England vs Georgia

by No 7&1/2 Tue 03 Nov 2020, 8:27 am

First topic message reminder :

I'll be lazy and just half inch the BBC article!

'Back in January, Eddie Jones warned his players of the curse of the beaten World Cup finalists.
The England boss was wary his side could be vulnerable in 2020 after the emotional and mental toll the tournament in Japan had taken.
Jones' concerns looked justified after England were swept aside by a hungry France a matter of days later, a result which scuppered their chances of a Grand Slam.
Given that early setback, it was no surprise to see Jones glowing over a Zoom call on Sunday after England followed the Paris humbling with four straight wins - over the course of almost nine months - to seal a third Six Nations title in five years.
"I prepared the team poorly for the French game," Jones reflected, taking the focus of defeat away from his players, a familiar tactic.
"But their approach to the rest of the tournament has been outstanding, they got on with the job and not looked for any sort of excuse - regardless of what has happened - and played good, tough, hard rugby, which is what you need to do to win the Six Nations."

The title, coming almost a year to the day after the World Cup final defeat by South Africa, further establishes England as one of the dominant forces in the world game.
France, though, were arguably the most impressive side in the tournament and can feel unlucky not to have pipped England to the championship, with Owen Farrell's late penalty in Paris, which grabbed a losing bonus point, ultimately proving decisive.
While no-one can blame England for ensuring they left the Stade de France with something for their efforts, it feels unpalatable that in a great tournament like the Six Nations - where victory is everything and defeat nothing - a side can be rewarded for losing.
Either way, rather than wait until England and France meet again next year, a rematch in the final of the Autumn Nations Cup at the start of December is a real possibility; a clash that could bring priceless profile to the fledgling tournament.

More new faces for Nations Cup?

On that note, it is typical of Jones' mindset that a matter of hours after finally finishing the Six Nations, he was already turning his attention to England's Nations Cup opener against Georgia.
After looking after business in Rome, admittedly in scratchy fashion, what can we expect from England in that fixture, and the Nations Cup as a whole? Selection will be fascinating as Jones juggles with the unprecedented depth he has at his disposal in certain positions.
Wasps' Jack Willis will get a taste of international rugby soon, even though he is in competition with some outstanding flankers, while Exeter's giant lock Jonny Hill has capitalised on Courtney Lawes' injury and George Kruis' unavailability to stake his claim to be a regular partner to the extraordinary Maro Itoje.
It's understood fly-half George Ford will be back fit either for Georgia or Ireland a week later, while it will be intriguing to find out if Jones sees Wasps uncapped pivot Jacob Umaga as a genuine alternative to the Ford and Owen Farrell duopoly at number 10.

England's Autumn Nations Cup fixtures
14 November: England v Georgia, 15:00 GMT at Twickenham
21 November: England v Ireland, 15:00 GMT at Twickenham
28 November: Wales v England, 16:00 GMT at Parc y Scarlets
6 December: Finals weekend - England v TBD, 14:00 GMT at Twickenham

Max Malins is a player who many fans would want to see get a game at full-back, given his brilliance with Bristol since the restart, while Worcester's Ollie Lawrence will be handed his chance to start after making his debut off the bench in Rome.
The playmaking combination of Farrell and centres Henry Slade and Jonathan Joseph struggled to fire at the Stadio Olimpico, with England opting to kick a lot of ball in the first half.
With all of England's best performances in the past two years coming with Manu Tuilagi in the midfield, questions linger over how reliant Jones' side are on the Sale man's dynamism and direction.
Tuilagi is out injured for the foreseeable future, so can the 21-year-old Lawrence, himself a power athlete, fill that void? He surely will get some more exposure over the course of November.
"The game is very much about power at the moment," Jones said last month.
"Particularly for outside backs, you need at least one of those powerful players. Previously we have had Manu, so Ollie has an opportunity there to show his worth."

What it means to win your first cap

Lawrence and fellow debutant Ollie Thorley were both given a decent-length run-out off the bench against Italy, but slipping under the radar was a first cap for Bath hooker Tom Dunn, who came on for the excellent Jamie George a couple of minutes from the end of the game.
At the age of 27, Dunn has had to bide his time. Earlier this year, he had been involved in as many as seven England camps without being capped, and was even placed on standby for a matchday squad in January, before being denied a debut when Luke Cowan-Dickie became available again.
So to see a video on England Rugby's in-house channels of Dunn Facetiming home from the stadium after finally winning that elusive cap, fighting back the tears, would have warmed the heart of all England supporters. Good things come to those who wait.'

