EPS Form Watch

[Ragey Erasmus]

Sorry, bloody android keyboard and small screen. No idea how it got that first sentence from me.

I meant to ask why 63% is worthy of comment this week, but 100% wasn't last week

I guess because there were fewer kicks last week. What I'm most impressed with kicking wise is the fact he is developing an ability to do drop goals and keep the scoreboard ticking over. That was one of the weapons of the 03 England side that made them so deadly and it's a philosophy Sarries use, just keep your opposition under constant pressure with a scoreboard that goes up every time you get into the 22 and it can work out well. The SH and particular Aus have put a lot of emphasis on tries to the detriment of getting 3 points. It likely cost Aus at least 1 game and possibly more when we faced them. It will be interesting to see if he continues to try to knock over drop goals in our next game.

Ford's goal kicking is a bit of a weakness but he has shown that he can kick at a similar accuracy to Farrell before in the Aviva and right now he looks to be improving rapidly.

 

[FLOBALOB]

LCD has made a very impressive start to the season. He had a good all round game last week in front of EJ, and another yesterday .What sets him apart from the other hookers is his mobility and speed around the park.
If he carries on playing like he is then he'll have to take Hartleys place, captain or no captain.

 

[Mumbles119]

LCD has made a very impressive start to the season. He had a good all round game last week in front of EJ, and another yesterday .What sets him apart from the other hookers is his mobility and speed around the park.
If he carries on playing like he is then he'll have to take Hartleys place, captain or no captain.

Agree that LCD has had a good start, but you are forgetting Jamie George. He has had good performances in set piece, tight and loose. Just carrying on his good form from last season.

Plus, Tommy Taylor is coming up on these guys very quickly too. Again a guy who has shown great set piece ability and is great in the loose too.

 

[BPM]

LCD is very good around the park and is in excellent form, but his throwing and scrummaging aren't at the same level as Hartley, George or Taylor's IMO.

We know how much emphasis Eddie puts on the set-pieces, so I can't see him being any more than an impact sub for the foreseeable future.

George is still in the box seat as Hartley's successor and, but for the captaincy, he would arguably be challenging him for the starting shirt. His set piece game is considerably stronger than LCD's and while not quite as dynamic, he is still excellent in the loose.

Taylor has also had an excellent start to the season and is stronger in the set-piece than LCD. He's not as strong as a carrier, but I'd say his energy, work-rate and defence are all superior to LCD's.

Longer term post-Hartley, I see George or Taylor as the starter with LCD as the impact-sub.

 

[Which Tyler]

Bath:
Charlie Ewels - Quieter today, and still out of position; did nothing wrong.

George Ford - Bit quiet when Worcester were dominant in the first half, but key to our resurgence in the second; tactical kicking was good with no time, great with a platform. Kicked 7/8 (18/23 +3 for the season)
Jonathan Joseph - DNP, injured
Semesa Rokoduguni - How is he not sitting on 20+ caps?
Anthony Watson - Went well on the wing, good to get on the score sheet first game back.

Fringe: Attwood - Good solid performance yesterday; did what we expect of him - but can he do it consistently against the better teams?

ESPN stat.s TBA

 

[Pieter Steph du Teague]

Chiefs vs Harlequins

LCD - Great game, grabbed himself a hat trick although 2 were off the backs of mauls. As has been said already, he's putting in a big claim to be in the England 23 once Hartley moves on. I don't see George as s real starting option. He's got great skill for a front rower but I question his fitness and how much he will actually do as a forward (Hitting rucks, tackles etc. the nitty gritty). In that aspect I think both Taylor and LCD out shine him and those 2 should battle it out for 2 while George is more or less bolted on at 16.

Slade - The 12 shirt clearly suits him, he played much better than the last 2 weeks. Hopefully he stays there rather than shifting to 10 or 13 again. If he continues getting game time at 12 I think he'll be a genuine contender for the England shirt.

Nowell - DNP, Injured

 

[j'nuh]

Gloucester:
Jonny May - Still injured.

