England v Scotland The Calcutta Cup Saturday 6th February 2021

England v Scotland
The Calcutta Cup

Twickenham Stadium
London

Saturday 6th February 2021
KO 16.45


Well here we go for a 6n opener.

It is going to be a slightly odd one no doubt, playing this game in an empty stadium. It has been said in the past that Twickenham lacks atmosphere a bit, but we won't have seen anything on this scale.

As usual, it will be England's game to lose. Twickenham has been a graveyard for Scottish sides for a long long time. In terms of hope though for us Scots, the last few games have been a lot closer than usual and who can forget the madness of the last time out, the ultimate game of two halves.

England are missing a few players and there has to be some questions about the match prep of some of the Saracens players, who have not played since the autumn. How they get on in this game will be the great question mark hanging over this game and may set the tone for England over the entire championship. I would imagine Scotland will be pleased to be playing them first up in all honesty.

On the other hand, do Scotland, who with Finn Russell back and pulling the strings and looking a stronger proposition than in the autumn, really believe that they can win in London. They are also largely injury free. It would be a massive step forward for them as a team if they could do that. It remains unclear though and the smart money is still going to be on an England win, albeit likely a scrappy one.


Here is my stab at the Scotland team:

1. Sutherland
2. Turner
3. Fagerson Z
4. Cummings
5. Gray J
6. Ritchie - If fit, but Toonie making promising noises on that front
7. Watson
8. Fagerson M
9. Price
10. Russell
11. Maitland
12. Redpath - I think Toonie will roll the dice
13. Harris
14. VDM
15. Hogg

Subs

Keeble
Cherry
Nel
Gray R
Graham -might have been in the side if not playing this sunday
Steele
VDW
Jones H


The big calls for Toonie are at 12 and No.8

Redpath looks ready and I think he should play him. Graham might have to wait a week, as i think playing today might well count against him, so let Matt Fagerson have the first bite of the cherry.

https://www.scotsman.com/sport/rugby-union/calcutta-cup-we-know-importance-fixture-our-people-says-gregor-townsend-he-hints-debut-cam-redpath-3118220

A fairly strong hint from Toonie that Redpath might be starting!

BigGee wrote:https://www.scotsman.com/sport/rugby-union/calcutta-cup-we-know-importance-fixture-our-people-says-gregor-townsend-he-hints-debut-cam-redpath-3118220

A fairly strong hint from Toonie that Redpath might be starting!

If Taylor is out for concussion protocol he could well be, I don't think Lang-Harris would inspire a win in twickenham for the first time in about 40 years. He did just say debut though which could just mean time from the bench of course.

Eddie Jones despite the occasional odd ball pick is generally pretty consistent with his selection, so I'm not expecting any huge surprises. I think he'll revert to picking Lawes in the back-row, much to the frustration of many people who want to see Willis there.


01. Ellis Genge
02. Jamie George
03. Harry Williams
04. Maro Itoje
05. Jonny Hill
06. Courtney Lawes
07. Tom Curry
08. Billy Vunipola

09. Ben Youngs
10. George Ford

11. Jonny May
12. Owen Farrell
13. Henry Slade
14. Anthony Watson
15. Elliott Daly

I could be wrong, but I've got a hunch that he will pick a 6-2 split on the bench and focus on pursuing a forward/ power game-plan.

16. Luke Cowan-Dickie
17. Beno Obano
18. Will Stuart
19. Mark Wilson
20. Jack Willis (but I wouldn't be surprised to see Ewels)
21. Ben Earl
22. Dan Robson
23. Ollie Lawrence

Very little chance of Lawes starting in the back row when you look at the overall squad options nor would you ever have three back row options on the bench.

Genge
George
Stuart
Itoje
Lawes
Curry
Willis
Vunipola

Youngs
Ford
May
Farrell
Lawrence
Watson
Daly

Cowan-Dickie
Obano
Williams
Hill
Earl
Robson
Slade
Malins

I was at Murrayfield last year, which was truly grim conditions. Hopefully this year will be a little more conducive to scoring tries.
Scotland look remarkably settled although England will undoubtedly have a go at the Scottish lineout and their midfield looks defensively suspect. The scrum, breakdown, half backs and back three look competitive.
Who knows what England will offer in this tournament attacking wise and would think it a fair bet with a 6/2 bench split for a forward blitz in the last third of the match.

After the annual welsh match, this my favourite game of the tournament and my wife is from Clackmannanshire, so this is a win win for me although, I don't like the sometimes political spite that occasionally comes with this fixture.

