England's missing men

James Haskell - hows' he getting on with the Highlanders? At an unfashionably advanced age of 26 (just) he's got to make himself available for the back row soonish (once he's got his bus pass to help with travel costs).

Jordan Crane. All of 25. Crocked for the Tigers for the rest of the season - will he be back again?

James Haskell was doing good job from my watching last time. He start few times from bench and making slowly just with basics of his place there. But recent he was making start the game and has good linking and also carrying up the ball. My mind is he learn a lot in the competition and after some time in Japan he will be look at make 2015 world cup.

England still suffer to understand well the back row play and makes a good move to learn by Haskell in something different competition. This is good news truely for England.

Somewhere in my mind I thought Haskell was only with the Highlanders until June,maybe Im wrong.

waar

aucklandlaurie wrote: Somewhere in my mind I thought Haskell was only with the Highlanders until June,maybe Im wrong.

I hope so. He's been playing constantly from Aug 2010 until now (with a possible short break after the world cup before starting in Japan.

Leicester boss bans Twitter after Jordan Crane reveals serious injury
http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/leicester-boss-bans-twitter-after-243957

Anyone know anything of his progress?
The last I heard I heard was that his career was on a knife-edge.

Whatever happened to Nick Easter? From what i have seen he was playing well. Is he no longer in the rekoning?

Nick is thirty-three Billy. And he has been a bit hit-and-miss.

So he's hardly the way forward oner the next couple of years - but your (implied?) sentiment is right so far as England need to develop a balanced back row.

I had no idea that he was that old. I thought maybe 28 or 29. Then yes he is pretty much defo out of the rekoning.

England with a slightly more balanced backrow will be a very hard team to beat.

eirebilly

He only started very late which is probably where the idea that he was younger came from. He went to university and had a city job briefly before he even started playing professional rugby

oh ok, cheers thomh. I actually really rated him as well at the time.

He got his first caps in 2007 I think at about 28.

Portnoy, that links goes to 2010. Are you just pointing out that players don't inform people about injuries anymore?

HammerofThunor wrote:He got his first caps in 2007 I think at about 28.

Portnoy, that links goes to 2010. Are you just pointing out that players don't inform people about injuries anymore?

No.
I was interested from both an England and Tigers perspective how Jordan was getting on.

It would be more satisfying if club websites gave the occasional update on players' injury progress. That would be far more satisfactory informal tweeting/social network carpe.

A few seasons back it looked like a back row of Haskell, Rees and Crane was going to be the future for England. A shame that injuries caused such big problems for two of those guys.

Don't know what's up with Crane, but he hasn't been mentioned at all really for quite some time. Hope he's back up and running next season, a real grafter of a number 8.

Anyone know anything of his progress?
The last I heard I heard was that his career was on a knife-edge

He's been performing water boy duties at Tigers. He went under the knife in pre season because the knee injury he was struggling with during the end of the season and the Saxons just wouldn't go away. As soon as he went under the knife the club rulled him out for the season. He'll be back for pre season and no doubt chomping at the bit for some action.

The odd one is Brookes who broke his ankle against Falcons in the opening weeks of the season and was supposed to be back by the new year but has not been seen since and suggestions are that now we won't see him again until next year.