The Official English Rugby Thread

[Margin__Walker]

Times reckon B Curry and OHC are starting

[Ovals]

Times reckon B Curry and OHC are starting

Well, that a bit more encouraging. I haven't really seen that much of Ben Curry, or noticed him that much when I have, but at least he's a specialist Flanker and I know he's highly rated by posters on here.

[Margin__Walker]

They have him starting 7, not 6 Ovals.

[Ovals]

They have him starting 7, not 6 Ovals.

Oh FFS.

[Hal Jordan]

Look, we all know it's a 5.5 at 6. That's the way England rolls.

fuck

[Raggs]

The initial squad cull has taken place:

Hill, Blamire, Willis, Rodd, Heyes, Mitchell, Murley and Porter are the ones to miss out.

Only surprise there is Hill though I’m not unhappy with that call
I’d like to see Ribbans to start with Itoje

Very disappointed with the Willis getting left out. It means we'll probably have a Lock @ 6 yet again. Infuriating doesn't start to cover it.

I'd suspect that's partially to do with him having to get back to France during the training week etc. If he's not head and shoulders the first choice pick, then being around for training and team runs is very important.

[Kawazaki]

I think Ben Curry is a very good player but is he better than Ben Earl?

[Paddington Bear]

Only surprise there is Hill though I’m not unhappy with that call
I’d like to see Ribbans to start with Itoje

Very disappointed with the Willis getting left out. It means we'll probably have a Lock @ 6 yet again. Infuriating doesn't start to cover it.

I'd suspect that's partially to do with him having to get back to France during the training week etc. If he's not head and shoulders the first choice pick, then being around for training and team runs is very important.

Sinfield pretty much said this and added he’ll be in the mix going forward. Not unreasonable

[Ovals]

I think Ben Curry is a very good player but is he better than Ben Earl?

Earl appeared to be everyone's choice as the 'form' 7, even before TC got injured.

[JM2K6]

There's a huge difference between guys like Lawes, Chessum, Isiekwe playing 6 and an actual lock at 6.

Ben Curry is fortunate I think but he's a good player. Wouldn't be my choice but is unlikely to let us down.

Mike Brown to Tigers for the remainder of the season! 37 years young and not played a senior Prem match since last March. Bet he's kept himself fit mind.

Defending Gallagher Premiership champions Leicester have confirmed the signing of ex-England full-back Mike Brown on a short-term contract following the departure of the Super Rugby Pacific-bound Freddie Burns, who played his final Tigers game last Saturday. Burns, the drop goal hero from last year’s league final, has exited to join the Dunedin-based Highlanders and the vacancy will be filled by Brown following his completion of a short trial at the club.

It's a smart signing - adds some extra pace when Steward's away...

[TartanBear]

Sorry for the intrusion, but Ben Earl has to play. He’d be an absolute nightmare (for the opposition) hanging off the side of a monster English pack. B Curry at 6, surely, although is he a line out option?

[JM2K6]

Is our pack monstrous compared to everyone else? Genuine question. I suppose something like Genge, George, Cole, Itoje, Ribbans, Lawes, Earl, Dombrandt would be pretty large.

[Raggs]

Is our pack monstrous compared to everyone else? Genuine question. I suppose something like Genge, George, Cole, Itoje, Ribbans, Lawes, Earl, Dombrandt would be pretty large.

I wouldn't think that's bigger than any other side to be honest. It's not small, but I wouldn't consider it to be much larger than the other sides once you consider who they'll be playing too.

[TartanBear]

Is our pack monstrous compared to everyone else? Genuine question. I suppose something like Genge, George, Cole, Itoje, Ribbans, Lawes, Earl, Dombrandt would be pretty large.

On pure size, no. But there’s a dynamism, aggression and athleticism to that pack that Scotland would do well to match.

[JM2K6]

Is our pack monstrous compared to everyone else? Genuine question. I suppose something like Genge, George, Cole, Itoje, Ribbans, Lawes, Earl, Dombrandt would be pretty large.

On pure size, no. But there’s a dynamism, aggression and athleticism to that pack that Scotland would do well to match.

DAN COLE

I see what you're saying I guess but the Scottish pack has more than held its own over the past 5 years or so.