Soul Requiem wrote:Very little chance of Lawes starting in the back row when you look at the overall squad options nor would you ever have three back row options on the bench.

Genge
George
Stuart
Itoje
Lawes
Curry
Willis
Vunipola

Youngs
Ford
May
Farrell
Lawrence
Watson
Daly

Cowan-Dickie
Obano
Williams
Hill
Earl
Robson
Slade
Malins

I'll concede that you're probably right about the three back row on the bench. However, I don't think Lawes at 6 is as unlikely as you suggest. I also think that Wilson is more likely to figure in the squad than Willis. Don't get me wrong I'd prefer to see a straight swap between Underhill and Willis, but Eddie really seems to rate Wilson.

My bet would be on Souls side for England but with Earl starting and Willis on the bench.

Jones has made some noises about evolving England's game plan this tournament. Previously he had spoken about keeping tactics simple until after the Lions tour which whilst turgid during the ANC does make some sense given that injuries on the Lions tour and players emerging in their absence can cause natural evolution of the side after this summer. With the Lions and summer tours are unknown entities with covid it would be good to see the attacking potential used more.

England have several experienced forwards missing - Mako, Marler, Kruis, Launchbury, Underhill - so will need replacements to step up. The Scotland pack is pretty settled but McInally and Brown being injured means that England should be able to target the set-piece. I've watched George Turner from his Heriots days in the Scottish Premiership, he's a beast in the loose particularly in the tackle but his set-piece can be targeted and England should be strong there at lineout and scrum.

NeilyBroon wrote:

BigGee wrote:https://www.scotsman.com/sport/rugby-union/calcutta-cup-we-know-importance-fixture-our-people-says-gregor-townsend-he-hints-debut-cam-redpath-3118220

A fairly strong hint from Toonie that Redpath might be starting!

If Taylor is out for concussion protocol he could well be, I don't think Lang-Harris would inspire a win in twickenham for the first time in about 40 years. He did just say debut though which could just mean time from the bench of course.

Trying to keep myself from getting too excited about squad announcement. With Toonie it's always the important decisions that are the most disappointing at the moment.

Oh well I'd say about 75-80% of the starting 15 picks itself. Open positions are 6 (assuming Ritchie is still not fit), 12, 13 and a wing.

I'd start with
Sutherland
Turner
Fagerson
Gray (I'd get Cummings on in the second half, I think we need to attack their set piece from the start and Gray has looked the part)
Gray Jr (he starts, he's not an impact sub)
Graham
Watson
Fagerson

Price
Russell

Redpath
Jones (pie in the sky stuff, I know)

Vdm
Maitland
Hogg (c)

Subs: Cherry, Kebble, Nel, Cummings, Thomson, Steele, VdW, Harris

Can't see Harris not starting, even more so if Redpath does!

Harris does what he does and won't let us down, i would like to see Jones coming on and getting the chance to stake his claim in the second half though

My thoughts on what Eddie will go for is as follows:

1. Genge
2. George
3. Stuart
4. Itoje
5. Lawes
6. Wilson
7. Curry
8. Vunipola
9. Youngs
10. Farrell
11. May
12. Slade
13. Lawrence
14. Watson
15. Daly

16. Cowan-Dickie
17. Obano
18. Williams
19. Hill
20. Earl
21. Randall (got a feeling)
22. Ford
23. Odogwu

I'd like to see this, but won't:

1. Genge
2. Cowan-Dickie
3. Stuart
4. Itoje
5. Lawes
6. Willis
7. Curry
8. Earl
9. Randall
10. Ford
11. May
12. Farrell
13. Lawrence
14. Odogwu
15. Watson

16. George
17. Obano
18. Williams
19. Hill
20. Wilson
21. Robson
22. Slade
23. Daly

Looking at the 2019 starting team for England v Scotland, there was no Marler or M Vunipola then either. Itoje had been injured in the Ireland game and Lawes in the Wales game I think, so they were both missing too. Underhill didn't play that tournament either. Nothing new for England to be missing a load of players. Or any team for that matter.

Having Lawes and Itoje back though will be a big deal. Lawes will probably go after Russell. Hopefully Lawes and Willis both start, with Lawes dropping to 6 if necessary and Hill going to the second row. Curry or B Vunipola don't tend to get subbed. One of Lawrence or Odogwu has to be involved. The Autumn showed a lack of ball-carriers in England for me, so someone needs to step up. Scotland got a lot of change out of the breakdown in 2018, and France did too last December so I hope thats been addressed with picking Willis.

