EPS Watch / Player Form Thread

[BenHK]

With Sarries being in the championship next season, assuming the makeup of the EPS doesn't change fundamentally, the EPS is looking incredibly lopsided with more players from championship or bottom three clubs than from the top 8 combined:

1. Exeter - 4 (no starters, three bench players [LCD, Williams & Slade] & Devoto)
2. Sale - 2 (Curry and on-loan Wilson)
3. Bristol - 0
4. Northampton Saints - 5* (Lawes a regular, Ludlam and Furbank bench/backup options) -
5. Wasps - 2 (only Launch a regular)
6. Bath - 6 (Underhill, JJ and Watson regulars, others bench or backup)
7. Harlequins - 2 (1 nailed on starter and 1 coaxed out of retirement)
8. London Irish - 0
9. Gloucester - 2 (0 regulars, 1 bench)
10. Worcester - 1 (0 regulars, 1 bench/backup)
11. Leicester - 5 (5 regulars)
12. Saracens - 7 (6 regular starters, 1 bench)
13. Newcastle - 0* (0 regulars, plus Wilson on loan to Sale back for next year)

* plus one each from these clubs in camp for development

[Scrumhead]

Could be a few adjustments to that next season though ...

If Kruis is leaving for Japan, he won’t be in the Saracens contingent, while Earl will be at Bristol on loan. Marchant will also be back from NZ and has generally been selected when fit.

It also depends on the success of the Japan tour. If players like Willis or Dombrandt push themselves in to the mix, the picture will change a fair bit.

[Banquo]

Could be a few adjustments to that next season though ...

If Kruis is leaving for Japan, he won’t be in the Saracens contingent, while Earl will be at Bristol on loan. Marchant will also be back from NZ and has generally been selected when fit.

It also depends on the success of the Japan tour. If players like Willis or Dombrandt push themselves in to the mix, the picture will change a fair bit.

and Sinckler is off to Brizzle.

[BenHK]

So next year would be (assuming Kruis goes to Japan and Billy, Nowell and Marchant are in the squads):

1. Exeter - 5 (no starters, four bench players [Nowell, LCD, Williams & Slade] & Devoto backup option)
2. Sale - 1 (T Curry starter)
3. Bristol - 2 (Sinkler starter, Earl on bench on loan)
4. Northampton Saints - 5 (Lawes a regular starter, Ludlam & Furbank bench, Moon & Dingwall backup options)
5. Wasps - 2 (Launchbury a regular starter or bench, Umaga as a backup option)
6. Bath - 6 (Underhill and Watson regulars, JJ & Ewells bench, Dunn & Stuart backup options)
7. Harlequins - 2 (Marler starter & Marchant bench/backup option)
8. London Irish - 0
9. Gloucester - 2 (Heinz regular bench [wonder whether he'll make the squad next year?], Thorley backup option)
10. Worcester - 1 (Hill bench/backup)
11. Leicester - 5 (Genge, Youngs, Ford, Tuilagi and May regular starters)
12. Newcastle - 1 (Wilson back from loan)
13. Saracens - 6 (George, B Vunipola, M Vunipola, Itoje, Farrell and Daly regular starters, 0 bench)

So, out of the top 6 clubs, you only 6 nailed on starters. We are still going to have championship and bottom four sides making up the majority of our international squad. That's nuts - surely your best players should be playing for/coming from the best teams playing in the top competitions?

[Banquo]

So next year would be (assuming Kruis goes to Japan and Billy, Nowell and Marchant are in the squads):

