As the game becomes faster and more attacking, some feel old-school flankers are becoming obsolete. But the masters of the turnover will always have their placeThere is a view that as the game becomes faster and more attacking, flankers like Sam Warburton are becoming obsolescent. Someone should tell Thierry Dusautoir after the former France captain last Saturday gave a vintage display at the breakdown to frustrate Wasps at the Ricoh Arena, at least for the first hour. Related: Eddie Jones: ‘I want England to be the best. You should never be satisfied’ Continue reading...
The Wales openside is set to relinquish the captaincy to Alun Wyn Jones and is under increasing pressure to justify his place in the side for the Six Nations. But a perception that his powers have diminished is not necessarily fairThe announcement of Wales’s Six Nations squad on Tuesday has been overshadowed by speculation that Sam Warburton, who has led the side since 2011, would be relinquishing the position before it was snatched away. The armband is set to be given to the second row Alun Wyn Jones, a 31-year old warrior whose relish for battle is undimmed by time.The captaincy issue sums up the transitional period Wales are going through. It is more to do with style than personnel...
England and Ireland dominate and there is room for plenty of All Blacks while Stuart Hogg and Justin Tipuric fly the flag for Scotland and WalesFull-back Stuart Hogg (Scotland)The lovely individual try Hogg scored against Georgia in Kilmarnock earns him this award, a 70-metre solo effort which required a neat chip and regather in addition to pace and vision. Rob Kearney and Mike Brown both have their warrior qualities and Ben Smith enjoyed a great Rugby Championship but Hogg is in pole position to be the Lions Test full-back in New Zealand. Related: Autumn internationals 2016 verdict: Guardian writers' highs and lows Related: Magic moment from Mako Vunipola set England’s unstoppable train in motion | Andy Bull Continue reading...
Ireland’s latest bruising win shows they are the real deal, England’s set-piece strength will be key against Australia, and New Zealand are human after allWhen Ireland beat New Zealand on 5 November, and the All Blacks returned the favour two weeks later in Dublin, there was a sense that the two best teams in the world were slugging it out. But in that second game, Ireland were not just beaten, but beaten up, left bruised and bloodied by the brutal All Blacks. They were forced into three early changes, with Johnny Sexton and Robbie Henshaw ruled out of the clash with Australia. Simon Zebo had a knock, and CJ Stander overcame a head injury. On matchday morn, Sean O’Brien joined...
Elliot Daly in the spotlight for England, Ireland face a test of their consistency from the Wallabies and can Italy capitalise on Springboks upset?On one hand, Eddie Jones’s decision to stick with Elliot Daly on the wing again makes sense – he was excellent against Fiji, singled out for praise by the head coach, has the necessary pace and is willing to go looking for the ball. On the other, Semesa Rokoduguni’s omission seems harsh: before last Saturday Daly had not started on the wing since March 2013 and you cannot help but wonder how his overlooked Wasps club-mate Christian Wade might feel. But Daly’s versatility is clearly valued by Jones and giving him more game time there feels like...