Redpath. He has been marked as destined for great things, but if he does play he is still going to be the inexperienced young guy. The chances are he's going to take time to bed into international rugby.

Assuming he does play that will be the 3rd recent England age grade centre going to one of our neighbours, after Johnny Williams and Nick Tompkins.

I find it almost impossible to second guess Jones. I have a clear idea of the team I would want to see but I doubt it will match the one Jones puts out, and I expect that will diverge more at 6, 9 and 15.

I'm interested to see how the lack of rugby affects his decisions. Will it be consistent will, it aid those guys as they're fresh or will Jones see some ring rust in training.

No 7&1/2 wrote:

I'm interested to see how the lack of rugby affects his decisions. Will it be consistent will, it aid those guys as they're fresh or will Jones see some ring rust in training.

This is the 6 milliln dollar question concerning this match.

It goes against all conventional wisdom to plsy international rugby with no game time in the legs.

How is this going to pan out?

Modern day conditioning is remarkable - players out injured get up to speed very quickly these days - but there's no doubting that England will suffer from the Sarries boys having lost all match sharpness and match fitness having not played in a few months.

It will certainly be playing on EJ's mind.

lostinwales wrote:Redpath. He has been marked as destined for great things, but if he does play he is still going to be the inexperienced young guy. The chances are he's going to take time to bed into international rugby.

Assuming he does play that will be the 3rd recent England age grade centre going to one of our neighbours, after Johnny Williams and Nick Tompkins.

I've been umming and ahing about this.

He is a better player than Lang and Taylor doesn't have much game time in the bank, so on balance I think he should start - a massive call though.

If we end up with a Lang/Harris midfield I may cry.

lostinwales wrote:Redpath. He has been marked as destined for great things, but if he does play he is still going to be the inexperienced young guy. The chances are he's going to take time to bed into international rugby.

Assuming he does play that will be the 3rd recent England age grade centre going to one of our neighbours, after Johnny Williams and Nick Tompkins.

Personally I think Redpath will make his debut against Italy from the bench and Toonie will play 12. Taylor 13. Harris. That is the logical choice.

Redpath seems the type of player who could create opportunities rather than just exploit them. Regardless, Taylor deserves to start. He's worked his way back into the Scotland squad from various injuries and I see him as more likely to get Scotland off to a winning start than as you say, a young guy earmarked as a future international talent. Hastings slowly worked his way to become a very competent fly-half. His debut was against Canada from the bench. I see no benefit in starting Redpath (crowd or no crowd) against England at Twickenham, somewhere Scotland haven't won before I was born (I'm 32 by the way).

Talking of rustiness - Scotland's wingers will be interesting. Both Duhan and Darcy haven't played in weeks, and Maitland hasn't played in months.

Could mean 606V2's favourite Kinghorn gets the nod!

EST wrote:

lostinwales wrote:Redpath. He has been marked as destined for great things, but if he does play he is still going to be the inexperienced young guy. The chances are he's going to take time to bed into international rugby.

Assuming he does play that will be the 3rd recent England age grade centre going to one of our neighbours, after Johnny Williams and Nick Tompkins.

I've been umming and ahing about this.  

He is a better player than Lang and Taylor doesn't have much game time in the bank, so on balance I think he should start - a massive call though.

If we end up with a Lang/Harris midfield I may cry.

Maybe Lang/harris would be a master stroke of genius. It would certainly contain England's midfield.

RDW wrote:Talking of rustiness - Scotland's wingers will be interesting. Both Duhan and Darcy haven't played in weeks, and Maitland hasn't played in months.

Could mean 606V2's favourite Kinghorn gets the nod!

Not great but I still think DVDM has to start but Kinghorn could well start ahead of Maitland. Kinghorn is like the Oliver Burke of Scottish Rugby haha

bsando wrote:

EST wrote:

lostinwales wrote:Redpath. He has been marked as destined for great things, but if he does play he is still going to be the inexperienced young guy. The chances are he's going to take time to bed into international rugby.

Assuming he does play that will be the 3rd recent England age grade centre going to one of our neighbours, after Johnny Williams and Nick Tompkins.

I've been umming and ahing about this.  

He is a better player than Lang and Taylor doesn't have much game time in the bank, so on balance I think he should start - a massive call though.

If we end up with a Lang/Harris midfield I may cry.

