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England trial matches? Picking four XVs from the Premiership
There are few more compelling spectacles in either code of rugby than the State of Origin in Australia, something which Union has tapped somewhat into with the North vs South trial match that took place in New Zealand on Saturday.
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Although it wasn’t played at the same intensity as the notoriously fiery State of Origin, the All Blacks trial match displayed phenomenal levels of skill and has tickled the rugby world’s fancy at a time when the international rugby calendar has been decimated and the return of club rugby has been impacted by short turnarounds, heavy rotation and new law amendments.
The concept of a North vs South trial match in England would struggle due to the heavy concentration of professional clubs in the southern half of the country, though that doesn’t mean potential State of Origin-esque fixtures couldn’t work. Prior to professionalism, rugby in England had an established history of regional competition based around the designations of London & South-East, West Country, Midlands and North.
We have split the current pool of players in the Gallagher Premiership up into the respective regions that they came through at the junior academy level or, should they not have come through a Premiership junior academy, whichever Premiership club they first joined as a professional rugby player.
London & SE
15. Elliot Daly
14. Anthony Watson
13. Jonathan Joseph
12. Owen Farrell
11. Joe Cokanasiga
10. Marcus Smith
9. Ben Spencer
1. Joe Marler
2. Jamie George
3. Kyle Sinckler
4. Maro Itoje
5. George Kruis
6. Nick Isiekwe
7. Ben Earl
8. Billy Vunipola
There is an abundance of talent to pick from in this populous region that not only boasts three Premiership clubs – four if counting players from London Wasps before the move to Coventry – but also a wealth of high-level rugby-playing independent schools. Understandably, Saracens’ recent domestic and European dominance shows up in the composite side.
With the Berkshire pair of Jack and Tom Willis unable to crack the final XV, as well as talents such as Nathan Earle, Joe Marchant, Joe Launchbury and veteran full-backs Mike Brown and Alex Goode missing out, there is no lack of competition in the London & SE region.
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West Country
15. Jack Nowell
14. Jonny May
13. Henry Slade
12. Sam Hill
11. Ollie Thorley
10. Joe Simmonds
9. Dan Robson
1. Mako Vunipola
2. Luke Cowan-Dickie
3. Marcus Street
4. Jonny Hill
5. Charlie Ewels
6. Zach Mercer
7. Sam Underhill
8. Sam Simmonds
Another rugby stronghold, the west comprises Exeter Chiefs, Bristol Bears, Gloucester and Bath, with the four clubs enjoying rare dominance over football in their respective cities and surrounding areas. Like London & SE, the West Country does not lack for productive rugby nurseries and that is reflected in the amount of players in the country’s elite player pool that hail from the region.
Any XV that can leave out Ellis Genge has to be quite the group, whilst Jack Maunder is knocking repeatedly on the door behind Dan Robson. Emerging back rower Richard Capstick will push for his inclusion soon and Tom Dunn is hard done by as he has to compete with incumbent England deputy Luke Cowan-Dickie.
Inter-island rivalry was cranked up again for only the third time in 33 years with the #NorthvSouth match up in Wellington. Here’s how the South team rated.https://t.co/tigoiBk0sW
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) September 5, 2020
Midlands
15. George Furbank
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14. Ollie Sleightholme
13. Manu Tuilagi
12. Billy Twelvetrees
11. Alex Lewington
10. George Ford
9. Ben Youngs
1. Alex Waller
2. Alfie Barbeary
3. Dan Cole
4. Courtney Lawes
5. Alex Moon
6. Ted Hill
7. Will Evans
8. Lewis Ludlam
On paper, the Midlands squad should be competitive with the two previous regions, with players coming out of the professional academies at Worcester Warriors, Wasps, Northampton Saints and Leicester Tigers. That said, it is a heavy a mix of younger players with potential and experienced Premiership performers, without necessarily the international recognition that London & SE and the West Country both have.