[Raggs]

Is our pack monstrous compared to everyone else? Genuine question. I suppose something like Genge, George, Cole, Itoje, Ribbans, Lawes, Earl, Dombrandt would be pretty large.

On pure size, no. But there’s a dynamism, aggression and athleticism to that pack that Scotland would do well to match.

DAN COLE

I see what you're saying I guess but the Scottish pack has more than held its own over the past 5 years or so.

Ritchie, Watson and Shoe are all very very handy in the physicality stakes too, can't remember their hookers names but seem to recall at least one of them is fairly handy too, and the locks aren't too small or shabby.

[Paddington Bear]

I'd love to see Ben Earl start, but equally if I had to choose one of our potential back rowers to come off the bench and make an impact for half an hour in a tight one, it would be him.

[JM2K6]

On pure size, no. But there’s a dynamism, aggression and athleticism to that pack that Scotland would do well to match.

DAN COLE

I see what you're saying I guess but the Scottish pack has more than held its own over the past 5 years or so.

Ritchie, Watson and Shoe are all very very handy in the physicality stakes too, can't remember their hookers names but seem to recall at least one of them is fairly handy too, and the locks aren't too small or shabby.

Ewan Ashman is superb.

[Slick]

You seem to have started already, but just to respond to JM2K's very good post on the Scotland thread:

What are England fans worried about the most for the Scotland game? What parts of your team give you the most concern?

Or maybe we could start a match thread!

[Slick]

Is our pack monstrous compared to everyone else? Genuine question. I suppose something like Genge, George, Cole, Itoje, Ribbans, Lawes, Earl, Dombrandt would be pretty large.

I think we always assumed that England are a massive pack against our skinny tryers, but I don't think that reality bears that out any longer.

[TartanBear]

DAN COLE

I see what you're saying I guess but the Scottish pack has more than held its own over the past 5 years or so.

Ritchie, Watson and Shoe are all very very handy in the physicality stakes too, can't remember their hookers names but seem to recall at least one of them is fairly handy too, and the locks aren't too small or shabby.

Ewan Ashman is superb.

He is a very good player. Turner can punch holes too, but darts sometimes an issue. Cole has improved his game outside the set piece - my sense is that him and Genge have better hands than the Scottish lads, but let’s see if they play that game on Saturday.

[SaintK]

Ritchie, Watson and Shoe are all very very handy in the physicality stakes too, can't remember their hookers names but seem to recall at least one of them is fairly handy too, and the locks aren't too small or shabby.

Ewan Ashman is superb.

He is a very good player. Turner can punch holes too, but darts sometimes an issue. Cole has improved his game outside the set piece - my sense is that him and Genge have better hands than the Scottish lads, but let’s see if they play that game on Saturday.

My mate has worked with all the Scottish hookers either in camp or at Edinburgh or Glasgow. He reckons Dave Cherry is easily the best thrower of the lot

[JM2K6]

Some fluff about Nick Evans:

England have turned to “Snapper” to find more bite in attack. Behind that slightly corny introduction is one of the great fascinations of this new new England team.

We say new new because Eddie Jones told us all his “New England” would be brilliant, and then they weren’t, so this is new new, or new mark two.

Anyway, “Snapper” is Nick Evans — the legendary Harlequins fly half who became a fine coach after his retirement from playing. They call him “Snapper” as he loves fishing. He reckoned if he had not been such a good fly half (our words, not his) he would have been a deep-ocean fisherman in New Zealand, chartering boats into the Pacific.

Now Evans is in the deep with England and tasked with sorting out their floundering attack (OK, that’s enough fishing puns). Here at the Maul we’re interested in how this all fits together with Borthwick’s masterplan. We’ll take you through “speed over shape”, “Bozo” drills and “landmarks”; three key pillars of the Evans and Harlequin way that may come into England’s Six Nations campaign.

Trust your instincts
First things first, and let’s tackle an assumption. The prevailing narrative is that Cavalier Evans will sit in stark contrast to the Roundheads of Borthwick, defence coach Kevin Sinfield, and forwards man Richard Cockerill.

Actually, Borthwick and Evans share a fair bit — especially data from Oval Insights, a company which gathers reams of information on players, and they both use it to influence their selections and styles.