On a serious note, Charlie Sharples and Tom Marshall both look excellent at the minute and should be contenders for the next squad announcement.

Billy Burns may well be worth a Saxons spot. He's come a long way at the start of this season. He's almost the opposite of his brother: he doesn't try to force things. He'll attack only when he spots an opportunity, otherwise he moves the ball on fast. Which is great, because I think that that was exactly what stopped Freddie going further for England. Only trouble may be goalkicking. Not that he's bad, I just don't know whether he's good or bad at it because Laidlaw has the duties. Pair him with Slade and job's a good'un anyway.

Ben Morgan doesn't look like he'll be back with England any time soon. He actually looks quite fast now, but he doesn't get past defenders like he often used to. And I haven't noticed much of Kvesic the last few games. (If only Moriarty had picked England, however, I'd be totally singing his praises right now.)

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Beaumont - combination of coming back from a long lay off, the knock last week, new captaincy and second season syndrome. Whatever it is he's been borderline anonymous. He was our main target in the lineout but other than that I struggle to think of anything he's done.

Sam James - strong game. Still offloading very well (though sometimes his willingness to offload does lead to a knockon) and he kicked really sensibly.

Haley - not back till next month.

Addison - Superb. Workrate is insane, defence is great and attack is very good. Guilty of crabbing across the pitch a bit but the state of our backs and how disjointed our attack looked at times, that can be forgiven (did it more last night than I've seen him do in his whole career). Played about 20mins of 13, too, and kicked at goal a bit (1 from 2, I think) and also kicked for touch, which was surprisingly passable considering he's never kicked at this level before. If he doesn't get a Saxons spot then the world's gone mad, he was pushing Laidlaw close for MOTM.

 

[FLOBALOB]

LCD is very good around the park and is in excellent form, but his throwing and scrummaging aren't at the same level as Hartley, George or Taylor's IMO.

We know how much emphasis Eddie puts on the set-pieces, so I can't see him being any more than an impact sub for the foreseeable future.

George is still in the box seat as Hartley's successor and, but for the captaincy, he would arguably be challenging him for the starting shirt. His set piece game is considerably stronger than LCD's and while not quite as dynamic, he is still excellent in the loose.

Taylor has also had an excellent start to the season and is stronger in the set-piece than LCD. He's not as strong as a carrier, but I'd say his energy, work-rate and defence are all superior to LCD's.

Longer term post-Hartley, I see George or Taylor as the starter with LCD as the impact-sub.

I've got to disagree with most of what you say, his throwing fraillties are a myth (91% last season) and better so far this season.
To question his energy and workrate is ludicrous. You only have to look at him chasing back Walker at the start of the second half yesterday to dispel that belief. He also made 20 carries last week - not a sign of someone lacking energy or workrate.
As for his scrummaging ; 35th min last week against saracens (jamie george) ,he hooked one against the head.

 

[j'nuh]

Yeah but you don't see him gouging and breaking arms. Clearly not committed enough to the cause.

 

[Which Tyler]

Sources: Statbunker for minutes played, and shots at goal' ESPN for everything else.

I have another page with figures averaged out per 80 minutes played; but after only 3 rounds it's a mess, with some players having stats divided by zero, others being multiplied to reach an 80 minute mark etc. Still undecided what to do when we reach LV and Euro cups with their wildly differing classes of opponent, and fielding of academy sides for some etc etc - probably just include them.

As for kicking stat.s; since September 1st 2014, and in all competitions:
Ford has hit 249 shots from the tee; from 324 efforts - Strike Rate = 76.85% + 10 DGs in 62 matches
Faz. has hit 231 shots from the tee; from 289 efforts - Strike Rate = 79.93% + 3 DGs in 52 matches

IIRC, going back a 3rd year makes no real difference to those stat.s; but I can't be bothered gong back 3 years, to a time that doesn't affect current form.

Between them, they've scored 1111 points from the tee in 114 matches; an average of 9.75 points per match.
That kicking percentage difference amounts to about 0.3 points per match.