1. Exeter - 5 (no starters, four bench players [Nowell, LCD, Williams & Slade] & Devoto backup option)
2. Sale - 1 (T Curry starter)
3. Bristol - 2 (Sinkler starter, Earl on bench on loan)
4. Northampton Saints - 5 (Lawes a regular starter, Ludlam & Furbank bench, Moon & Dingwall backup options)
5. Wasps - 2 (Launchbury a regular starter or bench, Umaga as a backup option)
6. Bath - 6 (Underhill and Watson regulars, JJ & Ewells bench, Dunn & Stuart backup options)
7. Harlequins - 2 (Marler starter & Marchant bench/backup option)
8. London Irish - 0
9. Gloucester - 2 (Heinz regular bench [wonder whether he'll make the squad next year?], Thorley backup option)
10. Worcester - 1 (Hill bench/backup)
11. Leicester - 5 (Genge, Youngs, Ford, Tuilagi and May regular starters)
12. Newcastle - 1 (Wilson back from loan)
13. Saracens - 6 (George, B Vunipola, M Vunipola, Itoje, Farrell and Daly regular starters, 0 bench)

So, out of the top 6 clubs, you only 6 nailed on starters. We are still going to have championship and bottom four sides making up the majority of our international squad. That's nuts - surely your best players should be playing for/coming from the best teams playing in the top competitions?

well its just hugely skewed by the 'anomaly' that Sarries are being relegated, and by Tigers having a poor squad outside the big 5 and coaching team. Bath are also underperforming imo.....and you have to bear in mind the impact of the World Cup on league positions.

[Scrumhead]

Yes and part of the rationale for having a salary cap is to prevent clubs from stockpiling all the best talent which means it should be spread around the league.

As much as Saracens cheated (and I’m certainly not sympathetic), their situation was at least slightly exacerbated by having had a number of academy products go on to be England starters.

[Which Tyler]

And of course, some clubs their top talent is English (Bath, Leicester, Saracens) whilst at others, it's non-EQPs (Sale, Bristol, LIRish) and others have a mix (Newcastle, Exeter, Worcester)

[BenHK]

And of course, some clubs their top talent is English (Bath, Leicester, Saracens) whilst at others, it's non-EQPs (Sale, Bristol, LIRish) and others have a mix (Newcastle, Exeter, Worcester)

Sale seems to be pretty good at producing EQP players that get overlooked by England then picked up by other countries

[Which Tyler]

And of course, some clubs their top talent is English (Bath, Leicester, Saracens) whilst at others, it's non-EQPs (Sale, Bristol, LIRish) and others have a mix (Newcastle, Exeter, Worcester)

Sale seems to be pretty good at producing EQP players that get overlooked by England then picked up by other countries

This is true - but they're also pretty good at buying their livestock from South Africa

[Stom]

And of course, some clubs their top talent is English (Bath, Leicester, Saracens) whilst at others, it's non-EQPs (Sale, Bristol, LIRish) and others have a mix (Newcastle, Exeter, Worcester)

Sale seems to be pretty good at producing EQP players that get overlooked by England then picked up by other countries

This is true - but they're also pretty good at buying their livestock from South Africa

And also, define "overlooked" compared to not quite good enough...

[Scrumhead]

Indeed. Should Addison or Haley be in the England squad? I rate both, but I wouldn’t pick them for England in anything other than an injury crisis.

[Mikey Brown]

Is Hendrikson one to keep an eye on at 12? Only seen highlights, which can be misleading, but appears to run some very good lines and have some decent enough awareness/vision.

[Puja]

Is Hendrikson one to keep an eye on at 12? Only seen highlights, which can be misleading, but appears to run some very good lines and have some decent enough awareness/vision.

He's looked a bit 1D when I've seen him in matches, but that could be just the games I've seen.

Puja

[Mikey Brown]

Another Max Clark perhaps, fair enough.

[Epaminondas Pules]

Indeed. Should Addison or Haley be in the England squad? I rate both, but I wouldn’t pick them for England in anything other than an injury crisis.

Probably not as they’re both Irish internationals.

[Mikey Brown]

Now that is what you call comic timing.

[Beasties]

We really do need a like button on here.

[twitchy]

[twitchy]

[Puja]

Whether or not any major fixture lists around the globe have resumed by May, a meeting of the World Rugby council that month could alter rugby union’s landscape radically.

There, the progress of the 50:22 law – which sees a side throw into a lineout if they bounce the ball into touch beyond the opposition 22 from behind halfway or beyond halfway from behind their own 22 – will be discussed.

