The top 8 candidates to fill Marler's boots with England
Joe Marler shocked the rugby community on Wednesday, when he announced his international retirement at the age of just 28.
The 59-times capped loosehead prop has made the decision in order to spend more time with his family and though extremely admirable from a personal perspective, pragmatically it leaves England with a hole in their 23 a year out from the Rugby World Cup.
Mako Vunipola is solidly entrenched as England’s starting loosehead, but Marler has provided an experienced and effective option when Vunipola has been injured, as well as consistency from the bench. With the Harlequin now out of contention, there is a void for Eddie Jones and England to fill.
Here are eight of the top candidates to step into Marler’s boots and push Vunipola for his starting spot.
Ellis Genge, Leicester Tigers
Arguably the favourite for the spot, Genge has been making people sit up and take notice of his international potential since moving to Leicester, initially with his play in the loose, but more recently with his improvements at the set-piece.
However, Genge is currently sidelined with a knee injury and will be unavailable during the upcoming autumn internationals. The former Bristol man will, providing there are no delays in his rehab, get his opportunity to stake a claim for the jersey at the 2019 Six Nations.
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Ben Moon, Exeter Chiefs
Moon is the man who was called up by England to replace Marler in their recent training camp, so he seems the next logical option to examine. He goes quietly about his businesses in the south-west with very little fanfare, partly due to his age and that he has never been the “hot prospect” at any stage during his career.
At 29 years of age, Moon is not seen as a long-term selection for England, but he is an adept scrummager, plays with impressive conditioning and work rate and certainly wouldn’t let England down at next year’s RWC. He is currently fit and in form, so a chance to make his England debut in the autumn internationals is not out of the question.
Beno Obano, Bath
Unfortunately for Obano, his injury could not have come at a worse time. Initially sceptical of Obano’s ability to play at a high-intensity in international rugby, Jones seemed impressed with the improvements he was making with his conditioning, before an injury in an England training camp wiped him out for the 2018/19 season.
He will miss the autumn internationals and Six Nations and will be in a race against time to rehab and get back in game shape ahead of the warm-up games for the RWC. Given the options England have at the position, it’s unlikely they will turn to Obano next year given his lack of rugby this season and that the Bath loosehead’s time will come during the next cycle.
Alec Hepburn, Exeter Chiefs
Hepburn has been involved with England under Jones multiple times, but it seems as if he has, for the time being at least, fallen down the pecking order due to the form of his club teammate, Moon.
Given that it was only a training camp and not the squad for the autumn internationals, it may have been that Jones was just looking to get a closer look at Moon and that Hepburn still sits highly on his hierarchy of looseheads. With England likely to select three looseheads for the international window and Genge, Obano and Marler all unavailable for one reason or another, it would be surprising if Hepburn is not part of the squad come November.
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Watch: The Rugby Pod discuss England’s options in the pack.
Lewis Boyce, Harlequins
Another player that Jones has had into camp to have a look at, with the Australian particularly praiseworthy about Boyce’s ability as a carrier and the physicality that he brings to the game. He does not lack for competition to test himself against at club level, either, playing alongside Marler and Nick Auterac at Quins.
He is currently injured and won’t be seen at the autumn internationals, but he is one to keep an eye on next year. If he continues to find his feet with Quins and his upward trajectory since moving from Yorkshire Carnegie is maintained, he could be a dark horse to sneak into contention ahead of the RWC.
Matt Mullan, Wasps
Has time come and gone on Mullan’s international career? You hope not, but with the rash of injuries he has had to face in the last couple of seasons, his opportunities to put a marker down for Jones have been few and far between.
Mullan suffered a knee injury at the tail-end of last season and that is set to rule him out until 2019. If everything goes well, he could be back in time for the Six Nations, but it seems unlikely that, even if he could get back to fitness in time for it, he’d have enough rugby under his belt to warrant consideration. If he can finish the season strongly, though, he is a player who has never let England down in his 17 appearances to date and would be a solid option for the RWC.
Nathan Catt, Bath
The 30-year-old rarely gets talked about in regard to England selection, but he is one of, if not the most consistent scrummaging looseheads in the Gallagher Premiership. Given that Vunipola is entrenched as the starter, that scrummaging ability may not be the most important attribute for a man to come off the bench, but he is deserving of mention, nonetheless.
He is not poor in the loose, either, and regularly plays long shifts for Bath, putting in the work in defence and attack. He is not the prominent carrier that Genge, Obano or Boyce are, however.
Val Rapava Ruskin, Gloucester
The Tbilisi-born loosehead has made a strong start to the season but was a late withdrawal from the Gloucester squad to play Saracens this past weekend, after he failed a late fitness test. As long as it is nothing too serious, he could be an option for England this autumn.
A strong scrummager who also offers plenty in the loose, the prop certainly ticks two of the biggest boxes required to make the step up. Although born in Georgia, Ruskin made the move to England when he was a young child and has long since qualified on residency grounds.
Other candidates for the spot include Nick Auterac, Richard Barrington, Ross Harrison and Alex Waller, so whilst Marler’s loss is a heavy one for England to deal with, they do have an enviable group of players waiting in the wings at the position.
