Blood & Mud

The return of Steve Thompson

It's been three years, a neck injury, a misdiagnosis, a retirement, a proper diagnosis and a return to rugby since Steve Thompson last played for England and on Saturday he is back in the starting line-up.  That it has come to this is largely due to injury to Lee Mears and a doubt over Dylan Hartley's ability to last a full game following his recent crocking.

However, few would begrudge Thompson this chance to play at the highest level again after what he has been through; and the fact is that England have spent the last three years trying and failing to find a permanent replacement for the former Saint. 

The dearth of hooking talent in England at the minute means this is a massive opportunity for him to claim the shirt permanently and I don't think it will take much as Thompson is everything you need in a hooker.  He's big (unlike Mears), mobile, a good scrummager, a solid thrower and can usually get through a game without trying to maim someone (unlike Hartley).  I must admit I have not seen him much at Brive so cannot say what his form is like at the minute, but if it's anything like what it used to be then he should be a shoo-in or the forseeable future. 

As you can imagine, he's very happy to be back.  If his return keeps Mears and Hartley in their rightful place as second-string internationals then every England fan should be equally joyful.  Full England team after the jump..

England: U Monye (Harlequins); M Cueto (Sale Sharks), D Hipkiss (Leicester), S Geraghty (Northampton), M Banahan (Bath); J Wilkinson (Toulon), D Care (Harlequins); T Payne (Wasps), S Thompson (Brive), D Wilson (Bath), L Deacon (Leicester), S Borthwick (Saracens, capt), T Croft (Leicester), L Moody (Leicester), J Crane (Leicester).
Replacements: D Hartley (Northampton), D Bell (Bath), C Lawes (Northampton), J Haskell (Stade Francais), P Hodgson (London Irish), A Goode (Brive), A Erinle (Biarritz).

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Comments

The return of Steve Thompson

It's been three years, a neck injury, a misdiagnosis, a retirement, a proper diagnosis and a return to rugby since Steve Thompson last played for England and on Saturday he is back in the starting line-up.  That it has come to this is largely due to injury to Lee Mears and a doubt over Dylan Hartley's ability to last a full game following his recent crocking.

However, few would begrudge Thompson this chance to play at the highest level again after what he has been through; and the fact is that England have spent the last three years trying and failing to find a permanent replacement for the former Saint. 

The dearth of hooking talent in England at the minute means this is a massive opportunity for him to claim the shirt permanently and I don't think it will take much as Thompson is everything you need in a hooker.  He's big (unlike Mears), mobile, a good scrummager, a solid thrower and can usually get through a game without trying to maim someone (unlike Hartley).  I must admit I have not seen him much at Brive so cannot say what his form is like at the minute, but if it's anything like what it used to be then he should be a shoo-in or the forseeable future. 

As you can imagine, he's very happy to be back.  If his return keeps Mears and Hartley in their rightful place as second-string internationals then every England fan should be equally joyful.  Full England team after the jump..