Forget the openside options, it's time for England to find their Pieter-Steph du Toit on the blindside
You would struggle to find too many individual campaigns that top that of the one turned in by Pieter-Steph du Toit last year, as the gifted blindside flanker set new standards at his position.
The Springbok was named World Rugby Player of the Year in 2019, in the wake of his nation lifting the Rugby World Cup for the third time and his wonderfully complementary performances alongside talismanic captain, Siya Kolisi.
Despite the trend of playing with two more mobile and defensive breakdown-oriented flankers in recent years, with the Australian combination of Michael Hooper and David Pocock and the English duo of Tom Curry and Sam Underhill chief among the impressive proponents, du Toit and South Africa went back to basics and it is something which paid off for both the individual and the team.
Beyond his strong all-round skill set, perhaps the areas where du Toit most impressively singled himself out last year were with the physicality he brought on both sides of the ball, his ability to clear out aggressively and accurately at the breakdown and his presence as a lineout option. In those facets, du Toit was as good, if not better than anyone else at his position.
There are not many players with du Toit’s ability in world rugby, though he has become a torchbearer for the more traditional blindside flanker, whose value in international rugby seems to currently be trending up. You need look no further than the impact Courtney Lawes has brought to the role for England in recent seasons to see a homegrown example of this.
Even for Eddie Jones and England, whose array of openside flanker options seems to be overflowing, with Curry and Underhill joined by the likes of Ben Earl, Jack Willis, Lewis Ludlam and now a rumoured call-up for former Wales U20 captain Tommy Reffell, the temptation to go down the size route at six is surely a tempting one.
In addition to Lawes, whose displays on the flank in recent years have been highly impressive, both Nick Isiekwe and Ted Hill have been championed as contenders for this spot moving forward.
Isiekwe has been shining at Saracens for multiple seasons now, though it was his man of the match-winning performance on debut for Northampton Saints, away from the strength of his Saracens’ teammates, that has particularly caught the eye of late. As for Hill, he has seemed to take to captaincy at Worcester Warriors like a duck to water and has continued to maintain his lofty standards of performance, irrespective of the expectations now on him as a leader.
At 22 and 21 respectively, Isiekwe and Hill have plenty of time on their sides and both have already made their international debuts for England. The higher they take their games, the harder pressed Jones will be to more regularly adopt a traditional and physical blindside, over the mobility and fetching skill that opting for the ‘Kamikaze Kids’ combination that served him so well at the Rugby World Cup in Japan would provide.
The well is far from dry beneath that, too, something which is being exposed as a much-needed silver lining by the recent Coronavirus outbreak and its subsequent impact on professional rugby.
The 19-year-old George Martin was excellent for Leicester Tigers in their home loss to Bath, exhibiting all of the work rate and physical presence that had become synonymous with Leicester forwards during the club’s heyday. He packed down on the blindside in that game, though he is more than comfortable stepping into the row, a position he played throughout his U18 seasons with the Tigers academy.
At London Irish, Ben Donnell has begun to come to the fore, with Adam Coleman continuing to rehab from injury in Australia, and the academy product has looked comfortable at lock, despite Irish’s post-pandemic struggles. He could well be seen as difference-maker at blindside moving forward, especially with Chunya Munga beginning to emerge at Hazelwood and arguably possessing the more natural frame for a second row.
Both Martin and Donnell are benefitting from the short turnarounds between games that are forcing Gallagher Premiership sides to use the entirety of their squads and though the quality of games is being affected as a result of this heavy rotation, these are experiences which will be critical to their development during these formative years of their professional careers.
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All four have the versatility to switch between lock and blindside, something which they will hope provides them with an ace up their sleeves when they attempt to crack Jones’ fiercely contested group of second and back rows.
George Kruis’ departure for Japan creates a potential short-term opening, whilst Lawes is set to turn 32 next season and there will be attention focused on whether or not there is any of the physical decline that inevitably comes to all players. Given the strength of the second row unit in particular over the past five or so years, this seems as good a time as any to be pushing for England involvement at the position.
As for the back row resources, that’s going to be a tougher sell. The cadre of openside options mentioned earlier are all in the early stages of their careers, with none yet even having approached what would traditionally be considered their ‘primes’. If these blindsides are to successfully make the case for the balance they would provide in that loose forward trio, they are going to have to do it by outplaying their vaunted, fleeter and smaller back row colleagues.
Reports suggest the top South African teams could make the move up North very soon.https://t.co/Bgwr7V9yyg
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There has understandably been a lot made of that impressive depth at seven, especially when compared to a dearth of options in that traditional mould in years gone by, though that should not diminish what is rapidly becoming a rather impressive array of talent at blindside, too.
