fivepointer wrote:Mercer adjudged MotM in TRP. Good effort that after a long lay off. And he went the full 80. Too early to be getting a call from the England coach?
Mercer would have to be, pound for pound, one of the most influential forwards in the Prem. I can’t remember the last time I saw, or heard about him having, a bad game.
Sadly, I think the last time he had a bad game was for England against Japan, or the game which killed the international careers of Lozowski, Care, and Hepburn. A quick google says that Mercer was one of the brigade yanked early in the second half and never seen for England since, although I'm hoping that's injuries and not that Eddie's taken against him.
For some reason, that match didn't seem to kill the concept of Lawes at 6 though. Odd.
Yeah. I’d hope that Mercer is not permanently excluded.
My feeling is that he’s arguably got the best all round skill set of our potential number 8s (other than Billy).
He’s a good carrier with decent footwork and pace as well as the heft to break tackles. He’s got a fairly good passing game and is by some distance the best lineout forward of the 8s we have available. As Timbo put it, he’s genuinely influential for Bath and seems to be the type of character to really lead by example. He was immense for the U20s and completely outshone the Curry twins and Hill at that level mainly through force of personality.
I love Dombrandt and I think he has an instinctive way of playing that can’t really be taught, but I think Mercer has a broader skill set.
Scrumhead wrote:Yeah. I’d hope that Mercer is not permanently excluded.
My feeling is that he’s arguably got the best all round skill set of our potential number 8s (other than Billy).
He’s a good carrier with decent footwork and pace as well as the heft to break tackles. He’s got a fairly good passing game and is by some distance the best lineout forward of the 8s we have available. As Timbo put it, he’s genuinely influential for Bath and seems to be the type of character to really lead by example. He was immense for the U20s and completely outshone the Curry twins and Hill at that level mainly through force of personality.
I love Dombrandt and I think he has an instinctive way of playing that can’t really be taught, but I think Mercer has a broader skill set.
He really didn’t, and to be fair it’s a bad comparison when you look at their respective representation at U20 level, but he is a bloody good player with a lot of positives that should have another look at international level, though he is only one game back. There’s no rush with the summer tour ahead.
