and Beale, who started at the Force on the weekend.
11 Go to commentsExcept 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.
54 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.
3 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
54 Go to commentsAh, good to find you Nick. Agree with everything about Cale. So much to like about his game
55 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
54 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.
54 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.
18 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. All the Kiwis sticking up for this unprincipled individual because they can't accept justified criticism, he has zero credibility or integrity. Those praising him are a joke.
18 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.
54 Go to comments