Beware of Greeks bearing Gifts

Always beware of Greeks bearing gifts.  After England’s humiliating group stage exit there have been a lot of siren voices in the media, usually with a southern hemisphere or Celtic accent, laying the blame on the clubs; too many foreigners they say, you need central contracts they reckon.

Cardiff Blues chairman Peter Thomas has called for regional rugby and Agustin Pichot insists central contracts are the answer.  Jeff Probyn called again for regions in this weekend’s The Rugby Paper.  All very certain it seems.

When Italy joined the Celtic League to form the Pro 12 we heard similar things.  Then FIR president Giancarlo Dondi said "I am sure that the Magners League will bring benefits to all Italian rugby and will have a positive impact on the competitiveness of our national team”, the late Stuart Gallacher said “the Italians will be a force to be reckoned with in our league and it will make the league much more competitive”.  Nick Mallet, a former favourite for the England role and then Italian coach said “The top ten in Italy is just not at the required level to produce players for international rugby” and the move “helps the Six Nations”.  The BBC went as far as to call it “the biggest boost for Italian rugby since the national team's entry into the Six Nations in 2000.”

So after all those great rugby minds declared that the move would be a huge success and that it would revolutionise Italian rugby has it work? Have results improved at either a club or national level?

6N record excluding 2000&2001

In a word no.  As this revolution was all down to improving the national side let’s look there first.  Italy’s record in the 6 Nations shows no discernible improvement.  They entered the tournament in 2000 and since then the average score in their games has been a 14-32 defeat, in the old era of the Super 10 the average score was 15-33 and in the new era of the Pro 12 it is 13-29.  In the first two years of the 6 Nations Italy’s attack was the best it has ever been and their defence the worst, remove those two years, see graphic right, and the average scores are practically identical.

At a club level the story is even worse.  Whilst the national team has improved, even if only slightly, the clubs have gotten worse.  Super 10 sides in the old Heineken Cup lost on average 16-39, since the move to the Pro 12 that has become 12-36.  As the graphic left shows when taken to 2 decimal places the difference is practically non-existent.

How can this be? Italy have taken all the prescribed remedies, they’ve got central contracts, they’ve condensed their league to 2 regional sides, killing off domestic rugby in the process and there are barely any foreigners left playing in Italy, only 13 this weekend.

The problem is that all these are fiddling around the side.  Italy have not improved their player pool.  Yes they have good young players, our own Riccardo Brugnara and Tiziano Pasquali among them, but Italy has always produced good players it needs to produce more really top end ones capable of dominating internationally.  Sacking foreigners and killing domestic rugby hasn’t helped that.  And it won’t help in England either.

We must resist these siren voices drawing us to the rocks.  Hansen, Thomas and Pichot do not really care about England and Jeff Probyn’s agenda of destroying independent clubs has been clear for some time.  England rugby will only improve as the player pool and, crucially, coaching of the senior side improves.

England Qualified Players: are they legal or worthwhile?

In an article earlier this week we looked at England Qualified Players (EQPs), what were they and why did they matter to us this season.  In this article we’ll look at some of the effects of the EQP bonus on English rugby, whether the scheme is worthwhile and whether the scheme is even legal under EU law.

Some of the apparent effects of the EQP bonus have been on the surface very positive.  The rates of EQP in the Aviva Premiership are reported in the press at 71% and as high as they have ever been, many hail this as a great development and you can hardly call it a bad one.

According to Statbunker, the online database, there have been 491 players used this season with 308 of them English, or 62.72%.  Why the disparity?  The EQP stats are based on how often people play whilst the Statbunker ones are just on total players used.  Which suggests that contrary to popular belief English players are actually more likely to be picked than Johnny Foreigner.  It is also because players like Jonathan Mills will be counted as Welsh in Statbunker’s numbers but are EQP.

Ten years ago, before the EQP system was in force the number of English players in the league was 271 out of a total of 443, or 61.17.  To be at today’s figures of 62% there would only have had to be 6 foreign players replaced by English ones, and for today to be at 2004’s numbers we would have 300 English players, or 8 fewer than today.

English Players in Premiership

At a cost to the RFU of approximately £4m p.a. those 8 players are very expensive for little if any benefit to the national side.

The EQP scheme was introduced in 2008 and since its introduction England have won just one 6 Nations and no English club has won the European Cup, with only 3 finalists in 8 years.  Before the scheme was introduced English clubs had reached 6 finals in 8 years with 5 victories, the only defeat coming in an all English final.

There is a school of thought that the EQP scheme has stopped rugby following football’s lead of huge numbers of foreign players destroying the national team with France’s rugby side as further evidence; but this ignores a crucial difference between the sports and the nations. 

England’s Under 20s have won the past two Junior World Cups and reached a further 3 finals since 2008, France have reached no finals since 2006 when they won the Under 21 competition on home soil, in football England have reached just one European Under 21 final in 30 years.

You cannot simply blame clubs and foreign players in French rugby and English football without looking at the raw materials feeding into the bottom of the professional game.  Germany and Spain are home to football leagues just as competitive and almost as rich as England but have better youth set ups that feed greater numbers of domestic players and better national teams, England rugby would be just the same with a higher proportion of domestic players than France no matter the legislation.

So it’s pretty debatable whether the EQP scheme has any effect on the overall level of English players in the league, but what about its effect on individual matches and players?

