6 Nations Squad 2022

[Puja]

I think we're all being a bit mean to Ludlam here - he's proven to be a competent international player who has been in good form for Northampton and has always stepped up to whatever challenge has been thrown at him. He's not fashionable, but if Curry goes down injured, I'd have no problem with him wearing the 7 shirt.

Puja

[Banquo]

Ludlam is a bit of a Barritt type pick. Would do a job, but would always be a bit of a limiter. In my view, at least.

Northmore didn't have a great game on Friday, and I wonder if that is due to playing more at 12?

When do the clubs lose these players? Is it the next Prem round that they now aren't available?

Northmore has always struck me as a good 13, but not surprised if he looks not as good as 12, very different asks esp in defence; in fact, one of the reasons I like Dingwall is that he can play either 12 or 13 and defend very well.

[Oakboy]

How good is Ludlam as a genuine international open-side? The only cover for Curry otherwise is some combination of Barbeary and Simmonds, both more natural 8s. Might t'other Curry not have found a spot if Underhill is medically unavailable?

Simmonds isn’t a ‘natural 8’ though. He might wear that number, but that’s about it. I’m pretty sure Eddie sees him as a flanker.

Ludlam can cut it at test level. He’s just not as good as Curry or Underhill. He’s been a lot more influential than Ben Curry this season IMO.

If you are right about Jones seeing Simmonds as a flanker, I don't think he should be in the squad. He's one of my favourite players but I don't see there being much chance of getting the best out of him under Jones. I see Lawes at 6 as Simmonds' ticket to the 8 shirt but if Jones is not thinking that way he'd be better concentrating on Dombrandt and Barbeary.

[TheNomad]

Any reason George Martin isn't in there - thought he was playing pretty well?

I must have been saying this for years, but I still think Ewels is very luck to be there

Lock looking a little thin, and if the wrong centre combination is picked (i.e. anything with Farrell) it's, all of a sudden, not looking too threatening.

Back three is somewhat in transition. Long term, I can see some good combinations there - I reckon OHC, Freeman and Steward, with time, could be pretty good. But outside of May, they're all really still learning their trade

[Tigersman]

Martin missed the last 2 weeks so presume he's been injured or ill.

[fivepointer]

I feared Radwan would get overlooked. Disappointment tempered by OH-C getting a call which is overdue.
Chessum is a bold leftfield choice. Good player in the making.
Happy enough for Bailey to be involved. He's very unlikely to play but being in camp should be good for him.
Stuart lucky to get in ahead of Collier. I'm OK with Heyes.
Ludlam is so-so. I'd prefer Ted Hill or a fit Underhill or Kenningham.
Only 3 specialist locks which begs the question, what does Ribbans have to do to get an opportunity?
Nowell returns which i'm fine with.
Hookers and SH's bang on. Like all 4 centres and the back 3 options look pretty good. Freeman is in which I like.

[Puja]

Any reason George Martin isn't in there - thought he was playing pretty well?

The black hole of injury news that is Borthwick's Leicester precludes me from being sure, but I'm fairly certain he's injured as he's been absent while we've been having a back row crisis.

I feared Radwan would get overlooked. Disappointment tempered by OH-C getting a call which is overdue.
Chessum is a bold leftfield choice. Good player in the making.
Happy enough for Bailey to be involved. He's very unlikely to play but being in camp should be good for him.
Stuart lucky to get in ahead of Collier. I'm OK with Heyes.
Ludlam is so-so. I'd prefer Ted Hill or a fit Underhill or Kenningham.
Only 3 specialist locks which begs the question, what does Ribbans have to do to get an opportunity?
Nowell returns which i'm fine with.
Hookers and SH's bang on. Like all 4 centres and the back 3 options look pretty good. Freeman is in which I like.

Has Radwan really done anything to deserve staying in the squad? I mean, he's nippy and evasive, but I still don't see him as an international quality wing unless we're solely playing against T2 nations.

What's Ted Hill done this season to deserve a call-up over Ludlam?

Puja

[Danno]

Seems pretty decent?

Chessum is an interesting one.

No Vunipolas, Underhill or Ford… I just don’t know what to say, but fine. Is Underhill injured again? Is Mako just done at the top level? I’m not convinced he’s been the same player for quite a while now.