Maybe Lang/harris would be a master stroke of genius. It would certainly contain England's midfield.

It would complete the coaching narrative arc Toonie has been embarking on since the world cup nicely, from attacking maverick to dour defensive selector.

Who needs Jones, Redpath, Taylor, Hutchison or Bennett when we can have Lang and Harris to tackle England into oblivion....

VDM has played plenty this season, I don't think it will have been an issue for him to have missed a few games.

Graham is a bit more odd, been out for personal reasons and in no great form prior to that in any case, I have no idea if the two things are related. I do think it would be a long shot for him to start this weekend though.

Maitland I think got a run out against Ealing for Sarries a couple of weeks back but his experience gives him the muscle memory to perform probably more so than the others.

Kinghorn has been playing and frustrating us in equal measure!

McGuigan has worked his way back to fitness and into the Sale side (who are not short of decent wingers), he could be a long shot.

VDM and Maitland for me though, with Kinghorn on standby and maybe on the bench.

bsando wrote:

lostinwales wrote:Redpath. He has been marked as destined for great things, but if he does play he is still going to be the inexperienced young guy. The chances are he's going to take time to bed into international rugby.

Assuming he does play that will be the 3rd recent England age grade centre going to one of our neighbours, after Johnny Williams and Nick Tompkins.

Personally I think Redpath will make his debut against Italy from the bench and Toonie will play 12. Taylor 13. Harris. That is the logical choice.

Redpath seems the type of player who could create opportunities rather than just exploit them. Regardless, Taylor deserves to start. He's worked his way back into the Scotland squad from various injuries and I see him as more likely to get Scotland off to a winning start than as you say, a young guy earmarked as a future international talent. Hastings slowly worked his way to become a very competent fly-half. His debut was against Canada from the bench. I see no benefit in starting Redpath (crowd or no crowd) against England at Twickenham, somewhere Scotland haven't won before I was born (I'm 32 by the way).

I'm glad you didn't say about 'forty years', it is isn't 'about forty years' it exactly 38, those two (eep!) years are VERY important to some of us, thank you very much.

bsando wrote:

EST wrote:

lostinwales wrote:Redpath. He has been marked as destined for great things, but if he does play he is still going to be the inexperienced young guy. The chances are he's going to take time to bed into international rugby.

Assuming he does play that will be the 3rd recent England age grade centre going to one of our neighbours, after Johnny Williams and Nick Tompkins.

I've been umming and ahing about this.  

He is a better player than Lang and Taylor doesn't have much game time in the bank, so on balance I think he should start - a massive call though.

If we end up with a Lang/Harris midfield I may cry.

Maybe Lang/harris would be a master stroke of genius. It would certainly contain England's midfield.

If England select Ford/Farrell/Slade an under 13s midfield could keep them contained. Make sure Ford can't scamper through a gap and there's no outside arc for Slade which is easy because there's no direct ball carrier in the backline so no passing opportunities for Ford.

I'm hoping England field;

Genge, George, Stuart
Itoje, Hill
Earl, Vunipola, Curry
Youngs, Ford
Farrell, Lawrence
May, Daly, Odogwu

LCD, Obano, Williams, Lawes, Willis, Wilson, Randall, Watson

I'd ditch Farrell as well but Eddie won't. Bit harsh on Slade but I expect the breakdown to be a brutal war so more fresh forwards should help that.

By the sounds of it we're more likely to be seeing Odgowu as a centre rather than wing.

https://twitter.com/thistlerugbypod/status/1356216012199362563

Scottish Rugby Thistle Podcast predicting GG to start at No.8, they usually have their ear pretty close to the ground, they also said that Redpath and Harris were running together in training last week as well. putting him in line for a start.

No 7&1/2 wrote:By the sounds of it we're more likely to be seeing Odgowu as a centre rather than wing.

I had a suspicion that may be the case. Jones has been looking for a Manu replacement. And Odogwu looks like the nearest( not identical) , direct power runner we have at the moment.

12 Lawrence
13 Odogwu

Would be interesting...

bsando wrote:

lostinwales wrote:Redpath. He has been marked as destined for great things, but if he does play he is still going to be the inexperienced young guy. The chances are he's going to take time to bed into international rugby.

Assuming he does play that will be the 3rd recent England age grade centre going to one of our neighbours, after Johnny Williams and Nick Tompkins.

Personally I think Redpath will make his debut against Italy from the bench and Toonie will play 12. Taylor 13. Harris. That is the logical choice.

