England World Cup Warm Ups

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England Wales 11th August
Wales England 17th August
England Ireland 24th August
England Italy 6th September.

Squad for the world cup is due 2nd September so theres a chance the 1st 3 could be used for selection purposes and likely to see some combos not considered 1st choice.

BBC saving me typing:

England: Daly; McConnochie, Slade, Francis, Watson; Ford, Heinz; Genge, Cowan-Dickie, Cole, Launchbury, Ewels, Curry, Underhill, B Vunipola.

Replacements: Singleton, Marler, Williams, Kruis, Ludlam, Youngs, Marchant, Cokanasiga.

Wales: L Williams; North, J Davies, Parkes, Adams; Anscombe, G Davies; Smith, Owens, Francis, Beard, Jones, Wainwright, Tipuric, Moriarty.

Replacements: Dee, Jones, Lewis, Ball, Shingler, T Williams, Biggar, Watkin.

The Oracle wrote:

mikey_dragon wrote:

No 8 wrote:Wow. Easy win vs the nearly first strength wales team.

Cyril

Careful. Trolling will get you banned.

Who’s that aimed at?

Move on please Mikey/Oracle

RDW wrote:Move on please Mikey/Oracle

Excuse me???

That was just in case you were going to respond to Mikey - just asking everyone to move on and go back to the rugby.

Pressure does funny things!

Where does this leave Wales as that was their 1st choice team just got their asses handed to them on a plate at Twickers?

RDW wrote:That was just in case you were going to respond to Mikey - just asking everyone to move on and go back to the rugby.

I’ve posted only twice all day today before your warning - once was to congratulate England and once was to warn another poster than they might get banned for wumming (as I’ve seen Meastegmafia handing out band for far less today).

But ok. I’ll post even less

On the plus side it was an entertaining game and great to see rugby back on our screens.

For a friendly that was pretty awesome

Good performance from some of the fringe guys fighting for a WC spot. Impressed with Heinz, looked a natural.

Real off performance from Wales, especially from the intensity levels in the pack. I suspect we'll see a different version after a few days rest. I hope Anscombe isn't badly hurt, he played well.

Did anyone else notice the vain on the side of AWJs head, that was a sign of a man under pressure.

The Oracle wrote:

RDW wrote:That was just in case you were going to respond to Mikey - just asking everyone to move on and go back to the rugby.

I’ve posted only twice all day today before your warning - once was to congratulate England and once was to warn another poster than they might get banned for wumming (as I’ve seen Meastegmafia handing out band for far less today).

But ok. I’ll post even less

Two posters were wumming, I weren’t one of them. Strange how you couldn’t comprehend that. Btw seeing as you’re also questioning the moderation posters get numerous strikes before serving a ban, so it wasn’t based on just today. You posting even less is a great idea though.

Sorry RDW but as you can see from the false accusation being made against me (just one example) this poster seems to have a personal issue with me and needs to be told.

I feel I didn’t properly congratulate England earlier, so congratulations to the team. Hopefully the loss is a good thing for us, plenty to work on. Not the first time we’ve come from an intense training camp and looked tired.

mikey_dragon wrote:

The Oracle wrote:

RDW wrote:That was just in case you were going to respond to Mikey - just asking everyone to move on and go back to the rugby.

I’ve posted only twice all day today before your warning - once was to congratulate England and once was to warn another poster than they might get banned for wumming (as I’ve seen Meastegmafia handing out band for far less today).

But ok. I’ll post even less

Two posters were wumming, I weren’t one of them. Strange how you couldn’t comprehend that. Btw seeing as you’re also questioning the moderation posters get numerous strikes before serving a ban, so it wasn’t based on just today. You posting even less is a great idea though.

Sorry RDW but as you can see from the false accusation being made against me (just one example) this poster seems to have a personal issue with me and needs to be told.

I feel I didn’t properly congratulate England earlier, so congratulations to the team. Hopefully the loss is a good thing for us, plenty to work on. Not the first time we’ve come from an intense training camp and looked tired.

That's not moving on Mikey!

Oracle I was genuinely just meaning not to respond to Mikey - I don't get your disproportionate reaction. PM again of you want but that's literally all it was.

At a risk of repeating myself - can we please move on??

As for the game, England will be pleased to get the win - especially given that experimental nature of the side - but I can't see Gatland being massively concerned by the Wales performance. Brian Moore was right in that Wales looked like they were in the middle of an intensive training block, which is probably not far from the truth. If the same thing happens next week they might get a bit twitchy though.

