Team for Tonga

[p/d]

Ewels in and Lawes as a lock instead of Simmonds is quite a statement. He may as well just take the French bucks now if they’re available to him.

Indeed.

[Scrumhead]

I’m more annoyed that I let Simmonds go from my fantasy team …

Massive opportunity for Dombrandt now.

[Puja]

Excellent news for Leicester - we'll happily take Dolly and Martin back for our game at the weekend.

Yeah - you were totally screwed without them...

I mean, we are going to lose Montoya and Wiese this week and, at some point, your pack of quality players is going to turn in a performance somewhere near the sum of its parts. With luck, not this weekend though.

Puja

[Danno]

Excellent news for Leicester - we'll happily take Dolly and Martin back for our game at the weekend.

Yeah - you were totally screwed without them...

I mean, we are going to lose Montoya and Wiese this week and, at some point, your pack of quality players is going to turn in a performance somewhere near the sum of its parts. With luck, not this weekend though.

Puja

Sounds a lot like what everyone else was saying about Leicester the last few seasons

[Danno]

I’m more annoyed that I let Simmonds go from my fantasy team …

Massive opportunity for Dombrandt now.

Particularly as Billy is reported injured for a month, so no chance of a last minute callup.

[FKAS]

Yeah - you were totally screwed without them...

I mean, we are going to lose Montoya and Wiese this week and, at some point, your pack of quality players is going to turn in a performance somewhere near the sum of its parts. With luck, not this weekend though.

Puja

Sounds a lot like what everyone else was saying about Leicester the last few seasons

It does feel like Bath are in the sort of state we saw with Tigers a couple of years back. Something does need to change, there appears to be the same hesitancy to overhaul what clearly doesn't work as well.

Tigers will be without Liebenburg, van Staden and Weise this weekend so getting Martin back certainly does help. Cyle Brink might return after 6 months out with injury but I'd be surprised if he started.

[Oakboy]

How many regular back- rowers are left in the 28? Just Curry, Underhill and Dombrandt or am I missing someone?

[Mikey Brown]

How many regular back- rowers are left in the 28? Just Curry, Underhill and Dombrandt or am I missing someone?

Well… Lawes.

[Puja]

I'm willing to bet that Eddie's for choice back row is:
6. Lawes
7. Underhill
8. Curry

Dombrandt will get 10 minutes from the bench, if he's lucky.

Puja

[Mikey Brown]

I'm willing to bet that Eddie's for choice back row is:
6. Lawes
7. Underhill
8. Curry

Dombrandt will get 10 minutes from the bench, if he's lucky.

Puja

I can definitely picture this, maybe even with a start for Dombrandt against Tonga, but then resigned to a handful of minutes vs Aus/SA unless he's immediately tearing up trees. I really hope we come out of this series learning a bit more about the backrow than just Lawes is (still) okay-ish as a 6 and Curry makes a very good fist of playing 8 without being overly suited to it.

Even if that means testing Dombrandt and finding he's not quite there (yet), it would be great to know one way or the other.

[jngf]

I'm willing to bet that Eddie's for choice back row is:
6. Lawes
7. Underhill
8. Curry

Dombrandt will get 10 minutes from the bench, if he's lucky.

Puja

Bite - I really hope you’re wrong but I fear you’re right

[jngf]

Reduced the team:
https://www.englandrugby.com/news/artic ... the-bubble

Lawes is still in the backrow then.

Ewels in and Lawes as a lock instead of Simmonds is quite a statement. He may as well just take the French bucks now if they’re available to him.

I really like Lawes as a bench option and don’t really mind him covering 6 in that role, but I still don’t like the trade offs as a 6. Particularly with Dombrandt offering a serious lineout option in a way Billy didn’t.

Or alternatively persuade Baxter to switch him to openside so that England can at last gain the pacy linkman we’ve missed since Backy !

[Mikey Brown]

Derail his club career in order to change positions/roles and compete in a position that’s got even more quality ahead of him for England than at 8?

[Which Tyler]

It does feel like Bath are in the sort of state we saw with Tigers a couple of years back. Something does need to change, there appears to be the same hesitancy to overhaul what clearly doesn't work as well.

You're aware of the Eddie Griffiths investigation, yes?

As for absences, last week Bath were without 11 first choice players and 7 second choice players. Bath's "pack of quality players" are largely unavailable

[Puja]

It does feel like Bath are in the sort of state we saw with Tigers a couple of years back. Something does need to change, there appears to be the same hesitancy to overhaul what clearly doesn't work as well.

You're aware of the Eddie Griffiths investigation, yes?

