RUGBY MATTERS
Eddie Jones has some young gems at No.9, if he wants them
LONGEVITY – players who seemingly go on for ever and pile up a 100 or more caps – can occasionally be a mixed blessing for the teams involved, not least in trying to plan for the succession of said player when that moment comes.
An entire generation of contenders miss out on the opportunity to test themselves fully at the elite level and coaches often have to look for the next generation for their successor.
Take Ben Youngs who won his 108th England cap yesterday and is still aged only 31. Since making his debut in March 2010 Youngs has ‘seen off ’ a number of contenders at various times.
Richard Wigglesworth, Ben Foden – who switched to full-back because he saw no future at nine – Joe Simpson, Lee Dickson and more recently Ben Spencer, Dan Robson and Willi Heinz. Some very good English scrum-halves have simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time.
His closest contender throughout that period was Danny Care who is the only nine to unquestionably get the nod over Youngs on occasions although of Care’s 84 caps, 46 came as a replacement. It was Youngs who prevailed in the long run and there is every indication that he has set his sights on RWC2023 and Jones has been a massive supporter of the Leicester man.
All of which makes identifying the long-term successor tricky, you must keep your ears and eyes open and spot the coming man. Luckily for England there is a brilliant young crop suddenly coming through at a rate of knots. Has Eddie Jones clocked them though?
He has certainly ‘clocked’ Harry Randall although he resisted blooding the Bristol man in the autumn and did not involve him in the Six Nations before Randall damaged his ankle in training.
Meanwhile two even younger talents have announced their arrival in no uncertain manner, Raffi Quirke at Sale and Leicester Tigers’ Jack van Poortvliet, both recent graduates of the England U20 team – or the ‘Celtic Academy’ as it is dubbed by some in Wales, Scotland and Ireland.
In a more normal rugby year both would be duking it out for the England starting spot at this year’s Junior World Cup, now lost to Covid for the second year running.
Quirke is a terrific athlete, a triathlon fan who has been described as a ‘younger more northern version of Faf de Klerk’ by his boss Alex Sanderson in terms of his all-action, dynamic style.
He has impressed massively during his few opportunities and is unquestionably one to watch. Memo to Eddie though, with a mum from Ulster, where she was a fine hockey prospect in her day, Ireland will also be tracking Quirke as well despite the fact he has thus far represented England at all the age group levels. As did Nick Tompkins, Jonny Williams, Sam Skinner, Billy Burns, Cam Redpath and Josh Bayliss for that matter!
And then there is Van Poortvliet who has Dutch antecedents – a great great grandfather who emigrated here – but is essentially a man of Norfolk as is the Youngs dynasty.
For me Van Poortvliet looks like a young Dwayne Peel, plenty of gas and sniping breaks, but with an instinctive feel for the game and a nice array of passes as he demonstrated when he crafted a superb try against London Irish.
In the old days both these cracking prospects, in addition to a Junior World Cup, could have been blooded on an England Saxons tour or friendly but alas the Saxons seem to have been disbanded. The last time they played was in South Africa in 2016 when they clocked up a fine 2-0 series win, only for all those involved to be ignored by the senior England outfit.
I would throw one other contender into the mix, this time not an out-and-out youngster although a new name for many and that is Tom James at Saints who in just a few appearances has impressed all comers with his lightning quick service, pace on the break and nose for a try.
James is 27 but is playing his first year of Premiership Rugby after taking the scenic route to bigtime rugby. A product of Sherborne and Loughborough University he spent four years in the Championship playing with Bedford and Doncaster Knights and as some are beginning to appreciate the Championship is a mighty testing ground. Ask Saracens if you still need convincing.
Timing can be everything in sport and although James made a very late start in the Premiership by modern day standards, it could be that he peaks just at the time when Youngs either decides to step down or England call time in his career. The changes in the pecking order between now and then will be fascinating to watch.