Autumn International Squad

[fivepointer]

Not sure about. Seen him putting in some nice assists this season. His game seems to have developed.

[Banquo]

Not sure about. Seen him putting in some nice assists this season. His game seems to have developed.

Not sure about…. ?

[Puja]

Not sure about. Seen him putting in some nice assists this season. His game seems to have developed.

Not sure about…. ?

I presume my comment at the end of the last page about OHC being a very limited player. I've not seen enough of him this season (as BT have been allergic to putting LIrish on until very recently), but I have seen him at least once fail to even look for support after a break and die with the ball. Even Mike Brown looked for support - okay, so he never passed to them, but at least he dummied!

Puja

[Spiffy]

What's the news on Farrell's fitness? I'd love to see Smith getting a run of games without the nursemaid at 12 to show he really can boss a game independently. He looked pretty good for Quins today with some lovely touches, good defensive positioning and accurate goal kicking which is at least the equal of Farrell's.

[Timbo]

Not sure about. Seen him putting in some nice assists this season. His game seems to have developed.

Not sure about…. ?

I presume my comment at the end of the last page about OHC being a very limited player. I've not seen enough of him this season (as BT have been allergic to putting LIrish on until very recently), but I have seen him at least once fail to even look for support after a break and die with the ball. Even Mike Brown looked for support - okay, so he never passed to them, but at least he dummied!

Puja

I think he’s quite selfish. Biggest issue for me with OHC is his defensive game though. Positionally can be a bit all over the place.

At hooker, I actually think it’s a massive blessing in disguise to be down George and possibly LCD. Obviously always a balance between development and results, but we simply have to get a viable 3rd hooker option. Like others, I’m genuinely curious and optimistic about Mcguigan’s potential as a test player. Would like to see him get 3 or 4 starts this Autumn. (Tom Dunn took a nasty bang to the head apparently, so doubt he’ll get a call up).

[Mikey Brown]

Roebuck as well as Radwan seems odd. Slade returns. Atkinson can train but not be available for selection.

Standard Eddie I guess.

I guess missing out on training doesn’t indicate whether any of them will be out for the first game though.

[Puja]

Roebuck as well as Radwan seems odd. Slade returns. Atkinson can train but not be available for selection.

Standard Eddie I guess.

I guess missing out on training doesn’t indicate whether any of them will be out for the first game though.

Clicking on the link reveals that the twitter image is lying to us about Arundell:

Henry Arundell will travel to Jersey for rehab (foot), along with Will Stuart who is recovering from a knee injury.

Sounds more promising.

Puja

[Mellsblue]

Sounds like Arundell, as Stuart, isn’t in the squad but will travel for rehab.

[FKAS]

Roebuck as well as Radwan seems odd. Slade returns. Atkinson can train but not be available for selection.

Standard Eddie I guess.

I guess missing out on training doesn’t indicate whether any of them will be out for the first game though.

Two wingers out and two wingers in? Arundell might still recover in time so Roebuck might still drop out, well you'd assume Radwan will be retained over Roebuck if Arundell recovers but who knows.

[Mikey Brown]

Fair enough. I forgot Arundell is looked at as a wing to be honest.

I guess I thought he'd take this opportunity to switch up the balance of the squad or bring in some more versatile players, which he often does. I suppose Nowell, Cokansiga, Murley isn't enough to rely on (even with Porter there) as 2 of them are serial injury concerns.

[Puja]

Also worth noting from this update (hidden away in the fine print), is that LCD has been passed fit to do the Jersey training. Promising news.

Puja

[FKAS]

Fair enough. I forgot Arundell is looked at as a wing to be honest.

I guess I thought he'd take this opportunity to switch up the balance of the squad or bring in some more versatile players, which he often does. I suppose Nowell, Cokansiga, Murley isn't enough to rely on (even with Porter there) as 2 of them are serial injury concerns.

Whilst he was primarily a fullback in Australia and has played wing for Tigers I don't think you'd want Porter starting on the wing, emergency cover for injury maybe. His positioning and aerial work are fine but under test level microscope issues may be found.

