“Selection subplots in the Six Nations”
YES, IT’S that time of year when everyone has an opinion on who should be in the national team. And with the 2023 World Cup edging ever closer, there is even more significance to selections during this year’s Six Nations.
Form or reputation? It’s one of the age-old selection debates. Many criticised Eddie Jones for his decision to stick with a crew of underperforming Saracens last season, the England coach since admitting that he got that wrong. Still, in this year’s initial squad he opted for Owen Farrell, who has hardly played this season but who Jones hails for his leadership, but omitted one of the Premiership’s form players in George Ford.
The continued selection of 36-year-old Johnny Sexton at fly-half for Ireland is another that provokes differing views, but Andy Farrell has put the onus on the other tens in the mix to “knock him off his perch”. He’s not going to hand over the keys to the team, he wants players to give him no option but to pick them.
That leads into a more nuanced debate over picking on form. Do you simply select those players who are performing the best or do you focus on building a cohesive team? Some would argue you can do both, but it’s hard to develop continuity and combinations if the team line-up is constantly changing because someone’s had a blinder.
Equally, if there are players a coach believes could be integral to their team at France 2023, they need game time to get accustomed to playing at Test level and with a new set of team-mates. All the squads contain uncapped players, but how many will we see make their debuts over the coming weeks? If they aren’t given an opportunity now, chances become limited pre-World Cup.
Which coach do you think gets it right the most? What are your key selection criteria? Let us know via details below.