With his latest injury. Could mean that Marchant is in consideration...
Could do, although Marchant's not really impressed since he returned. I accept the point made after the Wasps game that this may not be his fault.
It did remind me of the long thread back in the summer about whether or not we should try and sign Tuilagi. While it's never good to see someone injured, it does justify the concerns raised about him at the time.
Could well just mean 10. Ford, 12. Farrell, 13. Joseph for England. Would expect Joe would need to show a bit more to be considered.
I said it on a different thread, but I could easily see EJ deciding to use the games against the BaaBaas, Italy & Georgia as a chance to try out some different combinations & players. They're essentially meaningless games, so it's the ideal opportunity for him to experiment. It's rare that an England coach can do this in multiple games, as the 6N and normal AIs are usually tougher & the chance to improve ranking positions, so there's less incentive.
The Baa Baas and Georgia definitely. Italy he'll be targeting a belt and braces 5 points to hopefully win the 6 nations.
From a selfish Quins perspective I hope that none of Marchant, Smith or Dombrandt get called up. We simply don't have the strength in depth to cope if they are.
Back to the original point, Tuilagi is an x-factor player but his injury record and nailed on international status means he's just not value for money for any premiership club. Sad to see him injured again. He doesn't seem to get the rub of the green.
From a selfish Quins perspective I hope that none of Marchant, Smith or Dombrandt get called up. We simply don't have the strength in depth to cope if they are.
I take a different view in that we can’t keep playing the same players and not developing others and more importantly I hope they get a chance to shine as an England player ......
From a selfish Quins perspective I hope that none of Marchant, Smith or Dombrandt get called up. We simply don't have the strength in depth to cope if they are.
Back to the original point, Tuilagi is an x-factor player but his injury record and nailed on international status means he's just not value for money for any premiership club. Sad to see him injured again. He doesn't seem to get the rub of the green.
Yes. This is a tricky one.
I want our players to get test recognition and have the best careers possible, but at the same time, we’d be screwed if three of our best players were to be unavailable for an extended period of time. I think I read elsewhere that the England players will potentially be unavailable for their clubs for 11 of the first 14 fixtures of next season.
Having said that, they’re only usually unavailable if they’re in the match day 23 or a travelling reserve. At this point in time, I think it’s perfectly possible all three make the wider squad, but I’d say it’s unlikely all three of them make the 23.
The biggest loss would be Smith. We simply don’t have cover in the same stratosphere. At least Chisholm and Lawday cover Dombrandt and we have a fair few decent centres (who won’t see the ball anyway) to cover Marchant.
I think Smith is the only one with a real chance, Marchant maybe as Tuillagi is out, but hes been pretty quiet recently.
Slade and Joseph presumably ahead of Marchant at the moment.
So many backrows to choose from that while I think Dombrandt deserves a shot, fans from most other clubs could probably point to at least one of their own in the same boat.
Smith I think should be ahead of Umaga, Simmonds, Vunipola, Grayson and others, but then obviously I see him play far more often. I think the fact that his game management and kicking game has improved a lot boosts his chances.
I suspect that Ben Earl coming out from under the shadow of Billy Vunipola to reveal that he's a considerably better player than BV is these days could be the end for Dombrandt's immediate chances.
I've seen rugby players say that International rugby is that bit more fast and furious than the prem, less time to think, less time to react. As such it would do any of our players good to adapt to working at that speed and then come back and play for us. Billy Twelvetrees is an example of a player who couldn't make the transition, but if ours did they'd be better players for it.
Losing Smith would be a hammer blow, yeah. Interesting to compare our options as back-up at 10 to everyone else:
Team :: First Choice :: Backup Options
Exeter :: Joe Simmonds :: Gareth Steenson, Henry Slade, Harvey Skinner
Wasps :: Jacob Umaga :: Lima Sopoaga, Jimmy Gopperth
Bath :: Rhys Priestland :: Tom De Glanville, Cam Redpath
Sale :: Rob du Preez :: AJ MacGinty, Sam James, Kieran Wilkinson
Bristol :: Callum Sheedy :: Max Malins, Tiff Eden
Saints :: Dan Biggar :: James Grayson, Tommy Mathews, Piers Francis, Harry Mallinder
Gloucester :: Danny Cipriani :: Billy Twelvetrees, Lloyd Evans
Worcester Rugby :: Duncan Weir :: Jamie Shillcock, ??? (their site suuuuucks)
Irish :: Paddy Jackson :: Theo Brophy-Clews, Jacob Atkins
Tigers :: George Ford :: Zack Henry, Tom Hardwick
Saracens :: Owen Farrell :: Manu Vunipola, Alex Goode
We're comfortably one of the worst. Bath have only 1 senior flyhalf as far as I can tell, Tigers are pretty thin there.
I suspect that Ben Earl coming out from under the shadow of Billy Vunipola to reveal that he's a considerably better player than BV is these days could be the end for Dombrandt's immediate chances.
I think Earl needs to convince Eddie he's an 8, not a 7. So far he's been playing like a really good 7. Similar boat to Sam Simmonds.
I’ve not had great success in second guessing Eddie over the years, but...
I would agree Earl looks a top 7, I’m not convinced he has what it takes to be an England 8. I also agree Vunipola hasn’t been in great form for a long while now but I think they’ll keep picking him when fit (unfortunately). I think Dombrandt has been class and deserves a shot, but I also agree there are a lot of back rows making similar impacts at their clubs.
For me Smith is behind Simmonds (and Ford and Farrell obviously). He obviously has great potential but I don’t think he is ready yet.
Slade is the obvious 13 but I don’t think Ford/Farrell/Slade is a great combination so Joseph or Marchant could get a look in. I can’t think of a 12 that I would slot in between Farrell and Slade.
My guess - Marchant will get his chance but Dombrandt and Smith won’t.
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