Despite the stupid comments about unpalatably playing to the rules from the author this does set out some of the choices to be made by Jones. Personally I think the interesting ones come at fly half and full back. I'd like to see Malins at 10 and Watson dropping back with the introduction of Thorley. Slade to get another run at 12 with Lawrence.

I think we'll see Umaga 10 Malins at 15.

by No 7&1/2 Sat 14 Nov 2020, 4:39 pm

Gooseberry wrote:
GeordieFalcon wrote:
BamBam wrote:
GeordieFalcon wrote:
No 7&1/2 wrote:Cough.

Sorry?

7.5 is spluttering at Willis first turnover I believe

Yeah...to be fair hes having an all action game...

Try for Youngs replacement should definitely cheer him up

I'm cheery anyway. Its been a game to suit youngs given the conditions. Slow kicking based. Hes done well in his natural environment.

by Gooseberry Sat 14 Nov 2020, 4:39 pm

Recwatcher16 wrote:
Soul Requiem wrote:
Recwatcher16 wrote:Will Stuart makes Sinkler look small and he is only 24, which for a test TH is very young, although I might be old fashioned on that front.....if Stuart continues his progression on mobility then starting will not be debated.
Ewels is having a good game - he has played quite a few games at blindside at Bath and that mobility has to prized by EJ.
Willis looks the real deal - Curry and Underhill look out. Then there is Ted Hill to come who could be the most physical of the lot.

Curry looks out?

Could be Underhill who misses out.

Well one of them could play in the centres and another at scrum half

by No 7&1/2 Sat 14 Nov 2020, 4:40 pm

Theres been lot of nice variation in our setpiece today.

by Geordie Sat 14 Nov 2020, 4:41 pm

Soul Requiem wrote:
GeordieFalcon wrote:
Soul Requiem wrote:
Recwatcher16 wrote:Will Stuart makes Sinkler look small and he is only 24, which for a test TH is very young, although I might be old fashioned on that front.....if Stuart continues his progression on mobility then starting will not be debated.
Ewels is having a good game - he has played quite a few games at blindside at Bath and that mobility has to prized by EJ.
Willis looks the real deal - Curry and Underhill look out. Then there is Ted Hill to come who could be the most physical of the lot.

Curry looks out?
No he meant look out Curry and Underhill because Willis and Ted Hill are coming...

I'm with you, Ted Hill is the one I want to see, brings raw physicality to that back row. Earl looks more likely to be challenging than Willis for me, his speed is the USP there.

Ife said over and over I'd love to see Big Ted move to 8. Duane Vermuelan mark 2

by Heaf Sat 14 Nov 2020, 4:45 pm

7 points gone begging there - although the conditions haven't helped

by No 7&1/2 Sat 14 Nov 2020, 4:46 pm

George at the back of a well worked maul driven off ewells and launchbury gets motm.

by No 7&1/2 Sat 14 Nov 2020, 4:49 pm

Lol. No foul play. Bent arm. Elbow to throat. Owens is always below par when trying to give benefit of the doubt to a lower tier nation.

by Geordie Sat 14 Nov 2020, 4:49 pm

Did Ewells have his best game for England? Most likely.

Launchbury looked commanding as usual

But the opposition weren't great

by Geordie Sat 14 Nov 2020, 4:50 pm

Still not sold on Slade at this level...

by No 7&1/2 Sat 14 Nov 2020, 4:50 pm

GeordieFalcon wrote:Did Ewells have his best game for England? Most likely.

Launchbury looked commanding as usual

But the opposition weren't great

Yup. I'd look at it the other way. No one did themselves a disservice.

by Soul Requiem Sat 14 Nov 2020, 4:52 pm

Not sure you can take too much from that game; the backs didn't have much opportunity due to the weather not that they were needed. Stuart and Genge scrummaged well, Launchbury was solid as ever but outside of that performances have to be tempered by the opposition.

by Gooseberry Sat 14 Nov 2020, 4:53 pm

Cant complain about a nilling even if the late tries didn't flow as might've been expected.

Worthwhile workout for England in spite of the opposition. They still played their game which means more than mucking about having fun like a barbarians game. Maybe the weather played a part in that but I suspect Jones is happier that they stuck to the kicking pressure position game for the most part. Solid set pieces (despite the penalty at the end their) always a good sign.

