Obviously my unbiased view is that we have the best tighthead in the premiership but most of the time it appears that non tigers folk seem to think otherwise and he's either a penalty machine or his performances are so un-noteworthy that he barely gets a mention.
The evidence seems to point to that fact he must he far superior to at least every other English tighthead. He ousted Castro and hasn't looked back, no one else at Tigers has looked like overtaking him in the pecking order and in the England team he had to play 80 mins against a massive French pack because it seems no one else it trusted, even when he had 9 months out no staked a claim to his shirt.
But them when it comes to Lions chat he doesn't often seem to get a mention it just doesn't add up.
So how good is he? I think the range must be somewhere between very and best in the world
Whilst a small minority on this forum have rubbished him from time to time, I think the majority in the rugby world recognise his class.
Consecutive England managers have consistently 'over-played' him, regularly for 80 minutes, or close to it; as have Tigers to a lesser degree. I can't think of any other props who are regularly played to this extent. This being the case, these coaches must see Dan as the cornerstone of their set-piece, and although he may not be as devastating a ball-carrier as some, his overall contribution is valued.
It worries me that, following an international series, he will either be broken, or 'cream crackered'; and it is perhaps an indictment that England has not yet managed to bring on someone they have faith in to share the load.
He has a specific skill set, he has everything you want specifically for a prop. He is a great scrumager, well drilled in the lineout and works hard in open play and is generally solid (he also has fantastic stamina). However he isn't mobile and isn't much of a battering ram, also his general rugby skills (passing etc) is very average.
You know what you're going to get with Cole, hard working, solid and good set pieces which makes him one of the best. What some front rowers are able to do is become good open rugby players on top of that, like Brits for Saracens. Which is why players like Furlong seem to be ahead of him on the plane to the lions tour.
Put simply he is arguably the best tight head in world rugby. Certainly the best scrummaging tight head. Others may offer a bit more with ball in hand but when the opportunity arises he is a nuisance around the ruck. Concedes a few penalties in the way that back rows do when trying to steal the ball.
Few can last 80 minutes in the way he does in an era when most tight heads are under severe pressure from the opposition hooker and loose head so need subbing as they wilt, he allows the coaches much more flexibility to have a dynamic running tight head on the bench. Cole saps the strength of both the starting and bench loose heads allowing freedom to bring on someone like Sinkler for England late in the game to bust through the opposition defence without their strength and speed being sapped by scrummaging against fresh props. Eddie Jones chose not to take that risk against France who had a huge front row in a tight game.
We have had a lot of criticism of both he and Ayerza as being past their sell by dates. The reality is that they have held together a Tigers pack that is otherwise physically underpowered at hooker and not exactly been impressive in the second row and beyond, papering over the cracks that were caused by Tigers refusing to accept that the era of the small hooker has passed.
Cole has had a lot of pressure heaped on him with small hookers and no grunt from behind...
Take out Genge Ayerza and Cole and ours would be amongst the weakest scrums in the Premiership
Don't know,I think Rizzo,Youngs,Bateman would be quite tidy! On the question though Cole is world class,doesn't carry the best but his work at the BD,trying to turnover and clearing out is outstanding and his workrate and tackling superb!
"Rugby isn't a contact sport,ballroom dancing is a contact sport. Rugby is a collision sport" Heyneke Meyer
He is the ultimate professional simple as that. At the age of 16 he was a decent quality number 8 but was never going to set the world on fire. Somebody in The Leicestershire coaching set up then decided to turn him into a prop. Some would have sulked but Dan got on with it and started to play like a proper prop rather than a back rower with the 1 shirt on. He was a sponge for knowledge, he was dropped on his face on a few occasions initially but always learnt. I remember lending him a book called The Lions Speak, from 1971 , where there was a specific chapter on scrummaging written by Ray McCloughlin and a chapter on general tight play by Ian McClachin ( apologies for spellings) he took away and inwardly digested. Considering he has had a few serious injuries his progress and consistency are remarkable.
I'm sure he will go to New Zealand and if he plays in the tests he won't let anyone down.
I think the reason why Furlong is being talked up is that the guy is almost freakish in a good way. Naturally incredibly strong and very mobile with good hands
Ssshhhh what are you doing? We don't want people to cotton on to just how good Cole is. We'll have the French throwing silly money at him and all sorts.
Those who know what they are watching know how good Cole is. There's a reason several England coaches have one after the other all selected Cole as first choice.
sam16111986 wrote:Ssshhhh what are you doing? We don't want people to cotton on to just how good Cole is. We'll have the French throwing silly money at him and all sorts.
Those who know what they are watching know how good Cole is. There's a reason several England coaches have one after the other all selected Cole as first choice.
Would very much doubt he would ever go to France. Tight End for Tampa Bay now that's a different matter
He must be up there as one of the best Tight head props in World Rugby. His record speaks for itself. He does however need to try and discover what the ref who is reffing the match needs from a scrum. Too often he puts refs backs up after being told to modify his approach.
One of the best tight head scrummagers in world rugby. Useful around the park, at the breakdown in particular.
But not a great carrier, nor great hands, so he may struggle to get in the Lions Test side with some of the competition.
I still think Bateman could be e great tight head, he does have very good hands, is much quicker than Cole and is leaning the dark arts of No.3 play very quickly, for a hooker last season!
