Mikey Brown wrote:I think he is summed up perfectly by his tackling this 6 nations. Generally dogged and physical, one massive Lewsey-esque trysaver, but completely failed with some of the basics at times.
He can do a lot of the extra bits, but it would be great if he had the essentials nailed.
I do like him, despite the pikey tail, I just don't want the first adjective I'd use of a winger to be 'scrappy'. I think I'm in the camp that say he's not really a winger and could probably be just as effective at OC/FB if he spent time there. The way he plays certainly suits Exeter though.
I don't know if his defensive issues are more with positioning or technique, he certainly seems to be brave and if he's more suited to defending there I'd like to see more of him at 15.
Substitute haircut and name in the relevant bits and you've got.....Mike Brown.
BEATCH!
Mike Brown actually managed to add a bit of pace a few seasons through private coaching from Margot Wells, a Scottish international sprinter. I think Danny Cipriani did too. Might be worth Nowell's while to try the same. A gain of 5% would make all the difference.
I wonder what speed coaching is like at the club level in the PL? Are there specialized coaches for this, who analyse body angle, knee lift, stride length, arm pumping etc... Or are the players too busy humping weights to think about it?
Spiffy wrote:
Mike Brown actually managed to add a bit of pace a few seasons through private coaching from Margot Wells, a Scottish international sprinter. I think Danny Cipriani did too. Might be worth Nowell's while to try the same. A gain of 5% would make all the difference.
I wonder what speed coaching is like at the club level in the PL? Are there specialized coaches for this, who analyse body angle, knee lift, stride length, arm pumping etc... Or are the players too busy humping weights to think about it?
She worked with James Haskell as well, obviously to a great degree!
Spiffy wrote:
Mike Brown actually managed to add a bit of pace a few seasons through private coaching from Margot Wells, a Scottish international sprinter. I think Danny Cipriani did too. Might be worth Nowell's while to try the same. A gain of 5% would make all the difference.
I wonder what speed coaching is like at the club level in the PL? Are there specialized coaches for this, who analyse body angle, knee lift, stride length, arm pumping etc... Or are the players too busy humping weights to think about it?
She worked with James Haskell as well, obviously to a great degree!
Her stated reaction to watching James for the first time was to cry at the ineptitude of his movement
Mikey Brown wrote:I think he is summed up perfectly by his tackling this 6 nations. Generally dogged and physical, one massive Lewsey-esque trysaver, but completely failed with some of the basics at times.
He can do a lot of the extra bits, but it would be great if he had the essentials nailed.
I do like him, despite the pikey tail, I just don't want the first adjective I'd use of a winger to be 'scrappy'. I think I'm in the camp that say he's not really a winger and could probably be just as effective at OC/FB if he spent time there. The way he plays certainly suits Exeter though.
I don't know if his defensive issues are more with positioning or technique, he certainly seems to be brave and if he's more suited to defending there I'd like to see more of him at 15.
Substitute haircut and name in the relevant bits and you've got.....Mike Brown.
Spiffy wrote:
Mike Brown actually managed to add a bit of pace a few seasons through private coaching from Margot Wells, a Scottish international sprinter. I think Danny Cipriani did too. Might be worth Nowell's while to try the same. A gain of 5% would make all the difference.
I wonder what speed coaching is like at the club level in the PL? Are there specialized coaches for this, who analyse body angle, knee lift, stride length, arm pumping etc... Or are the players too busy humping weights to think about it?
She worked with James Haskell as well, obviously to a great degree!
Her stated reaction to watching James for the first time was to cry at the ineptitude of his movement
It's the rugby brain part of the game that Master James needs to develop. Probably already too late and beyond redemption. There's possibly something not right with his spatial awareness/internal GPA too, that would explain his running into a stationary goalpost.
When did Nowell become a bad defender? I know he had two poor defensive games in the 6 Nations, but it appears that that means he's a bad defender. Can't recall it being mentioned greatly prior to that.
Epaminondas Pules wrote:When did Nowell become a bad defender? I know he had two poor defensive games in the 6 Nations, but it appears that that means he's a bad defender. Can't recall it being mentioned greatly prior to that.
He's not Chris Ashton, but I thought he'd made a little bit of a habit of falling off easy ones. Maybe a concentration thing or maybe it's entirely unfair?
Epaminondas Pules wrote:When did Nowell become a bad defender? I know he had two poor defensive games in the 6 Nations, but it appears that that means he's a bad defender. Can't recall it being mentioned greatly prior to that.
Not sure anyone has said he was a bad defender but his fans say defending is one of his strong points and he was undeniably poor/bad in his last two matches. That these two matches were opposite, for me, two of the three top class wingers in the comp, along with Watson, and that he has yet to face anyone other than 6N nations or Uruguay, IIRC, would seem to indicate that his defence against the very best isn't top draw. Albeit it is a small sample. If he goes to Oz and keeps their wingers quiet then he'll prove the detractors wrong but he faced two top class wingers in this years 6N and was embarrassed by them on numerous occasions.
