RAWWeyman
Academy Player
- Joined
- Apr 21, 2011
- Messages
- 112
- Country Flag
- Club or Nation
I know there are a few threads of this kind of nature on the forum, just wanted to have one dedicated to purely assessing the performances and the probable future of each player.
I will begin by doing my opinion of England.
1. Alex Corbisiero: I must say, I had forgotten about Corbs with all the hype about Marler before the tournament, however I was hugely impressed with him throughout the tournament. In the loose, he is destructive. If you watch him, you will see how he regularly breaks the gain line and reguarly makes very powerful tackles. His scrummaging still has a fair bit to go, but he is still young and is a very bright prospect. Big things ahead of him.
2. Dylan Heartly: A very, very quiet tournament for him. Did nothing amazing, but did nothing disastrous. That said, his line outs were solid, but his scrummaging was suspect in one match in particular. Can't remember which one, but he kept standing up. England vs Wales maybe?
3. Dan Cole: Yestereday showed he has the scrummaging ability, hope to see more consistency from him in the future.
4. Mouritz Botha: Frustrated me if I'm honest. I liked him for Saracens, but on the international stage he underperformed. This was especially brought out in the fact he could not catch. He just dropped so many balls. Now, he would have to be a very strong grunt player to make up for this, but he's not. Lawes needs the 4 shirt again.
5. Geoff Parling: Very happy with his performances. Good line out work and was actually a destructive carrier and tackler. Looks like a good replacement for Palmer, we just have to hope he doesn't get injured as often as he has done in the past.
6. Tom Croft: I did have my doubts about Croft at the beginning of this tournament, but after the Wales, France and Ireland match he's shown glimpses (and I must stress glimpses) of his best. I have to say, as much as I do like Robshaw and admire his leadership and his work rate, Croft is my favourite to hold on to this shirt.
7. Chris Robshaw: It's true that he's been quiet and hasn't had his Aviva Premiership impact, but he is a master of the 'dark arts'. The only thing to decide is would you rather have a work horse or a fast blindside flanker. Aside from this he lead his team to some gruelling victories in Murrayfield and Rome and for this he must be praised.
8. Ben Morgan: Probably the find of the tournament, great speed, great strength, great skill, generally a great talent. Not more can be said..
9. Lee Dickson: Did what he needed to do for England, added tempo and speed to their game. In my opinion, he hasn't got the talent to hold on to the 9 shirt for much longer, because Care and Youngs on form are better players, and they will find form at some point. Still, he has to be credited for his work and input to the England side.
10. Owen Farrell: A solid performer all tournament. He is certainly a prospect and very talented. However, England must keep their options open at 10 for a while, because we do still have talent in the wings that deserve a look in. The june tour to SA will be prime time for this. Overall, exceeded my expectations and has proved himself on the international stage.
11. David Strettle: I do like Strettle, but there are better wingers out there and I would like Sharples especially to get another chance. However, he did his part in the tournament and appears to want the shirt and prepared to work very hard for it.
12. Bradley Barritt: His switch from 13 to 12 was a successful one, and overall impressed everyone. No one could deny his commitment and determination in attack and defense. However, although he is the best player to play 12 for a while for England, I still feel he needs another dimension to his game. There are the likes of Allen, 12T and maybe Waldouck lurking around behind him, as well as Tuilagi maybe moving to 12 to accomodate Trinder, Joseph or Daly. I still feel he has to keep improving to keep his spot, but definitely one of the best players for England in the whole campaign.
13. Manu Tuilagi: Showed he still has what it takes to be a world class player, and is an absolute godsend to the England team. Just needs more consistency and poise to become the best, which he probably will in time.
14. Chris Ashton: We all know he is a superb player at his best, but played poorly on the whole and maybe should be moved aside to allow some other talent to have a try. However, I want him to find form again because I still have faith that he is one of the best wingers around when on form.
15. Ben Foden: Progressed throughout the tournament and bounced back after the Italy match. Not at his best its fair to say, but did a sound job and I still want him to hold onto the 15 shirt for a very long time.
16. Rob Webber: Didn't really do much, though the poor guy got stuck on the flank against France and they consequently scored.
17. Matt Stevens: Really dont want him in the team. With Doran Jones playing well, I want Stevens and his poor disiplined ways out. Won't forgive him for giving away that penalty against Wales, as the ref was literally looking him in the eyes telling him to get his hands out of the ruck and he still kept them in there!
18. Tom Palmer: I still like Palmer, and performed well on the whole. Think his England days are ending realistically though.
19. Phil Dowson: Shame really, he should have been capped a long time ago. He did his job and was a bloody trooper in that France match. Was never going to have the impact that Morgan did though.
20. Ben Youngs: Yes, yes, an awful start and generally did play really badly, but showed that his confidence is building in that Ireland match, so lets hope he's finding his form again. I feel for the guy after the criticism he's received, but he's a young lad and will be a star in the future I still think.
21. Charlie Hodgeson: To be fair, although he looks like he should be using a zimmerframe, he won us the first two games with his charge downs, and performed pretty well in those two games. Fair play to him.
22. Mike Brown: Lacked confidence on the ball and should have delayed that pass to Strettle against Wales. That said, he's still a talent and I hope he's still part of the set up for years to come.
OTHERS:
Courtney Lawes: Poor bloke lost the ball to Scott Williams and, well, we all know what happened. As I said before, he has to be England's long term grunt second row..
Toby Flood: Don't really see his place in the set up anymore, unless he finds outstanding form and starts playing like he's never done before.
