The Official English Rugby Thread

[SaintK]

Pleased for Muir, he should've been capped ahead of both McConnochie and Cokanasiga when it comes to Bath wingers. Big opportunity for him.

Even bigger for Ojomoh given the lack of clearcut 12 options.

A little surprised Blamire was still in the frame.

Langdon is going to regret his red card on Saturday. Reckon he was next cab off the rank and not Blamire

[sockwithaticket]

Pleased for Muir, he should've been capped ahead of both McConnochie and Cokanasiga when it comes to Bath wingers. Big opportunity for him.

Even bigger for Ojomoh given the lack of clearcut 12 options.

A little surprised Blamire was still in the frame.

Langdon is going to regret his red card on Saturday. Reckon he was next cab off the rank and not Blamire

I figured it would be him or Walker and since Walker went to the world cup, is fit and going well with Quins, that he'd be ahead of Blamire.

[SaintK]

Lawrence and LC-D set miss the Italy match.

England are set to be without centre Ollie Lawrence and hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie for their Six Nations opener against Italy.
Both picked up injuries in last weekend's Investec Champions Cup and have withdrawn from the training camp in Girona.
England have called up Newcastle's Jamie Blamire and the Bath pair of centre Max Ojomoh and wing Will Muir.

Harlequins centre Oscar Beard is going through return-to-play protocols after concussion but has travelled to northern Spain.

[Punter15]

Max Ojomoh is in the England squad! Because Ollie Lawrence is broken.

Along with beard and LCD. Muir and blamire have been called up.

Borthers outdoing Eddie at every turn.

[Raggs]

Max Ojomoh is in the England squad! Because Ollie Lawrence is broken.

Along with beard and LCD. Muir and blamire have been called up.

Borthers outdoing Eddie at every turn.

Think these were all down to the matches they played at the weekend, rather than anything borthers has done.

[SaintK]

Max Ojomoh is in the England squad! Because Ollie Lawrence is broken.

Along with beard and LCD. Muir and blamire have been called up.

Borthers outdoing Eddie at every turn.

Think these were all down to the matches they played at the weekend, rather than anything borthers has done.

Lawrence gone for up to 8 weeks with a hip injury
Dingwall and Slade it is against Italy then

[Hal Jordan]

Lawrence the new Tuilagi?

[Raggs]

Lawrence the new Tuilagi?

Don't make me cut you.

[Oxbow]

Langdon gets four weeks, not the outcome I was hoping for.

[SaintK]

Langdon gets four weeks, not the outcome I was hoping for.

Unlucky.
Am assuming he was done for recklessness and not intentional?
Saints are going to be buggered over the next few weeks with international call ups as well.

[Oxbow]

Langdon gets four weeks, not the outcome I was hoping for.

Unlucky.
Am assuming he was done for recklessness and not intentional?
Saints are going to be buggered over the next few weeks with international call ups as well.

Yeah, reckless, 8 weeks down to 4 with a guilty plea and a clean record.

https://www.northamptonsaints.co.uk/new ... is-langdon

[Tichtheid]

I was just looking through the lineups for the match tonight, Quins v Tiggers, and there is a guy selected who has really caught my eye whenever I’ve seen him play - Fin Baxter, the baby-faced assassin. He made a right mess of the Ulster front row last week. I see he’s just 21 years old, he is going to be a player.

[SaintK]

I was just looking through the lineups for the match tonight, Quins v Tiggers, and there is a guy selected who has really caught my eye whenever I’ve seen him play - Fin Baxter, the baby-faced assassin. He made a right mess of the Ulster front row last week. I see he’s just 21 years old, he is going to be a player.

Good prospect. Did well as starting LH for them when Marler was injured a few weeks back.
Got MoM in his debut ERC match last season when only 20

[Ovals]

I was just looking through the lineups for the match tonight, Quins v Tiggers, and there is a guy selected who has really caught my eye whenever I’ve seen him play - Fin Baxter, the baby-faced assassin. He made a right mess of the Ulster front row last week. I see he’s just 21 years old, he is going to be a player.

He was strongly tipped for a call up to the 6N squad but missed out. He's very highly thought of. Hope he goes well and stays clear of injuries - could be a huge player for England in the coming years.

