Players to watch (your club)

[Which Tyler]

As a spin-off from "How's your team looking" which players, young or unsung, are you expecting / hoping to have a breakthrough season this year?

Bath:
Ewan Richards - he got a couple of bench appearances back in February, and had some promising flashes, but looked underpowered - looked notably bigger during the U20s 6N (which may well be that those around him were a touch smaller as well) and certainly didn't lack for power. With Bath only having 3 specialist locks, I'd expect him to get a reasonable amount of game time, even though it's more likely that Williams or Elils would be parachuted in ahead of him if required to start.
Miles Reid - would it still count as a breakthrough after the last 12 months? If Lloyd can be considered as breakthrough the years after he earned his caps, and Will Evans be in the conversation after playing fewer matches than he had 5 years earlier - then I don't see why not. I'd love to see him continue his form and cement his place as a starter for Bath, and maybe even break into the EPS. Here's hoping he goes from strength to strength, rather than disappearing into Second Season Syndrome.

Ollie Fox - every time I see him play he looks full of promise, but lacking in match practice (probably the single most important aspect for a half-back. With Chudley gone, Fox and Green will have a real scrap for the 21 shirt; both should get decent game time, and both should improve. I'd back Fox to win that battle and set himself up for the following season. He won't be overtaking Spencer (if so, then we've been overlooking a seriously good player), but this season could be the making of him.
Max Ojomo - may just be even better than his dad, such a natural ball player, he may lack a yard or so of pace, so IC might be a better fit for him - if so, then Redpath's knee could see him getting a lot of game time; standing between Cipriani and Joseph - he could have some real fun.... if the pack can ever put us on the front foot.
Tom De Glanville - like Miles Reid, has already had his breakthrough season, and this is his season to show he's more than a flash in the pan. Bath will have some real selection headaches in the back 3; with Watson, Muir, McConnochie and TdG all deserving of starts, and Cokanasiga looking to rediscover his love of the game.

Honourable mentions also go to Will Butt (OC) and John Stewart (HK) who I'd expect to show well if given a chance - but they'll likely need injuries to others in order to get that chance.

[Scrumhead]

I also liked the look of Ollie Fox and without knowing whether he’s been injured etc. I’ve been disappointed at how rarely he’s played. Hopefully we’ll see more of him this season (particularly with no relegation). Same for Sam Wolstenholme at Wasps. From an England, POV, it would be amazing to have 3 or 4 really promising 9s to look at given the paucity we’ve had in the past little while. JvP, Quirke, Fox and Wolstenholme could be a good crop.

From a Quins perspective, I’ll be keeping an eye on the following:

Jack Kenningham - Robshaw’s heir apparent. Parachuted in to cover Will Evans’ injury and looked like a seasoned pro. He finished the season with 10 appearances and was nothing short of very good (if not excellent) in all of them, earning a call-up to the England training squad. He’ll be less of a surprise next season, but given his main strengths are tackling and work rate, I don’t think we’ll see a drop off. If he can maintain this level of performance, he’ll be a serious player, not just one for the future.

Sam Riley - One of England U20s star players in the Grand Slam winning side. A mobile hooker, not dissimilar in style to Cowan-Dickie. With Baldwin’s departure, the 2 shirt is up for grabs and while I’d expect new signing Jack Walker to take the starting spot, Riley has an excellent chance to show he can back up his impact at age grade.

Jordan Els - Had a few injuries last season which limited his game time, but looked promising when he did play, showing some decent carrying ability as well as solid scrummaging. Garcia-Botta is very average which should give Els the opportunity to cement a place as Joe Marler’s understudy.

Nick David - Elusive winger/fullback who shone in a poor Worcester side. With Earle and Brown moving on, David has a great opportunity to be part of an exciting, young back three and I’m looking forward to seeing more of him.

Hayden Hyde - English born, Ireland age-grade international 12 who recently returned to Quins after leaving Ulster. We were very disappointed when he left for Ulster and very happy when he came back so it’ll be interesting to see whether he can make good on his promise. We’ve had a lot of centres leave recently (Lang, Tapuai, Campagnaro) and with the majority of those remaining preferring 13 (Marchant, Jones, Northmore) and Lasike potentially missing the whole season, we could see a bit Hyde deputising for Esterhuizen. He’s consistently said he wants to commit to Ireland, despite interest from England but being over here is going to make that a bit harder. Could be another Dan Kelly if it works out.

[FKAS]

Well if we take out Heyes, Martin, Kelly and Steward because they are all now capped by England. Henderson also because he would have been capped had Scotland been able to play a game. Erm...

