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Problem position? Time to solve it for Premiership clubs

By Alex Shaw
(Photo by Nathan Stirk/Getty Images)

As we all wade further into the sporting desert that the COVID-19 outbreak has brought on, there are few silver linings for unions and clubs to cling to, not least the Gallagher Premiership sides.

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That said, one such lining may well be that decision-makers, whether they be Directors of Rugby or Heads of Recruitment, can take the time to sit back, take stock and make the necessary key calls at problem positions or areas of uncertainty. In the vacuum of live games, there is not much else to do.

Every club in the Premiership will have areas of concern, where perhaps their academy has not been overly productive, or a big-name signing has failed to have the impact they would have hoped for when bringing them in. We have picked out one position at each of the 12 clubs that they can use this lull in sport to properly identify their options and develop a plan of rectifying the issue moving forward.

Bath – Fly-half

Bath do not lack for options or quality at fly-half, though what the plan is moving forward is a little less obvious. Rhys Priestland was brought back in on a short-term deal and, at 33 years of age, is unlikely the player that Stuart Hooper will build his side around. Freddie Burns has dazzled at times for Bath and did likewise at Leicester Tigers and Gloucester before, though he hasn’t yet nailed down the starting spot at the club.

Orlando Bailey, the club’s starting 10 at the U18 level, has promise, as does Tom de Glanville, but the former is not ready to be a starter in the Premiership and the latter has impressed at both full-back and in the centres. If that pair can progress behind Priestland and Burns over the next 12 months, it might be problem solved for Hooper, otherwise he may well need to dig out the club’s chequebook.

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Watch: When will Premiership rugby return?

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Bristol Bears – Inside centre

There is a lot of exciting recruitment going on at Bristol and with Semi Radradra, Kyle Sinckler and others coming in next season, there are few holes left to be plugged in the Bears’ squad. One area of potential concern could be inside centre, unless Pat Lam is considering a midfield combination of Radradra and Piers O’Conor, although even then they could use a boost to their depth.

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Charlie Powell and Jack Bates are coming through the club’s academy further out in the back line, whilst Ioan Lloyd is rising fast as a hybrid fly-half and full-back, but options at 12 are slightly slimmer. Whether or not Bristol were in for them remains unknown, but Ryan Mills or Sam Hill would have been good, albeit contrasting, options for Lam’s side.

Exeter Chiefs – Full-back

Trying to pick holes in the Exeter squad is an unenviable task these days and one only made harder by the acquisitions of Jonny Gray, Sam Hidalgo-Clyne, Aaron Hinkley and Corey Baldwin. One area where they could perhaps come unstuck is at full-back, despite the successes that Stuart Hogg has had in his debut season in the south-west.

The British and Irish Lion will regularly be away with Scotland, as will Jack Nowell with England, leaving a lot for the soon-to-be 35-year-old Phil Dollman to do. The club’s academy intakes have also heavily revolved around the pack in the last couple of seasons, too, leaving Rob Baxter’s side without a natural heir to the jersey when the international stars are away.

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Gloucester – Props

Thanks to their connection with Hartpury College, as well as the work of a number of schools within their region, Gloucester rarely lack for youngsters of promise and this is certainly true in their stock of props. Alex Seville and Ciaran Knight have been knocking on the door for a season or two now, whilst Ollie Adkins and Jack Bartlett wait in the senior academy. Former Exeter age-grade prospect Jack Stanley is also on the books.

The set-piece battle at the scrum has been one that Gloucester have struggled in or at least shown inconsistency in for the last few years and making a call on who is ready for higher involvement and given more playing time is probably what is needed to see them make that next leap. Harry Fry and Jenson Boughton are also contracted and in their first year out of school, with the Cherry and Whites boasting a homegrown group of props that outnumbers all of their Premiership rivals. They need to play, though.

Harlequins – Loosehead

There is no doubting Joe Marler’s ability and the reports that have surfaced recently suggesting that the prop could opt for an early retirement in the wake of his 10-week ban against Wales will have Paul Gustard concerned. Whether he stays or goes, the club is in need of some extra competition and depth at the position.

Quins have had a lot of success bringing through youngsters such as Gabriel Ibitoye, Marcus Smith and Cadan Murley in the past couple of seasons, although the number of forwards making that leap has not quite matched up. One of the brightest U18 players in the country, Fin Baxter, is set to join the club’s senior academy next season, though he is further reinforcement at tighthead, leaving Gustard to ponder his options at loosehead moving forward.

