PAUL GRAYSON
T he f ormer Nor thampton and England f ly-half who scored 4 00 Test point s
RESULTS IN the Autumn Nations Cup won’t affect seedings for the 2023 World Cup. So this month is an opportunity for coaches to move their cycle on a bit quicker and introduce some players who, if it was a Six Nations or if New Zealand were in town with world rankings involved, you might not take the gamble on. It’s a chance to be progressive.
England can’t ignore Exeter anymore. The way they operate is good enough to beat the best in Europe. Their work in the red zone, their ability to score tries, is something England can learn off and use to bolster their pack.
Jonny Hill is a standout and if he plays like he did in the European Cup final, you would hope he won’t be far away from pulling on the white shirt. Williams, Cowan-Dickie and Hepburn looked fantastic: dynamic, aggressive in their chop tackles, coped with the French set-piece in the final. So you’d expect them (to feature). Mako Vunipola is long in the tooth and Jamie George will be feeling the heat from Cowan-Dickie, who’s like a bouncing cannonball.
Sam Simmonds has played for England briefly and you would also expect Joe Simmonds to be part of the conversation at fly-half. These boys have announced themselves as European champions. There’s no reason to ignore them.
At lock, Maro Itoje is as influential as Martin Johnson. He’s gone through a maturing process. Before, he was almost belligerent in his belief that what he was doing was right, and he got penalised a lot. Now he’s more likely to be dragging somebody out of a fight or stepping forward to stop people getting stuck into Kyle Sinckler. He still delivers important physical interventions but they’re game based, it’s not pushing and shoving. That ability to be aware of somebody else’s emotional temperature – an X-factor that Johnno had – is what sets him apart.
Talking of X-factor, Jack Willis has to be the next cab off the rank. I don’t know if he spent any time around George Smith but he’s got something extra. He’s been sensational, operating at international level in a club jersey. It’d be interesting to see him in England’s pack this month.
Ireland are in England’s pool and my perception is it’s time for a changing of the guard. Johnny Sexton is 35 and I can’t see him being Ireland’s fly-half for France 2023. You want someone who’s played, say, 15 Internationals at fly-half before you enter a tournament. And with a couple of Six Nations under their belt.
So if Ross Byrne is the guy they think can go past Sexton… you might not stick him in the first two games but you’d definitely play him against Georgia. Whether that’s enough I don’t know.
Callum Sheedy might get a go at ten for Wales this month but I’d always plump for Dan Biggar. He’s still very fit and driven and capable of making the next World Cup without much trouble. I like the look of Ioan Lloyd in the Wales squad, and Louis Rees-Zammit looks outlandishly quick. He’s worth a gamble because he can play football as well, he’s not just quick in a straight line.
Finn Russell is back in the Scotland squad and it’s a tricky one for Gregor Townsend, because players don’t walk out of camp very often, do they? You’ve got to believe them when they say they’ve sorted out their differences but there’s certainly a power dynamic that Townsend has to play. Adam Hastings has done particularly well but would the team be improved with Russell playing his best? Yes, probably. A happy Finn Russell and a fed-up Finn Russell are entirely different things but I’d pick him.
I’m so glad that Fiji and Georgia are getting exposure in this competition. There are so many Fijians who add so much around the world and I don’t think the country gets a fair crack of the whip.
And Georgia will certainly leave their mark up front. It gives them a chance to move the dial in terms of what the international scene should look like.