Tom Croft Vs Tom Wood: The Battle For The England 6 Shirt

There will be some monumental battles going on behind the scenes in the England camp as competition for shirts begins in the build up to the Rugby World Cup. The Rugby Spectator team have identified the Tom Croft vs Tom Wood battle for the England 6 shirt as the most fiercely competitive battle there is.

Check out our article in full for the reasons why we think Tom Wood should start for England in the 6 shirt ahead of Tom Croft.....

http://www.rugbyspectator.com/2011/06/tom-croft-tom-wood-battle-england-6-shirt/

What do you think? Do you agree that Wood should start for England at 6?

Not a bad article. And, I think a fair assessment of the strengths of each player. Probably comes down to the sytle of play needed on the day. Both are very good players, and Croft is a Lion (which is important to me). On the other hand, I like my 6 in the Richard Hill mold. Don't think England can go wrong if both gents go to NZ. Then see the opposition, and make a decision.

An interesting article, though can't say I agree with all your points. A key aspect you didn't discuss was balance with the rest of the backrow and forwards. With Moody guaranteed the starting 7 spot, I feel Croft better compliments him, not by a massive amount, but tied in with his extra high level experience, enough to be my first choice.

Haven't read the full article and won't have time to until later, but I agree with john. Wood only has 5 caps and has never played in Internationals against the big 3. Croft had a strong Lions tour to South Africa and played in both recent wins against Australia. With two evenly-matched players, this extra experience is a big plus for Croft. I would give Wood some game-time in the warm-ups and in the pool matches, but unless he completely puts Croft to shame in their respective performances, I'd be looking at Croft starting the bigger games.

I'd say go with Croft, Wood can cover both flanks at a push. I do however like Woods grafting style of play but Croft is just too talented not to start.

Good article. Being Welsh, I'm not all that clued up on England selections etc, I just know that from my own perspective, if Wales were facing England I would fear Croft far more than Wood in the starting line up. He's hugely talented, if a tad injury prone, and I think his pro's far outweigh his cons. I agree with flankertye, he's too good to leave out. Wood's an incredible back up though.

Good article. I think I would go with Croft originally as I don't think Moody, Wood and Easter offer enough in terms of attacking and link play with the backs but after the WC I would go with Wood at 7 and Croft at 6. Wood comfortably plays open side for the Saints but isn't a traditional 7 by any stretch of the imagination and Croft is a 6 like no other in international rugby with his speed and danger in attack (I'm not saying he is the best blind side but he brings something very different to number 6 play). A Croft / Wood combination could just about cover all aspects of back row play between them.

It's good that we have pressure for both flanker positions going into the tournament. Moody didn't play much in the second half of the season and Haskell deserves to be there or there abouts based on the 6N. A pack of Sheridan, Hartley, Cole, Lawes, Palmer, Croft, Moody, Easter with Thompson, Stevens and 2 of Shaw, Wood & Haskell should be strong enough to compete with most nations at the WC.

Great article, although I disagree with one of your main points – I think Croft does a lot at the breakdown. His real weakness as far as I'm concerned is his ball-carrying into contact, which has improved but isn't top class. Add to that the fact he's not been in great form since coming back from injury and I can see why we're questioning his right to a place in the starting lineup.

Unfortunately I see Wood as a Croftesque player, perhaps slightly scrappier, but with worse lineout skills, less pace and less international experience and pedigree. I'd say Croft deserves to keep his place in the team a bit longer.

To me, this brings up a point about the article itself. I would enjoy reading similar articles about tight or controversial choices at other positions. Whether the scrum-half in Wales, out half in Scotland, and so on.

Back to the article itself, I like a mucker at Blindside, which is Wood. But when Croft gets the ball he runs like another centre. So close. Still think it goes down to the style England need to play on the day. But I agree with folks above, Croft's international experience, including being a Lion who performed well, has to make any close decision go his way.

then again Tom Wood has done a New zealand apprenticeship..

so then he is truly amongst the blessed............

I notice everyone is picking Moody. Im not sure he is guarenteed to start...and id actually be dissapointed if he did.

Wood was oustanding when we got humped off the Irish, and that is a big fact when you consider their back row.

We have moaned for years that we dont have a back row that can do the dirty work well...and finally we have a lad who really can do the nasty work.

Id say play them both.

6 Croft
7 Wood
8 Easter

I'm inclined to agree that Moody isn't guaranteed to start.

If you are comparing Wood and Moody they are similar sized player and I think Wood offers everything that Moody does apart from leadership but gives a bit more solidarity at the breakdown and therefore would be my choice out of the two.

However I do think Haskell gave an extremely good account of himself during this years 6 nations playing his rugby from the openside and could be a surprise selection.

I'd pick Croft over Wood - Wood is a very good player... but the writer of the article makes the common mistake of not grasping why Croft spends time out wide rather than getting more involved in the tight - it isn't because he's a glory hound who is ignoring his job, he's following the game plan and it is his job to play out there. Given the limitations of our centres currently Croft, and Lawes, are pretty key to the team's style - we have teo centres who play like flankers but aren't great at centre with the ball in hand, so the team balance is really helped out by having two forwards who can play like centres when the team has the ball.