New players not showing nerves or trying to force a headline showing also a plus even if you cant really judge if they are up to top class test rugby from that.

No injuries? No obvious incidents to get cited. All in not bad for what that test was.

by Sgt_Pooly Sat 14 Nov 2020, 4:58 pm

We really lose an edge in attack with Farrell at 10. His distribution just isn't sharp enough when you put him against Ford.

Hopefully Ford will be back for Ireland, the Farrell/Slade axis isn't clicking.

Good pack performance. Backs pretty lacklustre but hardly surprising having to deal with the service that the halfbacks are providing. Can't recall Lawrence doing anything of note but lost my feed a few times.

I don't think any of the new boys did anything to change EJ's mind on his first XV. Would like to see more of Robson, Willis and Mullins at FB over the month though.

by **LondonTiger** Sat 14 Nov 2020, 5:16 pm

No 7&1/2 wrote:
Gooseberry wrote:
GeordieFalcon wrote:
BamBam wrote:
GeordieFalcon wrote:
No 7&1/2 wrote:Cough.

Sorry?

7.5 is spluttering at Willis first turnover I believe

Yeah...to be fair hes having an all action game...

Try for Youngs replacement should definitely cheer him up
I'm cheery anyway. Its been a game to suit youngs given the conditions. Slow kicking based. Hes done well in his natural environment.

He also cleared the ball from the breakdown quickly and accurately, and tidied up some scrappy ball really well.

by Yoda Sat 14 Nov 2020, 5:24 pm

Positives: controlled the game in its entirity. Nilled an opposition. Set piece in shocking conditions was good. Georgians gave us a good game to get into the swing of things. Jonathan Joseph is a good winger. Willis is capped and the Welsh can't have him. We did try and speed up the game in the right area even when it's like a bar of soap for the 9's getting off the floor. Never understand critism of 9s handling when it's biblical conditions.

To work on: midfield balance and game time, Johnny May dropping/over running the ball like he used to back in the day. Drop in form of sinkler, didn't offer much in the loose as he normally does.

Pretty good work out for tougher tests to come but that's two games in a row where we have stifled opposition and been efficient not entertaining. Can see a change in the game plan in an attempt to win more trophies, cold hearted pragmatism. Will be interesting to see how the Ireland game goes.

Special mention to the Georgian 8 who looked good and won several collisions against double tacklers.

by Geordie Sat 14 Nov 2020, 5:30 pm

I would add to the positive that Willis went to the next level and scored a try and made an already trademark turnover. Carried aggressively and tackled.

by No 7&1/2 Sat 14 Nov 2020, 5:31 pm

LondonTiger wrote:
No 7&1/2 wrote:
Gooseberry wrote:
GeordieFalcon wrote:
BamBam wrote:
GeordieFalcon wrote:
No 7&1/2 wrote:Cough.

Sorry?

7.5 is spluttering at Willis first turnover I believe

Yeah...to be fair hes having an all action game...

Try for Youngs replacement should definitely cheer him up
I'm cheery anyway. Its been a game to suit youngs given the conditions. Slow kicking based. Hes done well in his natural environment.

He also cleared the ball from the breakdown quickly and accurately, and tidied up some scrappy ball really well.

I appreciate Leicester fans like him. I don't think he brings out the best of either ford or Farrell.

by Geordie Sat 14 Nov 2020, 5:31 pm

Oh Genge and Stuart pretty much took a much vaunted front row to the cleaners...

by Geordie Sat 14 Nov 2020, 5:32 pm

No 7&1/2 wrote:
LondonTiger wrote:
No 7&1/2 wrote:
Gooseberry wrote:
GeordieFalcon wrote:
BamBam wrote:
GeordieFalcon wrote:
No 7&1/2 wrote:Cough.

Sorry?

7.5 is spluttering at Willis first turnover I believe

Yeah...to be fair hes having an all action game...

Try for Youngs replacement should definitely cheer him up
I'm cheery anyway. Its been a game to suit youngs given the conditions. Slow kicking based. Hes done well in his natural environment.

He also cleared the ball from the breakdown quickly and accurately, and tidied up some scrappy ball really well.

I appreciate Leicester fans like him. I don't think he brings out the best of either ford or Farrell.

Eddie Jones would appear to disagree...

by No 7&1/2 Sat 14 Nov 2020, 5:34 pm

Cool beans geordie. The beat ford played with was stronger, great passer nearest we have is mitchell. Farrell always looked good with Care. Youngs of 6 years ago great. Now not so much. But Jones's has reiterated his desire to kick the leather off the ball, of so then Spencer.

by TightHEAD Sat 14 Nov 2020, 5:43 pm

What a load of gash.