[Ovals]

Isiekwe out (ill), Ewels in. Thought we'd seen the last of Ewels

[SaintK]

Isiekwe out (ill), Ewels in. Thought we'd seen the last of Ewels

Isiekwe shouldn't have been there anyway!
To be fair on Ewels he's been playing pretty well for Bath recently when I've watched them

[inactionman]

Isiekwe out (ill), Ewels in. Thought we'd seen the last of Ewels

Never quite got the hate for Ewels, he's a good player, and the stupid red card was very much out of character.

[Ovals]

Isiekwe out (ill), Ewels in. Thought we'd seen the last of Ewels

Isiekwe shouldn't have been there anyway!
To be fair on Ewels he's been playing pretty well for Bath recently when I've watched them

Yeah, I'm not a fan of Isiekwe either TBH.

[JM2K6]

I was just looking through the lineups for the match tonight, Quins v Tiggers, and there is a guy selected who has really caught my eye whenever I’ve seen him play - Fin Baxter, the baby-faced assassin. He made a right mess of the Ulster front row last week. I see he’s just 21 years old, he is going to be a player.

He's reassuringly good in the front row and has given a few extremely large front rows a going over in the last year. His work rate is off the charts at times and he seems to love throwing his weight around to go with the razzle dazzle. Time will tell if he can bring all that to the international game when he'll be against equally talented and much larger opposition, and whether his body holds up. We've seen plenty of young props hit the scene like a wrecking ball and then just fall off, sadly.

[JM2K6]

Isiekwe out (ill), Ewels in. Thought we'd seen the last of Ewels

Never quite got the hate for Ewels, he's a good player, and the stupid red card was very much out of character.

He was usually an empty shirt and his most positive impact on the team was that red card. At international level he's offered absolutely nothing.

[inactionman]

Isiekwe out (ill), Ewels in. Thought we'd seen the last of Ewels

Never quite got the hate for Ewels, he's a good player, and the stupid red card was very much out of character.

He was usually an empty shirt and his most positive impact on the team was that red card. At international level he's offered absolutely nothing.

Along with a fair few in that team who don't get the same vitriol.

[ASMO]

WTF is it with that commentator? She looks like she has just escaped from a gimp party.

[fishfoodie]

WTF is it with that commentator? She looks like she has just escaped from a gimp party.

"Mmmmu mmmmh, MMMMMH, mmmeew !"

[Brazil]

Not seen a team deserve to win less than Leicester tonight

[Tichtheid]

Well, it wasn't the best game I've ever seen, but it was a fun finish

[ASMO]

The drop in quality between Smith and Care and the backup 9 and 10 is huge....Quins looked just aimless for large parts of that game.

[inactionman]

The Quins 9 seemed on a different wavelength to everyone else in the ground.

[Raggs]

The drop in quality between Smith and Care and the backup 9 and 10 is huge....Quins looked just aimless for large parts of that game.

Isn't porter their backup 9?

[sockwithaticket]

The drop in quality between Smith and Care and the backup 9 and 10 is huge....Quins looked just aimless for large parts of that game.

Isn't porter their backup 9?

It was Max Green tonight.

[JM2K6]

Jarrod Evans is straight back from a long injury layoff and barely had time to develop any partnerships before he got injured anyway. He did not look fit. Max Green was an emergency signing and some way off Porter's standard.

Played like twats and should have won regardless. Far too many unforced errors. Hohum.

Never quite got the hate for Ewels, he's a good player, and the stupid red card was very much out of character.

He was usually an empty shirt and his most positive impact on the team was that red card. At international level he's offered absolutely nothing.

Along with a fair few in that team who don't get the same vitriol.

Like who? Even the most maligned players under Eddie did something!

[inactionman]

Jarrod Evans is straight back from a long injury layoff and barely had time to develop any partnerships before he got injured anyway. He did not look fit. Max Green was an emergency signing and some way off Porter's standard.

Played like twats and should have won regardless. Far too many unforced errors. Hohum.

He was usually an empty shirt and his most positive impact on the team was that red card. At international level he's offered absolutely nothing.

Along with a fair few in that team who don't get the same vitriol.

Like who? Even the most maligned players under Eddie did something!

Seeing as he's the subject of the discussion, we could maybe start with Nick Iseikwe. We could add Jack Walker if we wished. We also had the majority of backs playing like they'd never met each other before.

Still not sure about Ewels doing nothing, he's won his lineouts, made his tackles, locked his scrums and hit his rucks - what he's there for. The way people are talking about him it's like he dropped the ball every time it went near him and slipped off every tackle. That's just not the case.

