What England Should Do In The Six Nations

I have mentioned previously that England need to experiment in the 2014 Six Nations. As it stands England have a close to world-class team but there is not the depth in the squad needed in case a crisis appears – suspensions injuries etc. There is no point playing the next Six Nations to win it, they need to experiment, to blood young players, and there is no better stage than on one of the best international tournaments in the world. Now obviously there is no point fielding a different XV every week but Stuart Lancaster knows who his key players are – he needs to play his fringe players and see how they get on.

In terms of the front row, England have probably got the strongest in the northern hemisphere. At loosehead, nothing needs changing – Alex Corbisiero, Joe Marler and Mako Vunipola would all be first choice were they in any other country so the best England can do is rotate them and see who plays best in what combination. The same at hooker – Tom Youngs and Dylan Hartley are both proven so why not play another hooker in case one of them is unavailable? Luke Cowan-Dickie is talented and young enough to stay in the England squad for years to come so give him a shot.

On the tight side of the scrum, there is a place for Sale Sharks’ Henry Thomas who many see as a future regular for England and Dan Coles’ heir. In the engine room, again England have a plethora of talent available – Courtney Lawes, Geoff Parling and Joe Launchbury – so give someone else a chance, Ed Slater perhaps.

Backrow is where it gets a bit more complex. Billy Vunipola is young and still learning so you’ll want to keep him, and while we’re at it, it’s stupid not to have some experience in the team so keep Tom Wood too - apart from Tom Croft there aren’t many blindsides who could compete for England. Time and time again Chris Robshaw’s ability has been brought up but time and time again he has proved people wrong. Will he still be there though come 2015? Matt Kvesic and Will Fraser are two names people are touting to replace him.

Danny Care and Ben Youngs are both young, 26 and 24, and Karl Dickson has been tried at international level so scrum-half isn’t a problem. Fly-half is though. England’s reliance on Owen Farrell has been too much and back-up 10s need international experience – Freddie Burns attacks more than Farrell and George Ford is a youngster with an extremely bright future ahead of him. England will probably take three fly-halves to the World Cup so give them experience.

This autumn was a prime example of why experienced players are needed. Both first-choice centres Brad Barritt and Manu Tuilagi were injured so Billy Twelvetrees and Joel Tomkins were called upon. Bar one game, Twelvetrees played well but Tomkins looked lost at international level. More players like Henry Trinder and Luther Burrell are going to have to play at some point in the near future to see who can hack it.

Just like at lock, England have a plethora of talent at fullback – Alex Goode, Mike Brown and Ben Foden, so there’s no cause for concern there. It was good to see Marland Yarde given a chance in the autumn and I’m sure Christian Wade would have been there too were it not for injury. England are unable to choose these two though due to their respective injuries so the in-form Jonny May, Jack Nowell or Charlie Walker could all run out.

These are the players I believe Stuart Lancaster should be blooding for the World Cup, but then again, I’m not an international coach, or any coach for that matter, so we’ll just have to see what he comes up with in February.

Scotland vs South Africa Preview

Scotland played relatively well last week against Japan but the difficulty level goes up a few notches this weekend when they host South Africa at Murrayfield. The Boks comfortably beat Wales in a hugely physical game in their last outing and they will look to send a message to their Kiwi rivals by putting Scotland to a similar sword. The two teams met during the South African Quadrangular Tournament in the summer – the match ended 30-17 to the home team but the victory was tighter than the scoreline suggests, especially against a seriously weakened Scotland team, a theme that seems to repeat itself this weekend. 

Scotland

The Scot’s two most impressive players from the Japanese victory – Tim Swinson and Matt Scott – are both out injured so Jim Hamilton and Duncan Taylor replace them. The game will be even more important for Big Jim who was wrongly sin-binned when the teams last faced each other so he will be looking for revenge, and it’s safe to assume that his call-up is to help cull the threat of opposition lock Bakkies Botha. Richie Gray also starts at lock and could become the latest of 47 sets of brothers to have played for Scotland if uncapped younger brother Jonny comes off the bench.

The other three changes include Alasdair Dickinson and Moray Low coming in for Ryan Grant and Euan Murray in the front row, and John Barclay replacing captain Kelly Brown, who isn’t even on the bench, at flanker. Barclay’s inclusion means that Scott Johnson is finally fielding an out-and-out seven and it is a just reward for Alasdair Dickinson after an influential cameo off the bench last week. Johnson has gone on record saying that all 41 players called up for the Autumn Internationals will get game time and that looks to have rung true when you look at the experienced bench – Scott Lawson, Geoff Cross, Johnnie Beattie, Chris Cusiter and Max Evans all come in.

