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The Wasps message for England about 'ultimate team guy' Robson
By
Liam Heagney
Lee Blackett reckons it would be great to see Dan Robson back in an England shirt following his impressive form in recent weeks for Wasps. The 30-year-old won the last of his 14 Test caps in July 2021 versus Canada at Twickenham and while he was chosen in a 45-man training camp last September he hasn’t been involved since then.
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The scrum-half was omitted from the 34-strong squad named in mid-October for the Autumn Nations Series and he was soon ruled out from winter action with Wasps as a tear to his groin sustained against Bath meant it was twelve weeks until he played again in late January.
However, he has since made up for lost time, starting in eleven of his twelve recent appearances, scoring three tries and that excellent drop goal at Gloucester earlier this month.
With Sale’s Raffi Quirke now ruled out until next season through injury, England have a vacancy for a third scrum-half for the upcoming tour to Australia where Harry Randall and Ben Youngs are expected to be the other two chosen No9s. That possibility should give Robson an added incentive to impressively close out his season at Wasps.
“From how he trains and how he is and knowing him pretty well, he will still have ambitions to play international rugby,” said Wasps boss Blackett when asked by RugbyPass about the England recall hopes that Robson surely has. “We wouldn’t want any player not to have those ambitions. We want guys playing international rugby and it would be great to see Dan in a white shirt again.
“Especially the last couple of weeks he is back to his best. Will Porter in behind has been pushing him really hard and they have got great competition in there. That competition has really pushed Dan to new levels and he is definitely in his season’s best form at the moment.
“He is a big leader for us. When Dan plays well the team plays well. A lot comes through him, especially when you have got those two younger guys at the back (Jacob Umaga and Charlie Atkinson). When I look at Charlie over the last four months, Dan has been brilliant for him, the way those two have managed the game and built a relationship.
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“Then we have got Will Porter, who is doing a great job. Dan is the ultimate team guy, he is not someone who hides information. He passes it on and he is always wanting the guys in and around, even if they are in the same position, to improve.”
