RugbyRebels

Mr Mwenda wrote:Don't really understand the level of criticism levelled at Nowell prior to the chiefs game. He's not the world's best and i'm not sure i'd've had him with the lions but he clearly can cut it at international level.

Mr Mwenda wrote:Don't really understand the level of criticism levelled at Nowell prior to the chiefs game. He's not the world's best and i'm not sure i'd've had him with the lions but he clearly can cut it at international level.

Mr Mwenda wrote:Don't really understand the level of criticism levelled at Nowell prior to the chiefs game. He's not the world's best and i'm not sure i'd've had him with the lions but he clearly can cut it at international level.

Which Tyler wrote:

Mr Mwenda wrote:Don't really understand the level of criticism levelled at Nowell prior to the chiefs game. He's not the world's best and i'm not sure i'd've had him with the lions but he clearly can cut it at international level.

Isn't it more that the criticism of Nowell has been quite long-standing; and that his weakness (pace) got cruelly exposed a few times just last week.
His principal attributes have always seemed (to many of us) a little wasted on the wing; stuff that's nice to have like workrate, decent hands, rucking etc; whilst his weakness is stuff that's the raison d'etre for a winger (pace - for which he tries to over-compensate positionally, which a good opponent can take advantage of). Many of us have always said that he just looks out of position on the wing, and that we'd like to see him get a season playing either 15 or 13 at Exeter where he look slike a more natural fit.
It's a discussion the EMB has approximately twice a year (November and February); and I think the general thinking is that he does a decent job on the wing, but of the sort we'd like to upgrade when the option comes along; and will occassionally get exposed at international level.

He's kinda the polar opposite of Jonny May - if we could graft May's legs on Nowell's torso; or Nowell's brain into May's sand-pit; we'd have a potentially world class winger on our hands.

Alex Shaw wrote:Spotlight on Underhill’s England debut

Date published: June 21 2017

Normally, when a talented young player is brought into an international team, they are the focus of all attention.

Fans want to know if they are the future star that they will be cheering for in the years to come and coaches want to know if they are physically and technically ready to perform at the highest level. They are usually compared to the veteran players in their position and either labelled as an immediate saviour or, at the least, a future starter who will have learnt a lot from the experience.

For highly-touted 20-year-old flanker Sam Underhill, you would think that’s exactly the scenario he would have faced when he made his England debut against Argentina in Santa Fe this past weekend.

That’s not quite the whole story, though. Just a week prior to Underhill’s debut, Tom Curry, a player one year, ten months and 24 days his junior, was also making his England bow against Argentina.

Curry, then still just an 18-year-old, was one of the scene stealers in San Juan and had already began to prompt conversations about whether he could push the likes of Chris Robshaw and James Haskell for their places in the England squad, as well as pencilling his name in at the top of the list of their possible successors.

So, instead of Underhill just facing the usual questions of whether he is ready for Test rugby and how does he stack up against the senior England internationals, he is now being compared, contrasted and analysed with a fellow young prodigy, both of whom are hungry to make their mark with England.

...

twitchy wrote:Great article.

Mr Mwenda wrote:Hmmm, not disagreeing with you lads. Nowell has his strengths and weaknesses (don't we all? ) but to my mind he's proved himself on the international stage. For what it's worth, Zebo would be ahead of him for the lions if i'd been selecting. Possibly also Earls. Still, i like Nowell as a player and want him to prove my assessment wrong both for england and the lions.

Banquo wrote:

Mr Mwenda wrote:Hmmm, not disagreeing with you lads. Nowell has his strengths and weaknesses (don't we all? ) but to my mind he's proved himself on the international stage. For what it's worth, Zebo would be ahead of him for the lions if i'd been selecting. Possibly also Earls. Still, i like Nowell as a player and want him to prove my assessment wrong both for england and the lions.

I think most think he is between OK and good internationally, with the occasional poor thrown in,

Oakboy wrote:

Banquo wrote:

Mr Mwenda wrote:Hmmm, not disagreeing with you lads. Nowell has his strengths and weaknesses (don't we all? ) but to my mind he's proved himself on the international stage. For what it's worth, Zebo would be ahead of him for the lions if i'd been selecting. Possibly also Earls. Still, i like Nowell as a player and want him to prove my assessment wrong both for england and the lions.

I think most think he is between OK and good internationally, with the occasional poor thrown in,

Agreed. It's quite simple. He is one of our best wingers but we'd like him not to be. It's not his fault that there aren't better ones. If Watson moves to FB and Daly is on one wing, Nowell is a likely candidate for the other shirt through to the RWC. There are arguments for other candidates but none are clearly superior.