Nowell, Cokanasiga and Murley is pretty threadbare as wing options given Nowell is slow, Cokanasiga has struggled for form internationally and Murley is uncapped. Upping the numbers makes sense as much as we'd like to see Lawrence and Marchant brought back in.

[16th man]

Sweepstake on how far through the 5 day camp Manu makes it before Jones borks him again?

[Scrumhead]

Eddie’s guilty of many things but Tuilagi’s injury proneness isn’t one of them

[Oakboy]

Eddie’s guilty of many things but Tuilagi’s injury proneness isn’t one of them

True but I doubt anyone would put money on him playing every game through to the end of the RWC. I wonder if Jones would have more chance of that happening if he held him back as a more or less permanent bench option. It would mean he had to find a regular centre pairing and could use Tuilagi only if necessary.

I've always felt Tuilagi was a block to development.

[Mellsblue]

Eddie’s guilty of many things but Tuilagi’s injury proneness isn’t one of them

Sanderson did claim that Eng overloaded and broke Tuilagi in the last camp he attended.

[Scrumhead]

Maybe, but then his injuries are so frequent that it really doesn’t feel like it would take much to ‘overload’ him.

Eddie’s guilty of many things but Tuilagi’s injury proneness isn’t one of them

True but I doubt anyone would put money on him playing every game through to the end of the RWC. I wonder if Jones would have more chance of that happening if he held him back as a more or less permanent bench option. It would mean he had to find a regular centre pairing and could use Tuilagi only if necessary.

I've always felt Tuilagi was a block to development.

I tend to agree. It feels like the promise of his impact is considerably higher than what he’s actually delivered for years now. He just doesn’t justify his ‘automatic pick’ status when our constant state of waiting for him to be available has meant everyone else is unfairly treated as stop gap solution.

[fivepointer]

Since 2019 WC Tuilagi has played 6 times for England. His last cap was against SA this time last year. He scored a try and then immediately got replaced. He lasted 7 minutes.
Since his debut in 2011 he has been capped 44 times.
Its a terrible record.

[Mikey Brown]

Yeah, that’s easily 100 caps he’s missed through injury.

[Scrumhead]

There are usually 9 or 10 fixtures per year. Only more than that in 2019 I think (because we got to the RWC final).

He’s always selected when fit, so that means he’s been been available for about 40% of the time.

It is a ‘terrible record’ and makes it all the more annoying that everyone has been treated as if they’re keeping the shirt warm for him.

[rjjb]

Declan Kidney is now putting a dampener on any hopes of Arundel being available any time soon, saying he might not be available for the Autumn internationals at all. Though it all sounds very vague/speculative to be frank.

[Banquo]

There are usually 9 or 10 fixtures per year. Only more than that in 2019 I think (because we got to the RWC final).

He’s always selected when fit, so that means he’s been been available for about 40% of the time.

It is a ‘terrible record’ and makes it all the more annoying that everyone has been treated as if they’re keeping the shirt warm for him.

By every coach. Probably as much a reflection of our inability to produce top class centres.

[Puja]

Declan Kidney is now putting a dampener on any hopes of Arundel being available any time soon, saying he might not be available for the Autumn internationals at all. Though it all sounds very vague/speculative to be frank.

Aw shit. It looked like such an innocuous incident as well.

If he's actually touch and go, rather than just a little knock, I'd prefer him to take the whole series off. He's got many years ahead of him to be a superstar; I'd rather him not pull a Cipriani and get crocked right at the very beginning.

Puja

[Mr Mwenda]

Whose development has been ruined by Tuilagi's games for England? I think every England coach is aware Manu can't be counted on but no one has managed to step up it seems to me.

[Mikey Brown]

The description of his injury in that Twitter update sounded pretty bad to me (in all my medical expertise) so it doesn’t seem too surprising, even though it said he might be fine. Doesn’t really seem worth the risk with such a promising youngster.