Of course, Quins and Borthwick’s old Leicester team play very differently; although any conjecture that the Harlequins style is all loose, unplanned and reckless is wide of the mark. Evans is a meticulous trainer, and drills this “instinctiveness” and “heads-up” way into his players.

Before we tell you how, have a look at how he helped improve Harlequins’ attacking numbers after the departure of Paul Gustard.

The former Quins head coach lost his job in January 2021. He had Evans as an attack coach, but the team lost their licence to thrill — so to speak — as Gustard tried to implement a more conservative gameplan. When he went, the “coaching committee” of Evans, Jerry Flannery, Adam Jones and Charlie Mulchrone came together under the guidance of Billy Millard, and look what happened.



Tries scored, line-breaks, tackle evasion and carry dominance all improved remarkably. Metres made recovered to previously high levels and Quins won the title in swashbuckling style come June 2021.

Now those statistics, which have remained similarly good since Tabai Matson came on board in July 2021, can be linked to André Esterhuizen, the South African centre, finding his feet.

He signed in 2020 but started firing in 2021 — and look again at the numbers, and how he influenced the uplift in carry dominance, tackle evasion and line-breaks. That was either by crashing through the midfield himself or putting others in space. For England 2023, read Manu Tuilagi.

The other element that makes Harlequins’ free-looking attack work is the scrum. With Joe Marler and Wilco Louw to the fore, Quins have one of the best and cleanest scrums in the league.

Their scrum coach — the former Wales and British & Irish Lions prop Jones — tells us: “As the French say, ‘No scrum, no win.’ If you’re playing off 100 per cent scrum ball, or 90 per cent, it gives the backs to play off it, and plan. It’s easier for Snapper when he knows we’re going to win the ball. It’s tougher than it looks to have a good scrum, but having a solid platform is key.”

And, actually, it is not just about attacking up front either. “Internationally, if you have the mindset to scrum for penalties the whole time you’ll probably lose a few,” Jones adds. “We’ve got a mindset where as we’ve got so good backs you don’t want to scrum for a penalty every time as we want to use Marcus Smith, Danny Care, Joe Marchant. Fortunately we can have a crack in the scrum and with the backs.”

So, England need to shore up their scrum, hence Dan Cole’s inclusion, so their backs can thrive. In 2022, England had the worst scrum of all top ten Test-playing nations. Solve that and they unlock Evans’s attack, as well as much else.

Speed over shape
When asked about the qualities Borthwick admires in Evans’s system, the England head coach said: “The thing that stands out is the speed.” That bears out in the numbers. Here are the average attacking ruck speeds in the Premiership this season. Harlequins are right up there with the quickest.
This leads us on to that phrase we mentioned at the top: “Speed over shape.”

That is the name Harlequins give to what we might call “momentum” or “playing on top” — essentially it means reacting quickly to those moments in games that you must take. Something breaks open, and you’re away. Quins prioritise playing quickly over having an assigned shape, as Matson explains.

“It’s moments in a game where an opportunity has come,” he says. “And generally it is when someone has dominated the gainline. You can do that in heaps of different ways — through side-stepping through a gap like Joe Marchant, battering the castle door down like an André Esterhuizen, or a well-run play down the short side.

“Ultimately the defence has to respond and normally narrows to where the breach is. It is about your ability to respond in unison.

“Nick is probably the best I’ve seen coaching momentum. You hear, ‘They’re a momentum team, and are really good when they get on the front foot,’ and he’d be one of the best in teaching teams how to create it, and when you get it what does it look like, and how do you play on top?

“Defences are so well organised that, ultimately, you need a couple of moments in the game where you just can’t respond quick enough [to an attack]. Often that’ll be the difference in a Test match or big Premiership game. If they give him the resources to do that, England will move forward in that part of the game.”

There are two ways Harlequins coach this. The first is drilling them to recognise “landmarks”.

Matson calls them that, using the analogy that if you and your friends are in Paris, and are trying to meet up, you will ring each other and talk about where you are in relation to the Eiffel Tower: “I’m two blocks from the Eiffel Tower”; “I’m over the river from it”; “I’m underneath it” and the like.