Guys like Furbank and Atkinson I quite like, but just not sure how they fit in. Similarly Ludlum. Is he a genuine contender for the 23 or just a good squad guy? He’s certainly been playing well, but yes I’d like to see Curry just play 7 again.

I think Chessum's a decent pick. Young player who's really kicked on for Leicester this season, comfortable as a lock or a 6, very mobile around the park and has an excellent workrate. If we're picking a lock at 6, he's probably the form pick in the Prem and a very good Lawes understudy.

Not sure about Heyes at 3 - promising player, but deservedly behind Cole this season. Mind, Blamire's not exactly first choice either - I guess it does make sense to have third choice be players who can learn from the experience, but it does put us in a parlous position if there are a couple of injuries.

Here's a better format:

Genge
Marler
Rodd

George
LCD
Blamire

Sinckler
Stuart
Heyes

Itoje
Hill
Ewels

Lawes
Chessum
Curry
Ludlam
Simmonds
Dombrandt
Barbeary

Youngs
Randall
Quirke

Smith
Fazlet
Bailey

Slade
Marchant
Atkinson
Northmore

May
Nowell
Steward
Malins
Hassell-Collins
Furbank
Freeman


Puja

Thanks for that. The alphabetised squad lists really piss me off

[Scrumhead]

Any reason George Martin isn't in there - thought he was playing pretty well?

The black hole of injury news that is Borthwick's Leicester precludes me from being sure, but I'm fairly certain he's injured as he's been absent while we've been having a back row crisis.

I feared Radwan would get overlooked. Disappointment tempered by OH-C getting a call which is overdue.
Chessum is a bold leftfield choice. Good player in the making.
Happy enough for Bailey to be involved. He's very unlikely to play but being in camp should be good for him.
Stuart lucky to get in ahead of Collier. I'm OK with Heyes.
Ludlam is so-so. I'd prefer Ted Hill or a fit Underhill or Kenningham.
Only 3 specialist locks which begs the question, what does Ribbans have to do to get an opportunity?
Nowell returns which i'm fine with.
Hookers and SH's bang on. Like all 4 centres and the back 3 options look pretty good. Freeman is in which I like.

Has Radwan really done anything to deserve staying in the squad? I mean, he's nippy and evasive, but I still don't see him as an international quality wing unless we're solely playing against T2 nations.

What's Ted Hill done this season to deserve a call-up over Ludlam?

Puja

Yep. I’d agree with all of the above. Also, Ludlam is more of 7 than Hill (I know he’s been wearing 7 recently for Worcester). Hill would be competing with Lawes, Chessum and Martin as the classic blindside option.

I like Radwan, but on form OHC is far more deserving of the chance and Nowell deserves his recall.

[Epaminondas Pules]

Any reason George Martin isn't in there - thought he was playing pretty well?

The black hole of injury news that is Borthwick's Leicester precludes me from being sure, but I'm fairly certain he's injured as he's been absent while we've been having a back row crisis.

I feared Radwan would get overlooked. Disappointment tempered by OH-C getting a call which is overdue.
Chessum is a bold leftfield choice. Good player in the making.
Happy enough for Bailey to be involved. He's very unlikely to play but being in camp should be good for him.
Stuart lucky to get in ahead of Collier. I'm OK with Heyes.
Ludlam is so-so. I'd prefer Ted Hill or a fit Underhill or Kenningham.
Only 3 specialist locks which begs the question, what does Ribbans have to do to get an opportunity?
Nowell returns which i'm fine with.
Hookers and SH's bang on. Like all 4 centres and the back 3 options look pretty good. Freeman is in which I like.

Has Radwan really done anything to deserve staying in the squad? I mean, he's nippy and evasive, but I still don't see him as an international quality wing unless we're solely playing against T2 nations.

What's Ted Hill done this season to deserve a call-up over Ludlam?

Puja

Ted Hill has been in excellent form for Worcester.

[FKAS]

Is Radwan fit? I think he's missed a game or two for Falcons since his frustrating afternoon at WR.