Moon, Barbeary, Evans and Sleightholme embody the youth element to the XV, whilst few players have exhibited the durability and consistency in the Premiership that both Waller and Twelvetrees have. The squad leans heavily on Leicester academy products, though that could change in the coming years with a number of Northampton products beginning to knock on the door of club and country.
New Zealand and the rest of the rugby world wanted an exciting game of rugby, and the North and South Islands delivered it.https://t.co/oTGi3Q40DX
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) September 5, 2020
North
15. Simon Hammersley
14. Zach Kibirige
13. Sam James
12. Mark Atkinson
11. Josh Hodge
10. Toby Flood
9. Danny Care
1. Ross Harrison
2. Tommy Taylor
3. Kieran Brookes
4. James Gaskell
5. Josh Beaumont
6. Tom Curry
7. Ben Curry
8. Mark Wilson
With Leeds Tykes having fallen away and Newcastle Falcons facing their fair share of challenges in recent seasons, the North XV is understandably a little understrength in comparison to its three rivals. Sale Sharks’ contingent has also been impacted by Mike Haley and Will Addison both opting to represent Ireland in recent years.
Youngsters such as Tom Curtis and Will Haydon-Wood could push Flood out of the mix in the coming years, whilst Sale will be hoping that their South African influx doesn’t prevent their talented academy crops from taking the next step.
Outcome?
It’s hard to look beyond the London & SE side, who boast almost an entire XV of England capped players, with plenty of depth and competition that would make up an enviable set of replacements. Opting for Danny Cipriani at fly-half over Smith would ensure an all-capped XV, too.
The biggest challenge would likely come from the West Country, with the core of the squad making up the foundation of the successful Exeter side in recent seasons. If the tight five can hold up against the formidable London & SE group, the West Country would have every chance of pulling off an upset.
The Midlands group could give both London & SE and West Country a run for their money on their day, though they lack for the quality throughout the squad of their more southernly rivals. As for the North side, it does not lack individual talent, but to compete at the international level with the more stacked sides on offer elsewhere would be a challenge.
Comments on RugbyPass
No surprise there. How hard can it be to pick a ball off the ground and chuck it to a mate? 😂
2 Go to commentsSometimes people just like a moan mate!
1 Go to commentsexcellent idea ! rugby needs this 💪
9 Go to comments9 Brumbies! What a joke! The best performing team in Oz! Ditch Skelton for Swain or Neville. Ryan Lonergan ahead of McDermott any day! Best selection bolter is Toole … amazing player
12 Go to commentsI like this, but ultimately rugby already has enough trophies. Trying to make more games “consequential" might prove to be a fools errand, although this is a less bad idea than some others. Minor quibble with the title of the article; it isn’t very meaningful to say the boks are the unofficial world champions when it would be functionally impossible for the Raeburn trophy not to be held by the world champions. There’s a period of a few months every 4 years when there is no “unofficial” world champion, and the Raeburn trophy is held by the actual world champions.
9 Go to commentsIts a great idea but one that I dont think will have a lot of traction. It will depend on the prestige that they each hold but if you can do that it would be great. When Japan beat the Boks (my team) I was absolutely devestated but I wont deny the great game they played that day. We were outclassed and it was one of the best games of rugby I have seen. Using an idea like this you might just give the the underdog teams more of an opportunity to beat the big teams and I can absolutely see it being a brilliant display of rugby. They beat us because they planned for that game. It was a great moment for Japan. This way we can remove the 4 year wait and give teams something to aim for outside of World Cup years.
9 Go to commentsHi, Dave here. Happy to answer questions 🥰
9 Go to commentsDon’t think that headline is accurate. It’s great to see Aus doing better but I’m not sure they’ve shown much threat to the top of the table. They shouldn’t be inflating wins against the lousy Highlanders and Crusaders either.
3 Go to commentsSuch a shame Roigard and Aumua picked up long term injuries, probably the two form players in the comp. Also, pretty sure Clarke Dermody isn’t their coach. Got it half right though.