James Whitcombe - Genge has described it as almost having a son playing for Tigers. He certainly looks like a similar size. Has looked solid at the scrum considering he's only 20 and stuffed the Wasps front row from the bench in the last game of the season. Good work rate and there's power there just hoping to see him unleash more of it next season.

JVP - England under 20s captain and player of the tournament in junior 6N. The kid has the lot quite frankly. Just needs to work on getting the box kicks away as he's a charge down threat. Bit more experience over the next couple of years and then I expect him to be in with the England first team in a regular basis.

Joe Browning - under the radar a little unless you saw the write ups from his loan spell to Nottingham where he was very good. Progress hindered so far by an unlucky and lengthy injury but he's quick, powerful and has a good step. If he breaks through this season you'll notice.

[Mikey Brown]

I what’s t deal with JVP’s box kicks? Slow? Poor technique? Too tall? He looks class from the little I’ve seen.

Not sure if it’s just the stature but sort of reminds me of Ruan Peinaar in that he looks like he can do it all, and could play 10/15/wing if you wanted.

[Which Tyler]

I what’s t deal with JVP’s box kicks? Slow? Poor technique? Too tall? He looks class from the little I’ve seen.

Slow - not so much the set-up as everyone's bloody slow there; but the actual technique, from picking up the ball to it hitting his foot - it's a good technique; but at about 90% speed. Combine that with not putting blockers in place initially - it's as if he'd used to people actually targetting it.
It's a definite work-on; but should be easily fixed with a bit of coaching, and a few matches of being targetted (and better protected).

[Banquo]

I what’s t deal with JVP’s box kicks? Slow? Poor technique? Too tall? He looks class from the little I’ve seen.

Slow - not so much the set-up as everyone's bloody slow there; but the actual technique, from picking up the ball to it hitting his foot - it's a good technique; but at about 90% speed. Combine that with not putting blockers in place initially - it's as if he'd used to people actually targetting it.
It's a definite work-on; but should be easily fixed with a bit of coaching, and a few matches of being targetted (and better protected).

He's pretty tall, isn't he?

[Puja]

I what’s t deal with JVP’s box kicks? Slow? Poor technique? Too tall? He looks class from the little I’ve seen.

Slow - not so much the set-up as everyone's bloody slow there; but the actual technique, from picking up the ball to it hitting his foot - it's a good technique; but at about 90% speed. Combine that with not putting blockers in place initially - it's as if he'd used to people actually targetting it.
It's a definite work-on; but should be easily fixed with a bit of coaching, and a few matches of being targetted (and better protected).

He's pretty tall, isn't he?

6ft, so definitely tall for a 9. It's a case of technique really and hopefully one of the reasons we have Wigglesworth on a contract - whatever his other flaws, he was very rarely charged down.

Puja

[FKAS]

Just a technique thing for JVP. He's 6ft and seems long legged for the height. He's got a very good range on the box kick but if the forwards aren't switched on he can be targeted. As a work on it's not the biggest or worst thing to have to improve but it's definitely something that just needs to be tidied up.

He certainly has the potential to be a special player. He actually played some flyhalf in his early teens but then switch to 9 full time in the academy at Tigers. Bit unusual to have the most gifted playmaker shunted into 10 at that age though. Steward played 10 and centre for his school before going to fullback in the Tigers academy.

[Banquo]

Slow - not so much the set-up as everyone's bloody slow there; but the actual technique, from picking up the ball to it hitting his foot - it's a good technique; but at about 90% speed. Combine that with not putting blockers in place initially - it's as if he'd used to people actually targetting it.
It's a definite work-on; but should be easily fixed with a bit of coaching, and a few matches of being targetted (and better protected).

He's pretty tall, isn't he?

6ft, so definitely tall for a 9. It's a case of technique really and hopefully one of the reasons we have Wigglesworth on a contract - whatever his other flaws, he was very rarely charged down.

Puja

Still developing physically and thus continually adapting technique- being relatively tall for example would impact box kicking, obviously.

[Digby]

The bigger problem with his box kick isn't so much the speed it's much more the technique. He has a low contact point on the kick and brings the leg through in a natural arc. You can almost be slower if you get a higher knee, a higher ball contact point and a quicker snap and still come under less overall pressure because it's a much harder kick to get at, especially if you angle away from the defence to create an extra foot of space.

It does take some agility and stretching work because it's a lot of load through the groin to utilise the less natural body action.

