[2020 Six Nations] England Squad

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

thinking Youngs isn't in the picture

He's going to be in the next world cup

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Mitchell was in the squad as an apprentice, wasn't he?

EJ seems keen on only two 9s, so Spencer and Robson would be nailed on for me,

Mitchell would probably be my third choice - keep him in as an apprentice (unless he's too old/experienced for that now - I dunno what EJs criteria is)

 

[BPM]

100% although I much prefer Mitchell to Maunder.

No one else really stands out to the extent that I'd want to put their name forward.

The fact that Mitchell is now the first choice at Saints gives him a great opportunity to shine.

 

[NickBD]

Interesting reading the replies to Umaga when he was selected back in January. He wasn't great against Sale from what I read but I thought he was very good against Bath. EJ might know what he's doing sometimes.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Disagree, still want him nowhere near the England side


Nowhere near as good as Smith or Simmonds while being older than both

 

[BPM]

I'm with Olyy. I like Umaga and I think he is developing nicely. However, he simply isn't as good as Smith or Simmonds and at the time he was originally called up, he barely had any meaningful Premiership experience. He has a bit more now, but my opinion hasn't changed.

Also I just looked back at the comments and the majority were surprise, but mostly people acknowledging that Umaga has talent is a potentially exciting option. I'd going along with that line of thinking, but I wouldn't have picked him ahead of other players.

 

[Vieux Talonneur]

EJ might know what he's doing sometimes.

The trailers for Hartley's book suggest that he didn't always think that was the case. Doesn't sound like a total hatchet job but there criticisms of players, including him, dreading going away with Eng, a big boys don't cry culture where no-one wanted to be seen to be speaking out of turn and unnecessarily physical training in the days before matches.

None of that comes as a real shock, but it might be an interesting read.

 

[BPM]

Bit of a funny one really ... Eddie really backed Hartley and even now talks about him in really positive terms.

Doesn't seem to go both ways even if Hartley did say his knee ended his England career and not Eddie.

 

[Ragey Erasmus]

Bit of a funny one really ... Eddie really backed Hartley and even now talks about him in really positive terms.

Doesn't seem to go both ways even if Hartley did say his knee ended his England career and not Eddie.

For Eddie's many flaws, I can't think of any time he has thrown a player under the bus though. He has always said players have his support, even if it turns out they may not.

 

[Pieter Steph du Teague]

For Eddie's many flaws, I can't think of any time he has thrown a player under the bus though. He has always said players have his support, even if it turns out they may not.

I mean... after the RWC final he said he shouldn't have started Mako. He was correct but that seems a bit like bus throwing to me.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

For Eddie's many flaws, I can't think of any time he has thrown a player under the bus though. He has always said players have his support, even if it turns out they may not.

Haskell speaks well of Eddie's man management, and he's definitely the type to air his dirty laundry on a podcast for a few clicks

 

[Ragey Erasmus]

I mean... after the RWC final he said he shouldn't have started Mako. He was correct but that seems a bit like bus throwing to me.

Forgot about that moment but tbh him struggling that much in the scrum really was the single biggest contribution from a player towards us losing the game. Also he did seem to phrase it as it being an error on his part on selection. But in general I meant more that Jones in public doesn't tend to speak out against his players but we don't know what he is saying behind the scenes. Jones speaking highly of Hartley to the press doesn't mean that he was saying the same things in private.

 

[Yulia]

Jones speaking highly of Hartley to the press doesn't mean that he was saying the same things in private.

I don't know that much about this Eddie but I read an article posted here where Hartley described his real behaviour..I was really shocked. And yes, in public he can say a lot of positive things but his behaviour tells more than his words

 

[BPM]

Forgot about that moment but tbh him struggling that much in the scrum really was the single biggest contribution from a player towards us losing the game. Also he did seem to phrase it as it being an error on his part on selection. But in general I meant more that Jones in public doesn't tend to speak out against his players but we don't know what he is saying behind the scenes. Jones speaking highly of Hartley to the press doesn't mean that he was saying the same things in private.

Maybe. But he did make Hartley captain and give him every chance to get back to fitness before calling time on it.

If we're talking about actions speaking louder than words, I'm not sure he could have done that much more for Hartley?

 

[Vieux Talonneur]

I mean... after the RWC final he said he shouldn't have started Mako. He was correct but that seems a bit like bus throwing to me.

Agreed - and also said he'd made a mistake at FH. Jones' mistakes but pretty humiliating for the players and didn't need to be put in the public domain - especially as they're all still involved so couldn't really reply publicly.

From what I can gather Hartley has been fairly balanced but definitely critical in places. Others will have bigger axes to grind.....I always said to wait for the books!

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Meh, pretty standard.
Quite like the away kit, but looks more like a training top

 

[Which Tyler]

That's... so much better than I had feared

 

[TRF_Olyy]

That's... so much better than I had feared

Same,
The training shirts are pretty grim, but these are way better than I thought - i feared they might try and push the boat out to make a name for themselves
Luckily that leaked picture of the white/grey patterned one turned out to be a training shirt:

 

[Which Tyler]

Same,
The training shirts are pretty grim, but these are way better than I thought - i feared they might try and push the boat out to make a name for themselves
Luckily that leaked picture of the white/grey patterned one turned out to be a training shirt:
View attachment 8454

That's the one - I remember posting the pic of... Wasn't it Sam Underhill wearing that monstrosity, and fearing the worst ever since.


ETA; Underhill and Curry

 

[Not Mike Brown's Sock]

I'm a fan of both of those tbf, especially the away one.

It'll be nice to have a different design to others rather than the Canterbury colour substitutions they've been churning out for years