Is Odogwu the real deal? Or is it just a ruse to rob Italy of him?
Only another week to go until we will at last have what we hope will be some proper rugby. As much as the continuation of the Premiership has been good for keeping the profile of the game out in the public eye, the truth is the games have no meaning.
As soon as the restarted Premiership allowed points split for coronavirus cancellation they opened a can of worms that has forced the end of relegation and meaningful competition. With all clubs eyeing a potential legal recourse if they are the ones facing the drop, it leaves the PRL with no alternative but to bring on the freeze.
As a result of the end of relegation, many clubs are fielding weaker teams for certain matches in preparation for what are perceived as harder or more prestigious games in the following weeks.
Even in those matches, much of the competition in the various phases of the game have transformed into a kind of basketball.
The recent Bath v Wasps match had virtually a hundred points scored in a roughly even split. Yes, it was fun to watch for those who don’t understand the complexities of the game and just want to see tries, but it should actually be seen as a failure by both clubs’ defensive coaching teams.
Such big scores were usually the reserve of games against lower level teams in cup competitions of the past. Not something that should ever be seen in a professional league match.
Another unfortunate consequence of such a worthless competition is the increasing difficulty for Eddie Jones to identify real talents for the national side.
Jones has been criticised for picking a number of players in various squads over the years only to drop them after one or just a few games.
Even so, the fact that he has had to restrict the size of his squad to just 28 is ridiculous given that he also has a ‘shadow’ squad making up the numbers for training etc.
With the players now only selected from the limited showcase of Premiership shareholders, it has made it more difficult to sort the wheat from the chaff.
Playing at a club where you might be lining up with a number of international players from different countries can make you look better than you are, just as playing with poorer players can make you look worse.
Those young players at clubs with many internationals will always have a better chance of squad selection than those at the other end of the spectrum, although they may be no more talented.
That’s why the old County style system worked and still does for countries like New Zealand, Australia,
“Some players will be given a cap to stop them from being able to play for another country”
South Africa and Ireland who still use it. This is because it takes players out of their club comfort zone and challenges them to repeat their performances with a different group of players to show they deserve to be picked.
Jones has the job of sorting those players and so picks many as his shadow squad to see how they cope at training sessions when competing against established players, some will get capped even though they’re not really up to it.
Although it may be difficult to believe in these professional times, international rugby is a far harder game than any other rugby you will ever play.
It is not just the physical side of the game that requires total focus, the mental challenge is probably greater with your emotional compass swinging through the spectrum of highs and lows at various points of the game which you need to control. But not all players can achieve this.
It’s easy when things are going well, but when they go wrong you need a mental toughness that not all share and it only reveals itself at international level.
The old OCW (one cap wonder) tag is something no player ever wants to have, even though we all prayed for that one chance to show what we could do, in the hope that the one chance would be the start of a long international career.
However, it is a fact that some players will be given a cap just to stop them from being able to play for another country, thus putting an end to their dreams of international rugby.
World Rugby rules stop players playing for more than one country at senior age level. So, if you play for any other country’s national side, you are no longer eligible for anyone else, even your own country of birth.
Many of the Pacific Island players plying their trade around the world have used their residency qualifications to be picked for their employer’s nation, only to be rejected soon after selection.
Bristol No.8 Nathan Hughes is a perfect example; he has given up playing for his own country, Fiji, in a World Cup for the chance of more money as an England player.
From the club perspective, it can be a good thing that enables them to keep some of their star players during the international window, thereby adding strength to their match day team.
For the player, it’s a double-edged sword – increasing their club salary, even if just for one cap, while stopping their international ambitions and not representing their place of birth as an international.
Meanwhile, we will all wait to see if Wasps centre Paolo Odogwu’s selection for England is the real deal or just another blow to Italian chances of building a competitive team.