Rugby World Cup Stock Check: 206 days to go

The first pause in the Six Nations meant our focus was shifted back to domestic rugby at the weekend, and with most first team international players retained in camp, it was a chance for the guys on the fringes to stake a claim for a place in the squad as we creep ever closer towards Rugby World Cup 2015.

GOING UP

Jack Nowell
Exeter Chiefs, England
Nowell remained with the England squad last week, only to be released at the last moment to get some game time with Exeter. It meant he joined the Chiefs squad in time for only the captain’s run before their game with Quins; hardly ideal preparation. That he slotted back in so seamlessly – again at 13, a position where he can use his attacking talents more often – will have impressed Lancaster, who may well ask him to similarly re-enter the England team this week. He looks eminently comfortable at 13, too, and the versatility he provides – covering wing and fullback also – is a precious commodity when you can only name three backs on your bench.

Luke Fitzgerald
Leinster, Ireland
Leinster’s lacklustre win over lowly Zebre might not have been confirmed until late in the second half, but what was never in doubt was the quality of Luke Fitzgerald’s game as the utility back appears to be returning to the kind of form that made him such a sensation pre-injury troubles. One searing break set up a try for Dominic Ryan and he was on hand to finish calmly in the corner a bit later on, finishing the day with 11 defenders beaten. Again, Fitzgerald’s versatility is a useful option for Joe Schmidt and Ireland, and although they have plenty of options in the back three, more performances like this could see him recalled sooner rather than later.

Peter Horne
Glasgow Warriors, Scotland
Horne didn’t do anything particularly flash in the Glasgow number ten shirt against the Ospreys, but with a real battle on the cards for Finn Russell’s vacant shirt in the Scotland team, the way he controlled the game and kicked his goals in unpleasant conditions will not have escaped Vern Cotter’s attention. It was his place kicking which made the difference in the end, as he missed just one to opposite number Sam Davies’ three, to give Glasgow a three point win. Greig Tonks was retained by Scotland over the weekend, which would suggest he is in pole position to start against Italy, but in Horne they have a more than capable alternative option.

Hamish Watson
Edinburgh, Scotland
The Scottish back-row is far from settled at the moment and at the weekend, Watson proved why his meteoric rise to the international squad this season has been well-deserved. Although it was generally a pretty dire performance from Edinburgh in failing to win against a 14-man Ulster side, Watson completed a gargantuan 24 tackles without missing a single one – double anyone else’s tally on the pitch. He is still young and if he continues to develop, he could be a very handy option for Cotter in future.

Danny Cipriani
Sale Sharks, England
Cipriani capped a week in which he committed himself to Sale, and consequently the fight for an England place for the World Cup, with another sterling performance in which he bossed a game his side weren’t necessarily expected to win. If his audacious offload to Sam Tuitupou for the centre’s game-changing try was the moment of the match, then his game management, which has been so markedly improved this year, was instrumental in the win. Owen Farrell will be favourite to return to the matchday squad when he is fit again, but with the way Cipriani is playing at the moment, dropping him would be very harsh.

GOING DOWN

Semesa Rokoduguni
Bath Rugby, England
The autumn seems an awfully long time ago for Rokoduguni. Back in November, after an astonishing start to the season which had seen the winger tear apart defences at will to score several tries, he was being lauded as England’s answer on the wing. One indifferent performance and an injury later, and his form has dropped alarmingly off the radar. Against Northampton he had an almost clear run to the line, yet was caught by an admittedly brilliant cover tackle from the much smaller Jamie Elliot. A man of his previous potency should have scored that with some ease. He seemed a bit sluggish to get off the mark, and it is such a shame because we have all seen how good he can be. Bath and England will both hope for improvements, and soon.

Geoff Cross
London Irish, Scotland
London Irish’s scrum has been terrible this season, and on Sunday against the Tigers it was again an embarrassment. At one point Cross was physically lifted off the ground and tossed around by a rampant Marcos Ayerza, winning yet another penalty for Leicester. It was, frankly, difficult to watch, and almost impossible to think that Cross is the second best tighthead available to Scotland. Sure, the Irish scrum as a whole has to take some flak, but the way Cross was bullied at the set piece did not suggest he should be playing in the international arena – especially as the scrum did seem to shore up a bit after he was taken off. The front row is not a position of strength for Scotland, which will likely be his saving grace.

By Jamie Hosie
Follow Jamie on Twitter: @jhosie43

Photo by: Patrick Khachfe / Onside Images