The result was never in doubt, we used it as a training exercise.

by Yoda Sat 14 Nov 2020, 5:45 pm

GeordieFalcon wrote:Oh Genge and Stuart pretty much took a much vaunted front row to the cleaners...

Oh I forgot that, good shout. Will Stuart is a big lump who's getting better at carrying too. Liked Dunn when he came on too.

by Geordie Sat 14 Nov 2020, 5:51 pm

Seems him working with Hatley at Bsth is really bringing out his ability combined with his size...

I didn't realise he was only 24 either.

Sinker really needs to buck up his game as hes not impressing me at all.
Where Genge looksto have channelled his temper in to his game in a positive way Sinkler looks like hes become a damp squib...

by formerly known as Sam Sat 14 Nov 2020, 6:52 pm

LondonTiger wrote:
No 7&1/2 wrote:
Gooseberry wrote:
GeordieFalcon wrote:
BamBam wrote:
GeordieFalcon wrote:
No 7&1/2 wrote:Cough.

Sorry?

7.5 is spluttering at Willis first turnover I believe

Yeah...to be fair hes having an all action game...

Try for Youngs replacement should definitely cheer him up
I'm cheery anyway. Its been a game to suit youngs given the conditions. Slow kicking based. Hes done well in his natural environment.

He also cleared the ball from the breakdown quickly and accurately, and tidied up some scrappy ball really well.

Agreed I thought Benny had a good game today. Played the conditions really well. Gave the backs good ball that was frequently squandered by Farrell, Daly and Slade. If he keeps playing like that it'll be difficult for anyone to take the shirt off of him.

by Geordie Sat 14 Nov 2020, 6:54 pm

Slade was the concern for me.. too many little flicks etc. Just not dominating games like he should.

When Ford is back Slade will be the one dropped

by Exiledinborders Sat 14 Nov 2020, 8:01 pm

GeordieFalcon wrote:Slade was the concern for me.. too many little flicks etc. Just not dominating games like he should.

When Ford is back Slade will be the one dropped

Slade is talented that is undeniable but he makes far too many errors. He seems to fall over an inordinate amount - perhaps he needs longer studs. Also if tackled he seems unable to place the ball so his teammates can get it without being penalised.

by TJ Sat 14 Nov 2020, 8:51 pm

Sgt_Pooly wrote:We really lose an edge in attack with Farrell at 10. His distribution just isn't sharp enough when you put him against Ford.

.......................

I have been saying this for years and finally someone agrees with me

by Gooseberry Sat 14 Nov 2020, 9:52 pm

Exiledinborders wrote:
GeordieFalcon wrote:Slade was the concern for me.. too many little flicks etc. Just not dominating games like he should.

When Ford is back Slade will be the one dropped
Slade is talented that is undeniable but he makes far too many errors. He seems to fall over an inordinate amount - perhaps he needs longer studs. Also if tackled he seems unable to place the ball so his teammates can get it without being penalised.

It is just one game though ... although I guess he's not really ever had test performances that make you think he's the player Billy Twelvetrees was supposed to be. Very handy all rounder though and that he's been around the squad for so long makes it clear the coaches rate him.

But based on the assumption Ford walks back to 10 and Farrell shifts to 12 for the next test its hard to see how Slade gets the spot at 13. Not so much based on his performance in this game (the conditions didnt help lets face it) but because England have a lot of options there and dont really need a third playmaker. When Lawrence was included Jones specifically noted that he wanted at least one lump in the backs, and with Tuilagi and Cokasinga out the squad that doesnt leave many options other than the flankers.

Is there any word on Jospehs fitness yet? Id forgotten he'd hobbled off early, that does leave a bit of an issue with the wingers if he's not fit for next weekend. Presumably Daly shifts over and Mallins starts?

Id still expect Slade to keep the bench spot ahead of Marchant regardless of the Joseph situation.

by lostinwales Sat 14 Nov 2020, 10:18 pm

Thing is with Slade - I really think he's the kind of player who looks better when he's up against better opposition. Farrell too to a degree. I'd agree that a lot of the stodge in the backs is down to Farrell, but then the kicking game is the kind of thing that can torture tougher opponents.

