...but Greenwood wants more pace at outside-centre
WILL Greenwood has urged England boss Eddie Jones to think hard before handing Henry Slade the keys to the Red Rose No.13 jersey ahead of Jonathan Joseph or Elliot Daly.
Midfield star Greenwood is a fan of Exeter playmaker Slade and his positional versatility. However, he fears the Red Rose attack could be blunted by the absence of an outsidecentre with the ability to arc away and break at pace.
Jones has made clear his admiration for Slade’s progress in Exeter’s No.13 shirt, but Greenwood said: “Slade’s come back with a nice bit of physicality this season, which has put him in the mix for that outsidecentre position.
“He got a bit loose and Eddie likes players who go away and fix things, but Henry’s originally a flyhalf/No.12 and while at club level you can get away with playing 13, I wouldn’t want to go into a Test match where my 13 hasn’t got an outside break.
“Henry’s got lovely feet and when he’s got the ball in two hands he’s good, but the ‘in-out and away’ that Daly and Joseph have just isn’t there.
“When you consider George Ford and Owen Farrell aren’t flyers either, if you’re picking them at 10 and 12, you don’t want to lose the balance of it.
“While I think Slade will be in and around the England squad for a long time because he offers versatility, I tend to be a supporter of Joseph.”
Greenwood, who now days puts his analytical skills into practise as backs coach at South West Premier outfit Maidenhead, insists Jones must not allow Joseph’s unconvincing form for Bath to cloud his judgment of a big game player.
World Cup winner Greenwood said: “You want these blokes to be perfect all the time – man-of-the-match every week like Maro Itoje – but there are some lads who can get up for big games and look indifferent at other times.
“Some people are not quite ready for 22 league games and Champions Cup week-in, week-out and that is seen as a weakness, but it’s a manager’s job to work out who’s ready for the Tests and I reckon Joseph is one of those blokes.
“Guys like Joseph and Daly create half holes for people inside to dart through because defenders drift to cover their breaks, and even at Maidenhead I don’t want to go into a game without a 13 who’s a proper 100-metre runner.”
Maidenhead have made an excellent start in level 5 after winning promotion last season.
Proud coach Greenwood said: “I’ve been here a couple of years and there’s a great club spirit, with a good junior section. We’ve got a very good head coach in Russ Bolton and we’re 22 games unbeaten at home.
“Last week we turned over promotion favourites Exmouth, so we’ve got a motivated bunch of guys who are really having a dig. I haven’t really considered coaching at a higher level yet but I love doing the Tuesday and Thursday nights.”