In games, there are many moments where players in a backline see different opportunities — one wants to run, one to kick, the other to carry, for example — but there are some where everyone suddenly has the same idea, the same picture in their mind. “It’s when everyone responds because they see the same landmark,” Matson explains.

“That’s when the magic happens. Immediately you all recognise what to do, and where everyone is. It’s the responding in unison, and realising you have momentum that’s the key . . . the, ‘Oh jeez, we’re on top, I don’t know how that happened, but we’re in behind, and they’ve squeezed there, and, bang, that’s the moment.’ ”

So Evans wants his players to see the same “landmarks” and respond to them more often. He trains this with a game called “Bozo” — a bit like rugby’s version of the “Rondo” drill in football, where defenders are in the middle against attackers looking for spaces to pass round them on the outside.

Cadan Murley — the Harlequins, and now England, wing — explains: “There are three teams of nine people. You play the full width of a pitch, and when you make a touch as a defender you have to run back to your tryline, so it opens up bigger spaces.

“It’s heads-up rugby. The teams swap in and out, and it’s gruelling. You do about 90 seconds to two minutes in the middle before swapping out. It’s identifying space and mismatches. As a winger, if there’s three-on-three, but two are front-rowers against me, Joe Marchant and Josh Bassett, we take that every time.

“It’s a mismatch, we can get outside of one player and create a three-on-two. It’s little things like that, learning to be able to scan [quickly looking left and right], identify space and call it when it’s on.”

It works. In the past 3½ seasons, since the start of the 2019-20 campaign, Quins have the best record of any Premiership team at taking chances. That is measured by the points they score per entry to the opposing 22.

Of course, the final element — the most important — is how this works in practice. Owen Farrell is likely to be England’s fly half, who clearly plays differently to Smith of Harlequins. Farrell is less of a threat breaking the gainline himself, but he does find ways to plough through traffic better than Smith.

It will be fascinating to see how Evans melds all this into England, whether the national team take to his ways — and whether opponents fall for his tricks, hook, liner and sinker.

[SaintK]

Some fluff about Nick Evans:

Spoiler

Show

England have turned to “Snapper” to find more bite in attack. Behind that slightly corny introduction is one of the great fascinations of this new new England team.

We say new new because Eddie Jones told us all his “New England” would be brilliant, and then they weren’t, so this is new new, or new mark two.

Anyway, “Snapper” is Nick Evans — the legendary Harlequins fly half who became a fine coach after his retirement from playing. They call him “Snapper” as he loves fishing. He reckoned if he had not been such a good fly half (our words, not his) he would have been a deep-ocean fisherman in New Zealand, chartering boats into the Pacific.

Now Evans is in the deep with England and tasked with sorting out their floundering attack (OK, that’s enough fishing puns). Here at the Maul we’re interested in how this all fits together with Borthwick’s masterplan. We’ll take you through “speed over shape”, “Bozo” drills and “landmarks”; three key pillars of the Evans and Harlequin way that may come into England’s Six Nations campaign.

Trust your instincts
First things first, and let’s tackle an assumption. The prevailing narrative is that Cavalier Evans will sit in stark contrast to the Roundheads of Borthwick, defence coach Kevin Sinfield, and forwards man Richard Cockerill.

Actually, Borthwick and Evans share a fair bit — especially data from Oval Insights, a company which gathers reams of information on players, and they both use it to influence their selections and styles.

Of course, Quins and Borthwick’s old Leicester team play very differently; although any conjecture that the Harlequins style is all loose, unplanned and reckless is wide of the mark. Evans is a meticulous trainer, and drills this “instinctiveness” and “heads-up” way into his players.

Before we tell you how, have a look at how he helped improve Harlequins’ attacking numbers after the departure of Paul Gustard.

The former Quins head coach lost his job in January 2021. He had Evans as an attack coach, but the team lost their licence to thrill — so to speak — as Gustard tried to implement a more conservative gameplan. When he went, the “coaching committee” of Evans, Jerry Flannery, Adam Jones and Charlie Mulchrone came together under the guidance of Billy Millard, and look what happened.



Tries scored, line-breaks, tackle evasion and carry dominance all improved remarkably. Metres made recovered to previously high levels and Quins won the title in swashbuckling style come June 2021.

