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The Ardie Savea comparison that has Tom Curry at No8 for England
Eddie Jones has explained the logic behind picking regular England flanker Tom Curry as the starting No8 for this Saturday’s Autumn Nations Series opener versus Tonga at Twickenham. The 23-year-old has only occupied the No8 shirt in four of his previous 32 England starts and he was last selected in that role for the March 2020 Guinness Six Nations game versus Wales.
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Curry since went on to become the first-choice Lions openside for their 2021 three-Test tour in South Africa and the expectation with Billy Vunipola excluded from the current England squad was that Alex Dombrandt, the title-winning No8 from Harlequins, would be chosen to fill that role at the back of the scrum against the Tongans.
However, Jones has decided differently, confining Dombrandt to the Twickenham bench and starting Curry at No8 in a back row where he will be flanked by Courtney Lawes and Sam Underhill.
Asked why he had opted to select in this way, England boss Jones highlighted the various skills of Curry and compared his ability to All Blacks star Ardie Savea, another flanker who in recent times has switched into the No8 jersey at Test level.
“A lot of things,” said Jones on being quizzed why Curry has the ability to play No8 rather than start in his more familiar role at flanker. “Firstly, defensively he is probably one of the best defensive back-rowers in the world.
TEAM NEWS: Eddie Jones has named his much changed side and there is a surprise regarding the positioning of Tom Curry…#AutumnNationsSeries #England #ENGvTON
https://t.co/itDkLjHjmx— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) November 4, 2021
“His one-on-one tackling, his ability to get his head over the ball and then since he first came into the squad in 2017 where he came in mainly as a defensive player, he has evolved his game to include some running skills, some passing skills and some linkage skills more importantly.
“So with the back row we have got initially with Courtney, a pretty strong ball runner, and Underhill, strong over the ball, it will give a chance to mix his game between running and linking and his defensive work and he has got the ability to do that.
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“You know, there are two players in the world that are similar at the moment in that aspect and it is him and Ardie Savea. They are both natural sevens but have got the capacity to be outstanding eights because they have the ability to carry the ball, to link and still do the defensive work.
“So we are very excited about seeing Tom play at 8. He played there before and this will be another opportunity for him to take another step forward.”
Sam Simmonds is back at Exeter preparing for their Premiership game versus Newcastle after getting cut loose by England on Tuesday evening #AutumnNationsSeries #England #ENGvTON #GallagherPrem #EXEvNEW
https://t.co/SMr5N3GT8g— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) November 3, 2021
Comments on RugbyPass
Pick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
15 Go to commentsHaving overseas possessions in 2024 is absurd. These Frenchies should have to give the New Caledonians their freedom.
21 Go to commentsBell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
14 Go to commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
4 Go to commentsYes Sir! Surprising, just like Fraser would also have escaped sanction if he was a few inches lower, even if it was by accident that he missed! Has there really been talk about those sanctions or is this just sensational journalism? I stopped reading, so might have missed any notations.
4 Go to commentsAI is only as good as the information put in, the nuances of the sport, what you see out the corner of the eye, how you sum up in a split second the situation, yes the AI is a tool but will not help win games, more likely contribute to a loss, Rugby Players are not robots, all AI can do if offer a solution not the solution. AI will effect many sports, help train better golfers etc.
45 Go to commentsIt couldn’t have been Ryan Crotty. He wasn’t selected in either World Cup side - they chose Money Bill instead. And Money Bill only cared about himself, and that manager he had, not the team.
26 Go to commentsYawn 🥱 nobody would give a hoot about this new trophy. End of the day we just have to beat Ireland and NZ this year then they can finally shut up 🤐
15 Go to commentsTalking bout Ryan Crotty? Heard Crotty say in a interview once that SBW doesen't care about the team . He went on to say that whenever they lost a big game, SBW would be happy as if nothing happened, according to him someone who cares would look down.. Personally I think Crotty is in the wrong, not for feeling gutted but for expecting others 2 be like him… I have been a bad loser forever as it matters so much to me but good on you SBW for being able to see the bigger picture….
26 Go to commentsThis sounds like a WWE idea so Americans can also get excited about rugby, RUGBY NEEDS A INTERNATIONAL CALENDER .. The rugby Championship and Six Nations can be held at same time, top 3 of six nations and top 3 of Rugby championship (6 nations should include Georgia AND another qualifying country while Fiji, Japan and Samoa/Tonga qualifier should make out 6 Southern teams).. Scrap June internationals and year end tours. Have a Elite top six Cup and the Bottom 6 in a secondary comp….
15 Go to commentsThe rugby championship would be even stronger with Fiji in it… I know it doesen’t fit the long term plans of NZ or Aus but you are robbing a whole nation of being able to see their best players play for Fiji…. Every second player in NZ and AUS teams has Fijian surnames… shame on you!!! World rugby won’t step in either as France and England has now also joined in…. I guess where money is involved it will always be the poor countries missing out….
84 Go to commentsNo surprise there. How hard can it be to pick a ball off the ground and chuck it to a mate? 😂
2 Go to commentsSometimes people just like a moan mate!
4 Go to commentsexcellent idea ! rugby needs this 💪
15 Go to comments9 Brumbies! What a joke! The best performing team in Oz! Ditch Skelton for Swain or Neville. Ryan Lonergan ahead of McDermott any day! Best selection bolter is Toole … amazing player
14 Go to commentsI like this, but ultimately rugby already has enough trophies. Trying to make more games “consequential" might prove to be a fools errand, although this is a less bad idea than some others. Minor quibble with the title of the article; it isn’t very meaningful to say the boks are the unofficial world champions when it would be functionally impossible for the Raeburn trophy not to be held by the world champions. There’s a period of a few months every 4 years when there is no “unofficial” world champion, and the Raeburn trophy is held by the actual world champions.
15 Go to commentsIts a great idea but one that I dont think will have a lot of traction. It will depend on the prestige that they each hold but if you can do that it would be great. When Japan beat the Boks (my team) I was absolutely devestated but I wont deny the great game they played that day. We were outclassed and it was one of the best games of rugby I have seen. Using an idea like this you might just give the the underdog teams more of an opportunity to beat the big teams and I can absolutely see it being a brilliant display of rugby. They beat us because they planned for that game. It was a great moment for Japan. This way we can remove the 4 year wait and give teams something to aim for outside of World Cup years.
15 Go to commentsHi, Dave here. Happy to answer questions 🥰
15 Go to commentsDon’t think that headline is accurate. It’s great to see Aus doing better but I’m not sure they’ve shown much threat to the top of the table. They shouldn’t be inflating wins against the lousy Highlanders and Crusaders either.
3 Go to comments