England squad

[Scott1]

I’m almost sure SB would’ve gone Farrell and Kelly for this one so he deserves the benefit of the doubt. Ludlam has played 6 for England before too and for Saints so it’s not really out of position. I like the team tbf ,and it’s a very strong bench

[westwinds31]

One thing Ludlam brings is energy, which is exactly what we need.

[Leicestertinytiger]

Gotta feel for SB, imagine he would’ve wanted Kelly/Slade midfield but both injured.

Like the selection. Only quibbles are would’ve had Freeman at 14. Malins needs a big game on the wing to prove he can mix it at test level. Would’ve had Ribbans off the bench too.

[wormus]

Just think how proud the parents of Chessum's must feel!
Ollie in the second row for England and Lewis captaining the England Under 20's on the same weekend.
Let us hope that both have a great game and are both on the winning sides.

JVP v Ben White might be exciting too, White can be quite fiery.

[markharbtiger]

Predictable overload of Tigers and Saracens players and several clubs without any players in the 23 at all. This kind of imbalance should not happen, and as I have said elsewhere in this forum, league games shouldn't be happening at the same time.

[fentiger]

Just think how proud the parents of Chessum's must feel!
Ollie in the second row for England and Lewis captaining the England Under 20's on the same weekend.
Let us hope that both have a great game and are both on the winning sides.

JVP v Ben White might be exciting too, White can be quite fiery.

Mum and Dad been on social media expressing their pride

[Hot_Charlie]

Predictable overload of Tigers and Saracens players and several clubs without any players in the 23 at all. This kind of imbalance should not happen, and as I have said elsewhere in this forum, league games shouldn't be happening at the same time.

It should clearly happen. The last two Premiership Champions, and the far and away best team in the Prem have the most representation.

The league issue is exacerbated by the fact the fixture list was decimated before Christmas. Unless the league shrinks dramatically then that won't change. Also obviously the play offs make up to an extent.

[markharbtiger]

Predictable overload of Tigers and Saracens players and several clubs without any players in the 23 at all. This kind of imbalance should not happen, and as I have said elsewhere in this forum, league games shouldn't be happening at the same time.

It should clearly happen. The last two Premiership Champions, and the far and away best team in the Prem have the most representation.
...

IMO it's a very easy way of selecting players, and I am sure there are otherwise excellent England qualified players in those club teams with zero representation. It would not matter if the 6N didn't go on for so long and league games weren't played in this period...

[loretta]

This has been covered so many times, but league games being played at the same time as internationals is ridiculous! The biggest hope around a 10 team league for me is that this might end, get rid of the rest weeks in the 6 nations too and it goes a long way to making space in the calendar.

[Scott1]

Don't seem to remember anyone moaning during our time at the top when we used to clean up at international time due to the quality of our squad!

[MCC1964]

Don't seem to remember anyone moaning during our time at the top when we used to clean up at international time due to the quality of our squad!

Oh I can almost guarantee there would have been some…..

[Tigerbeat]

Don't seem to remember anyone moaning during our time at the top when we used to clean up at international time due to the quality of our squad!

That was in the early days when there was no salary cap in place. Squads with more international call ups are now handicapped by the Salary cap and cannot afford those additional players, smaller squads now.

[GB72]

Don't seem to remember anyone moaning during our time at the top when we used to clean up at international time due to the quality of our squad!

That was in the early days when there was no salary cap in place. Squads with more international call ups are now handicapped by the Salary cap and cannot afford those additional players, smaller squads now.

May be wrong but I am not sure that the Autumn Internationals were a thing then and you were also dealing with the 5 Nations for a long time and no rest periods for players and so losing players for 4 weeks in a season did not seem too bad compared to now where they are unavailable for nearly half the season (not sure how far back you are talking but I assumed pre professional as during the professional era I seem to mainly recall the top teams pushing for as many points as possible early on as the others would always close the gap in the international periods).

[Scott1]

Don't seem to remember anyone moaning during our time at the top when we used to clean up at international time due to the quality of our squad!

Oh I can almost guarantee there would have been some…..

[Scott1]

Don't seem to remember anyone moaning during our time at the top when we used to clean up at international time due to the quality of our squad!

That was in the early days when there was no salary cap in place. Squads with more international call ups are now handicapped by the Salary cap and cannot afford those additional players, smaller squads now.

May be wrong but I am not sure that the Autumn Internationals were a thing then and you were also dealing with the 5 Nations for a long time and no rest periods for players and so losing players for 4 weeks in a season did not seem too bad compared to now where they are unavailable for nearly half the season (not sure how far back you are talking but I assumed pre professional as during the professional era I seem to mainly recall the top teams pushing for as many points as possible early on as the others would always close the gap in the international periods).

Yes,there were end of season internationals as far back as 2009 iirc ,maybe even earlier.