We saw in 2012 Sale pick a deliberately weakened side in the final round of fixtures to just scrape inside their EQP quota, and just last month Bristol announced in the local press that due to the more stringent EQP demands in the Championship they would also be picking their side based on players’ nationality.

This might seem like a minor effect but fundamentally changes a player's value to their club.  As every club, every year, needs to hit the quota there is an upward pressure on wages for EQPs of the right quality.  

That is players good enough to play in great sides but not so good that England’s national team requires them for 1/3^rd of the season.  If you are a player like Matt Mullan who would be a regular international for many nations but is behind 3 fantastic players for England you are a highly valuable commodity locking down 22 of the 330 EQP slots needed to earn approximately £300k.
   

You might say why is it a problem that English players are given a bit more leverage and a bit more cash in the bank?  The problem comes from the Salary Cap, as every extra pound that is extracted by players due to their EQP status comes from another part of the squad, perhaps explaining the decline in European performance over the last 8 years.

Richard Thorpe is a good quality squad player in the Premiership but he is never going to trouble the international selectors; it has emerged recently that he qualifies for Canada and has thrown his hat into the ring with them, gaining 2 caps this autumn.   

Why, given it was his only shot at international rugby, did he wait this long?  EQP money.  His value as a squad player is greatly diminished if he represents Canada and loses his EQP status, so he missed out on the 2011 RWC and possibly dozens of caps.

We are seeing this more and more; Tiziano Pasquali turned down the chance to represent Emerging Italy as losing his EQP status at just 20 years old would damage his chances of progressing into Tigers First XV.

Every year we hear stories like Callum Sheedy or Rory Bartle turning down caps at lower levels that would tie them to a nation.  We also saw Ben Morgan turn down an England Saxons cap lest it harm his career, then in Wales with Llanelli.

Legally the EQP scheme may be on dodgy ground too. A ruling from April 2014 regarding Spanish basketball could spell the end of the EQP scheme.  To quote the ruling:

"The Spanish Basketball Federation (FEB) and the Spanish Association of Basketball Clubs (ACB) require that teams taking part in their competitions include a minimum number of locally trained players:

EU players who between 13 and 19 years old have been registered with a club member of the FEB for three seasons. Since this condition is more easily met by Spanish players, this is liable to put players from other Member States at a particular disadvantage.
EU law forbids indirect discrimination unless the measures pursue a legitimate objective, are appropriate and do not go beyond what is necessary to attain it."

And further it states:

"only the quotas for teams of 11 players in the Liga Endesa and Femenina (36% of total players) could be comparable in terms of restrictive effects to the Home Grown Player UEFA rule (32% of the posts in each team), for which the Commission has not raised objections so far. The quotas for the other competitions and/or configuration of teams, on the contrary, result in reserving for locally trained players between 40% and 88% of the jobs available in the basketball teams."

As with Spanish basketball the objectives of the scheme, to ensure the training and recruitment of young players and retain competitiveness of the national set up, are legitimate; but when Ireland and Wales both have fewer than 100 nationals playing weekly how can anyone argue that the EQP scheme does not go beyond what is necessary by being based on each club supplying 15 EQP each week or 180 total positions?  Especially when 14 was demeed acceptable just last year?

Professionals are often on contracts with appearance bonuses, whether that is per match or for hitting a certain percentage of matches in a season, or scoring bonuses; missing out on games through nationality means missing out on money.  It also affects the quality of the matches in question as sides artificially weaken themselves simply to fulfil the quota.

The EQP scheme was an idea born from good intentions and it is impossible to absolutely refute that it has stopped the percentage of English players dropping to football levels as we simply cannot know for certain what would have happened without it.  But given the harm we know it is doing to both individual's careers, the wider game and its potentially illegal status I think it is time to drop the "English Qualified Player" quota and instead focus on producing "England Quality Players".

English Qualified Players: What are they and why are we missing out?

Rugby loves on acronym.  RFU, ERC, IRB, though they now like to grandly  be called “World Rugby”, surely to be shortened to WR in no time.  PRL, EPS, EQP.  This article will focus on that last one.

“EQP”, people who live their lives arguing on the internet will be familiar with this one already, those of you with real lives in the real world need to have a word with yourself and reassess your priorities.  It means “England Qualified Player” and is according to some the only thing holding English rugby back from the Sodom & Gomorrah of English football and French rugby.

So what is an “EQP”?  Well it’s a bit of a Ronseal name, it does what it says on the tin, they are players qualified to play for England.  

That is not English players, just whether the RFU could call them up under current World Rugby rules.  So we have situations like Hendre Fourie, eligible to earn 8 caps for England but facing deportation once he retired, and Cameron Zeiss, born abroad to foreign parents he was raised in London, went to Millfield and represented Leeds and Esher yet before this season started he was released by Plymouth Albion because a season playing for Tarbes meant he was no longer an EQP.

So to be an EQP you need to:

• Have not represented another nation’s test team, 7s team or “nominated next senior representative side” in a game against a test side or another nominated side, the nominated side for England, Ireland and Australia is the A side but Under 20s for Wales, South Africa and France.  And the final bit means U 20s players are only tied when they play against another country that also ties its players.
• Be born in England.
• Or have a parent born in England.
• Or have a grandparent born in England.
• Or have spent at least the last 36 months uninterrupted with your principle residence in England.

The last one meant that Chris Horsman qualified for Wales despite playing for Worcester as he lived in Monmouthshire whilst the grandparent rule was famously exploited by Thomas Waldrom.

