Blood & Mud

The answer to the England forwards malaise

Is, incredibly, Joe Worsley and Louis Deacon.

Worsley, remember, didn't start a game for two years between 2007 and Wales in last year's Six Nations, where he was brought in with the expressed instruction to tackle Jamie Roberts a lot.  Admittedly he did this pretty well, but being able to tackle a bloke is surely a basic skill every pro should be able to execute, and beyond this I fail to see what additional dimension he brings as a breakaway.  Moody, for all his faults, at least has pace and mobility.

The selection of Deacon ahead of Lawes is inexplicable. The Leicester man is ponderous in contact, an abysmal ball-carrier, and he has not even been winning lineout ball consistently either.  Him and Borthwick are perhaps the least intimidating pairing since Philip Schofield & Fern Britton.

Given how poor the forwards are likely to be again, debating the backs selection is as pointless as attempting to figure out which Coldplay song you hate least, but the lack of Ben Foden is a complete shocker given he made more impact in 20 minutes than Armitage has managed in all his time since his return from injury. 

As a Welsh aside, does anyone else think that, given his minging form, the management are secretly pleased that Ryan Jones is injured and thus they can bring in Gareth Delve, who has almost single-handedly dragged Glaws into some decent form.

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Comments

The answer to the England forwards malaise

Is, incredibly, Joe Worsley and Louis Deacon.

Worsley, remember, didn't start a game for two years between 2007 and Wales in last year's Six Nations, where he was brought in with the expressed instruction to tackle Jamie Roberts a lot.  Admittedly he did this pretty well, but being able to tackle a bloke is surely a basic skill every pro should be able to execute, and beyond this I fail to see what additional dimension he brings as a breakaway.  Moody, for all his faults, at least has pace and mobility.

The selection of Deacon ahead of Lawes is inexplicable. The Leicester man is ponderous in contact, an abysmal ball-carrier, and he has not even been winning lineout ball consistently either.  Him and Borthwick are perhaps the least intimidating pairing since Philip Schofield & Fern Britton.

Given how poor the forwards are likely to be again, debating the backs selection is as pointless as attempting to figure out which Coldplay song you hate least, but the lack of Ben Foden is a complete shocker given he made more impact in 20 minutes than Armitage has managed in all his time since his return from injury. 

As a Welsh aside, does anyone else think that, given his minging form, the management are secretly pleased that Ryan Jones is injured and thus they can bring in Gareth Delve, who has almost single-handedly dragged Glaws into some decent form.