Daley was pretty ropey at 15 - he shat himself any time North ran at him! Jones will be pleased to see Watson and JJ put in good performances.

From a Wales PoV I hope Anscome injury isn't as bad as it looks.

Why are England announcing their squad so early??

RDW if it’s more of the same again then it’s going to be a major concern for most fans.

I’m curious. Like I said I haven’t seen the game yet but I’ll be able to watch some extended highlights later on via our British box. The starting front row for England today is the one that featured off the bench from the 6N game against Wales. In that game I thought the packs and scrum were fairly even, until the latter stages where both teams had their replacements on where Wales had the upper hand. Our props were Smith and Lewis, and Dee replaced Owens later on which wasn’t enough time to really make an impact. If England were as dominant as you say today then it has to be a bit of a blip. I’m not taking anything away from you, but we can’t just be that below average over night. I expect an improvement next week, ‘expect’. Is England’s best front row really set in stone? Marler and Cole seem like they can still cut the mustard.

Whilst very pleased I would not read too much into this. Wales did a great job of trying to pull the game back in the 2nd half but left themselves too much to do and England with 4 locks did the obvious well and scrummed them backwards for a couple of pens. Wales also looked like they had not tapered for this match, whilst England had a load of players fighting for selection who clearly had tapered their training. Assuming Gats will taper this week to try and ensure he gets his bandwagon back on track. But the real stuff is in a couple of months so all good building up stuff. Fingers crossed for the injuries.

The next thing for England then before next week's 23 announcement will be the World Cup 31. I think Eddie will hedge a bit, select a few players with asterisks next to their names and call some players up as cover.

Shields is one, for example. I can see Jones naming him ahead of Ludlum but retaining the Saint for the next few weeks while Shields recovers. Nowell is another one. I can see him being named over McConnochie, but McConnochie called up as cover if fit.

I'd query Singleton - who I had in the squad - and Marchant - who I didn't - only getting a minute each. Are they both out? They can't both be in after Joseph's performance today, so are we going in with only two hookers? Or is he going to give Singleton more time later? Or did he only cap Marchant to keep Wales away?

I think Heinz has played his way in and any doubts over Joseph and Watson after their injuries can be parked.

I think the selection decisions that are too tight for me to call are:

Decision 1: Cole and Williams as the 2nd tighthead. Both got good game in contrast to the other front rowers - one final audition?
Decision 2: Shields and Ludlam as the 4th flanker. Shields would have been clear favourite until Ludlam's performance today. Did he do enough? But as above, Ludlum will be on standby in any event.
Decision 3: Who the 4th centre is going to be. If Te'o has blotted his copybook then it could be Francis, although he wasn't extraordinary today and might have his own injury concerns. Someone will mention Cipriani, but I'd be surprised.

The 28 who I think are in are:

Mako, Marler, Genge
George, Cowan-Dickie, Singleton
Sinckler, *Decision 1 above*
Itoje, Kruis, Lawes, Launchbury
Wilson, Underhill, Curry, *Decision 2 above*
Billy
Youngs, Heinz
Farrell, Ford
Tuilagi, Slade, Joseph, *Decision 3 above*
May, Watson, Cokanasiga, Nowell* (with a player called in on standby)
Daly

From that I think we could see next week:

Marler, Singleton, Sinckler, Itoje, Kruis, Lawes/Curry, Underhill, Wilson, Youngs, Farrell, May, Tuilagi, Slade, McConnochie, Watson
George, Mako/Genge (depending on Mako's fitness), Cole/Williams (depending on who gets picked), Curry/Lawes, Billy, Heinz, Joseph, Daly

Ludlow's performance today was better than anything I've seen from Shields in the white shirt.

Sgt_Pooly wrote:Ludlow's performance today was better than anything I've seen from Shields in the white shirt.

Yeah, but Eddie did say selection wasn't just based on one game.

Ludlam maybe only got his shot because of Underhill's injury. He might have been scheduled for the 1 minute that Joe Marchant ended up with. Okay he did all he could to secure his spot and I guess that's why we can consider it a debate now. But I wouldn't be at all surprised if Eddie went with Shields.

Ludlow over Shields all day long

On the plus side a good win for a bit of a scratch Eng side. A double-plus is Manu didn't get crocked in the 6 minutes he had.