So we can all agree it’s a bit of an odd arbitrary measure of Englishness.  It makes fresh off the boat Kiwis like our new signing Brendan O’Connor more English than Cameron Zeiss.

Why are EQPs so important?  As ever the reason is money.  In 2008 the RFU started paying out bonuses to clubs that met a target of 14 EQPs out of 22, 60% of the squad effectively.  This was mainly because of scaremongering that England’s fall from grace post 2003 had nothing to do with the difficult fact Harry Ellis wasn’t as good as Matt Dawson and Shaun Perry was barely fit, let alone fit enough to lace Kieran Bracken’s boots.  No, apparently this was the foreigners fault.

This season the payments are worth a reported £300k and the quota has increased to 15 out of 23, or 65%, and Tigers are currently off the pace averaging 14.47 EQPs across the Premiership so far, the only club to not be meeting our master’s target.

Is this a problem?  Well yes and no.  Its money so we want it, it’s the RFU’s money so we want it even more just so they can’t have it and every one of our rivals is likely to be getting it, but it’s not make or break money and getting into the play offs and winning rugby matches is far more important.

We met it last year and in 2013 when we won the title we averaged 71% or 16.33 EQPs per match day squad.  It’s also important to remember we are talking about 10 players across 19 matches.

Why aren’t we meeting it?  Well firstly it’s gone up by 5% so we are actually picking more EQP than in 2012 but now missing out.  Some people have blamed injuries to players such as Manu Tuilagi and Tom Youngs.  But this doesn’t bare scrutiny as Tom Youngs was replaced by Harry Thacker or Neil Briggs, also EQP, whist Manu’s injury has seen Vereniki Goneva move to the centre it has also opened up a wing spot taken by either Adam Thompstone or Miles Benjamin.

In fact were it not for injury to Logovi’i Mulipola would we have seen so much of Fraser Balmain?

One reason we are missing out is that we have replaced players like Boris Stankovich (EQP despite being born and raised in NZ) with Michele Rizzo, and Rob Hawkins with Leonardo Ghiraldini.  I use those positions because last year we had an EQP loosehead on 5 occasions to 1 this year and at hooker we had no non-EQP players at all last year.

At centre; last year we picked only EQPs in Allen, Flood, Smith and Bowden (again EQP despite being born and raised in NZ), this year we replaced Bowden with the Fijian Bai and with Allen injured we have used a non-EQP 12 on 12 occasions.  Is that down to injury or squad planning?

This also highlights a major problem with the EQP system.  There are English players as good as Rizzo, like Matt Mullan, or Bai but because of the EQP quota they are very valuable commanding above market rate wages and cannot always be fitted in under the salary cap, whilst there is just not an EQP hooker the quality of Ghiraldini available.

Tigers knew the rules though and if we are bothered about meeting our EQP target we cannot just shrug our shoulders and blame the injuries bogey man, our transfer policy has clearly had a bigger effect.

ABC More Thoughts from the Week's action

A: Tigers Traveling Record Must Improve

Let’s not beat around the bush Tigers record away from home in Europe is shocking.  Since that famous win away to Munster in 2007 we have won only 6 of 24 games outside of Leicester.   

Exclude the games in Italy and it is played 19 Won 1 Drawn 2 Lost 16.  All the wins and draws have come in Wales; beating Llanelli in 2011, drawing with Cardiff in the 2009 semi final (winning on penalties) and drawing with Ospreys last year. 

Before this run our record away from home in Europe was Played 36 Won 23 Drawn 1 Lost 12.

Geoff Parling talks about getting angry with our record in Europe.  This is the place to start.  Win in Montpellier and get that monkey off our backs.

B: England's Call Could Leave Tigers Short

Stuart Lancaster’s yearly bondage camp is due this week and that means that Tigers could be without 5 more key players for the trip to Wasps.

Tom Youngs, Dan Cole and Geoff Parling are sure to miss out but Toby Flood and Ben Youngs’s presence is more open to question.

With Marcos Ayerza apparently back in the country and all our locks and hookers fit we are not going to miss the forwards any more than we have to but the backs are now becoming perilously thin.  Now Goneva is out I make our fit options: Mele, Harrison, Williams, Bowden, Hepetema, Scully, Benjamin, Thompstone and Morris.   6-2 split this weekend by any chance?

C: New Boy Matera could be new Moody

Sunday should be the first chance that Tigers fans get to see Pablo Matera in a scarlet, green and white shirt.   Built like a young Lewis Moody the Argentinean flanker should well capable of playing in both flank positions and providing some relief for the injured Tom Croft and some competition for Julian Salvi.

Hopefully it can also inspire some of our academy boys what a 20 year old can do if they really put their minds to it.

Matera was an ever present for Argentina in the Rugby Championship after making his full test debut against Chile in May. 

Flood to face Italians

Stuart Lancaster makes 5 changes to his England side for the challenge of Italy this Sunday, naming 7 Tigers in the 23.  Tigers' Toby Flood is restored to the line up after Owen Farrell failed to recover from a leg injury suffered in the France test match, while his clubmate Ben Youngs drops to the bench in favour of Stuart Lancaster's favourite Danny Care.  Given that Youngs and Flood are one of the most feared half back partnerships in world Rugby it seems bizarre to go with the Yorkshireman, especially given Youngs's outstanding form.

