Saints v Glos

[francoisfou]

Karl Dickson is developing into a very good ref.

Wasn’t he at the World Cup as a touch judge? It surely won’t be long before he refs an international match - maybe tier 2?)

He has been - he did Georgi vs Samoa last year and a couple this year.

Puja

Thanks, Puja. Maybe he’ll be in the mix for the 6N, unless the match officials have already been announced.

[Banquo]

Yes, he’s an interesting player from an England perspective. Very nice footballer and has good vision, time on the ball. But despite watching him a fair bit I can’t tell if he’s got the sort of athleticism you might want in an international fullback.

Agreed, much to do; if anything he might end up being a little lightweight.

Lightweight in skills or actual bulk? He looks to have the makings of a very good footballer, with footwork, gas and brains. He is bigger than Damian McKenzie, Brice Dulin, Cheslin Kolbe and a few Japanese players who lit up the Rugby World Cup. He already looks a better all-round FB than the England incumbent, Daly (who, to be fair, is a great wing but nothing special at FB). The post-RWC England squad needs a bit of a shakeup, and Jones should at least be running his eye over talented young players like Furbank. If he winds up outplaying his counterparts on a regular basis, then he should be given consideration for a squad slot. Of course, Jones does not favour smallish chaps. Christian Wade, when he was scoring tries for fun with Wasps (and doing OK in defence too), never got a look-in.

I meant slight, and he is still young so will obviously develop; I simply noticed that compared to other 'smaller players', he doesn't (yet) have very big quads. We shall see- as I said, I'm a big fan....and I also played against his dad

[Scrumhead]

My biggest question mark re. Furbank is that ‘tache! What is going on there? Movember is well and truly over.

[Banquo]

My biggest question mark re. Furbank is that ‘tache! What is going on there? Movember is well and truly over.

Good point. See also Nick White

[Mellsblue]

My biggest question mark re. Furbank is that ‘tache! What is going on there? Movember is well and truly over.

Good point. See also Nick White

White has the excuse of being Australian and therefore of poor breeding stock. Furbank, as you know, has no such excuse. It is disappointing.

[Scrumhead]

White’s is styled in a kind of English gentlemen vibe. The same can’t be said for Furbank‘s effort

[Numbers]

Agreed on Furbank. He seems to have deservedly established himself as first choice at 15 and I’m excited to see how he develops.

I’m curious about how good Rees-Zammit actually is. He’s obviously very quick, but all of the tries I’ve seen him score seem to involve him finishing off good team moves by running in a straight line which I’d expect from any decent winger. Is there more to him than pure gas? I’m not saying there isn’t - I just haven’t seen him do a great deal as of yet.

He has a little more in his bag than straight line running.

[Spiffy]

White’s is styled in a kind of English gentlemen vibe. The same can’t be said for Furbank‘s effort

Yes. The kind of English gentleman who could be spotted emerging from a Victorian whore house or seen as a pantomime villain.

[Banquo]

White’s is styled in a kind of English gentlemen vibe. The same can’t be said for Furbank‘s effort

Yes. The kind of English gentleman who could be spotted emerging from a Victorian whore house or seen as a pantomime villain.

not blonde enough to be PM

[twitchy]

That was a fun game.

[Adam_P]

Whilst Furbank is quite small, I can't say I've ever watched him and thought he needed more bulk in order to either carry effectively through traffic or be effective in defence. I'd place more faith in Furbank as last line of defence than 6 foot 5 17 stone Harry Mallinder

[Scrumhead]

White’s is styled in a kind of English gentlemen vibe. The same can’t be said for Furbank‘s effort

Yes. The kind of English gentleman who could be spotted emerging from a Victorian whore house or seen as a pantomime villain.

Yes - exactly that. At best a cad, at worst an outright villain.

[Puja]

White’s is styled in a kind of English gentlemen vibe. The same can’t be said for Furbank‘s effort

Yes. The kind of English gentleman who could be spotted emerging from a Victorian whore house or seen as a pantomime villain.

Yes - exactly that. At best a cad, at worst an outright villain.

A bounder, if you will.

Mind, he is white Australian, so it's on brand to be a criminal.

Puja

[Raggs]

Agreed on Furbank. He seems to have deservedly established himself as first choice at 15 and I’m excited to see how he develops.