But plenty to work on. Some truly awful defending for the 1st Wales try, their SH skipped through 3 tackles off a scrum and made Heinz & Daly look like muppets. On Daly - he could be a world-class winger, but he's a pretty average FB. JJ & Watson looked good on their returns, but JJ needs to look for the pass. Curry was great so let's hope his injury was just a niggle.

Do we think Eddie will pick Ludlam over Shields? Or are we just picking Ludlow over Shields for our 606 squad?

The two are different questions. And I think whoever we settle on, Eddie is more likely to pick Shields.

I think Eddie might be a bit controversial and take only three centres and use Farrell as 12 cover safe in the knowledge that the Ford/Farrell axis is long established and works well if required. I'm not sure that Joseph is nailed on as the third centre either, a number of missed tackles today doesn't look good.

We might see 6 props go instead as Jones likes a very physical game and will want to be able to rotate his forwards to keep his front line as fresh as possible.

Seeing as the commentary was mentioned among a lot of exaggeration by some fans; I watched via the BBC with commentators Moore and someone who I assume is an ex England women’s player but I might be wrong. I have to say it’s the worst and most biased commentary I’ve heard since forever, particularly from the female.

An interesting question on the Ludlow/Shields front is whether the one left out of the 31-man squad will remain for the next two warm-ups given both Curry and Underhill are carrying knocks.

I thought Ludlow was excellent today as he was all season for Saints. He's a really enjoyable flanker to watch given his all round skill set and strength in contact.

Good points for me were the form of experienced players in Ford, Launchbury and Vunipola. The return of Watson and Joseph to international duty. The solid performance of Heinz, unspectacular but did what Jones has picked him for. Also Cowan-Dickie tying a solid set-piece performance in with good loose play.

The main negatives were the injury to Curry and Daly still not looking an international full-back. On the later one, I thought he was solid but as much as anything it's trading a Lions winger for an OK full-back.

The more I see of Daly at FB, the more concerned I become. His last up tackling continues to be woeful (he's been taking the wrong lessons from le Roux), and although it surprisingly wasn't tested today, unless his high ball catching has come on leaps and bounds since the 6N, that second cornerstone of FB play is also severely wanting..

As possibly our most talented attacking back, of as much concern is that at FB he's just not getting his hands on the ball enough, or in the positions that best suit him.

He has far more impact at wing or centre. If Brown is out of the picture, I'd rather see Watson or even Nowell at the back. Both have played more rugby and looked more adept there for their clubs in recent times. Apart from only two starts this season, Daly's last Premiership start at 15 was in 2014.

formerly known as Sam wrote:I think Eddie might be a bit controversial and take only three centres and use Farrell as 12 cover safe in the knowledge that the Ford/Farrell axis is long established and works well if required. I'm not sure that Joseph is nailed on as the third centre either, a number of missed tackles today doesn't look good.

We might see 6 props go instead as Jones likes a very physical game and will want to be able to rotate his forwards to keep his front line as fresh as possible.

Watching the match with a few English mates yesterday and we all said the same.

Thought Ford has been superb for England yesterday and saved your bacon in the Scotland game too. Thus carrying Farrell as a centre/flyhalf makes good sense. There are six very good scrummagers available to EJ and that could give England the solidity they need at set piece.

Another thought was reducing the number of backrows in the squad because Lawes can cover both Lock and Flanker. Similar thoughts in other nations too I’m sure.

mikey_dragon wrote:Seeing as the commentary was mentioned among a lot of exaggeration by some fans; I watched via the BBC with commentators Moore and someone who I assume is an ex England women’s player but I might be wrong. I have to say it’s the worst and most biased commentary I’ve heard since forever, particularly from the female.

Presumably over at BBC Cymru Wales won?

Enjoyable game to watch but I won't be reading too much into it, with England full of players trying to catch Eddie's eye a day before selection.
Reading the player stats before the game the English pack looked a lot lighter yet they looked a lot more powerful during play, that's a big step forward from having a huge pack that sometimes seemed to struggle to overpower opponents. Ludlam carried and tackled far above his weight as did the excellent Curry and I thought Lawes was excellent (yet again), for me he has been in much better form for England than Itoje for some time now and should be ahead in the pecking order..
Watson and JJ both looked good and I thought Heinz was excellent considering it was his first start. Tired of saying it but Daley at FB is a weak spot, Brown is far better under the high ball,  running into contact and defence. I honestly think the days of saying 'we have to have him in there somewhere' are gone, play him as a centre/wing or not at all.