Manu Tuilagi earns his 20th cap at the age of only 21 in the midfield whilst Tigers also have 3 players named in the forward pack.  Tom Youngs is restored to the starting line up after being dropped for the France match, whilst I'm happy for the bulldozing Youngs I wonder what Lancaster expected from Hartley in his 50 minutes against the French.  Dan Cole and Geoff Parling continue their ever present 6 Nations in the front and second row respectively.

Returning to International Rugby after almost a year's absence with injury is flanker Tom Croft.  Croft was in world class form last weekend against Sale and his return to the fold is thoroughly deserved.


England Team to face Italy
15. Alex Goode (Saracens, 9 caps)
14. Chris Ashton (Saracens, 32 caps)
13. Manu Tuilagi (Leicester Tigers, 19 caps)
12. Brad Barritt (Saracens, 14 caps)
11. Mike Brown (Harlequins, 14 caps)
10. Toby Flood (Leicester Tigers, 55 caps)
9. Danny Care (Harlequins, 39 caps)
1. Mako Vunipola (Saracens, 7 caps)
2. Tom Youngs (Leicester Tigers, 7 caps)
3. Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers, 38 caps)
4. Joe Launchbury (London Wasps, 7 caps)
5. Geoff Parling (Leicester Tigers, 15 caps)
6. James Haskell (London Wasps, 48 caps)
7. Chris Robshaw (Harlequins, capt, 15 caps)
8. Tom Wood (Northampton Saints, 16 caps)
Replacements
16. Dylan Hartley (Northampton Saints, 45 caps)
17. David Wilson (Bath Rugby, 24 caps) 
18. Joe Marler (Harlequins, 8 caps) 
19. Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints, 18 caps)
20. Tom Croft (Leicester Tigers, 36 caps) 
21. Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers, 31 caps) 
22. Freddie Burns (Gloucester Rugby, 1 cap)
23. Billy Twelvetrees (Gloucester Rugby, 2 caps)

Ben's 30th Already

Ben Youngs will win his 30th cap when he steps out on the Aviva Stadium turf this Sunday.  3 years after his debut away to Scotland the Tigers ace has already played in wins over Australia and New Zealand for England and beaten South Africa with Leicester.  Alongside him will be older brother Tom making his 6th consecutive start after his debut this Autumn.  The Tigers in the starting line up are rounded out by Dan Cole, winning his 37th cap, and Geoff Parling, winning his 14th.

Manu Tuilagi is named as a replacement for the first time in his 17 match test career, and only the 6th time in his senior career.  He is joined on the bench by Toby Flood, who in contrast will earn his 20th cap from the bench, and number 8 Thomas Waldrom. 

England (v Ireland, Sunday 3pm, Aviva Stadium, Dublin)
15 Alex Goode (Saracens, 7 caps)
14 Chris Ashton (Saracens, 30 caps)
13 Brad Barritt (Saracens, 12 caps)
12 Billy Twelvetrees (Gloucester, 1 cap)
11 Mike Brown (Harlequins, 12 caps)
10 Owen Farrell (Saracens, 13 caps)
9 Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers, 29 caps)
1 Joe Marler (Harlequins, 6 caps)
2 Tom Youngs (Leicester Tigers, 5 caps)
3 Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers, 36 caps)
4 Joe Launchbury (London Wasps, 5 caps)
5 Geoff Parling (Leicester Tigers, 13 caps)
6 James Haskell (London Wasps, 46 caps)
7 Chris Robshaw (Harlequins, 13 caps) (c)
8 Tom Wood (Northampton Saints, 14 caps)
Replacements
16 Dylan Hartley (Northampton Saints, 43 caps)
17 David Wilson (Bath, 23 caps)
18 Mako Vunipola (Saracens, 5 caps)
19 Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints, 16 caps)
20 Thomas Waldrom (Leicester Tigers, 4 caps)
21 Danny Care (Harlequins, 38 caps)
22 Toby Flood (Leicester Tigers, 54 caps)
23 Manusamoa Tuilagi (Leicester Tigers, 17 caps)

8 Tigers named in EPS for 6 Nations

Stuart Lancaster today names 8 Tigers in his EPS squad for the 6 Nations.  Forwards Dan Cole, Tom Youngs, Geoff Parling, Tom Croft and Thomas Waldrom are joined by half backs Ben Youngs and Toby Flood as well as centre Manu Tuilagi.  Anthony Allen is dropped despite his sparkling form for Tigers for Billy Twelvetrees, the former Tigers player who left this summer to chase the cash at Gloucester.  Obviously being rewarded for Gloucester's fabulous back play that has scored 0 tries in 3 games.

Other headlines are that Callum Clarke, who despicably broke a prostrate Rob Hawkins arm last season and was sent off for England U-20s for a flying head butt in the Junior World Cup final, has been included.

