Comments on: Monye: Christian Wade is the best finisher in Europe

By: Jacob

Jacob — Fri, 19 Jun 2015 13:24:54 +0000

Personally I wouldn’t pick Goode; I’d have Yarde if Foden isn’t fit.

I would much prefer to see Watson at FB than Goode so I see no reason to pick him.

In terms of third 10, I’d pick Farrell, Ford and Cips so if I was picking the squad it wouldn’t be needed.

However, I’m not, and I fully expect to see Goode in there!

By: Dazza

Dazza — Fri, 19 Jun 2015 12:42:47 +0000

Not sure Foden is going to be fit, and the way that Goode finished the season, I think SL would pick him over Foden anyway. Don’t forget that Goode can cover 10 (although not likely he’ll need to), and Nowell and Watson can both cover 15.

By: Jacob

Jacob — Fri, 19 Jun 2015 11:18:28 +0000

I do agree that players should be picked based on their strengths, not their weaknesses – that however comes with the caveat that should at least be able to do all the basics right.

Wade’s defensive positioning, kicking, and ability under the high ball are all substandard for an international winger. If I was an attack coach playing against England with him in the side my job would be made easy.

I also really get annoying with the Shane Williams/Jason Robinson comparisons. Both of those players had unbelievably good rugby brains, kicking games etc. Wade has their feet but not their their rugby brain or defensive instincts.

For the WC, Watson, Nowell and Ashton would probably be my choices. Assuming we take 5 back 3 players I’d also have Brown and Foden as options too.

By: Blub

Blub — Fri, 19 Jun 2015 10:30:46 +0000

EC, agreeing with Dazza above that it is not his tackling that is at fault, but his positioning and his attention in defence. From the bits I have seen of him, he seems quite committed to the tackle, just finds himself in some awkward positions, which is very risky at the top level.

Everyone makes mistakes of course, but his butchered try in the Baabaas game points to a lack of concentration even when he isn’t defending.

If he can get rid of these incidents, we can still see him dazzle for England,

By: egg chaser

egg chaser — Fri, 19 Jun 2015 10:21:08 +0000

Yes it is good to focus on strengths rather than weaknesses… But the media has made such a fuss about Wade’s defence that everyone and their mum’s know about it (though any team analysis worth its salt would pick on this anyway). Hm, so England have a winger who is defensively lacking? Roll up, roll up Mr North, Mr Savea et. al. It’s inexcusable that a professional player can’t tackle, let alone a perspective international one. This isn’t a size issue at all. Shane Williams is noted, but he was also a gutsy sod who didn’t back off of his defensive duties when he wasn’t dancing circles around people.

By: Dazza

Dazza — Fri, 19 Jun 2015 10:14:38 +0000

Unfortunately Wade has not learnt to defend any better, despite that being the main requisite for him getting into the squad. He can tackle just fine, even guys much bigger than himself. He just gets himself well out of position at times, and is often found to have gone missing when someone scores where he should be defending. On the international stage this will show up big time.

It’s something that needs to be sorted out at club level first, and maybe a better defence coach working with him at Wasps would help. Wasps are not the best defensive team in the league, (90 more points conceded than the next team above them in the table!) and maybe that’s part of the problem.

Yarde is a player who has shown glimpses of excellence going forward, but has been playing in a team struggling for form all season. After moving from LI everyone was expecting him to push on in a better team, but Quins have been poor, and this has not helped his chances of a starting wing spot for England.

For me Nowell and either Watson or Ashton are our best wing options at the moment. Nowell is a strong direct runner very comfortable under the high ball, and can also cover the 13 channel, allowing him and Joseph to swap for set plays. Ashton has improved his defence and his kicking game a lot this season. He is still the best ball tracker we have, and still one of the best finishers. Watson is equally at home on the wing or at FB, and I would be quite happy with them as the back three with Brown on the bench.

By: JK

JK — Fri, 19 Jun 2015 09:50:26 +0000

Has Yarde had a really good season? He’s had his moments but I was hoping he’d have done more and cemented an England wing spot. Then again I expected Quins to do much better than they did.