Don't feel like you have to name the whole squads, but if there's a player or two you want a comment about, then I just thought I'd make a place to do it.
I will begin by doing my opinion of England.
1. Alex Corbisiero: I must say, I had forgotten about Corbs with all the hype about Marler before the tournament, however I was hugely impressed with him throughout the tournament. In the loose, he is destructive. If you watch him, you will see how he regularly breaks the gain line and reguarly makes very powerful tackles. His scrummaging still has a fair bit to go, but he is still young and is a very bright prospect. Big things ahead of him.
2. Dylan Heartly: A very, very quiet tournament for him. Did nothing amazing, but did nothing disastrous. That said, his line outs were solid, but his scrummaging was suspect in one match in particular. Can't remember which one, but he kept standing up. England vs Wales maybe?
3. Dan Cole: Yestereday showed he has the scrummaging ability, hope to see more consistency from him in the future.
4. Mouritz Botha: Frustrated me if I'm honest. I liked him for Saracens, but on the international stage he underperformed. This was especially brought out in the fact he could not catch. He just dropped so many balls. Now, he would have to be a very strong grunt player to make up for this, but he's not. Lawes needs the 4 shirt again.
5. Geoff Parling: Very happy with his performances. Good line out work and was actually a destructive carrier and tackler. Looks like a good replacement for Palmer, we just have to hope he doesn't get injured as often as he has done in the past.
6. Tom Croft: I did have my doubts about Croft at the beginning of this tournament, but after the Wales, France and Ireland match he's shown glimpses (and I must stress glimpses) of his best. I have to say, as much as I do like Robshaw and admire his leadership and his work rate, Croft is my favourite to hold on to this shirt.
7. Chris Robshaw: It's true that he's been quiet and hasn't had his Aviva Premiership impact, but he is a master of the 'dark arts'. The only thing to decide is would you rather have a work horse or a fast blindside flanker. Aside from this he lead his team to some gruelling victories in Murrayfield and Rome and for this he must be praised.
8. Ben Morgan: Probably the find of the tournament, great speed, great strength, great skill, generally a great talent. Not more can be said..
9. Lee Dickson: Did what he needed to do for England, added tempo and speed to their game. In my opinion, he hasn't got the talent to hold on to the 9 shirt for much longer, because Care and Youngs on form are better players, and they will find form at some point. Still, he has to be credited for his work and input to the England side.
10. Owen Farrell: A solid performer all tournament. He is certainly a prospect and very talented. However, England must keep their options open at 10 for a while, because we do still have talent in the wings that deserve a look in. The june tour to SA will be prime time for this. Overall, exceeded my expectations and has proved himself on the international stage.
11. David Strettle: I do like Strettle, but there are better wingers out there and I would like Sharples especially to get another chance. However, he did his part in the tournament and appears to want the shirt and prepared to work very hard for it.
12. Bradley Barritt: His switch from 13 to 12 was a successful one, and overall impressed everyone. No one could deny his commitment and determination in attack and defense. However, although he is the best player to play 12 for a while for England, I still feel he needs another dimension to his game. There are the likes of Allen, 12T and maybe Waldouck lurking around behind him, as well as Tuilagi maybe moving to 12 to accomodate Trinder, Joseph or Daly. I still feel he has to keep improving to keep his spot, but definitely one of the best players for England in the whole campaign.
13. Manu Tuilagi: Showed he still has what it takes to be a world class player, and is an absolute godsend to the England team. Just needs more consistency and poise to become the best, which he probably will in time.
14. Chris Ashton: We all know he is a superb player at his best, but played poorly on the whole and maybe should be moved aside to allow some other talent to have a try. However, I want him to find form again because I still have faith that he is one of the best wingers around when on form.
15. Ben Foden: Progressed throughout the tournament and bounced back after the Italy match. Not at his best its fair to say, but did a sound job and I still want him to hold onto the 15 shirt for a very long time.
16. Rob Webber: Didn't really do much, though the poor guy got stuck on the flank against France and they consequently scored.
17. Matt Stevens: Really dont want him in the team. With Doran Jones playing well, I want Stevens and his poor disiplined ways out. Won't forgive him for giving away that penalty against Wales, as the ref was literally looking him in the eyes telling him to get his hands out of the ruck and he still kept them in there!
18. Tom Palmer: I still like Palmer, and performed well on the whole. Think his England days are ending realistically though.
19. Phil Dowson: Shame really, he should have been capped a long time ago. He did his job and was a bloody trooper in that France match. Was never going to have the impact that Morgan did though.
20. Ben Youngs: Yes, yes, an awful start and generally did play really badly, but showed that his confidence is building in that Ireland match, so lets hope he's finding his form again. I feel for the guy after the criticism he's received, but he's a young lad and will be a star in the future I still think.
21. Charlie Hodgeson: To be fair, although he looks like he should be using a zimmerframe, he won us the first two games with his charge downs, and performed pretty well in those two games. Fair play to him.
22. Mike Brown: Lacked confidence on the ball and should have delayed that pass to Strettle against Wales. That said, he's still a talent and I hope he's still part of the set up for years to come.
OTHERS:
Courtney Lawes: Poor bloke lost the ball to Scott Williams and, well, we all know what happened. As I said before, he has to be England's long term grunt second row..
Toby Flood: Don't really see his place in the set up anymore, unless he finds outstanding form and starts playing like he's never done before.
Don't feel like you have to name the whole squads, but if there's a player or two you want a comment about, then I just thought I'd make a place to do it.