In other news: Gatland makes Rhys Webb appeal
Comments on RugbyPass
A wallaby front-row of Bell, Blake and Tupou…now that would be hefty
1 Go to comments“But with an exceptional pass accuracy rating “ Which apart from Roigard is not a feature of any of the other 9s in NZ. Kind of basic for a Black 9 dont.you. think? Yet we keep seeing FC and TJ being rated ahead of him? Weird if it’s seen as vital to get our backline beating in your face defences.
1 Go to commentsThanks BeeMc! Looks like many teams need extra time to settle from the quadrennial northern migration. I think generally the quality of the Rugby has held up. Fiji has been fantastic and fun to watch
13 Go to commentsLets compare apples with apples. Lyon sent weak team the week before, but nobody raised an eyebrow. Give the South African teams a few years to build their depth, then you will be moaning that the teams are too strong.
41 Go to commentsDid footballs agents also perform the scout role at some time? I’m surprised more high profile players haven’t taken up the occupation, great way to remain in the game and use all that experience without really requiring a lot of specific expertise?
1 Go to commentsSuper rugby is struggling but that has little to do with sabbaticals. 1. Too many teams from Aust and NZ - should be 3 and 4 respectively, add in 2 from Japan, 1 possibly 2 from Argentina. 2. Inconsistent and poor refereeing, admittedly not restricted to Super rugby. Only one team was reffed at the breakdown in Reds v H’Landers match. Scrum penalty awarded in Canes v Drua when No 8 had the ball in the open with little defence nearby - ideal opportunity to play advantage. Coming back to Reds match - same scrum situation but ref played advantage - Landers made 10 yards and were penalised at the breakdown when the ref should have returned to scrum penalty. 3. Marketing is weak and losing ground to AFL and NRL. Playing 2 days compared with 4. 4. Scheduling is unattractive to family attendance. Have any franchises heard of Sundays 2pm?
11 Go to commentsAbsolutely..all they need is a chance in yhe playoffs and I bet all the other teams will be nervous…THEY KNOW HOW TO WIN IM THE PLAYOFFS..
2 Go to commentsI really hope he comes back and helps out with some coaching.
1 Go to commentsI think we are all just hoping that the Olympic 7s doesn’t suffer the same sad fate as the last RWC with the officials ruining the spectacle.
1 Go to commentsPersonally, I’ve lost the will to even be bothered about the RFU, the structure, the participants. It’s all a sham. I now simply enjoy getting a group of friends together to go and watch a few games a year in different locations (including Europe, the championship, etc). I feel extremely sorry for the real fans of these clubs who are constantly ignored by the RFU and other administrators. I feel especially sorry for the fans of clubs in the Championship who have had considerable central funding stripped away and are then expected to just take whatever the RFU put to them. Its all a sham, especially if the failed clubs are allowed to return.
10 Go to commentsI’m guessing Carl Hayman would have preferred to have stayed in NZ with benefit of hindsight. Up north there is the expectation to play twice as many games with far less ‘player management’ protocols that Paul is now criticising. Less playing through concussions means longer, healthier, careers. Carter used as the eg here by Paul, his sabbatical allowed him to play until age 37. OK its not an exact science but there is far more expectations on players who sign for Top 14 or Engl Prem clubs to get value for the huge salaries. NZR get alot wrong but keeping their best players in NZ rugby is not one of them. SA clubs are virtually devoid of their top players now, no thanks. They cant threaten the big teams in the Champions Cup, the squads have little depth. Cant see Canes/Chiefs struggling. Super has been great this year, fantastic high skill matches. Drua a fantastic addition and Jaguares will add another quality team eventually. Aus teams performing strongly and no doubt will benefit with the incentive of a Lions tour and a home RWC. Let Jordie enjoy his time with Leinster, it will allow the opportunity for another player to emerge at Canes in his absence.
11 Go to commentsLove that man, his way to despise angry little men is so funny ! 😂
4 Go to comments“South African franchises would be powerhouses if we had all our overseas based players back in situ. We would have the same unbeatable aura the Toulouses, Leinsters or Saracens of this world have had over the last decade or so.” Proof that Jake white does not understand the economics of the game in SA. Players earning abroad are not going to simply come back and represent the bulls. But they might if they have a springbok contract.
24 Go to commentsA lot of fans just joined in for the fun of it! We all admire O'Gara and what he has done for La Rochelle
4 Go to commentsThe RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
10 Go to commentsWell that’s the contracts for RG and Jordie bought and paid for. Now, what are the chances we can persuade Antoine to hop over with all the extra dosh we’ll have from living at the Aviva & Croke next season…??? 🤑🤑🤑
35 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
35 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
17 Go to commentsIf someone like Leo Cullen was in O’Gara’s place I don’t hear Boo-ing. It’s not just that La Rochelle has hurt Leinster and O’Gara is their Irish boss. It’s the needle that he brings and the pantomime activity before the game around pretending that Munster were supporting LaRochelle just because O’Gara is from Cork. That’s dividing Irish provinces just to get an advantage for his French Team. He can F*ck right off with that. BOOOOO! (but not while someone is lying injured)
4 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to comments