You're aware that we employed consultants to conduct a world-wide search for the best possible world-class coaching setup and ended up employing Matt O'Connor? Hopefully your investigation will bring better results though.

Puja

[Which Tyler]

Jesus, I'd forgotten about that one.
Either way, it didn't suggest hesitancy to change, "just" incompetence to enact it

[Oakboy]

I'm willing to bet that Eddie's for choice back row is:
6. Lawes
7. Underhill
8. Curry

Dombrandt will get 10 minutes from the bench, if he's lucky.

Puja

One of the mind-numbing side-effects of that could be Ewels starting in the second row. I can't believe he even gets into Bath's starting XV.

[Which Tyler]

One of the mind-numbing side-effects of that could be Ewels starting in the second row. I can't believe he even gets into Bath's starting XV.

To be fair, we've only got 3 locks, and one of them is permanently injured

[jngf]

Derail his club career in order to change positions/roles and compete in a position that’s got even more quality ahead of him for England than at 8?

The quality argument is predicated on an assumption that Tom Curry’s and Sam Underhill’s styles are the only way to play openside at test level well which I disagree with (as I know you know:) )

[Puja]

One of the mind-numbing side-effects of that could be Ewels starting in the second row. I can't believe he even gets into Bath's starting XV.

To be fair, we've only got 3 locks, and one of them is permanently injured

Indeed. It's all very well lamenting that we're picking Hill and Ewels, but we're not overwhelmed with options - Lawes hasn't actually played lock in a reasonably long time, Ribbans looks decent but realistically not as good as Hill at Prem level so I think the optimism about him needs to be tempered, and the next options down are Well and Lamb who are unlikely to set the world alight.

We need Kruis back, Lawes to stop pretending he's a 6, Launchbury fit, and Munga/Martin to come through as locks. Tomorrow for all of them would be great.

I’m more annoyed that I let Simmonds go from my fantasy team...

Aw shit, so did I! He's going to have a stormer this weekend, isn't he.

Puja

[Spiffy]

I'm willing to bet that Eddie's for choice back row is:
6. Lawes
7. Underhill
8. Curry

Dombrandt will get 10 minutes from the bench, if he's lucky.

Puja

That back row is not all that bad :

Lawes - did a pretty good job for the Lions at 6 and has played a lot for Saints there too.
Underhill - a tackling machine who has added a bit of carrying and link play to his game.
Curry - A powerful perpetual motion man who has shown he cam play well in any back row slot.

Whatever the back row combo, and the overall team make up, Jones will not learn much from a game against an under strength and unfit Tonga. They will make any England selection look good in a virtual training romp.

[Oakboy]

I think Hill is significantly better than Ewels and should start ahead of him. I also rate Isiekwe. I think we miss Launchbury badly.

Thinking back to Hill previously giving away daft penalties and our 2nd row performance post-Kruis (who I always thought was over-rated in pure individual playing terms), I suppose there are leadership questions. Is Itoje level-headed enough or is he just trying too hard?

I have two thoughts. One, should Jones work on a club pairing to get the best out of Itoje i.e. look anew at Isiekwe. Two, should Jones bite the bullet on captaincy and pick a forward in the role?

Taking that further, with reports of Lawes in some sort of leadership guise (read that somewhere) surely for the AIs the obvious experienced pairing is Itoje/Lawes. I quite like Lawes at 6 and I always want a back-row line-out option but at this stage?

[FKAS]

Jesus, I'd forgotten about that one.
Either way, it didn't suggest hesitancy to change, "just" incompetence to enact it

Tigers had consultants go round the world and come up with a list of of prospective head coaches. MOC applied of his own volition. The board opted for MOC because of his previous connections, cost and willingness to work with the current structure. After he went they tried to go with Murphy because of the same three reasons. It was only when Cohen stepped down that Pinchean has overseen us clean house and re-organise the structure in its entirety.

[jngf]

I'm willing to bet that Eddie's for choice back row is:
6. Lawes
7. Underhill
8. Curry

Dombrandt will get 10 minutes from the bench, if he's lucky.

Puja

That back row is not all that bad :

Lawes - did a pretty good job for the Lions at 6 and has played a lot for Saints there too.
Underhill - a tackling machine who has added a bit of carrying and link play to his game.
Curry - A powerful perpetual motion man who has shown he cam play well in any back row slot.

Whatever the back row combo, and the overall team make up, Jones will not learn much from a game against an under strength and unfit Tonga. They will make any England selection look good in a virtual training romp.

Not at no.8 me thinks

[Mikey Brown]

Oh my god.