Isiekwe and Hill are among the hottest properties in English rugby, whilst Martin is beginning to prosper in the East Midlands and Irish will be hoping that Donnell’s performances are not attracting too much attention from their Premiership rivals. For those with their eyes on a succession plan beyond that, you need look no further than recent schoolboys Ewan Richards at Bath and Kayde Sylvester at Northampton, or Saracens U18 prospect and Felsted pupil Obinna Nkwocha.
With English schools and academies producing these versatile forwards at a fair clip, England fans should be wary about diving too deeply into the pool of opensides, with the Springboks and du Toit having emphasised strongly the value of having a true blindside in a balanced back row.
One thing is for certain, though, and that is that England have not had such a deep and talented pool of flankers to pick from in many years.
Comments on RugbyPass
Bar the injuries, it’s pretty much their top team …
2 Go to commentsDon’t disagree with much of this but it appears you forgot Rodda and Beale, who started at the Force on the weekend.
9 Go to commentsExcept for the injured Zach Gallagher this would be Saders best forward pack for the season. Blackadder needs to stay at 7, for all of Christies tackling he is not dominant and offers very little else. McNicholfullback is maybe a good option, Fihaki not really upto it, there was a reason Burke played there last year. Maybe Havilli to 2nd five McLeod to wing. Need a strong winger on 1 side to compliment Reece
1 Go to commentsTo me TJ is clearly the best 9 in the competition right now but he's also a proven player off the bench, there's few playmaking players who can come off the bench as calm and settled as he is, Beauden can, TJ can and I doubt any of the scrumhalves in contention can, if they want to experiment with new 9s I want him on the bench ready to step in if they crumble under the pressure. The Boks put their best front row on the bench, I'd like to see us take a similar approach, the Hurricanes have been doing similar things with players like Kirifi.
35 Go to commentsROG has better chance to win a WC if he starts training and make himself eligible as a player. He won’t make the Ireland squad but I reckon he may get close with Namibia (needs to improve his Afrikaans) or Portugal. Both sides had 1000:1 odds to win the RWC in 2023 which is an improvement on ROG’s odds of winning a RWC as a coach. Unlike Top 14 teams, national teams can’t go shopping and buy the best players - you work with the available talent pool and turn them into world beaters.
2 Go to commentsthat backline nope that backline is terrible why would you have sevu Reece when he’s not even top 5 wingers in the comp why have Blackadder when there’s better players no Scott barret isn’t an automatic the guy is more of a liability than anything why have him there when you have samipeni who’s far far better
35 Go to commentsAh, good to find you Nick. Agree with everything about Cale. So much to like about his game
49 Go to commentsNot too bad. Questions at 6, lock and HB for me. The ABs will be a lot stronger once Jordan and Roigard return. Also, work needs to be made to secure Frizzell back for next season and maybe also Mo’unga; they’re just wasting time playing in japan
35 Go to commentsOn the title, i wonder for many of those people it is a case something like a belief in working smarter, not harder?
1 Go to commentsForget Sotutu. One of those whose top level is Super Rugby. Id take a punt on Wallace Sititi Finau ahead of Glass body Blackadder.
35 Go to commentsI’m a pensioner so I've been around a bit. My opinion of SBW is he is an elite athlete and a great New Zealander and roll model. He has been to the top and knows what he's talking about. To all the negative comments regarding SBW the typical New Zealand way, cut that tall poppy down.
17 Go to commentsI'm not listening to a guy moralise over others when this is the guy who walked out mid season on Canterbury RLFC when he had a contract with them, what a hypocrite. All the Kiwis sticking up for this unprincipled individual because they can't accept justified criticism, he has zero credibility or integrity. Those praising him are a joke.
17 Go to commentsI’d put Finau at 6 instead of Blackadder but that’s the only change I’d make. Can’t wait to see who Razor picks.
35 Go to commentsTamati Williams, Codie Taylor, and Same Cane? Not sure about Hoskins Sotutu at test level. Wasn’t that impressive last season. Need a balance between experience and talent/youth.
35 Go to commentsInteresting insight. Fantastic athlete, and a genuine human being.
17 Go to commentsThey played at night in Suva last weekend and it’s an afternoon game forecast for 19 degrees in Canberra this weekend. Heat change is a non issue.
2 Go to commentsWishing Rosie a speedy recovery
1 Go to commentsObscene that SA haven’t been knocking
1 Go to commentsChances of Blackadder being injured seem too high to give him serious consideration. ABs loosie combination finally looked good with 2 committed to tackling and clearing rucks in the centre and Ardie roaming. Hoskins/Ardie together would force one of them into where they don’t excel and don’t get to use their talent, or require a change in tactics. If we continue to evolve last years systems I would take Papali’i and Finau at 6 and 7 (conceding that Blackadder will be injured) and Ardie at 8.
35 Go to commentsArdie’s preferred position 7? Where do they get these writers from? I've no idea where he's playing in Japan, but the previous two seasons he wore the 7 jersey exactly twice.
18 Go to comments