 

[BPM]

I've got to disagree with most of what you say, his throwing fraillties are a myth (91% last season) and better so far this season.
To question his energy and workrate is ludicrous. You only have to look at him chasing back Walker at the start of the second half yesterday to dispel that belief. He also made 20 carries last week - not a sign of someone lacking energy or workrate.
As for his scrummaging ; 35th min last week against saracens (jamie george) ,he hooked one against the head.

I think you misunderstood my post. I don't think there's much to choose between the four of them.

Referencing Taylor for his crazily high work rate doesn't mean I'm questioning LCD's energy and work rate.

Equally, saying LCD is the best in the loose doesn't mean I think George or Taylor can't carry or don't contribute outside of the set-piece.

 

[Ragey Erasmus]

May has been out for quite a while. What is up with him and when is he due to return? He looked like he was finally hitting good international form and looking less like a rabbit in the headlights.

 

[Vieux Talonneur]

I think you misunderstood my post. I don't think there's much to choose between the four of them.

I think there is, Hartley's got leadership skills which count for a hell of a lot. He's also more experienced, which also helps, although at some point he'll tip over the hill.

All four are very different, which is great as it provides options. But I see hooker as one of the positions where continuity is really essential. For me, George should be next in line.

 

[Which Tyler]

May has been out for quite a while. What is up with him and when is he due to return? He looked like he was finally hitting good international form and looking less like a rabbit in the headlights.

Knackered Knee - due back November; may get rushed back for October if Glaws continue as they are. With knee injuries this chronic, he may never get back to being his old self; we'll have to wait and see.

 

[Peat]

Hartley is very visibly the worst in open play though. My greatest objection to Hartley as captain, then and now, is that he's blocking George, who seems to be simply better at rugby in every facet. The only things Hartley has over him are being a successful captain - okay, pretty big - and guaranteed not to f' up too much as a rule.

 

[Every Time Ref]

I think there is, Hartley's got leadership skills which count for a hell of a lot.

If you'd told me a year ago that I'd be agreeing with this statement I'd have laughed in your face!

Hartley is very visibly the worst in open play though. My greatest objection to Hartley as captain, then and now, is that he's blocking George, who seems to be simply better at rugby in every facet. The only things Hartley has over him are being a successful captain - okay, pretty big - and guaranteed not to f' up too much as a rule.

I always suspected Hartley was a temporary captain, but given how successful his tenure has been even if that was the case I expect it isn't any more. Captain Hartley is here to stay, and personally I'm not unhappy about it at all.

 

[Peat]

I'm not going to be too unhappy if they continue with a successful captain but I would rather have the superior player. I think if we want to win a World Cup, sooner or later the transition needs to occur.

 

[Vieux Talonneur]

I'm not going to be too unhappy if they continue with a successful captain but I would rather have the superior player. I think if we want to win a World Cup, sooner or later the transition needs to occur.

To who?

We've seen over the last few months that real leadership, one and off the pitch, makes a huge difference. It would be a real shame to undo that with a poor choice.

Itoje? For all his talent he's still green internationally and has no senior leadership experience. Maybe the longer term, but he's got enough on his plate right now.

None of the AP captains are even guaranteed starters for Eng. Hartley cut his teeth with 6 years at the helm of Saints.

 

[Peat]

To who?

We've seen over the last few months that real leadership, one and off the pitch, makes a huge difference. It would be a real shame to undo that with a poor choice.

Itoje? For all his talent he's still green internationally and has no senior leadership experience. Maybe the longer term, but he's got enough on his plate right now.

None of the AP captains are even guaranteed starters for Eng. Hartley cut his teeth with 6 years at the helm of Saints.

Neither would Hartley be if he wasn't captain. Shouldn't be even though he is.

Its a fair point about who the captaincy goes to if not Hartley but, given that his leadership at Saints clearly hasn't been the difference between winning and losing, I'm happy to take the risk that his leadership isn't the difference for England and that a leader will emerge.