I’m curious about how good Rees-Zammit actually is. He’s obviously very quick, but all of the tries I’ve seen him score seem to involve him finishing off good team moves by running in a straight line which I’d expect from any decent winger. Is there more to him than pure gas? I’m not saying there isn’t - I just haven’t seen him do a great deal as of yet.

He has a little more in his bag than straight line running.

That video doesn't really show it for me. He steps twice, but neither are ankle breakers, both early and relying on his high speed to get around them. The broken tackles aren't massive shows of muscular power either.

I'm not saying he doesn't necessarily have more, just don't feel that clip necessarily shows it.

He put in some nice tackles if I recall correctly against Saints.

[francoisfou]

Wasn’t he at the World Cup as a touch judge? It surely won’t be long before he refs an international match - maybe tier 2?)

He has been - he did Georgi vs Samoa last year and a couple this year.

Puja

Thanks, Puja. Maybe he’ll be in the mix for the 6N, unless the match officials have already been announced.

He’ll be touch judge for three of the 6N matches.

[Numbers]

Agreed on Furbank. He seems to have deservedly established himself as first choice at 15 and I’m excited to see how he develops.

I’m curious about how good Rees-Zammit actually is. He’s obviously very quick, but all of the tries I’ve seen him score seem to involve him finishing off good team moves by running in a straight line which I’d expect from any decent winger. Is there more to him than pure gas? I’m not saying there isn’t - I just haven’t seen him do a great deal as of yet.

He has a little more in his bag than straight line running.

That video doesn't really show it for me. He steps twice, but neither are ankle breakers, both early and relying on his high speed to get around them. The broken tackles aren't massive shows of muscular power either.

I'm not saying he doesn't necessarily have more, just don't feel that clip necessarily shows it.

He put in some nice tackles if I recall correctly against Saints.

When you have that kind of gas you don't need to step wildly, a change of direction or body swerve is good enough.

[Raggs]

When you have that kind of gas you don't need to step wildly, a change of direction or body swerve is good enough.

I don't know, the two tacklers who fell off him may not have done that in a higher level game. I just don't think that clip is a good example of him having more strings to his bow, when it's basically all just down to his speed.

[Banquo]

Whilst Furbank is quite small, I can't say I've ever watched him and thought he needed more bulk in order to either carry effectively through traffic or be effective in defence. I'd place more faith in Furbank as last line of defence than 6 foot 5 17 stone Harry Mallinder

I'd place more faith in my late grandma than Harry as a last line of defence.

I really like Furbank, and am interested in how develops- I thought he looked good at 10 as well. We shall see- my comment stemmed largely from being surprised at how slight he is when they focused in on him, given how effective he is in breaking tackles as you say.

[Timbo]

To all: If you could call up only one of Malins or Furbank as a 15 (or other) to the next Eng squad who would you go for?

[Puja]

To all: If you could call up only one of Malins or Furbank as a 15 (or other) to the next Eng squad who would you go for?

Depends. If Malins was leaving Sarries tomorrow, or I knew he would be given the next 6 months of regular games at 15, then probably him. However, the only reason he's getting game time is injuries to Goode and Williams (why did we suspect Sarries were over the cap again?) and I can't see how he can possibly develop into a fully-fledged international from being maybe third choice at his club, so probably Furbank on the basis that he seems to be a first choice player for Saints.

Puja

[Digby]

To all: If you could call up only one of Malins or Furbank as a 15 (or other) to the next Eng squad who would you go for?

Accepting we're not very good at 15. They both look alright, but it's hardly like seeing Matt Burke appear on the scene

[Banquo]

To all: If you could call up only one of Malins or Furbank as a 15 (or other) to the next Eng squad who would you go for?

Furbank as a 15. Malins looks out of position.

[Spiffy]

To all: If you could call up only one of Malins or Furbank as a 15 (or other) to the next Eng squad who would you go for?

Furbank as a 15. Malins looks out of position.

Yes. He's still young and I think he would bed well into the 15 shirt with some game time in the position.
A pair of talented lads who are a pleasure to watch.
Hope their flair does not get coached away.

[switchskier]

To all: If you could call up only one of Malins or Furbank as a 15 (or other) to the next Eng squad who would you go for?

Malins looks to have a higher ceiling to me and now would be a good time to bed him in. On his day and with a bit of space he can be electric. He'd also provide a nice second playmaker option that Jones seems keen on (didn't see this game so haven't seen Furbank slotting into ten).