Squad:
FORWARDS (18)
Calum Clark (Northampton Saints)
Alex Corbisiero (London Irish)
 Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers)
Tom Croft (Leicester Tigers)
Dylan Hartley (Northampton Saints)
James Haskell (London Wasps)
Tom Johnson (Exeter Chiefs)
Joe Launchbury (London Wasps)
Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints)
Joe Marler (Harlequins)
Ben Morgan (Gloucester Rugby)  
Geoff Parling (Leicester Tigers)
Chris Robshaw (Harlequins)
Mako Vunipola (Saracens)  
Thomas Waldrom (Leicester Tigers)
David Wilson (Bath Rugby)
Tom Wood (Northampton Saints)
Tom Youngs (Leicester Tigers)
BACKS (15)
Chris Ashton (Saracens)
Brad Barritt (Saracens)
Mike Brown (Harlequins)
Freddie Burns (Gloucester Rugby)
Danny Care (Harlequins)
Lee Dickson (Northampton Saints)
Owen Farrell (Saracens)
Toby Flood (Leicester Tigers)
Ben Foden (Northampton Saints)
Alex Goode (Saracens)
Jonathan Joseph (London Irish)
David Strettle (Saracens)  
Manu Tuilagi (Leicester Tigers)
Billy Twelvetrees (Gloucester Rugby)  
Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers)

International Action Round Up

In Aberdeen Steve Mafi got a last minute yellow card for a petulant tip over after the whistle, but it mattered not as Tonga secured a shock 21-15 over the Scots, their first against a home nation.  Marcos Ayerza was not as lucky as Argentina were pummelled by Ireland 46-17.

At Twickenham some muddled thinking by both players and management cost England a victory, Toby Flood scored 6 points before departing early.  Manu Tuilagi tried valiantly to keep England in it with a series of powerful bursts as Dan Cole and Tom Youngs went well.  Ben Youngs and Geoff Parling round out the England contingent that was close but not good enough. 

In Florence Martin Castrogiovanni and his Italy chums came agonisingly close to a maiden victory against Australia as they lost 19-22.  In Tbilisi Vereniki Goneva played at 12 and grabbed a try as Fiji pulled off a close victory 24-19 against Georgia, confirming a whitewash for the hosts and preventing one for themselves.

England in Bromance

Ben Youngs returns to the starting lineup as England make six changes from the side that lost to the Wallabies.  Ben joins elder brother Tom to become the first brothers to start together for England since Steffon and Delon Armitage lined up against Argentina in Salta in 2009.  They join the Leicester international brothers in arms such as the Underwoods (England in the 90s) and the Beamishs (Ireland in the 1930s).  Tom Waldrom has been dropped from the side but all the other Tigers retain their places as rumours of Manu moving to the wing have proved unfounded.

England Side:
15 Alex Goode (Saracens, 4 caps)
14 Chris Ashton (Saracens, 27 caps)
13 Manusamoa Tuilagi (Leicester Tigers, 15 caps)
12 Brad Barritt (Saracens, 9 caps)
11 Mike Brown (Harlequins, 9 caps)
10 Toby Flood (Leicester Tigers, 52 caps)
9 Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers, 26 caps)
1 Alex Corbisiero (London Irish, 16 caps)
2 Tom Youngs (Leicester Tigers, 2 cap)
3 Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers, 33 caps)
4 Joe Launchbury (London Wasps, 2 caps)
5 Geoff Parling (Leicester Tigers, 10 caps)
6 Tom Wood (Northampton Saints, 11 caps)
7 Chris Robshaw (Harlequins, capt, 10 caps)
8 Ben Morgan (Gloucester Rugby, 7 caps)
Replacements
16 David Paice (London Irish, 4 caps)
17 David Wilson (Bath Rugby, 21 caps)
18 Mako Vunipola (Saracens, 2 cap)
19 Mouritz Botha (Saracens, 9 caps)
20 James Haskell (London Wasps, 43 caps)
21 Danny Care (Harlequins, 35 caps)
22 Owen Farrell (Saracens, 10 caps)
23 Jonathan Joseph (London Irish, 3 caps)

The real reason why Thomas Waldrom was dropped

Photos fresh from RFU headquarters have leaked out that show the real reason why Thomas Waldrom was dropped by Stuart Lancaster

No wonder he has slippy fingers

An excess of KFC grease on his fingers caused the crucial fumble that ruined England's chances of defeating the Wallabies at Twickenham.  England Nutritionist Phil Face had this to say "Obviously in a perfect world we would limit the players to a bargain bucket pre-game, but we have to be realists.  If Tom doesn't have his Variety Bucket, plus Gravy and BBQ Beans, he turns grey and starts wretching everywhere.  We've tried Maryland Fried Chicken, which has less grease, but he can taste the difference and wouldn't touch the stuff with yours".

Stuart Lancaster is said to be furious and blames the Variety Bucket's extra chicken thigh pieces excess grease, a source close to Lancaster said "If he'd stuck to the breast pieces he'd have been fine, but Tom just loves his chicken thighs because you get better skin on them, and frankly that's the whole point of KFC innit?"

Tank dropped but 6 others retained

England have responded to their loss to Australia by dropping Thomas "the Tank" Waldrom alongside Charlie Sharples and Tom Johnson.  Anthony Allen is again cut loose as England refuse to play the awesome foursome of Youngs, Flood, Allen and Tuilagi internationally despite their domination of domestic rugby.  

England have only picked one winger, Saracens Chris Ashton, so one of Jonathan Joseph, Mike Brown or Tuilagi will play on the wing.  It seems Lancaster is determined not to play a coherent back line at any point in his reign.
Wasps James Haskell has been called into the 24 man squad and looks set to feature.  This alters the balance of the Tigers v Wasps match significantly as now Wasps are missing both their first choice locks and a flanker, when they were probably only anticipating losing Palmer, whilst Tigers have Waldrom available again for selection.  

Though that is a selection headache Cockerill probably could have done without as JC was lined up to play the next two weeks.  