Now those statistics, which have remained similarly good since Tabai Matson came on board in July 2021, can be linked to André Esterhuizen, the South African centre, finding his feet.

He signed in 2020 but started firing in 2021 — and look again at the numbers, and how he influenced the uplift in carry dominance, tackle evasion and line-breaks. That was either by crashing through the midfield himself or putting others in space. For England 2023, read Manu Tuilagi.

The other element that makes Harlequins’ free-looking attack work is the scrum. With Joe Marler and Wilco Louw to the fore, Quins have one of the best and cleanest scrums in the league.

Their scrum coach — the former Wales and British & Irish Lions prop Jones — tells us: “As the French say, ‘No scrum, no win.’ If you’re playing off 100 per cent scrum ball, or 90 per cent, it gives the backs to play off it, and plan. It’s easier for Snapper when he knows we’re going to win the ball. It’s tougher than it looks to have a good scrum, but having a solid platform is key.”

And, actually, it is not just about attacking up front either. “Internationally, if you have the mindset to scrum for penalties the whole time you’ll probably lose a few,” Jones adds. “We’ve got a mindset where as we’ve got so good backs you don’t want to scrum for a penalty every time as we want to use Marcus Smith, Danny Care, Joe Marchant. Fortunately we can have a crack in the scrum and with the backs.”

So, England need to shore up their scrum, hence Dan Cole’s inclusion, so their backs can thrive. In 2022, England had the worst scrum of all top ten Test-playing nations. Solve that and they unlock Evans’s attack, as well as much else.

Speed over shape
When asked about the qualities Borthwick admires in Evans’s system, the England head coach said: “The thing that stands out is the speed.” That bears out in the numbers. Here are the average attacking ruck speeds in the Premiership this season. Harlequins are right up there with the quickest.
This leads us on to that phrase we mentioned at the top: “Speed over shape.”

That is the name Harlequins give to what we might call “momentum” or “playing on top” — essentially it means reacting quickly to those moments in games that you must take. Something breaks open, and you’re away. Quins prioritise playing quickly over having an assigned shape, as Matson explains.

“It’s moments in a game where an opportunity has come,” he says. “And generally it is when someone has dominated the gainline. You can do that in heaps of different ways — through side-stepping through a gap like Joe Marchant, battering the castle door down like an André Esterhuizen, or a well-run play down the short side.

“Ultimately the defence has to respond and normally narrows to where the breach is. It is about your ability to respond in unison.

“Nick is probably the best I’ve seen coaching momentum. You hear, ‘They’re a momentum team, and are really good when they get on the front foot,’ and he’d be one of the best in teaching teams how to create it, and when you get it what does it look like, and how do you play on top?

“Defences are so well organised that, ultimately, you need a couple of moments in the game where you just can’t respond quick enough [to an attack]. Often that’ll be the difference in a Test match or big Premiership game. If they give him the resources to do that, England will move forward in that part of the game.”

There are two ways Harlequins coach this. The first is drilling them to recognise “landmarks”.

Matson calls them that, using the analogy that if you and your friends are in Paris, and are trying to meet up, you will ring each other and talk about where you are in relation to the Eiffel Tower: “I’m two blocks from the Eiffel Tower”; “I’m over the river from it”; “I’m underneath it” and the like.

In games, there are many moments where players in a backline see different opportunities — one wants to run, one to kick, the other to carry, for example — but there are some where everyone suddenly has the same idea, the same picture in their mind. “It’s when everyone responds because they see the same landmark,” Matson explains.

“That’s when the magic happens. Immediately you all recognise what to do, and where everyone is. It’s the responding in unison, and realising you have momentum that’s the key . . . the, ‘Oh jeez, we’re on top, I don’t know how that happened, but we’re in behind, and they’ve squeezed there, and, bang, that’s the moment.’ ”

So Evans wants his players to see the same “landmarks” and respond to them more often. He trains this with a game called “Bozo” — a bit like rugby’s version of the “Rondo” drill in football, where defenders are in the middle against attackers looking for spaces to pass round them on the outside.

Cadan Murley — the Harlequins, and now England, wing — explains: “There are three teams of nine people. You play the full width of a pitch, and when you make a touch as a defender you have to run back to your tryline, so it opens up bigger spaces.