George Martin must be injured otherwise I'm unsure why he got subbed early Vs Falcons for Murimurivalu and hasn't featured at all in the last two weeks when, as Puja has mentioned, we've not had a backrow replacement on the bench and for one of the two games had four locks and one backrow starting.

Not really sure why Furbank remains in the squad, he looked awful Vs Ulster the other night at fullback. Is he a 10, is he a 15? Seems stuck in a halfway house where the specialist skills for neither position are being developed.

An unfit Farrell is as an unsurprising a call up as you'll find but still one that disappoints, especially when arguably the form 10 in the Prem is in his prime and overlooked. Slightly worried by Quirke's injury struck period post AIs I'd have much rather seen Mitchell than Randall, I've got doubts over Mitchell's consistency but at least he can kick reliably well unlike Randall who is as likely to kick out on the full as he is to keep it on the field which isn't what you need Vs Scotland in February.

[Danno]

Bailey over Ford is disgusting

[Raggs]

Bailey over Ford is disgusting

I may be wrong, but if someone handed me that squad sheet and told me I picked it. I'd be wondering why. My first thought is Ford is basically the finished article. If there was a world cup final tomorrow, I can drop him in at 10 and not unreasonably expect a world class performance. If he's in camp, he's barely going to improve. Whereas if I start Smith, I can hopefully get good improvement out of an extremely talented fly half, and then Bailey can hopefully come good too, with Farrell to hold their hands if needed.

Come the world cup, Ford is in the squad, and has the training camp and warm up matches just to settle in again.

[Puja]

Bailey over Ford is disgusting

I don't think the issue is Bailey over Ford - Bailey is in as third choice fly-half who is unlikely to actually play and, if there is a run of injuries, his ability to cover 12 and 15 will be more useful.

The problem is Farrell over Ford. Which is also disgusting.

Puja

[twitchy]

A good point about eddie obviously still trusting borthwick's opinion on players.

[Oakboy]

Bailey over Ford is disgusting

I don't think the issue is Bailey over Ford - Bailey is in as third choice fly-half who is unlikely to actually play and, if there is a run of injuries, his ability to cover 12 and 15 will be more useful.

The problem is Farrell over Ford. Which is also disgusting.

Puja

I suppose we could give Jones the benefit of the doubt by saying that we have seen the best of Ford and Farrell with little reason to expect better from either at this point. IF, Farrell was then retained as an experienced bench man to see out a game, maybe, just maybe, his case could be seen as the stronger of the two. However, if Jones is going to hamper the team's creativity by playing Farrell at 12 . . . . .

No, I give up. There is no way to justify Farrell's selection.

[FKAS]

A good point about eddie obviously still trusting borthwick's opinion on players.

Doesn't trust Borthwick enough to select the arguably in form flyhalf in the league though.

[Banquo]

Bailey over Ford is disgusting

I don't think the issue is Bailey over Ford - Bailey is in as third choice fly-half who is unlikely to actually play and, if there is a run of injuries, his ability to cover 12 and 15 will be more useful.

The problem is Farrell over Ford. Which is also disgusting.

Puja

yus. Farrell has no form, and the form before no form was pants.

[SixAndAHalf]

Leaving out Ford and Billy V is an unnecessary risk - both top class performers in good form who will be at their peak for the World Cup.

The pack put out could be strong but the midfield (and back division as a whole) looks a bit underwhelming without Manu - concerned that we will end up with Farrell and Slade. Unsure what the solution is there.

[Raggs]

Leaving out Ford and Billy V is an unnecessary risk - both top class performers in good form who will be at their peak for the World Cup.

The pack put out could be strong but the midfield (and back division as a whole) looks a bit underwhelming without Manu - concerned that we will end up with Farrell and Slade. Unsure what the solution is there.

It's not an unnecessary risk for the world cup though. They'll both still be around for the world cup, and at least for Ford, I'd feel comfortable dropping him in for the world cup squad and use the rest of the time training up replacements (who could potentially exceed them).

[FKAS]

Leaving out Ford and Billy V is an unnecessary risk - both top class performers in good form who will be at their peak for the World Cup.

The pack put out could be strong but the midfield (and back division as a whole) looks a bit underwhelming without Manu - concerned that we will end up with Farrell and Slade. Unsure what the solution is there.