Which Tyler wrote:Yup - we've got Watson (who really should be at fullback), and then a group of 3 deeply flawed options on the wing, IMO there's not really much to chose between Daly (Best rugby player, least like a wing); Nowell (Slowest) and May (Brain of a pidgeon). They're all decent options at international level, and once in a while each will be humiliated by an oponent, equally, once in a while, each is capable of winning a match on their own.

It'd be nice to find a well rounded wing to overtake all 3 of them, preferably 3 or 4; but it's not an urgent thing like IC and OSF have been.
Oh, and we're all desperately trying not to mention Rocco's name here, who's no more flawed than the 3 above, and less so than the other 5 options who appear to be ahead of him in the pecking order.

Which Tyler wrote:He's least like a wing in terms of instincts and experience playing on the wing. He's plenty talented enough; he's just doing all of his learning there in a white shirt and relying on his natural talent to overcome the lack of a decade's worth of experience in the position. He has to think about things that should be instinctive.

Mikey Brown wrote:Yeah, it's hard not to think about what a nice balance Daly/Roko/Watson would have to it. He just doesn't seem to be in the frame though.

May- briefly appeared to have turned a corner, appears more capable of being direct and aggressive now but still inconsistent.

Yarde- rugby brain just lets him down too often, see the line he ran when Francis scored.

Wade- seems to disappear in big games.

Solomona- hard to be objective given my dislike of the way he got in the team but looks a defensive nightmare.

Nowell- will be embarrassed time and time again in defence but at least offers something a bit different in (what has been so far) a pretty lateral, unphysical backline.

Watson- probably our best finisher. Can apparently play fullback too. Jones may be tempted to keep him and look at other options at 15?

Banahan/Addison/Sharples- not good enough

Earle/Cokanasiga/Udogwu- too early

Have I missed anyone?

Which Tyler wrote:Yup - we've got Watson (who really should be at fullback), and then a group of 3 deeply flawed options on the wing, IMO there's not really much to chose between Daly (Best rugby player, least like a wing); Nowell (Slowest) and May (Brain of a pidgeon). They're all decent options at international level, and once in a while each will be humiliated by an oponent, equally, once in a while, each is capable of winning a match on their own.

It'd be nice to find a well rounded wing to overtake all 3 of them, preferably 3 or 4; but it's not an urgent thing like IC and OSF have been.
Oh, and we're all desperately trying not to mention Rocco's name here, who's no more flawed than the 3 above, and less so than the other 5 options who appear to be ahead of him in the pecking order.

Banquo wrote:I see you have imitated my editing habit!

And the comment 'I'd like to see him commit to x.y.z'.....is seen often, but as professionals its not necessarily in their own gift.

Gloskarlos wrote:If you accuse someone of having the brain of a pigeon, it holds far more weight if you can actually spell pigeon correctly in the first place .....

Which Tyler wrote:

Banquo wrote:I see you have imitated my editing habit!

And the comment 'I'd like to see him commit to x.y.z'.....is seen often, but as professionals its not necessarily in their own gift.

Don't flatter yourself mate, I've had that habit for about 20 years.

Absolutely, it's not always up to the player, though I think there's often more they can do about it, especially if their England spot is on the line.

Gloskarlos wrote:If you accuse someone of having the brain of a pigeon, it holds far more weight if you can actually spell pigeon correctly in the first place .....

I apologise for my diskelsia; besides, I neither claim not to have the brain of a pidgeon, or to aspirse to be an international athlete

Mr Mwenda wrote:What sort of pigeon/pidgeon are we talking about here?

Mikey Brown wrote:Yeah, it's hard not to think about what a nice balance Daly/Roko/Watson would have to it. He just doesn't seem to be in the frame though.

Given that that option doesn't look too likely, what are the other options?

May- briefly appeared to have turned a corner, appears more capable of being direct and aggressive now but still inconsistent.

Yarde- rugby brain just lets him down too often, see the line he ran when Francis scored.

Wade- seems to disappear in big games.

Solomona- hard to be objective given my dislike of the way he got in the team but looks a defensive nightmare.

Nowell- will be embarrassed time and time again in defence but at least offers something a bit different in (what has been so far) a pretty lateral, unphysical backline.

Watson- probably our best finisher. Can apparently play fullback too. Jones may be tempted to keep him and look at other options at 15?

Banahan/Addison/Sharples- not good enough

Earle/Cokanasiga/Udogwu- too early

Have I missed anyone?