“It’s heads-up rugby. The teams swap in and out, and it’s gruelling. You do about 90 seconds to two minutes in the middle before swapping out. It’s identifying space and mismatches. As a winger, if there’s three-on-three, but two are front-rowers against me, Joe Marchant and Josh Bassett, we take that every time.

“It’s a mismatch, we can get outside of one player and create a three-on-two. It’s little things like that, learning to be able to scan [quickly looking left and right], identify space and call it when it’s on.”

It works. In the past 3½ seasons, since the start of the 2019-20 campaign, Quins have the best record of any Premiership team at taking chances. That is measured by the points they score per entry to the opposing 22.

Of course, the final element — the most important — is how this works in practice. Owen Farrell is likely to be England’s fly half, who clearly plays differently to Smith of Harlequins. Farrell is less of a threat breaking the gainline himself, but he does find ways to plough through traffic better than Smith.

It will be fascinating to see how Evans melds all this into England, whether the national team take to his ways — and whether opponents fall for his tricks, hook, liner and sinker.

The issue here is how long did it take Evans to instil that at Quins?
He's been in camp with England for only 10 days!!!

[JM2K6]

You seem to have started already, but just to respond to JM2K's very good post on the Scotland thread:

What are England fans worried about the most for the Scotland game? What parts of your team give you the most concern?

Or maybe we could start a match thread!

Conservatism: I think the squad looks pretty decent, but it seems likely we'll start with Cole and Farrell and have a set-piece focused approach with a strong kicking game. Faz is the best tactical kicker in the squad, the likely back 3 are all excellent in the air (Steward, Watson, Hassell-Collins), and Ben Curry ahead of Earl says to me we're not looking to keep ball in hand as much in the first 60 and instead will go for power, a strong kicking game, and competing hard at the ruck + lineout. Tuilagi's still involved.

Inflexibility: Farrell being captain; if ever there was a reason to have a captain for all the non-game stuff and a different one for the match days, it's young Owen. It also pretty much guarantees he'll never be subbed without injury, which makes it hard to see exactly how Smith will play a full role for England and be pulling the strings when he's on the pitch.

Sheer unfamiliarity: Depends on the selection, but we could end up with new combos all over the place.

Discipline concerns me a bit, too. Hill's been dropped but the front row aren't the brightest, Itoje's been off his best and prone to daft penalties, Dombrandt can give away a few, etc. Tigers under Borthwick were still dumb as fuck sometimes. But I guess every team worries about this.

[JM2K6]

The issue here is how long did it take Evans to instil that at Quins?
He's been in camp with England for only 10 days!!!

Depends whether you consider it to be the end result of a long time in the job, or the sudden change in approach when Gustard left. Because the sea change in how Quins approached matches and how they played their rugby was near-instant. They went from not being able to scratch a win anywhere to suddenly running them in from everywhere.

After getting hammered in Europe, playing like shit, and throwing away a lead against Irish - Gustard left.

Then Quins went and:

demolished Wasps 49-17 away the next week
beat Bath 28-15 away
beat Tigers 37-24 at home
beat Sale 24-12 at home
lost away to Falcons 24-22
beat Saints at home 37-19
lost away 21-20 to Exeter
beat Glaws 59-24 at home
lost away to Briz 35-33
beat Worcs 50-26 at home
beat Irish 25-21 away
beat Wasps 48-46 at home(!)l
lost away 35-29 to Tigers
beat Bath 44-33 at home
lost away (2nd/3rd XV tbf) 45-12 to Sale
beat Falcons 54-26 at home
beat Bris 43-36 away in the semi final
beat Exeter 40-38 in the final.

for an average of 36.34 points per match and 14 wins from 18 matches.

It's hard to overstate just what a sudden and sustained change in fortunes and attacking style it was. So I guess it's fair to say that of all the potential coaching options, he's the one with the most pedigree for sudden freeing up of quality attacking players.

Appreciate this is all a simplification, club rugby isn't international rugby, he was part of the Quins committee all committed to playing this way, etc etc

[SaintK]

The issue here is how long did it take Evans to instil that at Quins?
He's been in camp with England for only 10 days!!!