South Africa

South Africa are strong favourites for this game and it is easy to see why with the squad they have named and the way they dismantled Wales last week. JP Pietersen wins his 50^th cap for his country and is joined by Bryan Habana on the wing. Willie le Roux takes over at fullback as Pat Lambie moves forward to the fly-half position and the Bok front-row gets a makeover as Gurthro Steenkamp and Adriaan Strauss replace Tendai Mtawarira and Bismarck du Plessis.

Morne Steyn and Willem Alberts face late fitness tests and if Alberts is deemed unplayable, then Siya Kolisi takes his place at the side of the scrum. Steyn’s possible replacement has not been named yet. Flip van der Merwe and Botha both start in the engine room as Etzebeth is pushed to the bench in Botha’s first start in a Springbok jersey since the 2011 World Cup, and captain Jean de Villiers and the experienced Jaque Fourie and Fourie du Preez all retain their places in the backs.

All eyes on

His discipline may be ropey at best but there is no denying the physical presence of Jim Hamilton, he is a fan favourite and sure to be a welcome sight as he runs onto the pitch. His aggressive nature is something that is needed and he will be looking for a little piece of justice after he was unreasonably yellow carded in the summer for “attacking the face of Eben Etzebeth”. 

The man Hamilton is set to track all game is the experienced, and possibly one of the best locks in the modern game, Bakkies Botha. A colossal man and with a temper to match, Botha will be at the centre of every lineout, rolling maul and ball carry as he looks to pull apart the inexperienced Scotland backs. Don’t be surprised if Botha and Hamilton square up on more than one occasion during the game.

Head to head

Francois Louw is probably the most in-form six to be playing on the test arena at the minute and it will be up to his opposite man, Alasdair Strokosch, to try and contain him. Louw is a stereotypical South African back row, he makes huge tackles and carries and loves popping up on the wing to score tries. Strokosch’s role is slightly less defined, but just as important. He rarely misses a tackle and he will be looking to slow the Bok’s ball as much as possible to stop them gaining any kind of fluid platform.

Prediction

Some of Scotland’s best performances come when they are tipped to fail but while they may disrupt the Springbok train to begin with, don’t expect it to last very long. The scoreline will be close at halftime but the Boks will walk away with it soon after. It is sure to be a physical game in the pack but the Scottish backs don’t have the quality to make any sort of impact on their opposite man. South Africa to win by 20 and Scotland not to score a single try. 

Scotland vs Japan Preview

Scotland kick off their Autumn International series against Japan on Saturday, and although it may not be the biggest draw in the November matches, Japan are sure to present a real threat to a Scotland squad that still hasn’t reached full speed yet. An injury-ravaged Scotland team had a less than average summer with a loss to Samoa, a last-gasp win over Italy and a plucky display against South Africa that still ended in defeat. Japan on the other hand played Wales which resulted in a win and a loss, and just last week, they put in a solid display against a weakened New Zealand team although the scoreline may not suggest it.

 Scotland

The Scots have named a large group for the upcoming series with 41 players training under Scott Johnson and his staff. 18 quite rightly so are from Glasgow Warriors who are impressing in the PRO12 at the minute, and five players are uncapped so it’s easy to see that Johnson is picking on club form while keeping an eye on the future. The major talking point though is the fact that two definite starters are out injured; Tim Visser and Stuart Hogg with leg and wrist injuries respectively and also the fact that influential Richie Gray has been left on the bench.

Tommy Seymour picks up his third cap on the wing and this means that Sean Maitland has been shifted to fullback, not his preferred position but one that he should be more than comfortable in. Johnson has chosen the reliable half back pairing of Greig Laidlaw and Ruaridh Jackson so it’s safe to assume that Scotland will not be choosing to run the ball from all angles and will look to play a more familiar tactical game. Elsewhere, club combinations look to have been a factor with Warriors’ Ali Kellock and Tim Swinson in the engine room, and the talented Matt Scott and Nick De Luca in the centre, both of which play for Edinburgh.  There are no real shocks in the match-day squad and the team looks to have been picked on the respect that the Japanese deserve.

Japan

The majority of Japanese players are relatively unknown here in Europe, their most recognisable face being Fumiaki Tanaka who plays scrumhalf for the Highlanders. Hooker Shota Horie also plays Super Rugby for the Melbourne Rebels, and Australian rugby league international Craig Wing is a regular fixture for the Brave Blossoms after switching codes in 2009.

Encouragingly, Japan’s set pieces were solid during last week’s defeat to New Zealand although the same cannot be said about their handling; it was sloppy and the Japanese backs panicked when put under pressure. They looked impressive at the breakdown however, especially flankers Hendrik Tui and Michael Broadhurst, and it will be interesting to see if they keep the ball tight this week rather than feed their backs.

All eyes on

Aside from Stuart Hogg and the Gray brothers, Matt Scott has the potential to be one of the more talented players to come out of Scotland in the last few years. He is a hard hitting centre but also has the nous and ability of a play-maker and his role on Saturday will probably be to break the Japanese defence and either set up a platform for quick ball or to feed the ball out to wings himself.

