Whilst Joe Launchbury is unavailable there’s a big question mark on who is best placed to cover his mighty boots and complement the skillset of Itoje (assuming he will be first choice for other lock berth).
The complementary skillset would have ball carrying on top of the list and size and ballast as well as mauling ability. Itoje appears to have had a magic growth spurt from 1.95m to 1.97m on many vital statistics rugby sites but he’s on the smaller end of the height/weight spectrum for locks and has yet to carry as much as some of us might like
There is a challenge in that converting a no.8 like Nathan Hughes (or picking Lawes as a starting lock again) would supply some carrying impact at lock but again that may be at the expense of outright scrummaging power. Just wonder if there is an unearthed lock diamond out there who could properly understudy Launchbury? - I don’t think any of Kruis, Ewels or Johnny Hill are the answer ( but to be fair jury still out on Johnny Hill for me and would be happy to have my expectations vastly exceeded!)
Last edited by jngf on Wed Oct 06, 2021 5:53 pm, edited 2 times in total.
If Kruis were to become available to England again I'd pick him over Launchbury every day of the week. Kruis is the best set piece English lock hands down. His work rate frees up Itoje to be maximum menace to the opposition.
Lawes was ahead of Launchbury in the pecking order previously so will probably slow back in alongside Itoje.
Launchbury isn't a massive blow to England. He's a loss certainly but his lack of lineout ability forces us into having to include top class jumpers in the backrow to enable us to play the mauling game we do. If everyone is fit and available there's no guarantee he makes the 23 though he'd definitely be in contention and you'd have to look closely at form.
The bigger concern at lock for me is that Kruis, Lawes and Launchbury are all over 30 and that Lawes and Launchbury don't have the best previous with injuries. We could do with developing some options around the 25 mark looking ahead. Hill and Ewels our most recent attempts haven't come off. Ribbans is the next possible option but he is a bit well South African so I don't know if that'll count against him. There's some good younger locks kicking about but I'm not sure whether any are ready yet. Wells and McInally didn't look up to much at international level in the summer.
Ribbans is the obvious uncapped option. Certainly from a carrying and lineout POV. It’s a real shame he was suspended over the summer as I think he probably would have established himself as a serious option.
My big hope is Isiekwe. IMO the only valid argument against picking him in the past was that he was playing almost all of his rugby at 6. He definitely has the size, athleticism and ability. Obviously it’s early days, but he’s started Saracens first two games at lock and if he stays there and continues to play well as a partner to Itoje, why wouldn’t we replicate that for England?
I don’t see any other outstanding options right now.
Scrumhead wrote:Ribbans is the obvious uncapped option. Certainly from a carrying and lineout POV. It’s a real shame he was suspended over the summer as I think he probably would have established himself as a serious option.
My big hope is Isiekwe. IMO the only valid argument against picking him in the past was that he was playing almost all of his rugby at 6. He definitely has the size, athleticism and ability. Obviously it’s early days, but he’s started Saracens first two games at lock and if he stays there and continues to play well as a partner to Itoje, why wouldn’t we replicate that for England?
I don’t see any other outstanding options right now.
Would you not see Isiekwe as a genuine option at 6 for England? If I was picking a back row I'd think carefully about the merits of a Isiekwe, Curry, Simmonds unit. I've not written Hill off as a 2nd row partner for Itoje. My major doubt for international quality is Ewels.
Launchbury is a bloody good player. We are definitely weaker without him in the squad.
I suspect Lawes and Itoje will be at lock. They should be based on the available options in the back 5 of the scrum.
Then its deciding on 3rd choice between Ewels, Hill or AN Other.
Neither Ewels or Hill have quite nailed it. They both have strengths but possibly not the kind of all court game required at the top end.
Maybe time to look further afield, in which case Ribbans has to be front of the queue. Isiekwe has looked good and i'd like to see him encouraged (assuming Jones can move on from subbing him in SA). I do rate Sean Robinson, who unfortunately missed out in the summer.
Longer term Martin might be in the mix, Alex Coles shows promise, as does Munga.
Isiekwe is a great player that seems to have marked his card, unfortunately.
Lawes will come in easily enough. Of the skillset required I think Ribbans is probably the standout and worth a go, given Ewels and Hill are all now known quantities (and found wanting in some regards).
Peej wrote:Isiekwe is a great player that seems to have marked his card, unfortunately.
I don't know that's necessarily true. He was a very green youngster in SA and was (possibly harshly) hauled off after 30 minutes by Eddie, but I don't think Eddie's shown any animus against him since then. He's not been playing lock to a high enough level to be in the conversation before this season
Mikey Brown wrote:Did Isiekwe start at lock or flanker vs SA?
And how does he fit in as a lock partner to Itoje? He strikes me as closer to Itoje in style than Kruis, but I haven’t seen much of him.
He was lock in SA and replaced by Brad Shields.
He's a big lad - very good in the lineout and developing as a useful carrier. I'd say he's more of a Kruis than an Itoje, but he's still young and learning.
Scrumhead wrote:Ribbans is the obvious uncapped option. Certainly from a carrying and lineout POV. It’s a real shame he was suspended over the summer as I think he probably would have established himself as a serious option.
My big hope is Isiekwe. IMO the only valid argument against picking him in the past was that he was playing almost all of his rugby at 6. He definitely has the size, athleticism and ability. Obviously it’s early days, but he’s started Saracens first two games at lock and if he stays there and continues to play well as a partner to Itoje, why wouldn’t we replicate that for England?
I don’t see any other outstanding options right now.
Would you not see Isiekwe as a genuine option at 6 for England? If I was picking a back row I'd think carefully about the merits of a Isiekwe, Curry, Simmonds unit. I've not written Hill off as a 2nd row partner for Itoje. My major doubt for international quality is Ewels.
No, not really. I think there are flankers that are good in the lineout that carry and tackle harder around the field than he does. As a lock he's looked impressive so far, if he can get a working partnership with Itoje then it's a no brainer lock combination for England. Only concern would be that they aren't the biggest locks going and we like a scrum and maul based game. Obviously size isn't the ultimate consideration or sign of quality in that regard see Kruis as an example but it can help.
Seems like everyone else in here is saying Isiekwe is a bit of a unit? He certainly looked chunkier when I saw him the other day. Is Kruis not big? I’m not sure who really qualifies as being a big, bruising lock anymore, outside of the SA/French guys - who are just ridiculous.
Anyway I thought Gleason was turning us in to a sort of 7s/Barbarians style team, building on our 6 nations game-plan of ‘have lightning quick ball all the time’ as a foundation. Forget the set piece. Itoje/Isiekwe would definitely seem like a very mobile pairing.
Robinson was a bit unlucky in the summer having to pull out with a knee injury. Otherwise could have made his debut. Really good lineout operator not sure he has the carrying game in the tight for what Eddie wants to partner Itoje. Good player but at 30 isn't what we'll be looking at, though Eddie is off after the world cup so maybe he'll be less bothered about building the squad up for the next man in.
