England vs Barbarians: The Departure of a Legend, Radrada at 13, England’s Youngsters and Other Talking Points.
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Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe
What a send-off for the Argentine legend. It may be the right time to go as well, as he needn’t have described his exhaustion during the HT interview, it was visible for all to see. Granted this was an extremely fast-paced game for any 20-year-old to play in, let alone a man of 36 years. He did the hard graft today and let Vito and Tipuric perform the magic. Nonetheless, his conversion at the close was never going anywhere else but between the posts. What a footballer.
Radrada at 13
This is definitely something that we need to see more of. The Fijian was an absolute menace to the English defence, cutting through them on the inside with hard-running lines and getting on the outside of them to put his wingers away. He was virtually unstoppable in the amount of space that England granted him. He ghosted through for his own five-pointer, sending Jonny May for a hot dog with a hard right-foot step. The cross-code convert has said that he will work his a** off to make the Fijian world cup squad. It doesn’t look like they’ll be able to leave him out if he keeps up this sort of form.
Danny Cipriani at 15
Gloucester’s new maestro was introduced early on after an injury to Henry Trinder. He occupied the back field, with Daly moving into the vacant centre position. There were times when it seemed like it might work, with his slick, flat passing putting his wingers into space on the outside. However, his defensive frailties were exposed on more than one occasion. He was run over by Timani in the corner and got caught in no mans land, between Radrada and Tuisova, for Laidlaw’s 2nd half score. His kick through for Jonny May’s try gave us hope that he could readjust to life at the back, but we need to see more of him on the counter attack and under a high ball before the final judgement can be made. Perhaps against a team with more of a kicking gameplan, like South Africa, would be a good opportunity.
Elliot Daly at 15 and 13
With the Wasps man training all week at fullback, his opportunity in the centre position would have been extremely unexpected. He had been doing well in the 15 position for the 20 minutes he was there, posing the most obvious attacking threat to the Baa Baas. He barged his way over for his try, showing that he can perform the rough and tumble when called upon. However, his searing pace at 13 carved the Barbarians’ defence to pieces for Zach Mercer’s score, and his offload wasn’t half bad either. Ford chipped in behind a couple of times and having Daly so nearby definitely was an asset for the chase, as he almost got on the end of them on a couple of occasions. He sees himself as a centre but will need to do a lot more work in defence if he is to change Eddie Jones’ opinion. Radrada was simply offered too much space today.
Mike Brown on the wing
Another player that was exposed by the pace and power of Toulon’s Fijians. He had a hard time of it opposite Tuisova, missing a couple of tackles, and didn’t offer anything in attack either, which is not what you’d expect from an international winger. Some will say that he is a solid option but is solidity really enough for test rugby? Surely some sort of threat must be posed as well.
The Young-Guns
Jack Singleton
The Worcester hooker burst onto the England scene today with an immense performance. He made the incisive break and gave the killer pass that setup Piers Francis first score. He averaged over 10m a carry, making 42m off of just 4 possessions, which rivals the numbers that Jamie George usually puts up. He also put in a decent defensive shift, making 9 tackles. His lineout throwing was also on point. Definitely one to keep an eye on in the future.
Piers Francis
The Northampton Saints centre added to his 3 previous appearances today and looks to have rediscovered his form that made him stand out on last year’s Argentina tour. He has been picked in the 12 shirt to play the role of a 2nd first-receiver but he plays above himself in defence, showing great aggression to meet the ball carriers on the advantage line with big hits. However, his positional defence may need a little work, as he missed 4 tackles today. That is something that will not please Jones on review. The two tries he dotted down, as well as the magnificent take from the restart in the 1st half, that lifted his team, may gloss over his trouble containing the opposing centre partnership. If we were to rate his performance today it would be somewhere between a 7 and an 8.
Tom Curry
The young man shone in this fixture last year and it was much of the same today. He is one of the first out-and-out 7s that England have had in years. An immovable object at the ruck area, he bagged himself a couple of impressive turnovers today. It is quite amazing that he could be playing in the Junior World Cup this week if it were not for his commitments with the senior squad.
Zach Mercer
A well-deserved first appearance for last year’s under-20 captain. He will be satisfied knowing that his first senior international start came with his first senior international try. He ran a superb line off of Daly in the first half and his teammate found him with a perfect offload to allow him to go over. He failed to make much of an impression on the game after that, which is understandable up against the robust Victor Vito, and was thus substituted on 47 minutes. He is destined to be an England starter in the future though, some size that will come with age may help him adapt to test level rugby.
Elliot Stooke
Another youngster that didn’t make much of a mark on the fixture but didn’t perform to badly either. Decent in the lineout and solid in defence. As with Mercer, experience will stand to him well in his development.