Redpath seems the type of player who could create opportunities rather than just exploit them. Regardless, Taylor deserves to start. He's worked his way back into the Scotland squad from various injuries and I see him as more likely to get Scotland off to a winning start than as you say, a young guy earmarked as a future international talent. Hastings slowly worked his way to become a very competent fly-half. His debut was against Canada from the bench. I see no benefit in starting Redpath (crowd or no crowd) against England at Twickenham, somewhere Scotland haven't won before I was born (I'm 32 by the way).

I know it is the kind of thing that we in England are good at, but I don't want to see Redpath come in as the promising newcomer, make a mistake, and then get strung up for it, never to be seen in international colours again.

GeordieFalcon wrote:

No 7&1/2 wrote:By the sounds of it we're more likely to be seeing Odgowu as a centre rather than wing.

I had a suspicion that may be the case. Jones has been looking for a Manu replacement. And Odogwu looks like the nearest( not identical) , direct power runner we have at the moment.

12 Lawrence
13 Odogwu

Would be interesting...

And while neither has the direct running power of Tuilagi they offer something different to the other options. Lawrence in particular does look worthy of trying at 12, I like his skillset and isn't just a big lump.

He also has a very strong defensive ability 7.5

it might work...but Farrell isnt getting dropped any time soon.

Nor should he in my view.

Ah theres arguments for and against in my opinion 7.5

As for all players to a lesser or greater extent. Just feel the best team has him in. Would live to see a more attacking 9 with him again at 10. Clearly though a multitude of options open to jones.

Scotland have an improving front-five (I thought Cummins was the best lock in the Autumn tournament after Itoje and Gray plays very well for Exeter) and always have good back-row forwards.
BVP may tire early and therefore England would be without a proven number 8.

The script of England bullying Scotland may not happen.  England's strategy of only boxing kicking and never actually attacking may become a problem.  England need to find some momentum, they seem to have coasted for a while.

Should be an interesting match.

No 7&1/2 wrote:Nor should he in my view.

I don't think he should be either, but we definitely need to develop an alternative.

When you consider how long he's been playing for England, Farrell's durability is pretty astounding, but he's approaching his 30s and he's bound to become more prone to injuries.

cb wrote:Scotland have an improving front-five (I thought Cummins was the best lock in the Autumn tournament after Itoje and Gray plays very well for Exeter) and always have good back-row forwards.
BVP may tire early and therefore England would be without a proven number 8.

The script of England bullying Scotland may not happen.  England's strategy of only boxing kicking and never actually attacking may become a problem.  England need to find some momentum, they seem to have coasted for a while.

Should be an interesting match.

I would be surprised if the scrums are not a fairly even contest. Who knows what kind of attack Eddie Jones will try to play. If the same as in the Autumn, the final score will likely be low. If he wants to turn up the attack, then we should get an indication by looking at the team sheet when posted.

No 7&1/2 wrote:By the sounds of it we're more likely to be seeing Odgowu as a centre rather than wing.

Eddie does like a hybrid player. Odogwu's ability at centre and wing won't have gone unnoticed. I popped him in at wing because I'm living in the desperate hope we are going to make the most out of the playmakers we have. We badly need running options more than we need speedsters. May is superior to Watson so gets the nod. Plus there must be a concern over Watson's confidence because he took a hammering last time out. A run off the bench against tired defenders might do him the world of good.

The scrums after the subs come on I'm interested to see. Harry Williams and Oli Kebble are well over 6 foot on one side then Beno Obano and WP Nel both being under 6 foot on the otherside. The scrum will be slanting like a broken book shelf! 

The starting props should be very evenly matched. Genge vs Fagerson and Stuart vs Sutherland are really good head to heads. At hooker I'd hope England will be able to make the advantage of George and Cowan-Dickie tell.

Lawes and Itoje are excellent defensive jumpers to pressure George Turner at the lineout as well.

https://twitter.com/thistlerugbypod/status/1356216012199362563?s=19

Thistle Rugby pod hinting at Gary Graham debut .

Graham has been outstanding this season...deserves a start.

formerly known as Sam wrote:

No 7&1/2 wrote:By the sounds of it we're more likely to be seeing Odgowu as a centre rather than wing.

Eddie does like a hybrid player. Odogwu's ability at centre and wing won't have gone unnoticed. I popped him in at wing because I'm living in the desperate hope we are going to make the most out of the playmakers we have. We badly need running options more than we need speedsters. May is superior to Watson so gets the nod. Plus there must be a concern over Watson's confidence because he took a hammering last time out. A run off the bench against tired defenders might do him the world of good.

