Doesn’t strictly fit here but sad to read that Phil Vickery has been declared bankrupt. He’s also one of the claimants in the concussion lawsuit so obviously having a tough time. Best wishes to the Raging Bull...
Properly big unit able to play both sides. Real coulda shoulda been.
Last seen in an England shirt in 2016 but still only 33. Only 1 start in his 16 caps.
Paul Hill another.
I wonder whether these experiences did hold them back or whether ‘good’ simply got conflated with ‘good for age’ / potential.
No prop should be in the England conversation unless or until they have regularly marmalised Prem / European opponents in scrums for a couple of...
Although they move at very different speeds Mercer reminds me of Dean Richards in the sense of having an uncanny ability to be in the right place at the right time - rugby intelligence. Clearly an excellent attacking player but also busy in defence and a reasonable line out option.
Balance him...
Underhill and Earl did well in the 6N and are kind of inked in unless or until they lose form, stop gelling or rivals make a compelling case to replace them. You can argue similarly for CCS on the bench.
6 is more up for grabs. But I don’t think Earl, Curry and Underhill - in whatever shirts -...
That guy playing at FB for Sarries is pretty good. Any relation to the sometime England player Elliot Daly?
Sarries good, Quins should be embarrassed by that.
93 now dead.
4 arrested. Suspect by the time the Russians have finished with them they may be wishing they’d sacrificed their own lives.
I just can’t understand things like this, I really can’t.
Mercer was outstanding. Usual excellent ball in hand stuff plus working really hard in defence and being used as a front jumper. You can understand why he's hacked off that he's never had a proper chance with England.
Agree with this.
As you say all depends what on what you want from a 6, balance with other players etc etc. Personally I have a soft spot for destructive and (legally) nasty. Big, but not necessarily huge. Big fan of peak O’Mahony.
Great point - being able to swing the mood of a match is really crucial. Earl can do that in an attacking way and if CCS develops as we expect I think he will be able to do that with both ball in hand and in the tackle.
Curry to return, maybe J Willis one day. Pepper getting rave reviews...
Yep. Times saying that TNT is looking to become the ‘home of rugby’ with just Lions and Eng summer tours remaining on Sky. Personally I hope TNT take everything so I can bin off Sky and buy Wales or something with the savings.
Bar the rugby and a bit of cricket I don’t really use Sky much now...
What did people make of Underhill in the 6N? Only a couple of highlight reel moments but overall I felt he was pretty effective. Still find it baffling that he wasn’t in the original RWC squad.
Papers reporting that he’s back running with a slim chance of playing again before the end of the season.
Great to hear. He’s apparently been ferocious in his rehabbing and I’m sure Sharks / Eng have done the right thing by him but that’s seemingly a rapid recovery. Thinking about the long...
Yep.
Sounds like he was a good egg to have around as well. Although some good memories, through no fault of his own, overriding feeling is one of what might have been.
This could have gone on any number of threads….
I know we ‘joke’ about Ireland being Leinster in disguise but when you look at where Leinster source their players the continuity is even more amazing. Frankly, Ireland should never be beaten.
Leinster have 45 players on full contracts and 20 on...