Leicester Tigers – Wing

With rumours rife that Jonny May could be leaving the club, Leicester are either going to need to bolster their starting XV with a difference-maker at the position or, should May stay, find further depth to push the likes of May and cover for him when he is away with England, even with Nemani Nadolo coming in. Jonah Holmes is another potential international casualty, and the burden this season has been shown by the need to sign Rory Hughes on loan.

Freddie Steward has begun to transition well to the seniors at full-back and the same could be said of Joe Browning and Leo Gilliland next season, if given the opportunity. If Geordan Murphy doesn’t think they will be ready for that level of rugby, adding to the club’s wing options will likely be a priority for the East Midlands side.

London Irish – Fly-half

The pairing of Stephen Myler and Paddy Jackson have done well for Irish this season, though they are in a similar position to Bath, with one a seasoned veteran and the other yet to fully stamp their authority on the position. Jacob Atkins and Theo Brophy Clews are also on the depth chart, though the latter has had his fair share of injury issues to this point which have held back his development.

If Declan Kidney isn’t enthused with the group, he could choose to bolster his options moving forward, with Wellington College prospect Monty Bradbury certainly on the radar, although still a few good years away from being ready for that sort of level of rugby.

Northampton Saints – Loosehead

The East Midlands club are in fine shape at tighthead, with Owen Franks, Paul Hill, Karl Garside and Ehren Painter jockeying for position, though the age profile at loosehead is less encouraging. Alex Waller and Francois van Wyk have been stalwart options and consistent, but there is then a sizeable drop to the club’s younger contingent.

Toby Trinder, Emmanuel Iyogun and Jack Hughes are all hungry for playing time in the front row and Chris Boyd either has to bank on one of them stepping up if given the opportunity or he needs to further invest in the position ahead of next season. Trinder has spent time with Coventry this season, whilst Iyogun is transitioning from No 8 and Hughes was predominately a tighthead prior to going professional.

Sale Sharks – Hooker

The signing of Akker van der Merwe has proven to be a successful one, but with Rob Webber retiring at the end of the season and Cam Neild potentially moving on, the pool of hookers at the club is set to diminish unless new players are brought in. The question for Steve Diamond will be what calibre of replacement does he target?

Is he looking for someone that can push van der Merwe for the starting spot or is he comfortable with the development of Curtis Langdon and Ewan Ashman to the point where he can save salary cap space by targeting a more affordable player? Having spent big last summer, salary cap management will now become a prevalent issue for Sale moving forward, as will nurturing Kirkham product Ethan Caine.

Saracens – Scrum-half

With Richard Wigglesworth potentially off for a final stint at another club or going into full-time coaching, and Ben Spencer reportedly looking at loan moves to keep alive his England prospects, Saracens could easily be caught short at scrum-half next season. Tom Whiteley and Alex Day are on the roster, though that is the current state of their depth, with no nine contracted in the senior academy.

Felsted pupil Sam Bryan is on his way in and is one of the more exciting U18 scrum-halves to have come through English rugby in recent years. He is certainly capable of featuring intermittently in the Championship next season, though you would expect Mark McCall to have his eye on a scrum-half or two to make up for the expected losses at the position.

Wasps – Fly-half

As with Bath and London Irish, there is not a lack of fly-half options at Wasps, though it’s a testament to the importance of the role that finding your ‘franchise’ player at the position is so vital. Lima Sopoaga has not yet hit the heights expected since his move from the Highlanders, Jimmy Gopperth will turn 37 before the beginning of next season and Billy Searle is heading to Worcester Warriors.

Interim Director of Rugby Lee Blackett will surely be pleased with Jacob Umaga’s performances this season and he will now have to ask himself whether or not the former Leicester academy product can shoulder the mantle of being the club’s starting fly-half. Charlie Atkinson, of Abingdon School, will join the ranks next season, too, but the immediate focus is all about Umaga and his role at the club.

Worcester Warriors – Inside centre

Having lost Ryan Mills to Wasps, Worcester’s stock of options at inside centre looks limited. Francois Venter and Ollie Lawrence are both at their best at 13 and Will Butler, though an excellent prospect, has seen limited involvement at the highest level over the past couple of seasons. Can the former England U20 standout make that leap?

If he can, Worcester sit on the edge of a homegrown midfield consisting of him and Lawrence, although with the battle against relegation expected to be much more heated next season rather than done by default due to Saracens’ infringements, the club could be forgiven for looking for a more proven player outside of Duncan Weir.

Watch: The Breakdown – Episode 9

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Jon 4 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

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”?

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j
john 7 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But 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.

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A
Adrian 9 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks 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

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T
Trevor 11 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks 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.

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