Comments on: Simpson-Daniel would ‘say no to England’ if they called

By: Hedley

Hedley — Fri, 27 Sep 2013 22:11:53 +0000

You’re comparing genius with worthy plodders like Cueto. No one else can do what Sinbad does. Even a Bath player Stuart Barnes said that he was too good to play for Johnson’s dreary England

By: Liam

Liam — Fri, 27 Sep 2013 10:49:31 +0000

I always thought he was a pretty decent player, and I wouldn’t have been aggrieved had he been included in some of the England squads in the past. Unfortunately though, when you look at some of the wingers who were also playing for England in JSD heyday – Sackey, Robinson, Cueto, Monye and Strettle under Brian Ashton it is fair to say that he lost out to some pretty good talent for what was around at the time. Basically, whilst his selection could have gone either way, unfortunately it just always went the WRONG way for him.

He should have got in under Johnson for sure, (arguably in place of Cueto who was on a bit of a try famine) but it just didn’t happen. It’s a definite shame, but nothing more.

By: Staggy

Staggy — Fri, 27 Sep 2013 09:54:25 +0000

Seems only yesterday that the shout from the Shed to the exciting young lad on the wing was “Come on James Double Barrelled Son”.

He definitely deserved more caps, but have to say that his injuries always came at completely the wrong moment, when squads were being announced, just when he’d had a good game, etc, etc, so even as an ardent JSD supporter, I look at this and say it wasn’t all the management’s fault.

However on the plus side, that means more game time for Glos – brilliant.

By: Matt

Matt — Thu, 26 Sep 2013 17:03:04 +0000

Agree Ashton was on great form under Johnson (he wasn’t capped until almost halfway through the Johnson reign though).

Cueto is a decent player, but he did go 25 games only scoring a single try under Johnson (before his 3 against Romania) I can’t say this is locking the position down. Cutting him from the RWC ’11 squad was a poor decision (he’s a great option for a 23 shirt as a min)

Agree his time had passed given Lancaster’s policy on 2015 availability. It’s a bit like Nick Easter in that he still compares favourably with the guys that have been selected instead.

By: xxxwookie

xxxwookie — Thu, 26 Sep 2013 16:58:47 +0000

Actually, Strettle and Monye got their caps under Brian Ashton, Ashton and Foden were well picked undeer Johnson, Sharples’ first cap came under Johnson before the world cup and Mike Brown played against South Africa in 2008 (though I’m sure he’d rather pretend he wasn’t in that game).

JSD has had some bad fortune. His injuries are high on the agenda there, but it is unavoidable to say that he’s had some poor form (unsurprisingly) to go with it. His selections for England often came off the back of injuries and he never really shone and it’s been a shame, but I wouldn’t blame any of the England coaches that didn’t pick him. When you’ve got a few tried and tested wingers and the amazing JSD comes in and has a go and doesn’t gel quickly, you risk losing games by having that uncertainty. The other thing we don’t see is how players are in training. If they don’t fit the coach’s game plan and they can’t follow it, there are people that can

By: Jacob

Jacob — Thu, 26 Sep 2013 16:15:13 +0000

I’m not sure about the Johnson era – it was always Ashton and Cueto under Johnson and they were both very good players. Ashton then couldn’t stop scoring and I really like Cueto as a player. A lot of the players you mention are during the SL era, and he has made it clear that players won’t be picked if they aren’t available in 2015 which JSD won’t be.

It is probably 2004-2009 that were the times when JSD was most likely to be given a shot – it is weird that he hadn’t been as he is a clear try scorer.

By: Matt

Matt — Thu, 26 Sep 2013 16:06:28 +0000

He scored 2 tries in his last 2 tests and hasn’t been capped in 6 years since. To not get a look in under the Johnson era was a really poor decision. Although I can understand Lancaster looking for guys that are still likely to be available for 2015, you can make a good argument for JSD being selected ahead of a lot of the likes of Strettle, Monye, Ashton (on form), Sharples, Foden & Brown (as wingers). Especially with there being a try drought in those positions at the time.

It’s a shame that we will never know if he could have made it as a top class international.

By: Jacob

Jacob — Thu, 26 Sep 2013 13:08:14 +0000

Haha that is true. North is a freak though; nobody should be that skillful and that big.

To be fair to Sackey, he averages a try every other game at international level, and at the time, was starting and scoring tries for fun at Wasps (when we were good and stuff!)

Whilst I agree that JSD should have more caps, and may have done had he had less injuries; I don’t think its as much of an outrage as everyone else seems to.

By: brighty

brighty — Thu, 26 Sep 2013 13:02:26 +0000

Sackey v JSD. English rugby vs Welsh rugby IMO. Shane Williams would never have made it in England – too small, not physical enough, too unpredictable, doesn’t play the plan, etc. JSD suffered in the same way. If JSD had been Welsh he’d have more caps.

Of course the irony of this in contrast to how Welsh wings are now doesn’t escape me…. although I would dare to say that North at least has the possibility to show both skill and size. It would be ironic if next year we had Cuthbert/North lining up against Wade/?

By: Jacob

Jacob — Thu, 26 Sep 2013 12:49:21 +0000

Whilst every Englishman should hang their head in shame about that; I’m pretty sure most of those caps came in the center under Johnson?

Other wingers like Sackey, Monye, Voyce, Strettle, Varndell etc. have been capped in that time but all when they were on particularly good form. Only Sackey (22) and Monye (14) have more caps.

So whilst I think JSD is a good player, were there that many occasions when he was genuinely overlooked when he should have been a shoe-in?

By: brighty

brighty — Thu, 26 Sep 2013 12:36:16 +0000

Matt Banahan.

Matt Banahan has more international caps than SD.

MATT BANAHAN!

By: Jacob

Jacob — Thu, 26 Sep 2013 12:12:40 +0000

To be fair I began to think this a few minutes ago. Who was in front of him that meant he didn’t get picked? Whilst I think he is a good player, when he broke through, Cohen, Lewsey and Robinson had the back three tied up, and were all better players. Then Cueto had a very successful international career, and then Ashton broke through and looked very impressive.

Who else was there that would have been keeping him out the team? I certainly wouldn’t play him over any of them when they were playing well.