It's not an unnecessary risk for the world cup though. They'll both still be around for the world cup, and at least for Ford, I'd feel comfortable dropping him in for the world cup squad and use the rest of the time training up replacements (who could potentially exceed them).

I'd feel more comfortable dropping Farrell for Ford. If Smith goes down on the opening minutes of a game you don't want Farrell coming on at 10. Bailey won't make the 23 so he's a non-entity in selection terms, now Furbank could come in but that's not ideal either, he'd get eaten alive by the other flyhalfs in the 6N.

Ford and Smith should be the ideal combination going towards the world cup.

[SixAndAHalf]

Leaving out Ford and Billy V is an unnecessary risk - both top class performers in good form who will be at their peak for the World Cup.

The pack put out could be strong but the midfield (and back division as a whole) looks a bit underwhelming without Manu - concerned that we will end up with Farrell and Slade. Unsure what the solution is there.

It's not an unnecessary risk for the world cup though. They'll both still be around for the world cup, and at least for Ford, I'd feel comfortable dropping him in for the world cup squad and use the rest of the time training up replacements (who could potentially exceed them).

I'd like to win the Six Nations though and think the mental strength to win high pressure games is where this team needs to develop - tired of the excuse of always building towards the next World Cup.

[Oakboy]

Leaving out Ford and Billy V is an unnecessary risk - both top class performers in good form who will be at their peak for the World Cup.

The pack put out could be strong but the midfield (and back division as a whole) looks a bit underwhelming without Manu - concerned that we will end up with Farrell and Slade. Unsure what the solution is there.

It's not an unnecessary risk for the world cup though. They'll both still be around for the world cup, and at least for Ford, I'd feel comfortable dropping him in for the world cup squad and use the rest of the time training up replacements (who could potentially exceed them).

I'd like to win the Six Nations though and think the mental strength to win high pressure games is where this team needs to develop - tired of the excuse of always building towards the next World Cup.

I wonder how many of the starting 23 are fixed in Jones's mind - for the 6N, never mind the RWC. Itoje, Curry and . . . . ?

[belgarion]

It's not an unnecessary risk for the world cup though. They'll both still be around for the world cup, and at least for Ford, I'd feel comfortable dropping him in for the world cup squad and use the rest of the time training up replacements (who could potentially exceed them).

I'd like to win the Six Nations though and think the mental strength to win high pressure games is where this team needs to develop - tired of the excuse of always building towards the next World Cup.

I wonder how many of the starting 23 are fixed in Jones's mind - for the 6N, never mind the RWC. Itoje, Curry and . . . . ?

Itoje, Curry and Farrel

[jngf]

Seems pretty decent?

Chessum is an interesting one.

No Vunipolas, Underhill or Ford… I just don’t know what to say, but fine. Is Underhill injured again? Is Mako just done at the top level? I’m not convinced he’s been the same player for quite a while now.

Guys like Furbank and Atkinson I quite like, but just not sure how they fit in. Similarly Ludlum. Is he a genuine contender for the 23 or just a good squad guy? He’s certainly been playing well, but yes I’d like to see Curry just play 7 again.

I think Chessum's a decent pick. Young player who's really kicked on for Leicester this season, comfortable as a lock or a 6, very mobile around the park and has an excellent workrate. If we're picking a lock at 6, he's probably the form pick in the Prem and a very good Lawes understudy.

Not sure about Heyes at 3 - promising player, but deservedly behind Cole this season. Mind, Blamire's not exactly first choice either - I guess it does make sense to have third choice be players who can learn from the experience, but it does put us in a parlous position if there are a couple of injuries.

Here's a better format:

Genge
Marler
Rodd

George
LCD
Blamire

Sinckler
Stuart
Heyes

Itoje
Hill
Ewels

Lawes
Chessum
Curry
Ludlam
Simmonds
Dombrandt
Barbeary

Youngs
Randall
Quirke

Smith
Fazlet
Bailey

Slade
Marchant
Atkinson
Northmore

May
Nowell
Steward
Malins
Hassell-Collins
Furbank
Freeman


Puja

Chessum’s a bit unit too - 2.03m ( 6’8”) is according to various sources