Retained in the squad are the 6 other Tigers that have featured in the past two test matches.

England squad:
Forwards
Mouritz Botha (Saracens)
Alex Corbisiero (London Irish)
Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers)
James Haskell (London Wasps)
Joe Launchbury (London Wasps)
Ben Morgan (Gloucester Rugby)
David Paice (London Irish)
Tom Palmer (London Wasps)
Geoff Parling (Leicester Tigers)
Chris Robshaw (Harlequins)(c)
Mako Vunipola (Saracens)
David Wilson (Bath Rugby)
Tom Wood (Northampton Saints)
Tom Youngs (Leicester Tigers)
Backs
Chris Ashton (Saracens)
Brad Barritt (Saracens)
Mike Brown (Harlequins)
Danny Care (Harlequins)
Owen Farrell (Saracens)
Toby Flood (Leicester Tigers)
Alex Goode (Saracens)
Jonathan Joseph (London Irish)
Manusamoa Tuilagi (Leicester Tigers)
Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers)

The following 11 players have been released back to their clubs.
Anthony Allen (Leicester Tigers)
Lee Dickson (Northampton Saints)
Phil Dowson (Northampton Saints)
Tom Johnson (Exeter Chiefs)
Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints)
Joe Marler (Harlequins)
Ugo Monye (Harlequins)
George Robson (Harlequins)
Charlie Sharples (Gloucester Rugby)
Jordan Turner-Hall (Harlequins)
Thomas Waldrom (Leicester Tigers)

International Round Up

At Twickenham 7 Tigers were in the 23 that succumbed 22-16 to the touring Wallabies.  Tom Youngs, Dan Cole, Geoff Parling, Thomas Waldrom, Toby Flood and Manu Tuilagi all started in the "plum" kit whilst Ben Youngs featured from the bench. Tuilagi contributed a try, his 8th in 15 tests, and Flood scored with 3 penalties and also the conversion.  Notably this was the first test Tuilagi has scored in that England have lost.

In North Wales Steve Mafi played for Tonga as they bounced back from last weeks loss to Italy by beating the USA 22-13 thanks to two second half tries to overturn a 10-5 half time deficit. 

Martin Castrogiovanni and his Italy side put up a strong early showing against the All Blacks in Rome, keeping the score down to 13-7 at half time, and 23-10 when Castro departed on 56 minutes but ultimately the All Blacks again showed their class and scored 4 second half tries to win 42-10.

Marcos Ayerza played 72 minutes for Argentina as they lost out to France in Lille 39-22.  

Vereniki Goneva  played the whole game as Fiji were thrashed by an "Ireland XV" 53-0 at Thomund Park in Limerick. 

In the crowd, and shown on TV several times, for the Wales Samoa game was Logovi'i Mulipola and a gaggle of Tuilagis.  Brothers Henry, Andy and Freddie were joined by Freddie's two sons.  Samoa recorded a famous 26-19 victory that could have been much bigger.  Not really anything to do with Tigers but I couldn't resist including it!

10 out of 10 for Peerless Parling

Geoff Parling is in line to make his tenth start for England as they take on Australia this Saturday at Twickenham.  Parling made his debut away to Scotland in last years Six Nations and hasn't missed a test since.  His calming lineout presence was a great boon to Tom Youngs last week and his physical ruck work is exemplary, though often underrated due to his wiry frame.  

All 6 Tigers retain their places from last week, Manu Tuilagi winning his 15th cap, and Ben Youngs again has to make do with a place on the bench.

England (v Australia, Twickenham Stadium, Saturday 2.30pm)
15 Alex Goode (Saracens, 3 caps)
14 Chris Ashton (Saracens, 26 caps)
13 Manusamoa Tuilagi (Leicester Tigers, 14 caps)
12 Brad Barritt (Saracens, 8 caps)
11 Charlie Sharples (Gloucester Rugby, 3 caps)
10 Toby Flood (Leicester Tigers, 51 caps)
9 Danny Care (Harlequins, 34 caps)
1 Joe Marler (Harlequins, 4 caps)
2 Tom Youngs (Leicester Tigers, 1 cap)
3 Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers, 32 caps)
4 Tom Palmer (London Wasps, 41 caps)
5 Geoff Parling (Leicester Tigers, 9 caps)
6 Tom Johnson (Exeter Chiefs, 4 caps)
7 Chris Robshaw (Harlequins, 9 caps) (c)
8 Thomas Waldrom (Leicester Tigers, 3 caps)

Replacements
16 David Paice (London Irish, 3 caps)
17 David Wilson (Bath Rugby, 20 caps)
18 Mako Vunipola (Saracens, 1 cap)
19 Joe Launchbury (London Wasps, 1 cap)
20 Tom Wood (Northampton Saints, 10 caps)
21 Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers, 25 caps)
22 Owen Farrell (Saracens, 9 caps)
23 Mike Brown (Harlequins, 8 caps)

International Round Up

11 Tigers were in action across 5 countries in 3 different matches this weekend.  8 Tigers were in action at Twickenham as England easily beat Fiji, 54-12, Toby Flood contributed 17 points from the boot as he converted 4 of England's 7 tries.  Manu Tuilagi was to the fore late on as he bagged a brace of tries as Fijian legs tired.  Tom Youngs, on his debut, played 65 minutes with 6 minutes over lapping his brother Ben who made his appearance from the bench on 59 minutes.  Dan Cole made way just after the hour mark with the match sown up whilst Geoff Parling, Thomas Waldrom and Fijian Vereniki Goneva played the whole match.

