Should Robshaw Captain England?

[04perryo]

Jordan crane would be my choice at 8 if he wasn't injured.

 

[McTallshort]

Paul Ackford seems to think Croft would be a handy No8 giving lots of pace off the back of the scrum and Dayglo started his international and club career as a flanker so it can work but Im not sure myself. Narraway looks the standout candidate but Gloucester are hardly playing with much confidence so I'm not sure how he would perform away from there. Would I have Easter back? well no I wouldnt, there is no doubting he is a good player but I want to see a more dynamic game from England and Easter is very much an old school No8 who fits better to a more tighter, slower game.

 

[Teh Mite]

Paul Ackford seems to think...

I'm afraid I must stop you right there...

The sad part is Jamie Forrester was injured. Debates about number 8's wouldn't register has he stayed fit (and the coaches weren't one-eyed in selection policy). Same could be said for DWS's broken knee.

 

[McTallshort]

So who then Mite? Of all the positions No8 is the one that concerns me most.

 

[j'nuh]

Why not Waldrom?

 

[Teh Mite]

So who then Mite? Of all the positions No8 is the one that concerns me most.

Gawd knows. The boat's been missed on Dowson. Crofts star is beginning to fade. Waldrom is too old and has no business there. If Robshaw could get a run of games for quins it would be a starting point to weigh him vs Haskell up. 7 is Woods shirt to loose (or at least SHOULD be). 6 will be crofts for a long time to come.


I add this part purely because I see him play virtually every week home and away, but Callum Clark could be a dark horse for the 6 shirt. He's progressed no end over the last year, is a workaholic according to Nick Johnson and was age level England captain. You never know, if Lancaster tells the old farts to f-off, stranger things have happened.

 

[gingergenius]

I don't see what is wrong with picking Waldrom until someone ubergood emerges. He's Engl(ish) and plays well for a good Premiership team, and he's only 28/9 I think... and what's more, he's a natural 8.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Hopefully the Bath coaches pull their heads out their arses (unlikely) and play Fearns back at 8 - a 7 he isn't, I think he could eventually be 8 for England

 

[j-dawg]

Olyy, get your head out of your arse and realise that every team needs a hero, and Tim Payne, my friend, is that hero.

 

[04perryo]

Hopefully the Bath coaches pull their heads out their arses (unlikely) and play Fearns back at 8 - a 7 he isn't, I think he could eventually be 8 for England

100% agree with you there

 

[Teh Mite]

Playing Waldrom means dropping one of Croft, Haskell or Wood while eliminating Robshaw from the equation, when frankly he's nowhere near the player Dewi Morris would have anyone stupid enough to listen believe.

 

[04perryo]

Robshaw wood and croft sounds like a good idea however i think it lacks a bit of power tbh i think robshaw is personally the strongest ball carrier out of them all and for that reason i would have at 8 instead of croft, but it looks all like a backrow of skill and i think a bit of power would go nicely with it to get over the game line so maby waldrom or narroway would be better in the starting team

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Narraway isn't exactly a wrecking ball either, though
Waldrom would be the strongest ball carrier out of those mentioned

 

[Teh Mite]

Reminds me of dropping Palmer for Deacon. Or Hartley for Thompson...

 

[04perryo]

yeah but we need to tbh. I mean if we want to play hartley and palmer and have a small backrow as well then the english pack i think will a push over we need some bigger forwards just to balance things out and if that involves dropping the less inform croft out for the inform robshaw and play waldrom at 8 then i think england should do it. (Palmer doesnt look like a small player anyways ive always thought he was quite strong)

 

[Teh Mite]

Palmers a low-grunt lineout general. Hartley is 1/3 of the most dominant front row in Europe. You do the maths.

 

[gingergenius]

Playing Waldrom means dropping one of Croft, Haskell or Wood while eliminating Robshaw from the equation, when frankly he's nowhere near the player Dewi Morris would have anyone stupid enough to listen believe.

Haskell's in Japan/ NZ; Wood wears 7; Robshaw wears 6; Croft gets dropped.

Waldrom isn't the next Parisse. But he's a good player from what I've seen, and I can't think of any other English 8s matching his form at the moment, besides Easter who needs to be put out to pasture internationally. Croft cannot play 8. Neither can Wood, or Robshaw. I see little point shoehorning one of them in to a position they don't suit - the only one perhaps worth a shoehorning is Haskell, but he needs to learn the position at club level before he plays there internationally, and seeing as this probably won't happen, he can contest the 6 jersey upon his return.

There's nothing too bad that can happen from it either. Worst case scenario, he has a heart attack at the mere sound of a national anthem and cannot step up to the level - which we'll realise by the end of the 6N and can quietly discard him from future plans. Best case scenario - he offers England a good dependable option at 8 and does a good job for however long it takes until an outstanding young 8 to arrives on the scene. And if nobody does, then Waldrom will be 32 in 2015 and won't be past it by any stretch.

 

[Mrs. Peter Quinn]

In my opinion Croft hasn't been playing at his best for a while, and the number of penalties he's been giving away in games is really annoying. I know we all love Croft because he was the one bright spark of the dark years but I don't think we should play him if he's not the best currently playing in his position. Nor do I think we should be playing people out of position when we have plenty of other possibilities in a position. So I think Croft should go on the bench, make him earn his spot again, and he does provide some fairly versatile cover.

The annoying thing about the number 8 position is that now is the time when we are most likely, with a new, supposedly baggage-free set of coaches, to pick the best and most promising in each position, but at the moment no single 8 is particularly standing out much besides Waldrom. And also annoyingly, Easter has played some very strong games recently. I really hope that this does not result in him being picked but I can understand the decision if he is, especially with Haskell out of the equation. I don't really have an answer for our problems at 8, but I don't think we can reasonably look past Waldrom at the moment.

All I know for sure, is that our 6 has to be Robshaw, and our 7, on current form, should be Wood.

6: Robshaw
7) Wood
8) Waldrom.

I have seen worse backrows...

 

[Peat]

Palmers a low-grunt lineout general. Hartley is 1/3 of the most dominant front row in Europe. You do the maths.

You appear to have him mistaken for William Servat.

Also, quite how Hartley gets away with constantly standing up in the scrums is a mystery.

Finally, Narraway ahead of Waldrom please.

 

[nickdnz]

Thomas Waldrom really interests me. From what I've seen he still looks like the best #8 in England by some way (and I would have given him quite a few games in the All Blacks had he stayed). What I find interesting is that many English people think he's a step too far in terms of picking overseas players. My problem with this is, is you either say that no player who was born and played professionally overseas is allowed to play for England, or you pick Waldrom on form. Otherwise it's just a strange double standard based off very little (Riki Flutey seemed just as bad if not worse, having played against and for the B&I Lions)