Attendees will consider a wider roll-out based on trials that have been taking place over the past year, notably in Australia’s National Rugby Championship (NRC). The all-action, innovative Global Rapid Rugby tournament has also adopted the rugby league-inspired initiative.

“We are highly-encouraged with the package of trials currently operational in selected competitions around the globe,” said a World Rugby spokesman this weekend.

“The 50:22 trial was born out of a player welfare imperative to reduce the risk of concussion by reducing the number of tackle events, and the early indications are very positive.”
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Stuart Hogg
Stuart Hogg launches a clearance kick for Scotland against France Credit: AFP

World Rugby have already recognised that potential 50:22s, combined with the implementation of a goal-line drop-out rather than a scrum when the attacking team is held up over the try-line, have brought the added bonus of a more attractive and expansive spectacle. So, why is that?
Creating space

Governed by research showing that the tackle-area accounts for 50 per cent of injuries and 76 per cent of concussions, World Rugby’s introduction of the 50:22 primarily aimed to cause a reassessment of defensive techniques.

Crowded front-lines, comprising 13 or 14 players, have been in fashion for most of the past decade with two or even one man covering the back-field. Scott Sneddon is the attack coach for South China Tigers, Global Rapid Rugby’s Hong Kong-based team.

He says that the 50:22, adapted from the 40:22 law in play the previous season, caused an immediate rethink. Global Rapid Rugby 2020 only got through a single round, on March 14, before a coronavirus suspension. Even so, Sneddon noticed patterns.

During their 52-27 victory over Manuma Samoa a fortnight ago, South China Tigers amended their defensive formation.

“We were still seeing sides defending with a back two,” explains Sneddon, a Welshman who moved to Hong Kong after a spell as a player-coach at Rosslyn Park.

“But they were going slightly wider, leaving the middle of the field completely open. A lot of teams play with a back two. Depending where you are on the field, they will be close to the 15-metre lines. Now they’re sitting 10 or five metres from the touchline.

“That gives you a load of space down the middle of the park. We didn’t think we could allow opponents that much space, so we trialled having our nine almost halfway back in the middle of the field with our back two sitting almost 10 metres from an edge.
5022
South China Tigers' original defensive system

“Scrum-halves will usually stand in the line and be a shooting threat or even just an extra number filling in at guard. We trialled it that maybe he could stand in on a ‘half’ – as a winger might do but in the middle of the field. He would be in a position to cover the back-field down the middle if needed, if he saw the opposition 10 drop into the pocket. If there were any chips or dinks, he would still have the ability to work in behind.
5022
South China Tigers' new defensive system

“We caught Samoa long down the middle of the field a few times and they didn’t catch us once. This may have been down to our scrum half putting them off the long midfield exit. Samoa tried a couple of kicks to compete, our scrum half managed to cover up any high balls in that area. With the extra man on a half we felt quite comfortable because it gave us an additional man to work with our kick-counter.”

This illustrates how South China Tigers altered their defensive set-up in open play, moving from a 13-2 formation to a 12-3 or ‘12-2½’:

Ian Prior, a versatile half-back who has represented Western Force in 2019 and 2020 Rapid Rugby tournaments as well as the 2019 NRC, goes further.

“On the defensive side, you have to be wary of it,” he says, before outlining another layer of deception. “But you can also lure the other team into [kicking] if you play quite shallow with two at the back. Then it becomes a bit of a race to see who can execute their skills better.”

Essentially, the cat-and-mouse relationship between kicking and back-field coverage, which often sees wide passing to coax defending wings up from deep positions and manipulate space in behind, remains. Only the stakes are higher.

“The kick can give you a 60-metre net gain and it’s your ball, too,” adds Prior, who notched up a number of 50:22s in a victorious 2019 NRC campaign for the Force. A strong driving maul was one of their chief weapons.

“A lineout in the opposition 22 can be a game-changer in terms of momentum. I think it’s a great rule and it should be adapted worldwide. Even if it’s one defender you take out, it still opens up a great deal of options.”