3 Go to commentsOh the Aussie media, they never learn. At least Andrew Kellaway is like “Woah, yeah it’s great, but settle down there guys” having endured years of the Aussie media, fans, and often their players getting ahead of themselves only to fall flat on their faces. Have the “We'll win the Bledisloe for sure this year!” headlines started yet? It’s simple to see what’s going on. The Aussie teams are settled, they didn't lose any of their major players overseas. The Crusaders and Chiefs lost key experienced All Blacks, and Razor in the Crusaders case, and clearly neither are anywhere near as strong as last year (The Canes and Blues would probably be 3rd & 4th if they were). The Highlanders are annually average, even more so post-Aaron Smith and a big squad clean out. The two teams at the top? The two nz sides with largely the same settled roster as last year, except Ardie Savea for the Canes. They’ve both got far better coaches now too. If the Aussies are going to win the title, this is the year the kiwi sides will be weakest, so they better take their chance.
3 Go to commentsThe World Cup has to be the gold standard, line in the sand. 113 teams compete for what is the opportunity to make the pool stages, and then the knockout games for the trophy. The concept is sound. This must have been the rationale when the World Cup was created, surely? But I’m all for Looking forward and finding new ways for the SH to dominate the NH into the future. The autumn series needs a change up. Let’s start by having the NH teams come south every odd year for the Autumn/Spring series games?
9 Go to commentsWhat’ll happen when the AI models of the future go back in time and try to destroy the AI models of the past standing in their way of certain victory?
41 Go to commentsThanks, Nick. We (Seanny Maloney, Brett and I) just discussed Charlie as a potential Wallaby No 8, and wondered if he has truly realised how big he is in contact (and whether he can add 5 kg w/o slowing down). Your scouting report confirms our suspicions he has the materiel. No one knows if he has the mentality (as Johann van Graan said this week about CJ, Duane and Alfie B) to carry 10-15 times a game.
57 Go to commentsHe would be a great player for the Stormers, Dobbo should approach the guy.
3 Go to commentsGood article. A few years back when he was playing for the Cheetahs, he was a quiet standout for exactly the seasons stated here. I occasionally get to see his games in the UK, and he has become a more complete player and in many ways like an Irish player. His work ethic is so suitable to the Leinster game. I wonder if Rassie would have him listed somewhere.
3 Go to commentsResults probably skewed by the fact that a few clubs have foreign fly halves in their 30s, but most teams have young English scrum halves. Results also likely to be skewed by the fact that many teams rely on centres and fullbacks to provide depth at 10, whereas they will need to stock a large number of specialist backup 9s.
2 Go to commentsI really get the sense that when all is said and done, the path of least resistance will end up being a merger of Wasps & Worcester that essentially kills the Worcester Warriors brand and sees Wasps permanently playing at Sixways. I’m not saying that’s what should happen or what I want to happen. I just think it’s the easiest rout to take and therefore, will be what happens. Wasps will definitely return to play first, and I suppose it all depends on if they can find support at Sixways. If people turn up and support Wasps in that community, at that ground, I bet they drop the Sevenoaks plan and just remain at Sixways. Under the radar but not totally unrelated, it looks as though London Irish are going to be brought back from the dead by a German consortium and look set to return, likely to the remade Championship. It’s set to have 12 clubs next season with 14 in 2025/26, what do you want to bet those extra 2 are Wasps and London Irish?
3 Go to commentsThe shoulder is a “joint” with multiple bones. You don’t “fracture” a shoulder, you fracture any one or more of the bones that make up a shoulder.
2 Go to commentsOh dear, bones too suspect to continue?
2 Go to commentsBold headline considering the Canes and Blues are 1 and 2 and the Brumbies were soundly beaten by the Chiefs and Blues. Biggest surprise is Rebels 4 Crusaders 12 - no one saw that coming. If Aus are improving that’s great 👍
3 Go to comments