Depends whether you consider it to be the end result of a long time in the job, or the sudden change in approach when Gustard left. Because the sea change in how Quins approached matches and how they played their rugby was near-instant. They went from not being able to scratch a win anywhere to suddenly running them in from everywhere.

After getting hammered in Europe, playing like shit, and throwing away a lead against Irish - Gustard left.

Then Quins went and:

demolished Wasps 49-17 away the next week
beat Bath 28-15 away
beat Tigers 37-24 at home
beat Sale 24-12 at home
lost away to Falcons 24-22
beat Saints at home 37-19
lost away 21-20 to Exeter
beat Glaws 59-24 at home
lost away to Briz 35-33
beat Worcs 50-26 at home
beat Irish 25-21 away
beat Wasps 48-46 at home(!)l
lost away 35-29 to Tigers
beat Bath 44-33 at home
lost away (2nd/3rd XV tbf) 45-12 to Sale
beat Falcons 54-26 at home
beat Bris 43-36 away in the semi final
beat Exeter 40-38 in the final.

for an average of 36.34 points per match and 14 wins from 18 matches.

It's hard to overstate just what a sudden and sustained change in fortunes and attacking style it was. So I guess it's fair to say that of all the potential coaching options, he's the one with the most pedigree for sudden freeing up of quality attacking players.

Appreciate this is all a simplification, club rugby isn't international rugby, he was part of the Quins committee all committed to playing this way, etc etc

Blimey! Even if some that was due to the sheer relief of Gustard going that's a pretty impressive turnaround
Let's see what Evans can do with England!

[Paddington Bear]

Tuilagi GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNNNEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE




According to the Telegraph.

Proof will be in the performances but no one can say Borthwick lacks courage

[inactionman]

Tuilagi GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNNNEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE




According to the Telegraph.

Proof will be in the performances but no one can say Borthwick lacks courage

Gone, not selected, as opposed to gone, injured?

[SaintK]

Tuilagi GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNNNEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE




According to the Telegraph.

Proof will be in the performances but no one can say Borthwick lacks courage

Gone, not selected, as opposed to gone, injured?

Charlie Morgan reporting not selected, though it could be just guesswork as not being reported anywhere else
Unfortunately it's behind a paywall

[Paddington Bear]

Joe Marchant is set to be recalled to England’s starting line-up to face Scotland on Saturday, with Manu Tuilagi in line to be dropped from the squad entirely.

Telegraph Sport understands that Marchant will join Marcus Smith and Owen Farrell in midfield with Ollie Lawrence, a late call-up to the squad, and Anthony Watson providing backline cover from the bench.

The move reinforces Steve Borthwick’s preference for mobility over power, which has been apparent throughout the build-up to the Six Nations. Given England have seemed reliant on Tuilagi for so long, the selection is also a strong sign that this is a new era for the team.

Ollie Hassell-Collins is poised for a Test debut on the left wing, with Max Malins and Freddie Steward completing the back three. The latter two dovetailed for most of the 2022 Six Nations until Malins was dropped for the visit to France.

A midfield of Smith, Farrell and Marchant has been seen once before, in the first Test against Australia last summer. Marchant, who will join Stade Francais next season, was unceremoniously axed after that defeat in Perth and did not appear during Eddie Jones’ final autumn in charge. He had been outstanding against both Ireland and France at the end of the 2022 Six Nations.

Joe Marchant leaning against a garage
Marchant has impressed for his club this season CREDIT: Dan Mullan/GETTY
His recall, in harness with Smith, could help England to implement the methods of Nick Evans, the attack coach who is with Borthwick on secondment from Harlequins. Lawrence has been in exceptional form for Bath. The 23-year-old, an age-grade team-mate of Smith, covers both centre positions and would be winning a first cap since July 2021, when England ousted USA at Twickenham.

On Tuesday evening, England announced that a squad of 29 would stay at Pennyhill Park to prepare for the Calcutta Cup. In that group were Farrell, Marcus and Fin Smith, Marchant, Lawrence and Tuilagi.

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Kevin Sinfield kept his cards close to his chest but said he was “delighted” with the backline combination that England would be announcing, even following the withdrawals of Elliot Daly, Henry Slade and Dan Kelly.