In breathless Rapid Rugby, which does not allow the ball to be kicked out on the full at all, the significance of a 50:22 is mitigated by another quirky law. Attacks that begin behind a team’s own 22 and travel all the way up to the opposing try-line can yield nine-point tries. Under regular laws, even without that bonus, Sneddon predicts a fascinating trade-off.

“If they have two in the tackle and two and a half in the back-field, there is going to be space. From the point of view of an attack coach, it would promote playing to that space a little more.

“From a defensive point of view, coaches will still say: ‘Right, if they want to run it back, let’s kick and put the emphasis on our chase and keep them back there’.”
When are 50:22s happening?

A month ago, South China Tigers’ playmakers sat down to theorise about 50:22s. Turnover ball was the first area they identified as a chance for game-changing strikes. “It’s a 50:22 but also a 22:50,” says Sneddon.

Remarkably, Anthony Bouthier’s booming spiral against England at the Stade de France would have qualified for a 50:22 and a 22:50. Following a strong jackal from Cyril Baille over the top of Kyle Sinckler and an alert pass off the floor from Julien Marchand to his full-back, France would have ended this sequence with a lineout:

Ironically, England are usually extremely effective themselves when kicking in these transition situations. Take this try, set up by Owen Farrell and scored by Jonny May against Wales in 2018…

…or this one against France a year later. Just 14 seconds span between Tom Curry and Courtney Lawes forcing a tackle-turnover and May dotting down from Elliot Daly’s grubber:

Yet another similar finish from May arrived at Rugby World Cup 2019. Henry Slade sets it up:

All of these kicks came beyond the halfway line. However, the second two may have come from further back – and have been aimed towards the touchline for the safety net of a throw into the lineout in case May did not reach it – under 50:22 regulations.

Scrums were also brought up in South China Tigers’ meeting. In the middle of the field, deploying a kicker at first-receiver on either side of a set piece can cause serious headaches. Prior has accomplished a 50:22 for Force after shuffling away from his number eight and receiving a pass from the base.

“With a four-two defensive set-up, you often need a full-back to cover the whole field, unless they go with two back – and if they do that there are obviously opportunities to get gain-line success there.”

He has more ideas concerning phase-play.

“The other option from scrum-half was to go against the grain with a ‘toppy’, when the ball bounces and gets a bit of a roll after their wing has come up a bit early and becomes disconnected from their full-back.”

South China Tigers did not manage any 50:22s against Manuma Samoa. They could, and perhaps should, have had three. This was one passage from which they might have capitalised.

It begins as Manuma Samoa clear from their own 22:
5022

South China Tigers gather and run the ball back:
5022

Their counter is initially stopped just before halfway, meaning a 50:22 is in play on the next phase over towards the far touchline, Manuma Samoa’s back-field coverage is slightly confused and shallow.

South China Tigers identify this, so after a flat first-receiver steps up…
5022

…a swivel-pass gives a playmaker time:
5022

The kick aims to find space and bounce into touch beyond the 22…
5022

…but is mis-hit and stays in-field:
5022

If the 50:22 ever comes to northern hemisphere club rugby, or even to Test matches, these exchanges, which punctuate just about every professional match in the modern era, will be revolutionised.
Why will the law suit England?

We know that Eddie Jones sees today’s game as a blend between precise, American football-style set pieces and unstructured periods of kicking that remind him of soccer. That is partly why George Ford, Farrell, Slade and Daly – all of them intuitive footballers – have become regulars in his team.

Sneddon, whose ambition is to bring Hong Kong to Rugby World Cup 2023, brands England’s ability to kick from second-, third- and fourth-receiver as a big, trend-setting strength. Prior and Force colleague AJ Alatimu, a Samoa fly-half, both volunteer Farrell as a potential star of 50:22 kicking.

“I won’t say it’ll be easy for him but it can look easy when you execute it,” Alatimu says. “I reckon it’ll suit the game over there.”
AFP
Farrell puts boot to ball for England in last year's Six Nations against Wales Credit: AFP

“In the northern hemisphere you have George Ford, Farrell and Johnny Sexton – guys who can put it on an absolute dime,” adds Prior, who had a short stint at Harlequins in 2017-18.