Joseph did really well while he was on. Marchant looked like the real deal. Jury still out on Lawrence - he's not looked out of place but hasn't done much yet, and no real evidence of the power which is supposed to be his trademark.

Willis looked very good. He looked a bit uncomfortable when he went off so I am not sure if he was injured or just knackered. But a strong debut. If he was knackered he's going to have to get fitter to become a fixture but if he can play like he did 80 minutes every match he should be in over Underhill.

Stewart looks terrific (other than the haircut). I'd have him ahead of Sinckler who looks a little off form at the moment.

by Mr Bounce Sat 14 Nov 2020, 11:30 pm

I was impressed by several players today. Willis was Willis and was unlucky not to get 2 tries on the board. An excellent debut. Daly I felt had a good game and Stuart was superbly destructive. Genge scrummaged brilliantly and had a few decent carries. Ewells and Launchbury were a pretty decent lock pairing. Neither will be first choice but they both put their hands up as decent back ups. Itoje played well and was his usual nuisance to the opposition. George had his best game in an England shirt I felt. Both Robson and Marchant were pretty useful when they came on, as were Earl, Dunn and Curry.

Malins I felt didn't have enough ball to show what he could do, although the conditions were unkind to his style of rugby. Lawrence did ok, but I feel I was expecting more. His kicking game showed up though which was decent. Farrell and Youngs were ok, but neither showed too much of their A game. May was doing his headless chicken act a bit too much, and wasn't particularly effective in attack. Billy did what Billy does, but I can't help but think Dombrandt should have been given a chance this autumn. Billy just seems a bit one-dimensional and less effective than he used to be.

It was a nice change for the opposition not to get points on the board.

by Geordie Sun 15 Nov 2020, 9:09 am

Gooseberry wrote:
Exiledinborders wrote:
GeordieFalcon wrote:Slade was the concern for me.. too many little flicks etc. Just not dominating games like he should.

When Ford is back Slade will be the one dropped
Slade is talented that is undeniable but he makes far too many errors. He seems to fall over an inordinate amount - perhaps he needs longer studs. Also if tackled he seems unable to place the ball so his teammates can get it without being penalised.

It is just one game though ... although I guess he's not really ever had test performances

Im not sure it is one game though. He just never convinces me. A player of his ability (and i dont doubt he has the skills) should have taken that game by the scruff of the neck and dominated it...and yet he resorted to little flicks and gimmicky passes.
One resulted in a try the rest ....well not alot.

I think Farrell will resume at 12 with one of the 13s probably Lawrence..and ford back at 10..or maybe have a look at Umaga at some point..though id rather he looked at Marcus Smith.

by No 7&1/2 Sun 15 Nov 2020, 9:43 am

Have to say Nigel Owens is very insecure on twitter!

The scrum which was advancing was stopped as you have to blow when players are standing (or its collapsed but he forgot that at times yesterday) but he says he didnt think it was probable that england would have scored.

No word on the knock on or the elbow to Itojes throat yet but as soon as someone criticises him I'm sure he'll release another walesonline article.

by Soul Requiem Sun 15 Nov 2020, 9:57 am

Owens has been a useless ref for years now, seems more interested in putting on a show than enforcing the laws of the game.

by No 7&1/2 Sun 15 Nov 2020, 9:59 am

Hes very lenient. Lots like that. Personally prefer the laws implemented.

by Cyril Sun 15 Nov 2020, 10:11 am

I wonder if the rake on May’s face will be cited. It wasn’t exactly a gouge but certainly looked deliberate.

by lostinwales Sun 15 Nov 2020, 10:24 am

Was a penalty try all day long. I don't think the English scrum minded having more time to grind their opponents down though. Might actually have done Georgia a miss service as their forwards took a long time to get over that.

I was late starting to watch and switched on 20 minutes in before going back to the start, and was wondering why England were only 7 points up. And then I found out.

by No 7&1/2 Sun 15 Nov 2020, 10:36 am

Deliberate knock on just missed as well lost. Would have been down to 13.

by mikey_dragon Sun 15 Nov 2020, 10:49 am

Cyril wrote:I wonder if the rake on May’s face will be cited. It wasn’t exactly a gouge but certainly looked deliberate.

