Probyn: Now Eddie has the chance to right his mistakes
RICHARD Phillips’ letter last week described all front fives in the 90s as cart horses. Obviously, I suggest he takes another look, as while that may well have been the case for some club players, it certainly wasn’t for internationals. One aspect of the game that makes it look as if modern props make more yards than before, is the pop-up from the endless slow rucks where players make a couple of yards before going to the floor. After the obligatory 25-30 phases, this appears in the statistics as a 50 or 60 metre run. Back in the 90s, forwards were expected to return the ball to the backs as quickly as they could at virtually every breakdown, not continually rest by taking little pops. Unfortunately, I can’t compare my tackle count, turnover count, or yards run, as we didn’t have a GPS transmitter in our shirts then. But I can tell him my running times: 30 metre sprint 4.13 seconds, 100 metre 11.4 seconds. I was England’s leading try-scoring prop (until very recently) with three in 37 caps, all from open play, none from the back of a phalanx of forwards driven over the line, (Kyle Sinckler: 35 caps 1 try). As for turnovers, I often worked with the other players to retrieve the ball in rucks and mauls, and at scrums I won balls against the head by striking for it, sadly, a lost art among the modern props. Tackle count for the props were always among the highest, second only to some of the back row and I may have made one or two, add to that we were expected to play the whole game, not just part of it. All this means nothing, because you can’t compare different generations. So, Richard we may have been cart horses in your eyes – but that didn’t stop us from being thoroughbreds.