I like Daly as a player but I can't see where he fits into the team on merit;

Youngs
Farrell
May
Slade
Joseph/Tuilagi
Watson
Brown

In an ideal world I'd have that the backline and each specialist so to speak is better in their respective position than Daly, to me he's the perfect bench play covering five different players.

maestegmafia wrote:

formerly known as Sam wrote:I think Eddie might be a bit controversial and take only three centres and use Farrell as 12 cover safe in the knowledge that the Ford/Farrell axis is long established and works well if required. I'm not sure that Joseph is nailed on as the third centre either, a number of missed tackles today doesn't look good.

We might see 6 props go instead as Jones likes a very physical game and will want to be able to rotate his forwards to keep his front line as fresh as possible.

Watching the match with a few English mates yesterday and we all said the same.

Thought Ford has been superb for England yesterday and saved your bacon in the Scotland game too. Thus carrying Farrell as a centre/flyhalf makes good sense. There are six very good scrummagers available to EJ and that could give England the solidity they need at set piece.

Another thought was reducing the number of backrows in the squad because Lawes can cover both Lock and Flanker. Similar thoughts in other nations too I’m sure.

It's an awkward shuffle for a lot of coaches. England might be luckier than most in that several of our backline players can play several positions. Daly can play wing/centre/fullback, Watson and Nowell both wing/centre. Might well free up space for extra forwards who we will probably need if the temperature goes up and the rugby is as brutally physical as we expect it to be.

mikey_dragon wrote:Seeing as the commentary was mentioned among a lot of exaggeration by some fans; I watched via the BBC with commentators Moore and someone who I assume is an ex England women’s player but I might be wrong. I have to say it’s the worst and most biased commentary I’ve heard since forever, particularly from the female.

Now you know how we feel every 6N when we get the ex-Welsh international love in. The only ex-Welsh international I've heard commentate with both eyes open is Sam Warburton but sadly the BBC don't seem to use him much. Hopefully he returns for BT this season.

The squad of 31 will be very interesting for sure. Guessing Eddie is a tough task, but here goes.

Mako, Marler and Genge at loosehead (cover for Mako required)
Sinckler, Cole and Williams
George, Cowan-Dickie
Itoje, Kruis, Lawes, Launchbury
Curry, Underhill, Wilson, Billy, Shields
Youngs, Heinz
Farrell, Ford
Manu, Slade, JJ, T'eo, Francis
May, Nowell, Cokanasiga, Watson, Daly

Or 3 hookers and T'eo drops out?

Well, it was a good day at the office for the England team, and will have given Eddie pause to think before he names his squad later on today.

I thought we played well, the pack displaying a glorious mix of raw physicality and deftness of hands. Launchbury is the best example of this, but there were some great interchanges and offloads throughout the forwards.

Ludlam could have played himself into contention - I agree that it's likely to be a straight toss-up between him and Shields, and to be honest (even as a Wasps fan) I'd probably take the Northampton man over Shields.

Heinz was good, passing crisp and direct, and some good sniping. Thought he should have done better in preventing his opposite number's try, and his kicking wasn't quite up there, but: good enough.

Watson looks class, Big Joe is an auxiliary forward, and while doubts persist about Daly at 15 his drop goal was a reminder that he has such a good rugby brain.

A lot of deflecting away from the result going on here, why are people moaning about the commentary?
The home team always gets biased commentary.

Great result btw against the Worlds No1 team just in case anyone has missed it.

Thought Ludlam (not Ludlow!!!!!) played well and would have no issues if he was selected in the squad. Is he a line out option? That seems to be Shields' point of difference, if that's what Eddie wants then its unlikely he'll be shifted from the squad if fit, but good to know we have another competent option on the flanks

Agree with everyone who was impressed by Heinz, just seemed to pick the right options every time, kept the tempo up and was always at the breakdown quickly. His kicking game was ok too, he did better than I was expecting in all honesty

In the backs, Watson looked great. Given his high ball prowess and Daly's limitations there, we should be looking at them as a pair at wing/FB imo. I don't know if its feasible, but I'd be asking for Watson to be the primary full back but Daly to take that spot in attack when he is so good at coming into the line late and attacking the outside shoulder creating 2 on 1s.

