England 2024/25

[Booboobang]

Lee Blackett going to Argentina as Attack coach and Byron McGuigan as assistant coach (maybe Joe El-Abd has to miss the start of the tour due to club duties?)

Steve Borthwick shakes up England coaching set-up with Premiership gurus

Exclusive: Lee Blackett and Byron McGuigan added to backroom team for tour to Argentina and United States

www.telegraph.co.uk

https://archive.ph/PXuIV

Really really happy that Blackett is involved,
What a meteoric rise for Byron as well, he was coaching Rossendale at the start of the season, now touring with England!

I pray blackett blows steve away and he brings him in fulltime, move wiggy to general assistant coach/2nd in command.

 

[Vieux Talonneur]

Confirmed that the maximum 25 central contracts will be handed out after the Lions tour. Sounds sensible….

Also that the Lions players will serve a 10 week stand down period after the tour (no exceptions) meaning they’ll only have a couple of Prem matches before going into the Autumn games. Happy clubs!

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Lions then rest then AIs then rest - barely going to see top players this side of Christmas

 

[Geordie]

Who will lose their current central contract....Dan and Slade could be 2...

 

[Vieux Talonneur]

Lions then rest then AIs then rest - barely going to see top players this side of Christmas

And then maybe just a couple before heading into 6N camp…..

 

[Vieux Talonneur]

Who will lose their current central contract....Dan and Slade could be 2...

Hard to imagine Ford keeping his if there’s no intention of playing him.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Wonder if they'll do the full 25, they only used 17 this time round

Current ones are:
Ollie Chessum (Leicester Tigers)
Tom Curry (Sale Sharks)
Theo Dan (Saracens)
Ben Earl (Saracens)
Immanuel Feyi-Waboso (Exeter Chiefs)
George Ford (Sale Sharks)
Tommy Freeman (Northampton Saints)
George Furbank (Northampton Saints)
Ellis Genge (Bristol Bears)
Jamie George (Saracens)
Maro Itoje (Saracens)
Ollie Lawrence (Bath)
George Martin (Leicester Tigers)
Alex Mitchell (Northampton Saints)
Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs)
Fin Smith (Northampton Saints)
Marcus Smith (Harlequins)


Dan and Slade is a good shout - though SB does seem to like Slade a lot, see how much game time he gets over the summer I guess
IFW probably shouldn't be there
Ford too

I could see them not going the full 25 again, tbh

 

[Vieux Talonneur]

Wonder if they'll do the full 25, they only used 17 this time round

Current ones are:
Ollie Chessum (Leicester Tigers)
Tom Curry (Sale Sharks)
Theo Dan (Saracens)
Ben Earl (Saracens)
Immanuel Feyi-Waboso (Exeter Chiefs)
George Ford (Sale Sharks)
Tommy Freeman (Northampton Saints)
George Furbank (Northampton Saints)
Ellis Genge (Bristol Bears)
Jamie George (Saracens)
Maro Itoje (Saracens)
Ollie Lawrence (Bath)
George Martin (Leicester Tigers)
Alex Mitchell (Northampton Saints)
Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs)
Fin Smith (Northampton Saints)
Marcus Smith (Harlequins)


Dan and Slade is a good shout - though SB does seem to like Slade a lot, see how much game time he gets over the summer I guess
IFW probably shouldn't be there
Ford too

I could see them not going the full 25 again, tbh

They’ve said they will be doing the full 25.

 

[Geordie]

Pollock will be interesting...the boy wonder.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

They've said they will be doing the full 25.

Bit surprised at that, going to be some players in there who probably don't deserve it

 

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

Slade and Dan should be off it.

Will Stuart, CCS, Baxter will def be three
I could see JVP sneaking one in

 

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

Bit surprised at that, going to be some players in there who probably don't deserve it

Either veterans they want to try and keep for experience in camp or youngsters they are taking a punt on

Honestly I would prefer the Irish set up of a central contract and a player of interest.

Have a total of 25 but thats got to be split between the two

 

[TRF_Olyy]

If they're doling them out then I wouldn't be overly surprised to see Quirke on there just so England have more control over his rehab and game time - even though he's not played for England in years
Sanderson said since his injury during training for the 6N he's tried to get the England medical staff more involved in his prep

 

[Saintjay]

Rfu wanting to host Chelsea games whilst The Bridge is in redevelopment. From Bill Sweeney taking to the Beeb.

Looks like the Nimbys are going to block it. Staying at Twickenham looking even more a poor decision.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Would be a massive, and much needed, cash injection

If the locals complain about having more than 3(? 4?) concerts a year there then I can't see them signing off on football every other week, sadly

 

[Ddanno]

Bit surprised at that, going to be some players in there who probably don't deserve it

Same as last time then tbf

 

[Ddanno]

Slade and Dan should be off it.

Will Stuart, CCS, Baxter will def be three
I could see JVP sneaking one in

All well deserved. Wouldn't mind Burry as well, he's been immense

Have to keep Ford (there's chuntering about him elsewhere) for as long as possible, as a player-coach I feel he could be sensational

 

[Vieux Talonneur]

The point of the central contracts is to ensure players are in peak shape for the internationals over the immediate period. Doubtless an over simplistic view, but surely that means selecting the players most likely to appear most often in match day 23s plus a couple of others - where strength isn’t so good or up and comers.

Would Pollock make the cut? Wouldn’t be surprised either way, might depend how he goes in Arg but his development need is more gaining experience than anything physical so SB might be tempted to want to see him get as much game time as possible - he’s banging on the door, but we don’t need to fast track him. With several athletic types able to play different positions in the back row or transfer from lock, I do wonder if CCS might be unlucky, although he might be one who’d really benefit.

Whichever way SB goes, he won’t be right

 

[Saintjay]

Might as well put Daly on the list. He keeps getting picked any way and had a decent 6 nations.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

At this rate one of us is going to make the list