“I’ve been really impressed with all the different combinations we’ve run at 10 and 12,” Sinfield said. “I think the back line’s going to be really important in how we function. Some of the changes have been enforced due to injuries the last couple of weeks, but we’re delighted with the make-up of our midfield.”

Slade, who picked up a hip injury in a recent Champions Cup win over Castres, has stayed with the squad and Sinfield hopes that the Exeter Chiefs playmaker could feature as soon as the round two game against Italy, but Marchant seems to have been given the first shot.

[Sandstorm]

Joe Marchant leaning against a garage

Better than a ruck, I suppose

[dpedin]

Tuilagi GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNNNEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE




According to the Telegraph.

Proof will be in the performances but no one can say Borthwick lacks courage

Gone, not selected, as opposed to gone, injured?

Charlie Morgan reporting not selected, though it could be just guesswork as not being reported anywhere else
Unfortunately it's behind a paywall

Shit - as a Scot I was desperate for Tuilagi to play, he is a revolving door in defence and less threatening carrying the ball these days. Also he would have pulled up inured in first half and required England to make a reshuffle of their back line. We Scots demand he plays!

[inactionman]

Gone, not selected, as opposed to gone, injured?

Charlie Morgan reporting not selected, though it could be just guesswork as not being reported anywhere else
Unfortunately it's behind a paywall

Shit - as a Scot I was desperate for Tuilagi to play, he is a revolving door in defence and less threatening carrying the ball these days. Also he would have pulled up inured in first half and required England to make a reshuffle of their back line. We Scots demand he plays!

Chris Harris needs a revolving door in front of him.

<ducks>

[SaintK]

Charlie Morgan reporting not selected, though it could be just guesswork as not being reported anywhere else
Unfortunately it's behind a paywall

Shit - as a Scot I was desperate for Tuilagi to play, he is a revolving door in defence and less threatening carrying the ball these days. Also he would have pulled up inured in first half and required England to make a reshuffle of their back line. We Scots demand he plays!

Chris Harris needs a revolving door in front of him.

<ducks>

Hopefull Harris will continue the form in his last two matches for Glaws.
Not up to his usual lofty standards

[SaintK]

A little ray of light in the darkness for Worcester.

Meanwhile, the Atlas consortium have been announced as the new owners of Worcester. The club’s administrators, Begbies Traynor, confirmed the exchange of contracts with the group, led by Jim O’Toole, the club’s former chief executive, though the RFU is yet to approve the deal.

Also, the women’s team has been given conditional offers to rejoin the Premier 15s. The club, along with Sale, were omitted from the list of eight clubs selected to compete in December.

[Paddington Bear]

Times reckon we're shaping up as:
15 Steward
14 Malins
13 Marchant
12 Farrell
11 Hassell-Collins
10 Smith
9 JVP
1 Genge
2 George
3 Sinckler
4 Itoje
5 Chessum
6 Curry (B)
7 Ludlam
8 Dombrandt

Smith/Faz I suppose became inevitable with all the injuries but don't think it is Borthwick's long term option. Hopefully Evans has straightened them out a bit. Refreshing to pick three actual backrowers and there's pace out wide.

[JM2K6]

Apparently the fix for "not good enough carrying" is actually to pick a pack with good carriers, who knew.

I've said before that Smith/Farrell can work but it requires Farrell to play like a 12 not a 10. Seen it done. Would like to see it done again. Otherwise we're just wasting time again.

[inactionman]

Apparently the fix for "not good enough carrying" is actually to pick a pack with good carriers, who knew.

I've said before that Smith/Farrell can work but it requires Farrell to play like a 12 not a 10. Seen it done. Would like to see it done again. Otherwise we're just wasting time again.

Interested to see what bench split is, and who he picks - essentially, what options we'll have if it isn't clicking.

[Margin__Walker]

Apparently the fix for "not good enough carrying" is actually to pick a pack with good carriers, who knew.

I've said before that Smith/Farrell can work but it requires Farrell to play like a 12 not a 10. Seen it done. Would like to see it done again. Otherwise we're just wasting time again.

Interested to see what bench split is, and who he picks - essentially, what options we'll have if it isn't clicking.

Times have this as a probable bench

Subs: J Walker, M Vunipola, D Cole, N Isiekwe, B Earl, B Youngs, O Lawrence, A Watson