At 5ft 5’ and under 12 stone, Fumiaki Tanaka is the smallest player in the history of Super Rugby but don’t let his stature fool you; he controls the forwards well, has a nice distribution and has the ability to snipe around the fringes when the opposition tire or are lazy. Scotland are going to have to keep their guards in at the breakdown until the ball has definitely left the scrumhalf’s hands.

 Head to head

The battle of the breakdown will play a huge part in this game, Japan will be looking to starve Scotland of the ball so that they are unable to play, so the Scots will look to recycle quick ball as soon as they can. Michael Broadhurst spoiled New Zealand’s party a bit last week by making a real nuisance of himself around the rucks so it will be up to captain Kelly Brown – back in the squad after injury cut short his summer tour – to keep the kiwi-born flanker quiet. Both players are known for their hard work ethic but it is worth considering that Brown is not an out-and-out 7 so if he is struggling, expect John Barclay to come on at some point.

Predictions

Japan will present a tougher challenge to Scotland than most people think – they are after all 15^th in the IRB rankings – but just like against New Zealand, they will start to tire in the last quarter of the game and their bench has less of an impact that Scotland’s does. Expect a sloppy game, especially if the weather conditions are bad, but if Scotland can get their backs going, it should be easy enough. Scotland by 20

5 Things We Learned In The Premiership: Round 7

Wasps will benefit most

They beat Leicester last week and Gloucester this week and Wasps seem to be on a bit of a roll at the moment. It helps that they have only a couple of players away on international duty so they have been able to name near full-strength squads for every game and Saturday’s win made it four from four in all competitions. Gloucester on the other hand are third from bottom in the league and have only two wins to their name. Bleak times at Kingsholm.

It’s all about O’Connor

And quite rightly so. Bad boy James has only been in the country a few days, probably doesn’t know any of his teammate’s names and had a hangover, yet he was the best player on the pitch against Northampton. He was quality from the back and made more metres than anyone else. Give him time to adapt, give the players time to work out how he plays and wait till Marland Yarde is back and he could take London Irish soaring up the table.

 

Is Strettle the answer?

Most people are talking about Christain Wade at the moment and who can blame them? The boy has electric feet, pace like a cheetah and can hold his own in defence yet he isn’t the leading try scorer in the Premiership this season. That accolade belongs to David Strettle who has six tries to his name now and seems to be one of the forgotten men on English rugby. He has international experience and due to the international form of Chris Ashton and Marland Yarde’s average debut, why not take a punt on him?

Newcastle’s impotence

They may be sitting in ninth place and are probably in a better position than most would have predicted at the start of the season but  Newcastle are sitting at the bottom of the ‘points scored’ table. They got thumped 40-3 by Saracens at the weekend and they have managed a measly 69 points from 7 games, less than 10 a match. If Dean Richards wants his side to stay in the Premiership this season then they had better start scoring points and sharpish. 
 

Front Mo Union

Dylan Hartley cops a lot of criticism for some of his actions but there is no denying his intentions now that the season to show just how bad men are at growing facial hair has started. Dylan has started a donation page entitled ‘Front Mo Union’ entitled to raise money for Movember and to promote the awareness of prostate cancer. If you wish to donate, you can do so here http://uk.movember.com/team/1023541

5 Things We Learned In The Premiership: Round 6

West is best

Friday night showed us once again why the West Country derby is still the best rivalry in the Premiership. Neither team were really troubled by international call-ups so were able to name strong starting XVs and, due to the poor weather, the game was a nervy, tight affair with Bath edging it by two points. The match itself didn’t disappoint, there was late drama, yellow cards and controversy and almost a case of sweet poetry as Freddie Burns – Bath born and bred – scored all of Gloucester’s points and nearly won the game for them.

Cockers is back!

Ah the angry little ball of criticism is back and we’ve missed him haven’t we? …..Haven’t we? Of course we have, and although he seemed slightly mellowed at the weekend even though his side lost, be sure that in a few weeks he will be back to his good old self. Who’s got the pool going for when he’ll get in trouble next? Put me down for three matches.

It’s English fly-half season

It wouldn’t be a ‘5 things we’ve learned’ without praise for an English fly-half and this week is no different. In the past Toby Flood, George Ford and Freddie Burns have all been featured and this week is the turn of ol’ comb-over himself, Andy Goode. Goode has quietly been impressing in a Wasps’ shirt this season and against Leicester, he was on fire. In windy conditions, he controlled the game superbly and kicked 17 out his side’s 22 points to punish his former team.