[Banquo]

The bigger problem with his box kick isn't so much the speed it's much more the technique. He has a low contact point on the kick and brings the leg through in a natural arc. You can almost be slower if you get a higher knee, a higher ball contact point and a quicker snap and still come under less overall pressure because it's a much harder kick to get at, especially if you angle away from the defence to create an extra foot of space.

It does take some agility and stretching work because it's a lot of load through the groin to utilise the less natural body action.

I think we just agreed it was technique, and some of that was to do with his physique, which is still developing.

[fivepointer]

JvP looks an England player to me. He should get plenty of game time next season, which will only further his development.

Tigers followers not mentioning Dan Lancaster surprises me. I thought he looked a really accomplished player in the U20's.

I liked his centre partner, Jack Bates, but he might struggle to get much game time at Bristol.

Of the other U20's, Riley should see some action and Fin Smith looks set to get opportunities with Wuss.

[FKAS]

JvP looks an England player to me. He should get plenty of game time next season, which will only further his development.

Tigers followers not mentioning Dan Lancaster surprises me. I thought he looked a really accomplished player in the U20's.

I liked his centre partner, Jack Bates, but he might struggle to get much game time at Bristol.

Of the other U20's, Riley should see some action and Fin Smith looks set to get opportunities with Wuss.

The views I've seen suggest other Tigers fans agree with me and think Dan Lancaster is a very handy addition. Might not be next season he really emerges though. Ford and Burns at 10 ahead of him and Tigers don't play with a creative player at 12, Borthwick likes two running options in the centres though he does like a 12 that can link. As such he'll get opportunities but I don't know if it'll be a Kelly esque meteoric rise. Might be a season or two for him to develop into the top class player I think he can be. That timeline works well for Tigers with Lancaster emerging as Burns is likely to retire.

[Digby]

The bigger problem with his box kick isn't so much the speed it's much more the technique. He has a low contact point on the kick and brings the leg through in a natural arc. You can almost be slower if you get a higher knee, a higher ball contact point and a quicker snap and still come under less overall pressure because it's a much harder kick to get at, especially if you angle away from the defence to create an extra foot of space.

It does take some agility and stretching work because it's a lot of load through the groin to utilise the less natural body action.

I think we just agreed it was technique, and some of that was to do with his physique, which is still developing.

Previous discussion on technique such as was offered noted more the lack of blockers, so more of an organisational technique. Maybe the ideal setup kick technique is harder for the taller player, but the more natural low ball strike is something of a common failing for the role, and not all 9s are tall.

I'm not trying to be too critical here because actually getting this skill execution right is really hard even before you tend to be blowing out your arse as the 9, and even supposing he addresses the areas I've noted here there's still other stuff which can go wrong (or indeed right ideally). And this is perhaps the area of the game that's seen some of the biggest skill development in the last few seasons which raises the bar for emerging players

[Raggs]

Barbeary - needs no explanation.
Atkinson - Interested in what position he ends up in, think he could do well at 12 or 15.
Simonds - No idea if he'll get any gametime for us next season, but he's a powerfully built 12, if he's got a half decent passing game, could make for a fun pairing with Odogwu at 13.

[BenHK]

From a Sale perspective, a few of our academy guys are starting to come through and could be interesting to see how they develop:

Raffi Quirk - SH
Arron Reed - wing
Bevan Rodd - prop
Ewan Ashman - hooker
Conner Doherty - centre
James Harper - prop/back row

Of the current senior squad, looking forward to Beaumont and Tuilagi's return from injury. Would also really like to see the James brothers step up more - they both have potential to be nailed on starters and trying to get on Eddie's radar.


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[Gloskarlos]

I am hoping Conradie in our back row is a genius find and is as dynamic as Jordy Reid, the couple on here that watch the US game may know a little more. That aside, i'm excited to see what Hastings coming in and Carreras do. Then there's LRZ of course.

[Scrumhead]

From a Sale perspective, a few of our academy guys are starting to come through and could be interesting to see how they develop:

Raffi Quirk - SH
Arron Reed - wing
Bevan Rodd - prop
Ewan Ashman - hooker
Conner Doherty - centre
James Harper - prop/back row

Of the current senior squad, looking forward to Beaumont and Tuilagi's return from injury. Would also really like to see the James brothers step up more - they both have potential to be nailed on starters and trying to get on Eddie's radar.


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Probably too late for Sam James unless he finds he has a Welsh granny. Luke was looking like a very good prospect but his form seemed to drop off pretty sharply last season and I wonder if he’s still trying to work out whether he’s a fullback or a centre?