Epaminondas Pules wrote:When did Nowell become a bad defender? I know he had two poor defensive games in the 6 Nations, but it appears that that means he's a bad defender. Can't recall it being mentioned greatly prior to that.
Nowell is a tidy enough player when not defending badly....were my words; another way of putting it is that because he isn't an attacking machine, at intl level his defence has to be top notch, and when it isn't- as you agree it wasn't in 40% of the 6N games - it means he's well below intl standard. All parts of his game have to work all the time to be useful at that level imo, because he has no outstanding quality.
Epaminondas Pules wrote:When did Nowell become a bad defender? I know he had two poor defensive games in the 6 Nations, but it appears that that means he's a bad defender. Can't recall it being mentioned greatly prior to that.
Nowell is a tidy enough player when not defending badly....were my words; another way of putting it is that because he isn't an attacking machine, at intl level his defence has to be top notch, and when it isn't- as you agree it wasn't in 40% of the 6N games - it means he's well below intl standard. All parts of his game have to work all the time to be useful at that level imo, because he has no outstanding quality.
His ability to beat defenders is a rather good quality to have.
Epaminondas Pules wrote:When did Nowell become a bad defender? I know he had two poor defensive games in the 6 Nations, but it appears that that means he's a bad defender. Can't recall it being mentioned greatly prior to that.
Nowell is a tidy enough player when not defending badly....were my words; another way of putting it is that because he isn't an attacking machine, at intl level his defence has to be top notch, and when it isn't- as you agree it wasn't in 40% of the 6N games - it means he's well below intl standard. All parts of his game have to work all the time to be useful at that level imo, because he has no outstanding quality.
His ability to beat defenders is a rather good quality to have.
is it outstanding at test level? Do you think he is a top notch international winger? yay or nay. If yay, we'll just agree to differ.
Banquo wrote:
Nowell is a tidy enough player when not defending badly....were my words; another way of putting it is that because he isn't an attacking machine, at intl level his defence has to be top notch, and when it isn't- as you agree it wasn't in 40% of the 6N games - it means he's well below intl standard. All parts of his game have to work all the time to be useful at that level imo, because he has no outstanding quality.
His ability to beat defenders is a rather good quality to have.
Banquo wrote:
Nowell is a tidy enough player when not defending badly....were my words; another way of putting it is that because he isn't an attacking machine, at intl level his defence has to be top notch, and when it isn't- as you agree it wasn't in 40% of the 6N games - it means he's well below intl standard. All parts of his game have to work all the time to be useful at that level imo, because he has no outstanding quality.
His ability to beat defenders is a rather good quality to have.
is it outstanding at test level? Do you think he is a top notch international winger? yay or nay. If yay, we'll just agree to differ.
Define top notch. Is there a benchmark? If we're talking Savea or Smith then he's not on par with them. In terms of how he's done in his 15 caps he's certainly proved his value.
Jack's OK. Generally defends well - he did miss a few tackles you would normally expect him to make in the 6N's but he is usually very sound in this area. He's strong in contact, wont duck a challenge, seldom makes dumb errors, finishes when given a chance, is a feisty bugger with good feet that takes a bit of stopping.
If Julian Savea Mk 2 becomes available for England, then by all means pick him or anyone else who is plainly a better option.
Epaminondas Pules wrote:
His ability to beat defenders is a rather good quality to have.
is it outstanding at test level? Do you think he is a top notch international winger? yay or nay. If yay, we'll just agree to differ.
Define top notch. Is there a benchmark? If we're talking Savea or Smith then he's not on par with them. In terms of how he's done in his 15 caps he's certainly proved his value.
We'll have to agree to differ (top notch means Savea or Smith). I can see he's a useful wing when not missing tackles, but that's it....which I've consistently said.
fivepointer wrote:Jack's OK. Generally defends well - he did miss a few tackles you would normally expect him to make in the 6N's but he is usually very sound in this area. He's strong in contact, wont duck a challenge, seldom makes dumb errors, finishes when given a chance, is a feisty bugger with good feet that takes a bit of stopping.
If Julian Savea Mk 2 becomes available for England, then by all means pick him or anyone else who is plainly a better option.
For now, I'm happy for him to be in the side.
I agree. But I'd like a lot more than 'OK'....as I think I might have said.
Mikey Brown wrote:I think he is summed up perfectly by his tackling this 6 nations. Generally dogged and physical, one massive Lewsey-esque trysaver, but completely failed with some of the basics at times.
He can do a lot of the extra bits, but it would be great if he had the essentials nailed.
I do like him, despite the pikey tail, I just don't want the first adjective I'd use of a winger to be 'scrappy'. I think I'm in the camp that say he's not really a winger and could probably be just as effective at OC/FB if he spent time there. The way he plays certainly suits Exeter though.
I don't know if his defensive issues are more with positioning or technique, he certainly seems to be brave and if he's more suited to defending there I'd like to see more of him at 15.
He's been quality. He's the perfect foil for your game.
More than that,...he's Nails.
- it means he's well below intl standard. All parts of his game have to work all the time to be useful at that level imo, because he has no outstanding quality.