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England centre can make Rodri-like impact on England insists Alex Mitchell
By PA
England’s returning number 12 Fraser Dingwall can have the impact of Manchester City’s Ballon d’Or winner Rodri when he wins his third international cap against Italy, according to scrum-half Alex Mitchell.
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Dingwall is set to start for the first time since the 2024 Six Nations in Sunday’s game at Allianz Stadium after Marcus Smith and Henry Slade were dropped.
The Northampton centre has been described by coach Steve Borthwick as “the glue” that can hold England’s back line together as they seek a third straight win to put pressure on leaders Ireland, and Saints team-mate Mitchell has tipped him to take the kind of charge that the current world’s best player commands for the Premier League champions.
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“He is like a Rodri at Man City,” said Mitchell. “He doesn’t always get the great goals or the assists or whatever but he is a mainstay in your team and does all the great things. He is similar to that.
“He is a quality player, a lot of the time he goes unnoticed because he does his job so well for the team and makes other players look so good.
“He is like that glue guy – he is fantastic. His talk on the pitch, I have had for years at Northampton, is second to none. He talks you through the game and defensively he is quality. Hopefully we will see some of that.”
The comparison to Rodri is high praise, with the Spain international – who starred in last summer’s Euro 2024 triumph – considered the heartbeat of the City team that has won four league titles in a row as well as the Champions League.
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He was voted the world’s best player in October and his absence this season through injury has been a key factor in City’s slump.
Dingwall, who is typically considered a facilitator rather than an impact player at Northampton, has said he is aiming to make life easier for his team-mates on Sunday rather than seek out glory for himself.
“He is very confident, he has been in the camps since his last time and he is great around the lads,” said Mitchell.
“He doesn’t change too much from Northampton to England. He is a great defensive leader, he is excited and has trained really well all week so he is ready to go.”
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The 25-year-old’s inclusion when the team was named on Wednesday came as something of a surprise.
He made his international debut in a narrow 27-24 win over Italy in Rome last February and kept his place the following week for the win over Wales, in which he scored his only England try to date.
Additionally he was a part of 10 international camps prior to making his debut.
Mitchell was asked whether the team had needed to work to keep Dingwall’s spirits high while he was being repeatedly overlooked.
“Not too much,” he said. “He has got a good head on him, he has captained quite a lot at Northampton so he knows how to deal with himself.
“With selection you chat to them to see if they need anything from you. He is a fantastic human so he knows how to look after himself.”
Good luck to him but this England team aren't setup for players like him to succeed. The way England play they need physical animals in midfield to win the gainline, ruck and make dominant tackles. Suspect this may be yet another midfield combination which will be axed after a handful of matches. England should stop chopping and changing their midfield combinations, after dozens of different centre combinations over the last few years it's time we realised, it's not the players which are the issue! The Lawrence, Freeman combination is the one which seems the best fit for England's style (or lack of) but Borthwick wants Freeman chasing kicks.