All in all, very happy to have won against Wales first choice team. Hopefully that will leave them "psychologically weakened"

BamBam wrote:
In the backs, Watson looked great. Given his high ball prowess and Daly's limitations there, we should be looking at them as a pair at wing/FB imo. I don't know if its feasible, but I'd be asking for Watson to be the primary full back but Daly to take that spot in attack when he is so good at coming into the line late and attacking the outside shoulder creating 2 on 1s.

Watson is very strong when running on to high balls - this obviously manifests itself in attack but comes to play in defence when the kicks are in front of him. He had a torrid time against Ireland last year when the kicks were dropping onto him near the try line, dropping a few - one of which led to a try - before his injury.

Whatson was on fire great to see him back, but do you play him as a winger or replace Daily at Fullback?

Hein's was great too but was at fault for the 1st Welsh try imho and perhaps should have passed wide 1st time for Big Joels try.

Didnt see the game, was doing the nice little 8.5 hour drive from Exeter to Newcastle.

GeordieFalcon wrote:Didnt see the game, was doing the nice little 8.5 hour drive from Exeter to Newcastle.  

Its worth watching mate just to see AWJ's vein pulsating on his forehead.

robbo277 wrote:Decision 1: Cole and Williams as the 2nd tighthead. Both got good game in contrast to the other front rowers - one final audition?
Decision 2: Shields and Ludlam as the 4th flanker. Shields would have been clear favourite until Ludlam's performance today. Did he do enough? But as above, Ludlum will be on standby in any event.
Decision 3: Who the 4th centre is going to be. If Te'o has blotted his copybook then it could be Francis, although he wasn't extraordinary today and might have his own injury concerns. Someone will mention Cipriani, but I'd be surprised.

The 28 who I think are in are:

Mako, Marler, Genge
George, Cowan-Dickie, Singleton
Sinckler, *Decision 1 above*
Itoje, Kruis, Lawes, Launchbury
Wilson, Underhill, Curry, *Decision 2 above*
Billy
Youngs, Heinz
Farrell, Ford
Tuilagi, Slade, Joseph, *Decision 3 above*
May, Watson, Cokanasiga, Nowell* (with a player called in on standby)
Daly

This is only 30 players and I'm an idiot. I'd potentially be looking at a 6th back row, so maybe Shields and Ludlam both making it, rather than a 3rd tighthead or a 5th centre.

EDIT: The other option that Eddie may take is one of Shields/Ludlam with a 5th second row in Ewels (who didn't look out of place on Sunday) and Lawes covering 6. Not what I would do, but don't rule it out.

TightHEAD wrote:Whatson was on fire great to see him back, but do you play him as a winger or replace Daily at Fullback?

Hein's was great too but was at fault for the 1st Welsh try imho and perhaps should have passed wide 1st time for Big Joels try.

I'd trial Watson at fullback against Wales next week. We need to rotate our squad and we need to know he's at least a back up option if Jones isn't calling in Brown (probably not) or Goode (definitely not).

Surely if we lose front row players to injury we can call up others during the tournament as you can't start games with uncontested scrums?

Heaf wrote:Do you think Wales let the pressure of keeping their record and being No.1 get to them?

If they did, it's a good job it's out of the way!

TightHEAD wrote:Surely if we lose front row players to injury we can call up others during the tournament as you can't start games with uncontested scrums?

You can call up a replacement player to a World Cup squad at any time. But any player replaced may not rejoin the squad at any point, even if another player goes down injured and the original player is fit again. There is no requirement for the player to be "like-for-like" so if a prop gets injured you can replace him with a wing, or vica-versa.

The precedent for "understocking" front row is quite well established. Not England, Eddie Jones' Japan nor any other nation took 9 front row to the 2015 World Cup (everyone took 7 or 8).

I think 6 back row, 4 locks and 8 front row is a better balance than 5 back row, 4 locks and 9 front row, because we can rotate the entire pack across those opening two games. Then if we lose a back row in one of those first two games, we essentially get a "free" replacement, as we should be able to manage the rest of the tournament with 5.

Understocking the front row is more easy if you have a prop who can work on either side of the front row - something we're lacking. In fact, are there any top class props who can do this these days?

The squad's announced at 1pm? Or is it midday?

1pm today

Rinsure wrote:Understocking the front row is more easy if you have a prop who can work on either side of the front row - something we're lacking. In fact, are there any top class props who can do this these days?

In 2011 we had Corbs selected as a LH but able to cover TH. In 2015 Brookes was selected at TH but covered loose. Matt Stevens played both sides.

