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Lawes picks 'extremely big' 118kg star as his ideal England No6 heir
By Josh Raisey
One of the toughest jobs Steve Borthwick has had after the World Cup has been deciding who will replace Courtney Lawes as England’s long-term blindside flanker.
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It is not the lack of options that proves problematic for the head coach, rather the abundance of options, with each bringing different styles and qualities to the table. Added to the fact that their job is to replace one of the greatest players to ever pull on an England jersey, Borthwick has an unenviable task on his hands making sure he has picked the ideal player.
But there is no one better to suggest who should replace Lawes at blindside flanker after his international retirement last year than the 105-cap England international himself. Fortunately for Borthwick, that is exactly what the Northampton Saints star did recently on The Rugby Pod, where he tipped Leicester Tigers star George Martin to be his long-term successor.
The 22-year-old Martin has primarily been used as a lock by Borthwick and Eddie Jones across his nine England caps, but is equally adept at slotting into the No6 jersey- just as Lawes was for England. His extreme physicality, workrate and lineout expertise were the three qualities Lawes pinpointed in Martin’s game- not at all dissimilar to the Saints star.
Martin has missed the opening two rounds of the Guinness Six Nations with a knee injury, but is back in the squad that will prepare to face Scotland in round three. His last outing in white came in the World Cup semi-final loss to South Africa, where he put in a monstrously physical performance in the second row. It was a display where Martin outlined his credentials to be a starter for England for many years to come, regardless of what position.
Exeter Chiefs’ Ethan Roots has been granted the No6 jersey for the opening two rounds of the Championship, and has done a very good job in staking a claim to keep hold of it. But that competition will only increase now with Martin’s return, Lawes believes.
“We’ve got a lot to work out in the back row I think in our balance,” the five-cap British & Irish Lion said.
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“Because Unders [Sam Underhill] and Benny Earl are relatively similar players. But that six spot is going to be an important position, what kind of player they go with. Because we’ve got a lot of really well-rounded back row players in England.
“Like Tom Curry, who can do anything, Ben Curry, who can do anything, Ben Earl, who can do anything, and the same for Unders. We’ve also got Tom Pearson who’s not had a look in but he’s been absolutely class for us. Plus [Ethan] Roots is coming through, Chandler [Cunningham-South], so we’ve got an awful lot of back row. It’s now just about finding the right balance for it.
“It’s tough, because you definitely need nowadays a jumping six, or at least a jumping back row, otherwise you’re just leaving yourself so exposed at the lineout.
“So I think George Martin may play six eventually. I think, personally, he might be the next big six- a workhouse, bangs, physical, maybe not quite as athletic as the other back row, but he can do a really good workhouse and lineout job.
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“An extremely big physical bloke.”
too big, too slow to be a flanker, Martin looks to be a lock to me…
Cunny-South and Fisilau are the next taxis off the backrow rack, far quicker than Martin and both heavy tackling and carrying potential 6/8s. Martin should be replacing Itoje who is too small and his form has been patchy, We need rapid, powerful, good decision making ball handlers in the backrow and tbh across the team.
And herein lies our problem….brawn over athleticism and decision making. I accept that any modern number 6 will be an additional line out option but let us not forget the importance of a selecting a rugby player with the game understanding to stick or twist at the breakdown, to support the ball carrier on an inside line with the expectation of an off load (re Alex Mann) or one that has the dexterity to offload himself instead of pumping the legs to gain the additional metre in preparation for the inevitable slow England ruck. Roots is combative and aggressive but he is not a footballer in the truest sense of the word. Lets find someone who leaves the opposition in doubt as to what he will do with ball in hand.
is anyone who watches Leicester Tigers more often than I do able to explain why Martin is so rarely picked at tighthead lock?
from what I’ve seen of him he looks like a Martin Johnson style of player. Not quite as big as Meafou or Skelton, but still generally dominant in the maul and the close range carry, and better than most locks at stabilising the scrum. Despite this, he’s played most of his rugby at 6, and even though he’s been moved into the second row more recently, he’s almost exclusively been put at loosehead. Strikes me as odd!
If I was selecting the team I’d probably use him as an impact player off the bench for the time being, but in the longer term I’d be really excited by the idea of him, Itoje, and Chessum all starting together, probably with Martin at 5 and Itoje at 6.