The area I'd like to see a change from what I think is the first choice back row of 6 Croft, 7 Moody, 8 Easter is at 8.
Moody offers leadership to a team that is currently lacking in it (I think it was something obviously missing in the 6N) and when the team is on the backfoot against physical sides isn't scared to put his body on the line. Easter by contrast has a worrying tendency to go missing against physical backrows, as he did against South Africa and Ireland (which was doubly bad since he was captain).
Croft offers superb athleticism around the pitch and a real threat in attack combined with growign leadership ability (being around 3rd/ 4th in the pecking order of captains at Tigers)
Moody offers non stop effort and a complete disregard for the risk of injury which pushes the rest of the players to step up as well as good decision making.
Easter? Good physicality, basic skills and leadership... until it is needed most against a physical side.

I am a great Easter fan hes very underrated and generally I'd hazard a guess that he puts in as much if not more work than any other NH back row. But I actually think that Easter has been disappointing as stand in captain. Maybe he has just been unlucky but the team has looked better with Moody leading - which is tough when there are arguably better more in form players.

Seeing Wood/Croft/Easter as a unit looks exciting though

Given the choice of one or the other I would go for Wood but I see the future as Croft 6, Wood 7 with an other at 8 once Easter hangs up his boots.

Haskall will either have to make 8 his position or be satisfied with being the back row sub

I think Snoopster has a point when he says Easter goes missing in really physical matches. I really like him as a player but I'v recently started thinking he needs to be replaced... except then I think of our other options and I can't of anyone better.

Crane – Easter mk2. Probably the frontrunner for me, but what does he bring that Easter doesn't? He's solid and makes the hard yards (although someone on here was saying they thought he was pacey but lightweight the other day!) but perhaps seeks contact too much and lacks dynamism.

Haskell – has greater dynamism but... can he be trusted to play eight? Does he have the ball control at the base of the scrum? It's probably too late to switch him to that position just before the WC.

And who else? Narraway? Injured and bit lightweight for me anwyway, given our flankers aren't the biggest. Waldrom? Please not another kiwi. It's embarrassing.

I think we should stick with Easter till after the WC then give Le Hask and Crane a chance to compete for the shirt.

Crane would get the first shot then, as Haskell is on his sabbatical after the World Cup. But I can't see Crane leapfrogging Waldrom now that he's made the training squad, unless Waldrom plays pants with England.

I think Crane was definitely the better option over Waldrom for this training squad and for the Six Nations next year, but I just can't see it happening.

Don't worry gents, by the end of next season Tom Guest will be our no8 of the future, along with Crane or Haskell as cover.

The inclusion of Guest gives us a croftesq player at 8, meaning that if injury or poor form strikes we can still have a more old school 6 playing (Haskell, Robshaw, Johnson, Fearns in fact Guest can even play 6) and keep the pace that Croft brings to the backrow.

Of course if Croft is playing and we did go with Wood at 7, then you wouldn't want Guest at 8, unless you had two dynamic beasts at lock. It would be far too leightweight otherwise.

Its a shame big Matt Banahan hadnt been an 8....huge, quick and destructive with the ball in hand....

But then again i hope he gets lots of gametime at 12 this season.

I think Guest is an option but I dont see anyone really taking the shirt off Easter next season either, unless they really perform well. Then i expect Alex Gray to come on in the next few years.

I've really never been "wow'ed" by Guest. He needs to dislodge Easter from the Quins first team before he'll get my backing. As he failed to make the Saxons this year, I can't see him leapfrogging Easter, Waldrom, Crane and Narraway.

I'm a big fan of Guest and he was in superb form at the beginning of the season before he got injured in January and was out for the rest of the season. Particularly bad luck as it meant he missed out on the opportunity to regularly start at 8 rather than blindside whilst Easter was with England.

I don't expect him to dislodge Easter from 8 next season, but would expect to see him as first choice blindside again, and with Easter at the WC & probably 6N, he'll get plenty of chances to play 8 for Quins and make his case.

I feel Johnson will stick with Easter for at least another year and start phasing in his succesor from the bench. That makes me think the most likely candidate will be someone who can cover a couple of backrow positions.

Wood to start as Croft can cover more positions from the bench, The England bench seems to be made up of players like this, tough on Croft but he'll get plenty of chances to make an impression.

robbo277 wrote:I've really never been "wow'ed" by Guest. He needs to dislodge Easter from the Quins first team before he'll get my backing. As he failed to make the Saxons this year, I can't see him leapfrogging Easter, Waldrom, Crane and Narraway.

Guest was out injured from Christmas onwards Robbo, he played stirlingly at 8 during the AI's and made himself undroppable so he was switched to 6 with Robshaw at 7. He hgot 5 MoM awards from Oct-Jan and a Gatorade award.

All in all not bad for the bloke and if he hadn't got injured who knows what may have happened? It may not be a coincidence that are winning run ended when he was injured though, and only started again at the very end of the season.