At teh weekend I think Andrew Porter packed down in both roles for Ireland.

Its become a rarer skill since the extra prop was added to the bench. Not sure if any of our props can do it now

Porter was a loosehead who now plays tighthead due to the Irish depth at LH if I remember rightly, so makes sense he'd have the skills to do both

Rinsure wrote:Understocking the front row is more easy if you have a prop who can work on either side of the front row - something we're lacking. In fact, are there any top class props who can do this these days?

The squad's announced at 1pm? Or is it midday?

It was mentioned earlier that Cowan-Dickie was previously able to cover loosehead, so that could be an option. Cole played back in the day of 1 prop benches and must have had a few minutes at loosehead as well. If we were more sure of Mako's fitness, I'd be advocating just having him and Genge with the three tightheads in the squad. But I can't believe Marler has been called back in just for the pre-tournament training camp. Maybe he's going to leave out Genge? Mako normally stays on for nearly the full 80 anyway, so if we had Mako starting and Cole on the bench as loosehead cover we could be fairly sure of a fully fit Mako playing the majority of the game, maybe leaving Cole with 5 or 10 minutes at the end.

If we go light a tighthead and Sinckler strains his calf, we could end up with Singleton or Marler covering tighthead from the bench for 1 game and hoping not to get on, and that's assuming we can't draft in a tighthead from another injury (e.g. if a back row gets injured). Anything more serious and you'd just replace Sinckler outright. Having Marler play tighthead for 15-25 minutes wouldn't be the worst thing. He'd spend the week training that position, he would be fine around the park and in the lineouts and may have to deal with 4 scrums. It's not that big of a deal.

BamBam wrote:Its become a rarer skill since the extra prop was added to the bench. Not sure if any of our props can do it now

Porter was a loosehead who now plays tighthead due to the Irish depth at LH if I remember rightly, so makes sense he'd have the skills to do both

Apparently Mako tried TH in training a little while back and absolutely hated it. The only potential versatility we have is LCD having played LH for the U20s a bit. However with Mako carrying an injury we are more likely to want proper cover at LH. Just maybe we could go with two hookers and use a TH in emergency for cover. 

While you can make unlimited changes for injury during the tournament, players have to be named in teh squad a certain number of days before they can play. This means there are situations where you could not call up a replacement in time and should you fail to have the requisite cover on the bench for front row I believe you forfeit the game.

LondonTiger wrote:

BamBam wrote:Its become a rarer skill since the extra prop was added to the bench. Not sure if any of our props can do it now

Porter was a loosehead who now plays tighthead due to the Irish depth at LH if I remember rightly, so makes sense he'd have the skills to do both

Apparently Mako tried TH in training a little while back and absolutely hated it. The only potential versatility we have is LCD having played LH for the U20s a bit. However with Mako carrying an injury we are more likely to want proper cover at LH. Just maybe we could go with two hookers and use a TH in emergency for cover. 

While you can make unlimited changes for injury during the tournament, players have to be named in teh squad a certain number of days before they can play. This means there are situations where you could not call up a replacement in time and should you fail to have the requisite cover on the bench for front row I believe you forfeit the game.

48 hours is the stand down period, however a caveated exemption was made for Argentina last tournament before their bronze final. They suffered two front row injuries in the build-up including Marcos Ayerza being injured the day before. The replacement, Botta, was added to the bench but would have only been allowed to play if absolutely required - i.e. he can't be used as a tactical replacement. Botta, a prop, was also the third prop on the bench - no specialist hooker was named.

There have been other occasions I'm sure (although I can't recall specifics) where three props have been named on the bench and no specialist hooker. As long as the coach is happy to use one of them at hooker safely, then there's no issue from World Rugby side. There would potentially be a liability suit if a coach tried to force a prop without sufficient training to go out at hooker and that player got injured, but if the player has trained there and coach and player are happy then there is no real issue.

When you name front row players, you put an FR next to them to indicate they are front row. How you then manage your resources is up to you.

Indeed there is nothing to stop you having all three of the bench front rowers from the same position. However should tehre be an injury they have to then come on and play the requisite position.

Even if Eddie chooses to name a series of injured players and standbys, we will know how he plans to structure his squad come the announcement.

My interest is piqued by the prospect of 2 SHs. With Ford perhaps covering the position in an emergency could explain the continued presence of Francis and perhaps see him make the 31.