It should do. If it was a Wales player getting raked everyone would wave it on.

by TJ Sun 15 Nov 2020, 11:51 am

So England win by 40. Scotland beat Georgia by 41. That surely must mean Scotland are the better team and thus the moral 6N champs? angel

by No 7&1/2 Sun 15 Nov 2020, 1:22 pm

Go out and win this one TJ. France are being hyped again so I'd quite like for another 6ns repeat please. Leave moral victories to wales!

by TJ Sun 15 Nov 2020, 1:56 pm

by cb Sun 15 Nov 2020, 5:04 pm

Perhaps Georgia will be more pleased than England with the match as they kept going to the end.

For England - positive bits: - Genge and Stuart look like a starting front row. Willis has a good run-out, Launchbury played well, and Joseph looked the best back.

Muddled bits: - Kicked too much, Hard to judge the backs since hardly any ball was passed, Slade is a class player but how to use him, More time on field for Robson and Mallins might have been useful.

Worrying bits: - Vunipola did not do much at 8, Farrell at 10 never seems to get the back line moving, May was ineffective. Ditto the game against Italy.

by Armchairexpert Sun 15 Nov 2020, 8:35 pm

Not a great performance all round in my opinion. May had by far his worst game in a long while. Slade seems to limit himself to one bit of magic and little else per game (perhaps against better opponents that is what is valued). Farrell and Young’s over played the conditions. Robson brought tempo very much like Care did as a sub, but Care never functioned well as a starter where he tried to play like Youngs but not as well. Would Robson do better?

Hard to say how good the pack were given we don’t really know how good the legendary Georgian pack are. Beat them up with one exception at the scrum, but Georgia never went away. Still don’t understand the hype around Ewels, comments that it was his best game. That tells me something. Maybe he does a lot of this mysterious unseen work.... Curry did more in 5 mins when he came on than Ewels had done all game (different position I know). Front row was good. Hard to knock a guy who scored 3 tries but I would really like to see Cowan Dickie in that front row, tasty. Add 130kgs of Jonny Hill and Maro in the second row and I think that is the makings of England’s heaviest ever pack. Not unmobile either.

Best entertainment of the day was listening to the Georgian commentary I had on my feed, didn’t understand a word of course but was clear they enjoyed the more agricultural aspects of the game.... I can relate to that Smile

by lostinwales Sun 15 Nov 2020, 11:07 pm

Eddie says JJ had a back spasm and may be fit for next week. Good news. Great to see him playing well but wouldn't mind seeing one of the new wingers in.

by Geordie Mon 16 Nov 2020, 9:24 am

Im one of the biggest critics of Ewells being in the squad, let alone starting.

However, I would be interested to see his stats from the weekend.

by lostinwales Mon 16 Nov 2020, 9:55 am

GeordieFalcon wrote:Im one of the biggest critics of Ewells being in the squad, let alone starting.

However, I would be interested to see his stats from the weekend.

Need very detailed stats to see what he did, but he was part of a smoothly running pack. He did fine. Launchbury did more eye catching stuff including scoring the try - and yes I know Willis was holding the ball but Launchbury put him over the line.

by BamBam Mon 16 Nov 2020, 10:01 am

Also not a big fan of Ewels to date, and I didn't think he particularly stood out, but this analysis makes me think I need to rewatch to see what I'm missing!

https://www.rugbypass.com/news/every-box-ewels-is-ticking-to-fill-englands-kruis-shaped-hole/

by No 7&1/2 Mon 16 Nov 2020, 10:12 am

I'm one of those who thoughts hes done pretty well. Sometimes players look to the manor born (Itoje), some you can tell immediately they're a class below (Tomkins without a p) but most times you need a run of 10 or so games where a player isnt replicating their club form but theres enough there as potential. If we're looking for another Kruis who to me was the guy anchoring the set piece I can see why hes there still.

by Geordie Mon 16 Nov 2020, 10:25 am

Well clearly England rate Ewells as he's been a permanent in the squad. It will be interesting to see if he plays against Ireland and how he peforms.

At the moment i would still prefer to see Johnny HIll in there...but lets see how Ewells develops. I might have to admit i was wrong.

by WELL-PAST-IT Mon 16 Nov 2020, 10:28 am

Against Georgia who do not have a pair of quality locks, you can get away with a 17.5 stone lock, against Ireland I am not sure. It helps have someone like Stuart balancing out the weight difference but I can remember all the stick that Lawes used to get about being too light for a lock, he has since bulked up to 18.5 stone, but is still a lightweight compared to Launchbury, Hill or Kruis.

A good scrummaging side might just find him out, I would prefer to see him on the bench on Saturday and bring him on later to see how he does. The impact he made this weekend was against Georgia, can he replicate it against a top team?

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