Watson has played well this season though. Certainly better than Daly for me but then I think I've moved past of thinking of him as a starter. Backline ain't ticking as it should (certainly in the autumn) and theres 2 sides (kinda) on why that's happening. More people seem to be lumping it with Farrell. Me with youngs. They're both likely to play so speedy wingers who are good in the air are our best bet and that to me means watson and may start 14 and 11.

GeordieFalcon wrote:Graham has been outstanding this season...deserves a start.

Particularly as i think his main strength is carrying and Scotland lack that imo. If england do line up with lawes curry and vunipola though that's a slow back row that's caused us tonnes of issues with more mobile combos in the past.

No 7&1/2 wrote:

GeordieFalcon wrote:Graham has been outstanding this season...deserves a start.

Particularly as i think his main strength is carrying and Scotland lack that imo. If england do line up with lawes curry and vunipola though that's a slow back row that's caused us tonnes of issues with more mobile combos in the past.

It's a bit of a toss up between Fagerson and Graham - I think Fagerson will get the nod due to continuity and the fact that GG can cover the whole BR.

I'd be happy with both options, not sure if either Fagerson or Graham are really destructive enough to be a top-end international 8 but would like to see GG given the opportunity to continue this years form.

I do see Gary Graham as a flanker, but he's been doing very well at 8. I prefer him at 6/7 with a bigger 8.

Gary offers a great all round game and real aggression.

I think the difference between himself and Fagerson will be pretty minuscule, but on form Graham to start at 8. I still think Thomson, Watson, Graham has a lot of potential with Fagerson on the bench, all playing in those positions regularly for their clubs at the moment. Ritchie would always be my first choice for blindside if he's fit but given his recent concussion happy to see him sit out until Ireland or maybe even Italy.

No 7&1/2 wrote:

formerly known as Sam wrote:

No 7&1/2 wrote:By the sounds of it we're more likely to be seeing Odgowu as a centre rather than wing.

Eddie does like a hybrid player. Odogwu's ability at centre and wing won't have gone unnoticed. I popped him in at wing because I'm living in the desperate hope we are going to make the most out of the playmakers we have. We badly need running options more than we need speedsters. May is superior to Watson so gets the nod. Plus there must be a concern over Watson's confidence because he took a hammering last time out. A run off the bench against tired defenders might do him the world of good.

Watson has played well this season though. Certainly better than Daly for me but then I think I've moved past of thinking of him as a starter. Backline ain't ticking as it should (certainly in the autumn) and theres 2 sides (kinda) on why that's happening. More people seem to be lumping it with Farrell. Me with youngs. They're both likely to play so speedy wingers who are good in the air are our best bet and that to me means watson and may start 14 and 11.

I don't put it on a player, I'm no fan of Farrell and he was awful in the ANC. We didn't provide him the best chance for him to show his best though. The backline had no balance, Youngs actually improved on his performances in recent years in the Autumn, admittedly that isn't the highest bar. If your half backs don't fancy what's outside them then you won't see the ball being whipped out. Ford's not going to be screaming for quick ball because unless there's a massive overlap out wide there's nothing for him in the backline.

You end up kicking it. If we keep insisting that two speedsters are what we need we're in danger of it being the self fulfilling prophecy. We need them because they don't offer us an option for anything else. Unless we find a 13 that starts scaring the Scottish defence and holds their drift. Sure we'll still kick out from our own half and May is an excellent at chasing and contesting those but if we have some backline penetration we can start running with the ball in their half instead of kicking again.

Jones has been looking for a power carrier...

Manu was his obvious choice - Always injured
Cockasaniga was the next hope - Always injured
Lawrence has just been introduced, then got injured.
Odogwu - is the next cab off the rank.

If Lawrence and Odogwu can make an impression over the next 6-12 months and Cockasaniga can get back fit and firing...things will be very different.

Jones touched upon the fact that if you get to 13 you've had to generally pass the ball twice and the space isnt there anyway. I tend to think that if you're scrum half has consistently whipped the ball away and is a running threat himself the gaps appear and defence cant push as fast. Clearly the backline wasn't fluid at all last year and is an area with most scope for improvement. If the old adage of forwards decide who wins and the backs by how much they need to pull their fingers out!

Not sure if Robinson coming in helps or hinders that area of the team either.