[duke]

Jarrod Evans is straight back from a long injury layoff and barely had time to develop any partnerships before he got injured anyway. He did not look fit. Max Green was an emergency signing and some way off Porter's standard.

Played like twats and should have won regardless. Far too many unforced errors. Hohum.

Along with a fair few in that team who don't get the same vitriol.

Like who? Even the most maligned players under Eddie did something!

Seeing as he's the subject of the discussion, we could maybe start with Nick Iseikwe. We could add Jack Walker if we wished. We also had the majority of backs playing like they'd never met each other before.

Still not sure about Ewels doing nothing, he's won his lineouts, made his tackles, locked his scrums and hit his rucks - what he's there for. The way people are talking about him it's like he dropped the ball every time it went near him and slipped off every tackle. That's just not the case.

There is definitely a case to say that the positives were very difficult to find when he was last selected for England and I had my doubts about him when he was playing for Bath at the time.
Since he’s had a spell in SA, his play for Bath has been at a much higher level than previously, far fewer dumb penalties and more go forward on top of the basics. He’s a key factor in the improved performance of the pack and deserves a go with the England A team.

[sockwithaticket]

Jarrod Evans is straight back from a long injury layoff and barely had time to develop any partnerships before he got injured anyway. He did not look fit. Max Green was an emergency signing and some way off Porter's standard.

Played like twats and should have won regardless. Far too many unforced errors. Hohum.

Along with a fair few in that team who don't get the same vitriol.

Like who? Even the most maligned players under Eddie did something!

Seeing as he's the subject of the discussion, we could maybe start with Nick Iseikwe. We could add Jack Walker if we wished. We also had the majority of backs playing like they'd never met each other before.

Still not sure about Ewels doing nothing, he's won his lineouts, made his tackles, locked his scrums and hit his rucks - what he's there for. The way people are talking about him it's like he dropped the ball every time it went near him and slipped off every tackle. That's just not the case.

Unless they glaringly fuck up, less experienced players tend not to receive excessive negativity for just being a bit anonymous. Ewels has nearly triple the caps that Isiekwe does, Walker has a mere four to his name.

[Oxbow]

My main problem with Ewels was he kept getting picked after a series of ordinary performances when much better locks were being ignored. To be fair that's not his fault.

[inactionman]

My main problem with Ewels was he kept getting picked after a series of ordinary performances when much better locks were being ignored. To be fair that's not his fault.

I'd agree with that, but that was really an issue across the entire team

[Paddington Bear]

Ewels has been better recently. He’s got the best part of 30 caps, seemingly because he looks like a central casting English lock, and his only contribution of note was spurring England on to their most intense performance in a fair while courtesy of being sent off.

We justifiably expect higher standards from our second rows, and IMO we’ve seen enough of him and should try other options.

[SaintK]

Ewels has been better recently. He’s got the best part of 30 caps, seemingly because he looks like a central casting English lock, and his only contribution of note was spurring England on to their most intense performance in a fair while courtesy of being sent off.

We justifiably expect higher standards from our second rows, and IMO we’ve seen enough of him and should try other options.

Can't think of too many!

[Paddington Bear]

Ewels has been better recently. He’s got the best part of 30 caps, seemingly because he looks like a central casting English lock, and his only contribution of note was spurring England on to their most intense performance in a fair while courtesy of being sent off.

We justifiably expect higher standards from our second rows, and IMO we’ve seen enough of him and should try other options.

Can't think of too many!

Launch? Chessum jnr?

[sockwithaticket]

Launch probably won't make the next World Cup, but there's no reason we can't use him now while we're waiting for the likes of Chessum jr., Munga, Hammond and Bamber to kick on. Weird how he's been discarded even when we're looking thin.

On Chessum jr, he's looked very good with the U20s, but has he even played Prem rugby yet?

[SaintK]

Ewels has been better recently. He’s got the best part of 30 caps, seemingly because he looks like a central casting English lock, and his only contribution of note was spurring England on to their most intense performance in a fair while courtesy of being sent off.

We justifiably expect higher standards from our second rows, and IMO we’ve seen enough of him and should try other options.

Can't think of too many!

Launch? Chessum jnr?

Launchbury probably done with England but could still do a job
Chessum Jnr probably not ready. Tigers bought on a big lump of a 19 year old as a sub last night that wasn't Chessum
Alex Moon at Saints or Joe Batley at Bristol are both big buggers and comfortable on the ball.