England's options at 8
Nick Easter has recently cemented his place in the English back row and maybe having the best season of his career, but England's limp performance in Dublin under his leadership combined with the apparent "surprise" qualification of Leicester 8 Thomas "The Tank Engine" Waldrom Easter's position is now under serious threat. The question's asked after England's failure to turn up in Dublin lead me to wonder who else England could pick at Number 8.
During the 6 Nations Championship England didn't name a specialist Number 8 amongst their substitutes and presumably had Easter been injured Flanker James Haskell would have slotted into the position. Haskell is a proven ball carrier at International level and with his 114 kg frame he undoubtedly brings a high level of physicality to the back row. Standing at 6 feet 4 inches tall Haskell's inclusion would also bring significant skill as a lineout jumper. Since he moved to Paris and started to play for Stade Francais Haskell has improved his discipline and does not give away them number of penalties he used to or collect the yellow cards he once did. The one major question mark over Haskell's ability to become a regular International starter is his tendency to rush out of the defensive line and leave his inside defenders exposed and the defender outside him with a "dog leg" to deal with.
Thomas Waldrom would appear to be leading the pack to replace Easter, but as he has only been playing in the Aviva Premiership since the start of the present season some may feel that his immediate inclusion in the full International team controversial. Waldrom's one major down side is that he stands 4 inches shorter than both Easter and Haskell so he has limited lineout ability. Like Haskell Waldrom's main asset is his strong ball carrying, he leads the league with 157 carries so far this season. In his first season in the Premiership he also stands equal 4th in the list of defenders beaten having beaten 17 defenders he sits alongside Exeter Fullback Luke Arscott. He is one of just 2 forwards in the top 10 list for this statistic and is the only back row forward in the top 10. He is also 2nd on the list of total yards made this season, just 30 yards behind Delon Armitage, who has made the most metres. He also sits joint 4th on the list of try assists this season, with 4 just 1 behind the league leaders Ryan Lamb, Ben Youngs and Geordan Murphy. While Waldrom feature extensively in the attacking statistics he doesn't feature at all in the defensive statistics so the England management may view this as a weakness in his game. His offensive production alone would be reason to pick him sooner rather than later, although his attempted drop goal against Wasps did show why forwards shouldn't kick the ball!
If Waldrom was to be parachuted into the full England side immediately he would leap frog over a few players who have been knocking on the door of the full squad for quite some time including Jordan Crane whose club place Waldrom had been occupying while Crane recovered from injury. Crane is almost a carbon copy of Easter, he's a solid ball carrier who attracts defenders but lacks the dynamism of both Haskell and Waldrom, nor does he have the ability to offload in the tackle like Easter. As a member of the dominant Leicester pack of the last 3 seasons Crane is not adverse to doing his fair share of work in the tight and fulfilling his defensive responsibilities. At 6 feet 3 inches tall Crane would provide the English with another formidable lineout option and he is just 24 years old and if he was given an opportunity he would surely be a fixture in the England team for years to come.
Luke Narraway of Gloucester made his England debut in 2008 against Wales in the 6 Nations Championship but since then has only appeared on the bench for England and has become a fixture in the Saxons squad. Narraway is fairly different from the four players already mentioned, he is the lightest at just 101 kg but similarly to Crane stands at 6 feet 3 inches tall so would a very useful lineout jumper. His slimmer build means he is one of the quickest Number 8's playing in the Premiership today and has been part of the England seven's squad in the past. Narraway is as comfortable running with the backs as he is "jackling" to turn over ball in mid-field so his inclusion would bring the England an extra dimension that they usually only get when Tom Croft is fit and available. The reason most commonly sighted for Narraway's demise from the full England teams is that he is not defensively as strong as Easter or Haskell but over recent season he has a become an integral cog in the Gloucester set up and that doesn't happen if a player is a defensive weakness.
The third Number 8 in the most recent England Saxons squad is another Kiwi born back rower, 33 year old Dan Ward- Smith. When Ward- Smith was the shining light in a fairly poor Bristol team in 2007 he was hotly tipped to be the next England Number 8, but a horrendous knee injury saw him miss out on selection for the 2007 World Cup squad and left many wondering if he would even return to rugby. At his peak Ward- Smith had blistering acceleration from the base of the scrum and many believe that his play for Bristol was a major factor in then Bristol scrum- half Shaun Perry being selected for England. Standing at 6 feet 4 inches tall and weighing in at 115 kg Ward- Smith would provide an already sizeable England pack with even more beef in the tight and while he may not have recovered his explosive pace since the injury he is still a strong ball carrier and can offload effectively too. His size could be looked upon as a hindrance in lineout terms as not many lineout jumpers tip the scales at 18 stone plus but his mobility allows to him to adequately slot into all defensive systems.
Phil Dowson is also a member of the latest England Saxons squad and has been known to play at Number 8 in the past, but in recent times has appeared more often at Blindside Flanker a position to which his game is more suited.
Honourable mentions should go to Ben Skirving from Bath, Tom Johnson of Exeter Chiefs and Tom Guest who are all electrifying ball carriers of their day. Skirving is another quick ball carrier who has England seven's experience and was capped once in 2007, but injuries and lack of regular appearances at club level (behind ex- Kiwi skipper Taine Randell at Saracens and controversial South African back rower Luke Watson) have cost Skirving of late, but he still a very talented player. Johnson it should be said is mainly used on the flank by his club Exeter but he has an alarming turn of pace with ball in hand and would take many opposition back rows and even back lines by surprise. If Tom Guest where not Nick Easter's understudy at Harlequins then his impressive turn of speed and athleticism would surely be making headlines on a regular basis and putting pressure on Easter's place.
Finally, 2 players who I expect to be future stars in the England back row are the Sydney born Viliami (Billy) Vunipola who is currently an England Under 20 International and weighs in at an impressive 125 kg and Sale Shark Carl Fearns who is just 21 years old and will be moving to Bath at the end of this season. Fearns was nominated for the IRB young player of the year award in 2009 and is 6th on the list of top ball carriers in the league.
Blog by
@buck_mitchell
