At the risk of voicing a very unpopular opinion, as I know Shazam is beloved on these pages, surely Joe Simpson would be a good addition? Not in the mix for England as it stands, so when Youngs is away we'd have genuine top level cover? I know Harrison is a very committed club man, but he isn't genuinely a competitor to Youngs.
I suppose the other element I'm ignoring is that maybe we'd like to see Ben White more, but Simpson strikes me as a good option if he's not ready to be filtered in?
Perhaps more controversially, Quade Cooper (even though he's too expensive, definitely a d*ckhead and clearly disruptive as hell) has got to be better than Joe Ford and could be entertaining at least... I mean, I'd take Stuart Barnes in his current condition over Joe Ford so maybe I'm biased...
I think you can underestimate Shazam's standard. Simpson is fast and often spectacular, but Sam's pass is better, and his all-field game better. When he is unshackled he can make the breaks too, but IMO he began to show his abilities as he settled into a run of games, and with To'omua outside him, was far more effective than with Joe Ford.
Leicester Tigers 1995-
Nottingham 1995-2000
Swansea (Whites) 1988-95
A game played on grass in the open air by teams of XV.
Mark62 wrote: ↑Tue May 15, 2018 6:03 pm
Harrison is in the Matt Smith category for me, fantastic servant one club man.
Are the 2 youngsters coming through going to be better than him, yes without a doubt, but the presence of Harrison means they don’t have to be rushed
Absolutely - he's not going to be setting the world on fire but he will happily see out his career at Tigers and is a more than capable stand-in when Youngs isn't around. You don't get many players in that bracket these days.
Mark62 wrote: ↑Tue May 15, 2018 6:03 pm
Harrison is in the Matt Smith category for me, fantastic servant one club man.
Are the 2 youngsters coming through going to be better than him, yes without a doubt, but the presence of Harrison means they don’t have to be rushed
Scrum half is one of the few positions I think we are perfectly equipped for. We have a top class international as first choice, a very good AP level club man as back up and the. Two contrasting young talents pushing them on. White looks a general at 9 and we know Simmons is a natural footballer and can play most positions in the backline with his ability.
RagingBull wrote: ↑Tue May 15, 2018 9:47 pm
See NZ have a Winger in the U20's called Leicester Faingaanuku.
Throw the cheque book at him and sign him up Tigers...
He also plays fullback and by all accounts is a beast. We could do worse.
He has his own show reel ou YouTube just search his name.
You can find quite a lot of New Zealand schools rugby on there. The skill level of the top school teams is absurd
jgriffin wrote: ↑Tue May 15, 2018 2:55 pm
I think you can underestimate Shazam's standard. Simpson is fast and often spectacular, but Sam's pass is better, and his all-field game better. When he is unshackled he can make the breaks too, but IMO he began to show his abilities as he settled into a run of games, and with To'omua outside him, was far more effective than with Joe Ford.
...and he was instrumental and the catalyst in the upturn of our fortunes ...whenever that was !
A cricketing friends sons both play in the same Nelson College team and all Leicester is allegedly interested in is playing for the AB's.... overnight text..
