Rogers: Eddie can’t keep ignoring Falcons
HIGH-FLYING Newcastle’s soaraway season is making it impossible for England boss Eddie Jones to continually ignore the claims of star forwards Will Welch and Calum Green, according to former Falcons prop Alex Rogers.
Rogers, now with ambitious National One side Old Elthamians, believes the durable duo can feel hard done by at not being recognised already.
Rogers, right, said: “Calum’s been near the top of the Premiership stats for tackling and lineouts for three years, while Will’s captained Newcastle since the age of 20 and is an absolute dog around the rugby field.
“I’ve never known a man disregard his body as much as Will, apart from maybe Lewis Moody, and he deserves recognition now.
“It’s no surprise Newcastle are doing so well with those boys and, along with Mark Wilson, it’s hard for England to ignore them.”
Rogers, a former Harlequins academy graduate, opted to quit full-time rugby when his Newcastle contract finished this summer.
Along with fellow ex-Premiership players Sam Egerton (Newcastle), Joe Carlisle (Worcester) and Nathan Morris (Wasps), he aims to help OEs establish themselves in Level 3 before embarking on another promotion push.
Rogers, explained: “There were options to stay at a higher level but nothing grabbed me, and with my wife being based in London it made sense to kick-start my postrugby career while still playing at a good level. “OEs have had five promotions in eight years and Gavin Lach, our director of rugby, has done a fantastic job in putting together a squad that’s got outside experience mixed with guys who’ve been here for many years.
“It’s been really refreshing – a 360 degree change from full-time rugby – but we get looked after as well as we did at Newcastle, which is real credit to Gavin and all the people behind the scenes at a very progressive club.”
Rogers added: “National One’s a tough 30-game grind but we’re looking forward to seeing what we’re about. We’d love a top-half finish but nobody’s getting carried away – we’re learning as a squad, step by step.”