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Zach Mercer told to stop sulking by former England teammate
Former England hooker Dylan Hartley has suggested that Zach Mercer shouldn’t be sulking over his Six Nations non-selection by Steve Borthwick.
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Zach Mercer has not taken well to his being overlooked by England for the tournament, suggesting last month that Borthwick hasn’t given him a fair crack of the whip. The disgruntled Gloucester player – who returned to the Gallagher Premiership with an eye on more England caps – has now been linked with a move back to the Top 14.
Now Mercer’s former England teammate Hartley has contrasted the No.8’s attitude with New Zealand’s talent-rich environment, where not all can play yet sulking is rare.
“If you look at New Zealand in comparison, there’s five super teams and not all five number eights can play for the All Blacks. There are always players that are going to miss out, but you don’t hear them sulking,” said Hartley.
Hartley pointed out the importance of fitting into a coach’s strategy, drawing from his own career shaped by physical attributes and set-piece skills, to underline the tough realities of professional rugby union.
“Ultimately, Steve Borthwick has a way that he wants to play the game, Eddie Jones had a way that he wanted to play the game and they both pick players to fit that.
“I would not have had a career if every coach I played for didn’t prioritise set piece. I was typically five to eight kilos heavier than most hookers and my set piece was very steady.
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“I was always in the 90 per cent for my line out and the scrum got a little bit easier towards the end of my career. There are always going to better players. Mikey Haywood at Northampton was far more dynamic as was Jamie George and Tom Youngs. Lee Mears was more skilful than me.
“I was every coach’s preferred player because I was heavier and my set piece. It’s just one of these things that the players who are not in the squad or not playing have to deal with. Eddie wanted size and weight and Billy Vunipola had that in bags, like 10 kilo bags more than everyone else.”
Hartley suggests that Mercer simply doesn’t fit Borthwick’s current vision for England.
“It’s one of these things. Zach Mercer plays a great game and I love him as a player and he’s a great bloke, but how does Steve Borthwick want the balance of his back row to look? I’m not sure that Zach Mercer fits into that. Ultimately, Borthwick will have his favourite player for number eight and he can’t pick them all.”
Hartley’s full conversation with Gambling Zone can be found here.
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Comments on RugbyPass
Big empty stadium does nothing for atmosphere but munster are playing well with solid performance
1 Go to commentsYes, Fiji can win the World Cup! With that belief plus their christian faith🙏 and hard work it is achievable. Great article. Ian Duncan Fiji resident 1981-84
2 Go to commentsInteresting comments about Touch. England’s hosting the Touch World Cup this year and the numbers have exploded since their last World Cup in 2019, something like 70% more teams and 40 nations taking part. And England Touch have made a big thing about how many universities are in their BUCS University Touch Championship as well as Sport England membership. Can only see this growing even more domestically as more people become aware of it
10 Go to comments“Cortez Ratima is light years ahead of anyone on current form, while TJ Perenara has also skyrocketed into contention following the unfortunate injury to the talented Cam Roigard.” At last some sanity. Hitherto so many pundits have been wittering on about Finlay Christie to the point one wondered if they were observing a FC in a parallel universe where the FC they saw wasnt just the mediocre Shayne Philpott project of Fosters hapless AB reign in the real world. Ratima, Perenara and Fakatava are the ONLY logical 9s for Razor now Roigard is crocked.
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5 Go to commentsUnfortunately when you lose by far the two form players this season in Roigard and Aumua, you're left replacing two game changing Tanks with a couple of pea-shooters. Which is also about the speed of TJs pass.
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38 Go to commentsTamati Tua. …the Taniwha NPC midfielder. Ollie Sapsford, Hawkes Bay NPC midfielder…doing well
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2 Go to commentsThe first concern for this afternoon are wheather forecast…
1 Go to commentsWhy cant I watch Rugby games please?
1 Go to commentsBeautiful shot from Finau, end of story. Gutted for Shaun Stevenson though.
4 Go to commentsThe Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to commentsWasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
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5 Go to comments🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
34 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
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