Harper is the one I’m most interested in. He looked great in his appearances off the bench at the end of last season and if he can pick up where he left off, he could be a real find at tighthead. Rare to see a bloke that size with speed too.

[Scrumhead]

I am hoping Conradie in our back row is a genius find and is as dynamic as Jordy Reid, the couple on here that watch the US game may know a little more. That aside, i'm excited to see what Hastings coming in and Carreras do. Then there's LRZ of course.

I thought Conradie was a Namibia international?

I think Skivington is quietly doing a decent job. Gloucester have made some interesting signings and with a full preseason, I think they’ll be a lot better than they have been in the last two seasons.

[Gloskarlos]

I am hoping Conradie in our back row is a genius find and is as dynamic as Jordy Reid, the couple on here that watch the US game may know a little more. That aside, i'm excited to see what Hastings coming in and Carreras do. Then there's LRZ of course.

I thought Conradie was a Namibia international?

I think Skivington is quietly doing a decent job. Gloucester have made some interesting signings and with a full preseason, I think they’ll be a lot better than they have been in the last two seasons.

He is but he's been plying his trade with the New England Free Jacks to date.

I agree to an extent, we won't be as 'developmental' as we were last season, and whilst the new signings haven't really been 'stellar' I firmly believe the management team go above and beyond to get the player they think will be the best fit in terms of character. Think we might just be outside the top 6 this season.

[Scrumhead]

Ah yeah fair enough …

Signings don’t need to be ‘stellar’ to be smart. I expect Hastings to do well in the Premiership, Meehan is an underrated 9 and Davidson always looked promising in his Newcastle days.

[Puja]

I am hoping Conradie in our back row is a genius find and is as dynamic as Jordy Reid, the couple on here that watch the US game may know a little more. That aside, i'm excited to see what Hastings coming in and Carreras do. Then there's LRZ of course.

Conradie's been excellent for the NE Freejacks - very physical in rucks and carrying and just everywhere on the pitch. Busy player. I'd treat him the same as you would a player coming up from excelling in the Championship - hopeful that you might get another Rob Cook quality player, but aware you might be pulling him up above his level.

Puja

[Gloskarlos]

I am hoping Conradie in our back row is a genius find and is as dynamic as Jordy Reid, the couple on here that watch the US game may know a little more. That aside, i'm excited to see what Hastings coming in and Carreras do. Then there's LRZ of course.

Conradie's been excellent for the NE Freejacks - very physical in rucks and carrying and just everywhere on the pitch. Busy player. I'd treat him the same as you would a player coming up from excelling in the Championship - hopeful that you might get another Rob Cook quality player, but aware you might be pulling him up above his level.

Puja

Yeah - it could go either way. Highlights reel looked promising (but i've not seen a highlights reel that doesn't)

We got Quera, Reid, Cook and a few others from the Champ level and they have been awesome, Moyle at 15 been good too. i'm optimistic.

[Puja]

I am hoping Conradie in our back row is a genius find and is as dynamic as Jordy Reid, the couple on here that watch the US game may know a little more. That aside, i'm excited to see what Hastings coming in and Carreras do. Then there's LRZ of course.

Conradie's been excellent for the NE Freejacks - very physical in rucks and carrying and just everywhere on the pitch. Busy player. I'd treat him the same as you would a player coming up from excelling in the Championship - hopeful that you might get another Rob Cook quality player, but aware you might be pulling him up above his level.

Puja

Yeah - it could go either way. Highlights reel looked promising (but i've not seen a highlights reel that doesn't)

We got Quera, Reid, Cook and a few others from the Champ level and they have been awesome, Moyle at 15 been good too. i'm optimistic.

He's certainly got a very strong character. He was signed originally by new franchise Dallas, only for them to choose to delay their entry into the competition until next year because of coronavirus. All the Dallas players were put into a draft for other teams to pick from (cause 'Murca) and Conradie wasn't even drafted by any of the other sides - he got picked up by New England (which is not close to Dallas, btw) just as a free transfer because they were short a back row. He's then gone on to be one of the players of the season.

I think he'll do well for you. Not a star player, but if Leicester had signed him, I wouldn't have been disappointed.

Puja

[Banquo]

Barbeary - needs no explanation.
Atkinson - Interested in what position he ends up in, think he could do well at 12 or 15.
Simonds - No idea if he'll get any gametime for us next season, but he's a powerfully built 12, if he's got a half decent passing game, could make for a fun pairing with Odogwu at 13.

I still think Atkinson could end up a better 10 than Umaga, even though he is so left sided.