I think this is one of the biggest reasons why people don't rate AWJ as a top player - the thing that supposedly makes him stand out, his leadership, winning mentality, raising a team above their level, inspiring his teammates, Captain Marvel etc - it's not something that anyone can measure in any viable way. And yet its stated by Welsh fans and media over and over and over again as some kind of factual thing that AWJ is the greatest rugby captain that ever lived and gives his team a 10-point buff every game just from his sheer, incredible leadership skills. Back in 2019 it was regularly cited as the reason that Wales won the GS, got to the WC semis etc. Then in 2020 when Wales couldn't beat anyone not named Italy or Georgia, AWJ's incredible leadership skills were absolved of all responsibility for his side losing and losing and losing again. And you wonder why people roll their eyes when we hear this stuff about AWJ?
Who knows who the best captain in rugby is - there's no legitimate way to measure it. So all we've got left is play on the field, and on that front, AWJ is good, solid, but limited. He rarely carries, and when he does, he makes no metres and often goes backwards. His passing is poor and never unlocks a defence, like say Itoje did with his pass to Underhill in the ANC game against Wales that led to an England try. He doesn't jackal ball at the breakdown like Itoje, Launchbury and even Hill now. He rarely steals lineout ball while often losing his own in the last year or so. Again, the Wales-England game in the ANC saw Wales lose 4 lineouts and England none. But it's okay, AWJ's a lock and the captain, so he's not responsible for Wales' consistently terrible lineout. For a captain, he doesn't really seem to be held responsible for anything... Oh, and he makes a lot of tackles, but not many dominant ones, like say Itoje or Lawes. And he had a terrible game against Scotland, giving away 4 penalties. By anyone's measure that's poor.
So no, he wouldn't get in the England squad. Eddie expects more of his locks than just making a lot of tackles and having some vaguely defined leadership superpowers. He expects them to have a big impact on the game in all sorts of areas: carrying, passing, jackaling, stealing lineouts, dominant tackles etc. Why do you think Eddie's so obsessed with locks?! And against SA in SA, that's exactly the kind of player you need. And AWJ just ain't it.
