26 not exactly old, would still be younger than LCD and George at the next world cup
Anything <34 at the next RWC is fine for a new front rower imo
Anything <34 at the next RWC is fine for a new front rower imo
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England World Cup Squad
- Thread starter TRF_Olyy
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Agreed, it was more a surprise as i thought he was younger, tbh there is this obsession(im guily of this too) of picking the young inexperience players because they are the next big thing(Arundell over Murley comes to mind)
If a player is on form and good enough then age shouldnt be an issue, obviously within reason.
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Where does Walker fit into the hooking pecking order?
To be honest he must be delighted to be back at Quins. He’s basically had a year of publicly being told he’s not good enough, holding tackle bags and getting splinters. Whatever he’s been doing hasn’t been enough and he’s now been overtaken by an exceptionally raw rookie.
Being involved with England sounds glamorous and is well remunerated. But at the end of the day it’s just a job and any job can be monumentally frustrating. I’ve no idea what his temperament is like but it wouldn’t surprise me if he wasn’t looking across the Channel.
To be honest he must be delighted to be back at Quins. He’s basically had a year of publicly being told he’s not good enough, holding tackle bags and getting splinters. Whatever he’s been doing hasn’t been enough and he’s now been overtaken by an exceptionally raw rookie.
Being involved with England sounds glamorous and is well remunerated. But at the end of the day it’s just a job and any job can be monumentally frustrating. I’ve no idea what his temperament is like but it wouldn’t surprise me if he wasn’t looking across the Channel.
Realistically it looks like he's not in the pecking order, sadly
So good for Quins but then 7mins in the warmups and 26mins in the entire world cup is a damning indictment from Borthwick
It speaks volumes about Borthwick as well though, that he can’t even find a hooker he’s happy to trust for 20 minutes when l in the premiership they’re are solid set piece hookers, he just didn’t pick them.
Everyday EggChaser
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Riley got Motm against Newcastle and Jibulu is looking good so its not even a given he will go back to starting regularly
Manu broke his hand twice during the world cup, mad
First time vs Samoa and then a second break vs Argentina - no wonder his hand looked like a balloon during the medal ceremony
First time vs Samoa and then a second break vs Argentina - no wonder his hand looked like a balloon during the medal ceremony
It's a very England Rugby kinda situation to have your career derailed by....being called into the world cup squad
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Ben Spencer’s the gold standard. Half way around the world for 5 minutes in a, already lost, final and never been seen since.
LIONSxv
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Olivon is tall but he is not a second rower. I would he would imagine he get crumpled in the scrum if he filled in at lock.
The point is playing a slow lock at flanker for a couple of line outs a game is super dumb to me. You loose ruck speed, defensive shape and speed over the ball playing a lumbering lock
Doris is very similar build to Mercer from what I can see. Doris is arguably a better carrier but Mercer is a better line out option. He seems to have a natural spring
I really don’t get the unhealthy fetish with the entire pack bar front row being lineout options, especially for England, it’s quite literally one of the only area which functions well, if it’s not broken.
If Sb is going to keep the same kicking/ set piece (poor) tactics then the best pick would actually be:
4 Martin 5 Chessum 6 Itoje 7 curry 8 Earl
Solid in the scrum, good line out options and Earl to chase kicks.
If we want a sensible set of tactics then we need 4 top class locks. We currently have Chessum and Itoje looking very good. Martin who just needs to show consistency and one space.
Then in the back row it’s all about combos and I’m perfectly happy with our 6 being a flanker who can jump rather than a line out option first and foremost. I do think Earl needs to settle at 7 though and then we can bring in curry at 6 and Willis or another at 8. Then we’ve got others to fill in for injuries like underhill and Ludlum etc.
4 Martin 5 Chessum 6 Itoje 7 curry 8 Earl
Solid in the scrum, good line out options and Earl to chase kicks.
If we want a sensible set of tactics then we need 4 top class locks. We currently have Chessum and Itoje looking very good. Martin who just needs to show consistency and one space.
Then in the back row it’s all about combos and I’m perfectly happy with our 6 being a flanker who can jump rather than a line out option first and foremost. I do think Earl needs to settle at 7 though and then we can bring in curry at 6 and Willis or another at 8. Then we’ve got others to fill in for injuries like underhill and Ludlum etc.
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Honestly if Lamb hadn't been snapped up by the Italians, he would have been a good option for that lock / 6 role
What would your Saxons side be?
Just seen that Mercer had ankle surgery on Monday, no confirmation of what the injury was or how long he's out for
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I’ll bite on that …
I assume the A team vs. Portugal would actually ‘capture’ players so I’d definitely want to prioritise tying down any dual qualified players - specifically Fin Smith, Warr, Roebuck and Lynagh.
Subject to form etc. I’d go for:
1. F. Baxter
2. D. Frost
3. E. Painter
4. A. Coles
5. H. Tizard
6. J. Kenningham
7. B. Curry (c)
8. Barbeary
9. G. Warr
10. F. Smith
11. T. Roebuck
12. L. Northmore
13. W. Joseph
14. L. Lynagh
15. J. Hodge
16. S. Riley
17. M. Iyogun
18. J. Harper
19. R. Tuima
20. F. Harding / G. Fisilau
21. W. Porter
22. O. Bailey
23. J. Carpenter
Like that a lot
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Id agree with most of them 12 is the most interesting one for me, i like Northmore but who is going to be the next English 12? He's very good but will he get a call up. Or overtaken by Anyanwu? Or stuck behind Esterhuizen? I know he deserves it but is this best for England, same with Lynagh very good but is he ahead of others like Freeman?
Id say as it stands Pearson should be there to show what he can do. Langdon over Riley?
Ben Curry i just feel bad for all the talent of his brother and next to zero of the caps.
Poor Murley
Presumably the selection there of Lynagh is to show an interest from England, and to tie him to us so that he would at least need 3 years before being "poached" by Australia.
I've no idea if Northmore is available for anyone else, but he's surely not the next cab off the rank at 12 (besides, isn't he mostly an OC? can't we, for once, pick someone who plays mostly at IC to play IC for us?)
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