Tom Wood set to be England captain this autumn

First topic message reminder :

What it says on the tin.
Steffon Armitage coming in? Robshaw on bench due to his jack of all trades master of nothing style of play?
England fans happy with Wood as captain?
Or very disappointed that "should have been Lions captain" Robshaw is no longer in charge?

My thoughts,Wood is a poor choice he is not as good as the SKY commentary make him out to be never mind the temperament of a International captain,
i think back to the Scarlets humiliating Saints in the HC in their back yard and Wood was a stand out sulker when the pressure was on.

Robshaw was never a good captain far to meek to deal with the ref and pretty average player who won't be missed by the England team.

Lancaster, Well Lancaster is starting to prove his limited ability as a coach who does not know his own mind, proving he is easily swayed by outside opinion.

Summary--- Bad decisions all round by a weak coach, England looking rudderless as the 2015 world cup approaches, cue mass panic by December next year from the media and fans,knee jerk reactions from the top, possible humiliating group stage exit in world cup.

Anyways what you think?

Good point on the second row Geordie, it's the area I have struggled with.

If Parling doesn't play, who runs the lineout? Wood? Attwood? I see that as Parling's area of expertise.

It might be controversial but I would play Launchbury and Attwood I think.......but I worry about the lineout here. The last game of the 6 nations threw into stark relief that we lacked power.

For me Launchbury and Parling are too similar (at the moment)...both athletic second row / back row type players (though i think Launchbury will naturally bulk out over the next few years). We need one of those and a bigger more nasty aggressive lump in there.

Here, I think Gary Gold is doing some great work with Attwood. He is really starting to show what we all saw in his early days. He has the physical element we need and is using it well...thats the key.
He is also surprisingly good in the lineout.

Now i suspect Lancaster will go with Parling as his 1st choice lock as prem winner, lion etc...so him and Attwood would give us a nice mix in the engine room...and also three lineout options with Wood at 6...who can run the lineout also.
But equally putting launchbury in there who has had some fantastic games doesnt weaken us...and gives the lad a chance to continue his international experience and education.

Launchbury is also a bit more versatile (as in can put in a shift at 6) so might well make a good bench option if you started without him

Thats true , but Parling has played alot of games at 6 as well and has shown he is an athletic second row that gets round the park well. Thats why i feel they're very similar at the moment...just with launchbury the potential to be a better player. So its one or t'other. Not both in there.
Parling is probably ahead for the starting spot at the moment though.

GeordieFalcon wrote:Thats true , but Parling has played alot of games at 6 as well and has shown he is an athletic second row that gets round the park well. Thats why i feel they're very similar at the moment...just with launchbury the potential to be a better player. So its one or t'other. Not both in there.
Parling is probably ahead for the starting spot at the moment though.

Really? I've never heard of him playing 6, are you not confusing him with Slater? Any examples of when he's played blindside?

He played a lot of games for us at 6 and I'm sure he has played some games for tigers.

Robshaw had a stormer yesterday, including at the breakdown where he made at least 3 turnovers. Just sayin'

corbs
hartely
wilson
Corbs in for his scrummaging ability, m vunipola and marler both good options. Hartley has had a fantastic start to the season and I would have him in front of other options at the moment, youngs not far behind. I would start wilson ahead of cole, cole has stagnanted a little although i expect him to return i think wilson has earned a start.

Parling
attwood
Parling is a key player, his experience is vital running the lineout and he is an effective carrier, shifts his weight going into contact and gets over the gain line. Launchberry is a future certain starter but at the moment his form has dipped and needs to fight for his place, attwood has started the season really well and deserves a shot, adds another carrying option and has improved his lineout contribution too. Lawes wouldnt make the bench at the minute, needs to show some consistency to put the others under pressure. Kitchener is ahead of lawes for me.

wood
robshaw
morgan
wood and robshaw are currently the best all round and most consistent flankers available. none of the young pretenders have shown enough to oust them. billy vunipola has a bright international future but still makes too many basic errors that would be punished at test level. Haskell is probably next in line, has to return from injury first though.

b youngs
farrell
youngs ahead of care for his kicking game but both are quality players. farrell is consistent and has show he can play expansively. flood for me is still the best english 10 but isnt playing at the moment. burns and ford both looking good but need prem time.

twelvetrees
tuilagi
with barritt out, twelvetrees has a great opportunity and he needs to take it! tuilagi is streets ahead of the competition.

yarde
ashton
foden
harsh on brown, this is the closest call, both are excellent. foden, for me. just offers the pace that is so useful at the top level. im a big fan of wade but he needs to repeat last seasons form to get into the team. yarde looks a test level player all the way, pace, power and finishing ability. ashton has fallen out of favour with many but he has shown that he can do the business at test level and has plenty of experience now, if he fails to perform there are plenty of talented players that could step up.

HQ Matt, agree with all of that. Its interesting that of Yarde and Wade though you feel that Yarde is the player that's ready to go straight into the Int starting team and note Wade. Is this just on his percieved size and power or would you say that he's been that much better?

HQ matt wrote:Launchberry is a future certain starter but at the moment his form has dipped

billy vunipola has a bright international future but still makes too many basic errors that would be punished at test level

Launchbury did a lot of work for Wasps at the weekend, 14 tackles and 11 takes at the lineout.

I would have had Morgan ahead of Vunipola at the beginning of the season as well, but whereas Vunipola is looking fitter and is playing well for Saracens, having played 3 sets of 80mins, Morgan looked off the pace in the first game, lasting 50mins and has been on the bench since.

When I look at an opposing team, I'll usually have a sense of players I'm a bit nervous about. I'm not sure we're at the point yet where enough of our guys make other sides wary.

Looking back to Johnson's troubled World Cup squad, players like Lawes, Armitage, Ben Youngs, Ashton and Foden had all laid down markers, while older lags like Sheridan had pedigree.

During Lancaster's tenure, I don't think our pack has been seen as anything more than workmanlike. This has probably meant they've been underestimated but we also lose the advantage of striking a bit of fear into the opposition. That can be so valuable when you start to get a lead because it can help demoralize another side.

Corbs and, to a lesser degree, Cole, now have a bit of a reputation but we need our back five to look a bit more imposing. I don't know how you go about building an aura except by winning matches.

In the backs, Youngs has yet to look as threatening as he did during those back-to-back wins over Australia under Johnson. Farrell's composure has been good but it's difficult to think that other teams see him yet as a major threat.

Tuilagi remains the stand-out but you hope either Ashton finds some form, or else these other backs we talk about can step up and make defences wonder where the threat will come from.

yappy- not sure what it is about yarde probably his start to the season to be honest. wades positioning defensively
has been shown up a few times at the top level.

mbernz- yes that is a bit of a contradiction on my part. i just feel attwood will bring some leadership to the pack and his ball carrying will be useful too. launchberry is young and has plenty of time to add to the weaker parts of his game (of which there are not many). would like to see attwoods form rewarded.

billy v needs to learn a bit more disciplne and he is in the right place to do it. he just tends to get himself isolated and knock on in contact, morgan has been great in an england shirt and should start, billy and launchberry on the bench.