Tom Johnson

Well he has received rave revews all season, and has made the England Squad for the Barbarians game.

Whats your opinions of him?

Would you agree he is a similar style to Haskell?

Could he make the WC squad with a good performance, or do you think the back row is pretty much sorted and Haskell will be in there?

TJ has really developed as a player this season, a crucial part of Exeter's decent first outing in the AP.

Just looking at the numbahs, TJ ranks:
* 7th in the AP for tackles made (behind his club mates James Scaysbrook [1st] and Tommy Hayes [4th] - Opta stats; &,
* 3rd in the AP for carries - Opta stats.

He usually makes decent yardage with ball in hand, and has soft hands allowing good off-loading skills too. He's the Chiefs' 3rd lineout option (after Hayes and Hanks), and is athletic enough to steal oppo ball thrown to the tail too.

Character-wise, the two words that best describe him for me are tireless and fearsome. I don't think he is that similar to Brand Haskell in playing style, and to be honest I wouldn't expect him to get the nod for the RWC squad ahead of Croft or Wood no matter how well he goes

Johnson has been excellent but I too would be very surprised if he goes to the World Cup. England have too many options in the back row as it is and MJ seems to know who he likes already.

Just want to touch on Scaysbrook as well As. He has been excellent for Chiefs this season and is seriously underated. He will be crucial for them again next season I suspect. Not flashy and just goes about his jobs, but has been up there with the best opensides in the league this season.

Pete, very true on Scays, and the slightly worrying thing is that we don't really have adequate cover at openside - Andy Miller has retired, Eoghan Grace went back over the Irish Sea to Connacht, and we've recruited Ben White from Cardiff, but he didn't seem to be getting much game time for them this season, so I'm not sure how good he is. Hmm, hope Scays doesn't get injured - he is indeed vital to the way we play