In Brescia Steve Mafi played the whole match for Tonga as they lost closely, 28-23, to Italy.  Martin Castrogiovanni was on the bench and played the last 20 minutes as the Azzuri closed out the match as they prepare to face the All Blacks and the Australians in the next two weeks.

The happiest Tiger of the weekend will definitely be Marcos Ayerza.  Not only did he make his first major start for the Pumas for three years but he was on the winning side as Argentina won in Wales for only the second time, the first 11 years earlier to the day, 26-12.  A superb second half saw the Pumas score two tries as they blew away a Welsh side leading 9-6 at the half.  Marcos played virtually the whole match only making way on 79 minutes to give Bruno Postiglioni a first test match outside Argentina.

Goneva to face England at Twickenham

Vereniki Goneva will play opposite fellow Tiger Manu Tuilagi as he is named in the centres for Fiji's tour match at Twickenham on Saturday. Despite featuring mainly on the wing for Tigers Goneva is no stranger to the centre having won 10 of his 26 Fijian caps there and playing regularly in the position for Tarbes last season.

Goneva's inclusion brings the number of Tigers on show at Twickenham to 8 with 7 starting.

Other familiar names are Exeter's Sireli Naqelevuki and Gloucester's Akapusi Qera.  Llanelli's Deacon Manu captains from tighthead prop.  


Fiji: 15 Simeli Koniferedi, 14 Samu Wara, 13 Vereniki Goneva, 12 Sireli Naqelevuki, 11 Watisoni Votu, 10 Metuisela Talebula, 9 Nicola Matawalu, 1 Ratu Makutu, 2 Viliame Veikoso, 3 Deacon Manu, 4 Leone Nakawara 5 Apisolame Ratuniyarawa, 6 Api Naikatani, 7 Malaki Ravulo, 8 Akapusi Qera
Replacements: 16 Seremaia Naureure, 17 Setafano Samoca, 18 Manasa Saulo 19 Sekonaia Kalou, 20 Iliesa Ratuva, 21 Kelemedi Bola, 22 Josh Matavesi, 23 Ravai Fatiaki

Six Appeal

Tom Youngs will make his England debut against Fiji this Saturday, and will be joined by 5 clubmates after Stuart Lancaster today revealed his starting XV.  Dan Cole packs down alongside Youngs at tighthead, whilst Geoff Parling is at lock, kiwi ancestry buff Thomas Waldrom wears 8.  In the backs Manu Tuilagi returns to his usual position of outside centre whilst Toby Flood retains the fly half berth.  Tom's brother Ben Youngs is also named on a bench that features uncapped forwards Mako Vunipola (Saracens) and Joe Launchberry (Wasps).

England:
15. Alex Goode
14. Charlie Sharples
13. Manu Tuilagi
12. Brad Barritt
11. Ugo Monye
10. Toby Flood
9. Danny Care
1. Joe Marler
2. Tom Toungs
3. Dan Cole
4. Tom Palmer
5. Geoff Parling
6. Tom Johnson
7. Chris Robshaw (c)
8. Thomas Waldrom

BENCH: Paice, Vunipola, Wilson, Launchberry, Wood, B.Youngs, Farrell, Brown.

Magnificent 7 Tigers in England side

England have released 10 players, including Tiger Anthony Allen, from their squad and in the process revealed the 23 for the Fiji test.  7 Tigers have been named: Dan Cole, Geoff Parling, Thomas Waldrom, Ben Youngs, Toby Flood, Manu Tuilagi and debutant Tom Youngs.  Other headlines are potential debuts for Mako Vunipola of Saracens and Joe Launchberry of Wasps.

Forwards (13):
Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers), Tom Johnson (Exeter Chiefs), Joe Launchbury (London Wasps), Joe Marler (Harlequins), Tom Palmer (London Wasps), David Paice (London Irish), Geoff Parling (Leicester Tigers), Chris Robshaw (Harlequins, capt), Mako Vunipola (Saracens), Thomas Waldrom (Leicester Tigers), David Wilson (Bath Rugby), Tom Wood (Northampton Saints), Tom Youngs (Leicester Tigers)

Backs (10):
Brad Barritt (Saracens), Mike Brown (Harlequins), Danny Care (Harlequins), Owen Farrell (Saracens), Toby Flood (Leicester Tigers), Alex Goode (Saracens), Ugo Monye (Harlequins), Charlie Sharples (Gloucester Rugby), Manusamoa Tuilagi (Leicester Tigers), Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers)

Youngs and Allen free for Derby Day

Stuart Lancaster has deemed Ben Youngs and Anthony Allen surplus to requirements and has released the pair back to Tigers.  This will almost certainly mean they feature against Northampton this Saturday.  Also set to feature is Phil Dowson of Saints who also been released, whilst Tom Wood, Lee Dickson and Ben Foden have been retained and Dylan Hartley and Courtney Lawes are out injured.

Just Gr8!

8 Tigers have been named by England supremo Stuart Lancaster for the 4 match Autumn International series.  There are 4 forwards: Dan Cole, Geoff Parling, Thomas Waldrom and new inclusion Tom Youngs as well as the awesome foursome of Ben Youngs, Toby Flood, Anthony Allen and Manu Tuilagi in the backs.  That foursome have only lost 2 of over 30 games played together at club level, surely it is time to see if they can cut it at international level too?  

