POSTIGER wrote: ↑Mon Oct 26, 2020 12:15 pm
Eddie Jones must be the only person in the country who thinks Jacob Umaga is a better pick than Joe Simmonds.
Sport is all about opinions. There are some on here who think Thacker is an international class hooker and that Castro would make a good scrum coach despite having no coaching pedigree
Thacker isn't international class, but he is arguably better than any if Tigers current hookers & wasn't treated terribly well by Tigers.
Castro would be an amusing scrum coach if nothing else.
mol2 wrote: ↑Mon Oct 26, 2020 3:54 pm
Not sure Wilson will get back in when fit.
He is a fine player but there are several there who are arguably just as good already and considerably younger and should get better.
England nearly won the world cup but to take it to the next stage they need to to give the yonger players time to settle into international rugby so that may mean some of the older players find their international careers over. England lost the final in the front row which is why I'm surprised to see Macko there.
Willis can't be far off. Outrageously effective at turning the ball over, has he got the all round game to back that up? There would seem to be a host of back rows fighting for the 3 berths so some will be disappointed.
The other question is whether Farrell is the best captain given he may well not be a certain starter - is he the best fly half? The best inside centre? I would make Itoje captain.
That’s the thing with Willis, great at the breakdown and deserves his chance, but is he what you want at 6? Hill smashes players behind the gainline, clears out rucks and carried the ball hard. Saying that Willis would work well with Underhill or Ludlam at 7.
Leicester Tigers duo Ellis Genge and Ben Youngs have been included in the England squad for their final fixture of the 2020 Guinness Six Nations and upcoming Autumn Nations Cup in November and December
Hence, not just for the Italy game.
It seems Ford will be rejoining the squad for 'conditioning' when fit to do so,
Life can be unpredictable, so eat your pudding first!
The Umaga over Simmonds is absolutely the correct decision, Umaga/Farrell works much better than Simmonds/Farrell and if Eddie wants to return to Farrell at 10 he’s got a club combo 9/10 on the bench. Makes perfect sense to me!
"Rugby isn't a contact sport,ballroom dancing is a contact sport. Rugby is a collision sport" Heyneke Meyer
Scott1 wrote: ↑Tue Oct 27, 2020 11:50 am
The Umaga over Simmonds is absolutely the correct decision, Umaga/Farrell works much better than Simmonds/Farrell and if Eddie wants to return to Farrell at 10 he’s got a club combo 9/10 on the bench. Makes perfect sense to me!
If Farrell limps off 10 minutes in you have a flyhalf who is heavily reliant on a mentor style figure at 12 and who is known for making errors as regularly as moments of brilliance. Nervy place to be in. Simmonds on the bench would ease those nerves. Probably won't matter for Italy but I'd expect some more Chiefs players to come in after they've had a week or two to recover a little from back to back finals.
JP14 wrote: ↑Tue Oct 27, 2020 2:00 pm
What's annoying me about Joe Simmonds is that he has been laden with the Chiefs captaincy in order to pile the pressure on EJ in my opinion.
Why should that annoy you? He has done a good job as fly half and as captain of a side that has just won the domestic league and Europe.
We shouldn't worry if that puts pressure on EJ, it's his job to decide on his best team, it's the players job to make it hard for them to be overlooked. I would argue Simmonds has done that. He looks a pretty complete player rather than a flash wonder kid.
Good to see England backing rugby talent in Umaga rather than going for the safe option.
The safe option can often look so because of the strength of the collective team and playing style around it in my opinion.
I'd rather see natural rugby talent backed and coached than continue to be so limited by a fear of mistakes.
Relative perceived strength or weakness of the opposition also has a bearing on the selection process. Not that England are taking Italy lightly , but there are sterner tests at International level.
Seemingly heading rapidly toward senility .....Not long or far to go now , in fact, getting worse daily.....
Simmonds is a great young player and has not been overlooked. SJ will have reasons for his selection be they right or wrong. Only time will tell. I am certain that Simmonds will feature in the future.
Life can be unpredictable, so eat your pudding first!
JP14 wrote: ↑Tue Oct 27, 2020 2:00 pm
What's annoying me about Joe Simmonds is that he has been laden with the Chiefs captaincy in order to pile the pressure on EJ in my opinion.
Why should that annoy you? He has done a good job as fly half and as captain of a side that has just won the domestic league and Europe.
We shouldn't worry if that puts pressure on EJ, it's his job to decide on his best team, it's the players job to make it hard for them to be overlooked. I would argue Simmonds has done that. He looks a pretty complete player rather than a flash wonder kid.
Because they're not giving him the captaincy because he deserves it and is a born leader, Exeter are only doing it to pile the pressure on Jones to select him.
Formerly of Burbaaage (not Inkleh), now up north at uni