Relegation’s a sore subject

Worcester are without a win yet this season and have only two points in the Premiership so it’s understandable that there are a few doubts over whether Dean Ryan’s side can kick-start their season. So when a local paper asked Ryan about relegation, he replied "To be talking about relegation - especially from a local paper - I think is pretty poor." Alright Dean, steady on mate, the guy’s only doing his job.
 

Saints are top dogs now

Northampton have finally put pay to Saracen’s dominance this season after they well and truly smashed them on Saturday. They managed to score six tries against the league leaders and kept them on the back foot all game, with Samu Manoa and Sam Dickinson being their usual physical selves and Ben Foden and Stephen Myler controlling the game from the back.

5 Things We Learned In The Premiership: Round 5

Worcester need something special/I'm not always right

Worcester Warriors are quite rightly feeling the pressure at the moment; they lost to relegation rivals Newcastle at the weekend, and Sale and London Irish picked up wins against Bath and Quins respectively. Maybe their trio of newly-signed Argentinians can work some magic now that the Rugby Championship has ended, but Leonardo Senatore, Agustin Creevy and Mariano Galarza have their work cut out. Coincidentally, I predicted Irish to struggle recently due to the amount of injuries they have, but they proved me wrong at the weekend. 

 

Will Fraser adds to England's backrow options

 After ripping his lat off the bone, none would blame Will Fraser for taking his time coming back from injury, but nearly six months later, he was back in Saracens starting XV and back on the scoresheet. It's a timely return from the youngster who probably would have been capped on England's tour of Argentina and if he continues his bruising partnership with Jacques Burger in the backrow, he could still make his debut in the next Six Nations. 

 

Fair play to JP Doyle

All too recently, players have been giving referees far too much of an earful when it comes to managing the game, so thank you JP Doyle who, during the Tigers - Saints match, sin-binned Louis Deacon for dissent. Doyle was heard telling Tiger's captain Toby Flood "He came screaming over at me, demanding what I do. Unacceptable!" That's right Sir, you remind them who’s boss!

 Anyone could be England next 10

Ok, maybe not anyone. Owen Farrell will probably be Stuart Lancaster’s first choice but Toby Flood was back to his influential best against Saints, and there is a huge amount of buzz about George Ford at the moment, although his opposite man at the weekend, Danny Cipriani was by far the better fly-half. The bad boy of English rugby could have an outside chance if he keeps Sale’s heads above water but the same cannot be said for Freddie Burns, unfortunately he just hasn’t been able to kick-start his season so far and is slowly sliding down the pecking order.

Saint’s England stars are shining

Saints may be frustrated by the fact that they ended up drawing against the Tigers (even though a win was in their grasp) but surely they must be loving their home-grown talent this season. Sam Dickinson has undoubtedly been the revelation of the season, Luther Burrell’s performances have earned talks of an England call up and Courtney Lawes is still smashing his way through the opposition. Not to mention how easily Alex Corbisiero has fit into the team and the consistency of Calum Clark, Phil Dowson, Ben Foden and Dylan Hartley.

5 Things We Learned In The Premiership: Round 4

Cueto isn’t giving up his record easily

Mark Cueto is taking full advantage of Tom Varndell’s injury to try and break away from him in the Premiership’s top try scorer list. The 33 year old crossed the whitewash for the third time this season against Northampton to take his record tally up to 81. Varndell is stuck on 73 for the time being but be sure he will be breaking down the gap once he makes his comeback.

 

 

 Maurie Fa’asavalu is actually a bit of a girl

The Harlequins back-rower got binned at the weekend for essentially pulling on Jacques Burger’s hair. If you ask this writer, that’s a bit girly, he could have at least thrown a punch or two. The ex-rugby league star is six foot three though and weighs in at a meagre 18 stone so hopefully he doesn’t read this. I’m certainly not going to say it to his face.

 

George North is finally off the mark……

While North’s brilliance and contribution hasn’t gone unnoticed at Northampton, fans may have been a bit concerned that he hadn’t scored since his arrival. This all changed against Sale though as he opened up his account by finishing off a team move by crossing the line from a metre out. Just remember George, it’s not how you score them, it’s how many you score!

 

……And George Ford is a bit special

The Bath youngster scored 13 of his sides 33 points during their victory over London Irish including a superb solo effort from 60 metres out. He also set up Guy Mercer’s first try by ushering Topsy Ojo into touch then taking a quick lineout to give the flanker a clean run in. It’s been said before but if the fly half keeps up this form, he’ll be in an England shirt in no time.
 

Saracens could remain unbeaten

Saracens put in an impressive display on Saturday as they beat Quins 22-12 and they now have four wins out of four and have 19 points out of a possible 20. Chris Ashton and David Strettle are getting on the scoresheet, Owen Farrell is leading from the front and Jacques Burger is a man possessed. From what we have seen so far, it will come as no surprise to some if they remain unbeaten for the entire season.