England will play Fiji, Australia, South Africa and then New Zealand.  The 8 players are in line to miss 5 Tigers games: 2 LV cup games, the Maori game, as well as Wasps away and Bath at home in the Premiership.

These 8 bring the number of Autumn calls on the Tigers to 13, including 4 props, as Mulipola (Samoa), Ayerza (Argentina), Castrogiovanni (Italy), Mafi (Tonga) and Goneva (Fiji) are also missing.  I'm sure the national press will remember that when we inevitably struggle in the international window.

Congratulations to Dan, Geoff, Thomas, Toby, Manu, Anthony and most of all Ben and Tom brothers in arms.  Hopefully they will emulate the Underwoods and enjoy many England games together (a few grand slams wouldn't go a miss either!) and create a life time of happy memories for all those family Christmases of the future.

England
Forwards (17)
Mouritz Botha (Saracens)
Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers)
James Haskell (London Wasps)
Phil Dowson (Northampton Saints)
Dylan Hartley (Northampton Saints)
Tom Johnson (Exeter Chiefs)
Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints)
Joe Marler (Harlequins)
Ben Morgan (Gloucester Rugby)
Tom Palmer (London Wasps)
Geoff Parling (Leicester Tigers)
Chris Robshaw (Harlequins)
Mako Vunipola (Saracens)
Thomas Waldrom (Leicester Tigers)
David Wilson (Bath Rugby)
Tom Wood (Northampton Saints)
Tom Youngs (Leicester Tigers)
Backs (15)
Anthony Allen (Leicester Tigers)
Chris Ashton (Saracens)
Brad Barritt (Saracens)
Mike Brown (Harlequins)
Danny Care (Harlequins)
Lee Dickson (Northampton Saints)
Owen Farrell (Saracens)
Toby Flood (Leicester Tigers)
Alex Goode (Saracens)
Jonathan Joseph (London Irish)
Ugo Monye (Harlequins)
Charlie Sharples (Gloucester Rugby)
Manusamoa Tuilagi (Leicester Tigers)
Jordan Turner-Hall (Harlequins)
Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers)

Tom Youngs: What's the fuss about?

Tom Youngs is on the verge of making his test debut after just 6 Premiership starts in the position.  That is a phenomenal rise for the son of an England cap, his farther Nick, and the elder brother of another, Ben (you’ve probably heard of him he’s quite good). 

So what is all the fuss about?

As befits the kind of player who played age group international rugby in the centre he has slick passing skills and the rugby brain to know when to use them.  Witness his cracking off load in the build up to Thomas Waldrom’s try on the opening day against London Welsh.  Tigers have also managed to adapt their tactics to his unique skill set by often having him as first receiver; confident in his ability to spin the ball wide to Toby Flood or Anthony Allen to use an overlap or charge up the middle if nothing is on.

Richard Cockerill says in his book “raw aggression is vital in front five players” and “its 80% attitude and desire against 20% technique”.  Youngs certainly has that raw aggression and desire, 2 seasons learning his trade in the championship with Nottingham, at a completely new and sometimes baffling position, are evidence of the desire to make it in the game.   And aggression is the whole reason he moved to the front row in the first place.  The legend has it that a sin binning on October 10^th 2008 whilst playing for the second team against Saracens, and captaining the side to boot, prompted Heyneke Meyer to suggest the position switch.  His crime?  Scrapping with a Sarries prop. 

But we can’t just forget that 20 technical percent.  And neither does Youngs.  His scrummaging simply is to the standard Tigers desire, and given that this is a club where Julian White once roamed the open pasture that is some compliment.  It easily makes his scrum work international standard and a real strength.  Apparently on age group duty, as a centre remember, he used to practice scrummaging against a young Dan Cole, that’s what I call foresight.  His lineout work has come on leaps and bounds since I first saw him play in the LV cup 3 seasons ago and whilst still the chink in his armour it is merely a scratch on an otherwise perfectly polished skill set.  Of course it is difficult to separate system errors which aren’t his fault from simple miss-throws which are, but that is a challenge he’ll face for England too.

In an age where hooking is undergoing a retro conversion back to the link men and the smaller mobile hookers, like Peter Wheeler was and Schalk Brits is, Youngs is perfectly adapted to this type of game.  He played a season of 7s for England in the IRB World Series just 6 months before the Meyer inspired switch to the smaller spaces of the front row and whilst bulkier now he still shows glimpses of the player lean enough to be a sevens specialist.

Whilst Youngs might be startlingly inexperienced at first glance, 6 Premiership starts and 2 Heineken Cup starts, he actually carriers the experience that a 25 more or less should.  He made his Leicester debut at 19 and has featured in 39 games for Leicester (including 10 at centre) and whilst on loan at Nottingham he made 40 appearances.  He’s played for England at every age group, he’s played for England 7s in the IRB World Series and he’s played for England’s midweek side this summer.  That is substantially more experience than Manu Tuilagi had on debut and more than enough to dispel any thoughts that he isn’t ready for international rugby.

So what’s the fuss about?  Put simply he is the kind of dynamic and aggressive hooker that English rugby is failing to produce in enough numbers.  He’s overcome the kind of setbacks that breed huge mental toughness and is putting in displays that remind this writer at least of the cocky aggressive nuggety hooker that he first watched from the Crumbie terrace: Richard Cockerill.  No wonder he’s starting every week!