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'The size of the guys – if your technique is poor, you get found out'

Harry Randall of England looks on during the International match between England and Barbarians at Twickenham Stadium on June 19, 2022 in London, England. (Photo by Chris Lee - RFU/The RFU Collection via Getty Images)

Charlie John Ewels doesn’t hide the fact that he harbours hopes of making the England World Cup squad.

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However, he also knows there is a long, hard slog ahead to get into the kind of shape that will put him in the selection frame.

The 31-times capped international has taken a very unconventional route of going ‘on loan’ to the Bulls in Pretoria to get some much-needed game time.

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Ewels underwent surgery after he damaged his anterior cruciate ligament in a training ground mishap while on tour with England in Australia last year – preparing for their first Test against the Wallabies in June.

With the English Premiership season coming to a close, playing opportunities were extremely limited and he started looking around.

He said that his ‘unique’ circumstances required him to go out on loan and he spoke to several clubs.

“The big reason [I decided on coming to Pretoria] is that [Bulls Director Rugby] Jake White’s son [Wesley White] plays at Bath,” Ewels said. “It was quite an easy way to get hold of Jake and it happened very quickly,” he said, adding that he is ‘loving’ it at Loftus Versfeld.

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He said getting back into the England frame is on his wish list.

“It would be lying if I say that was not a dream of mine,” he said about his desire to be in the frame for England’s World Cup squad.

“I have spoken to Steve Borthwick a little bit,” he told @rugby365com, adding that the conversations were not around selection issues.

“It has been around my game,” the 27-year-old second row forward said.

Having been sidelined for the better part of nine months, he has played only about 120 minutes of rugby since his arrival in Pretoria.

“There is a 100 different things I want to work on. We [Borthwick and I] have been speaking a little bit around my game – around my carrying, my tackles, the little bits and pieces of my game and trying to move those things forward.”

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Ewels said he was not putting pressure on himself to reach specific goals and deadlines.

“I have come back into the game at a level,” the lock – known for his line-out and defensive skills – said Ewels. “I just want to see myself improving each week and so far that has been happening.

“That is as far as I can control things.”

He said the goal of his rehabilitation process while in South Africa is that he wants to push beyond the level he was at before the injury.

“I feel like I am, physically, a better athlete than I was before I got injured,” he told @rugby365com. “Now it is about getting the rugby back, pushing that to the best rugby I ever played.

“How long that will take I don’t know.

“What I can control is making sure each week it is better than it was the week before.”

He said the brutally physical nature of the Currie Cup will benefit him in all aspects of the contact area.

“The athletes in this [Currie Cup] competition, the size of the guys – if your technique is poor, you get found out straight away.

“Your height in the carry, your height at the breakdown, and your technique around the tackle are the things I am learning most about my game.

“That is what this competition is giving me and that is perfect.

“The nine months that I have not been able to play, then I get thrown in at the deep end in this competition and I have to learn very quickly.”

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f
fl 3 hours ago
The Fergus Burke test and rugby's free market

"Do you think Ntamack now is a better player than he was at 21?"


That's hard to say, but he certainly hasn't got much better. At 20 he was the top scorer in the six nations, and hasn't been since. At 20 he scored 3 tries in the six nations, and hasn't scored that many since. At 20 he was nominated for 6 nations player of the tournament, and hasn't been since. At 22 he was selected at 10 in the offical 6 nations team of the tournament, and hasn't been since. About a year or two ago a load of people started saying he was the best 10 in the world, which they hadn't previously, but my perception was that this was less because he had gotten better, and more that in 2020 his world class performances could be written off as flukes whereas by 2023 they were clearly representative of his genuine talent.


"Isn't that what your asking for from Marcus?"


Is what what I'm asking for from Marcus?


This thread began with me trying to explain that there is no reason to think that Marcus Smith will improve going forwards. Do you agree or disagree with that point?


"that the team wants/needs an older version of Dan Carter? Or are you just basing this of win ratio."


What? I literally argued that Dan Carter was at least as good when he was young as he was when he was older. And no, I'm not basing this off win ratio; I just think that England's low win ratio is partly a result of Marcus Smith being much worse than people realise.


"Of course some don't continue to develop past the age of 20. You're not really making any sort of argument unless you have new data. 26/27 is undoubtedly the peak of most positions/peole."


That is literally the argument I am making though. The fact that you agree with me doesn't invalidate my point. People in this thread were arguing that Marcus Smith would continue to improve going forwards; I argued that he might not, and that even if he does he is already not far from his peak. He will literally be 26 next month, so if you are right that 26/27 is undoubtedly the peak of most "peole", he's only got 5 more weeks of development in him!


"Hahaha, define "good"? I'd suggest to you theyre a "good" side now"


I think finishing 3rd at the world cup is good. I think beating Ireland is good. I think losing 5 consecutive matches isn't good. I define good in terms of winning games, and I think that the world rankings are a pretty good metric for quantifying whether consequential games have been won in a team's recent history. How are you defining "good"?


"Surely Ford or Farrell must have had a period of great success somewhere? What about 2015?"


I honestly don't know what you're talking about, or how it bears any relation to this conversation. Farrell probably peaked sometime around 2016 or 2017, Ford probably peaked a couple of years later, but Ford is still a better player now than Marcus Smith is.


"But my point was more the game in England. Having only recently adapted a more open game, the pioneers of that are going to find others take a while to catch up (your point about the rest of the team)."


England adapted pretty quickly to an open game in the six nations last year, and have got worse since then. If England play in the attacking style of play that is common in the premiership the players will pick it up quickly, as they are well used to it.


"So you want the rest of the team trying to halt this momentum and go back to a forward based game ala the success of the last two WCs?"


Seriously, what are you talking about? I don't want "the rest of the team trying to half this momentum", I want the rest of the team to be allowed to play the attacking rugby that comes naturally to them. You seem to have decided that because Marcus Smith has pioneered a style of rugby that works for a mid-table premiership side, the entire England national team should be forced to play it, even if it takes them years to learn it, and lose almost all their matches in the process?

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