“In certain months of the year in the northern hemisphere you have to play the conditions and play those percentages. Teams might still back themselves with a 14:1 but I do think, even though there is so much emphasis on structured defence over there – the detail that goes into set-piece defence is outstanding – it could open the game up a little bit and create opportunities.”

The impact of Steve Tandy on Scotland’s improved defence was a feature of the recent Six Nations. But the Ford-Farrell axis helped England win back the Calcutta Cup in brutal conditions.

This passage starts from a Ford free-kick that is held up comically by the wind. England recover it, though, and Willi Heinz feeds Sinckler. Farrell begins on the far side of the breakdown. May is already eager for a kick through close to the near touchline:
5022

On the next phase, Heinz bounces back to find Farrell. A raking punt from behind halfway skips into touch five metres from the Scotland try-line:

By rewinding slightly, we can see how England have players in both five-metre channels, which spreads out Scotland.

Ford’s work off the ball, moving to adopt a first-receiver position on the near side of the ruck, drags Stuart Hogg and Blair Kinghorn in the same direction and creates space.
5022

This would not count as a 50:22 because the previous breakdown takes place beyond the halfway line.

Opta have compiled the kicks that would have won lineouts for their own side during the 2020 Six Nations. There were 10 in total, not including the one struck by Farrell above, which came from a variety of situations.

Hadleigh Parkes slammed down-field following a quick lineout from Wales against Wales. Stuart Hogg and Romain Ntamack skipped clearances into touch after opposition restarts. Jamie Ritchie, like Bouthier, capitalised on a turnover. Ford would enjoy the law coming in, it seems, and George Furbank pinned the corner from a scrum at the Stade de France. Indeed, five of the 50:22 kicks were achieved by England players:

Another sequence from England’s 33-30 victory over Wales at Twickenham this month shows how their array of kicking options can control territory.

First, the visitors move the ball wide and Liam Williams grubbers through:
5022

Stand-in full-back Henry Slade covers across…
5022

…and, eventually, Ben Youngs clears with a box-kick:
5022

He does not find touch. Leigh Halfpenny catches and passes to Dan Biggar, who sends the ball back over the head of left wing Daly:
5022

Slade covers, and clips an excellent return down-field. It comes very close to what would be a 50:22:

Halfpenny intercepts, though. Now, he kicks ahead:
5022

Because colleague Slade has chased, Daly has hung back. He gathers and kicks…
5022

…finding space down the middle of the field between Biggar and Liam Williams:
5022

The ball trickles towards the try-line but does not cross it, meaning Wales cannot dot down for a 22 drop-out. They must play, and Biggar’s clearance is rushed under pressure from Daly. It does not find the safety of touch. Farrell covers…

…and England win the territorial battle comfortably thanks to some intelligent positioning, clever identification of space and skilful kicking. Now imagine the added excitement and tactical dimensions of a similar exchange under 50:22 laws.

England’s set-piece nous makes the lineout an extremely prolific platform for them. A 50:22 kick really would swing momentum in their favour.

Soon enough, we may well get a chance to see for ourselves.

[Puja]

From being initially anti, I'm actually quite intrigued by that potential law. Anything which can encourage a side to drop and extra man or two back out of the defensive line has to be worth a look.

Puja

[Mellsblue]

Coming to an EPS near you soon? The best Prem u23XV as per OPTA

[Banquo]

Coming to an EPS near you soon? The best Prem u23XV as per OPTA

That's Dors's 1st XV, bar the unqualified Hitchinson.

[Mellsblue]

Coming to an EPS near you soon? The best Prem u23XV as per OPTA

That's Dors's 1st XV, bar the unqualified Hitchinson.

He wouldn’t need an excuse to get Slade in the XV but it’s there anyway.

[Mikey Brown]

Interesting to see Boyce in there. Massively promising but wasn’t sure if he’s delivered much for Bath so far.

I’m very curious what stats are used to select that centre pairing.