New and Improved EPS Watch/Player Form Thread

[Puja]

Hope Seb Atkinson is okay after his injury.
Have to say though Ojomoh is starting this season really strong - and has a good chance to cement a club/country partnership with Lawrence now.

Ojomoh has started this season like an absolute train (even getting selected above Will Butt now! ) and his successful stints at 10 will have done nothing to damage his international prospects. If he can nail down that Bath 12 shirt and have a long run alongside Lawrence, rather than rotating in and out with Redpath, then I'd say he's got to be a good shout to start the AIs (always assume the looming icy threat of "intangibles" and "off-pitch qualities" doesn't fall upon us).

Thinking of terrible referee management, I've been disappointed with Chessum's captaincy for Leicester this season. Three games in a row where we have pissed off the ref and he's been arguing with them, which is never going to get them back on our side. I'd rather he'd learned his leadership skills from playing under Jamie George for England, rather than Fazlet.

Puja

[Danno]

Well said.

[Scrumhead]

Seconded. Although from an England POV, it’s good to have him learning in a leadership role. He’s a way back in the queue for a captaincy role at test level, but it does no harm to have him regularly taking that responsibility at club level.

[Captainhaircut]

Mail are saying Seb Atkinson has avoided serious injury and surgery but will be out until December.

Hopefully Dingwall, Ojomoh and Slade (because he’s centrally contracted so has to be picked I guess) are the 3 options at 12 with Freeman and Lawrence as 13s.

I’d be tempted to do what we did vs wales and go Northampton 9-13. Lawrence on the bench.

[FKAS]

Mail are saying Seb Atkinson has avoided serious injury and surgery but will be out until December.

Hopefully Dingwall, Ojomoh and Slade (because he’s centrally contracted so has to be picked I guess) are the 3 options at 12 with Freeman and Lawrence as 13s.

I’d be tempted to do what we did vs wales and go Northampton 9-13. Lawrence on the bench.

I think the Saints 9/10/12/13 combination with IFW and Roebuck on the wings with JvP and Lawrence coming off the bench would be well liked by most England fans. Who wears the 15 and 22 shirts is the more controversial calls.

Do you go M Smith at 15 and Ford at 22? Steward at 15 and Ford or Smith at 22? Hope Daly is fit to slot in at 15?

[fivepointer]

Mail are saying Seb Atkinson has avoided serious injury and surgery but will be out until December.

Hopefully Dingwall, Ojomoh and Slade (because he’s centrally contracted so has to be picked I guess) are the 3 options at 12 with Freeman and Lawrence as 13s.

I’d be tempted to do what we did vs wales and go Northampton 9-13. Lawrence on the bench.

Pity that Atkinson misses the autumn internationals. Opens the door for Ojomoh. Lawrence would start at 13 in my team.

[Mikey Brown]

It would definitely be exciting, but we’re going round in circles on Freeman at this point. Is he playing 13 for Saints at all this season?

[fivepointer]

He's playing FB tomorrow. Doubt he'll play next week as the England squad will be stood down from club action.

[Puja]

He's playing FB tomorrow. Doubt he'll play next week as the England squad will be stood down from club action.

They're not going to be this year, because the RFU were idiots and didn't arrange the 4th AI into their agreement with the clubs, so it's taking the place of the usual training week, cause who needs cohesion in their national team?

Mail are saying Seb Atkinson has avoided serious injury and surgery but will be out until December.

Hopefully Dingwall, Ojomoh and Slade (because he’s centrally contracted so has to be picked I guess) are the 3 options at 12 with Freeman and Lawrence as 13s.

I’d be tempted to do what we did vs wales and go Northampton 9-13. Lawrence on the bench.

Pity that Atkinson misses the autumn internationals. Opens the door for Ojomoh. Lawrence would start at 13 in my team.

Can't see Freeman playing 13 for Saints while they've got their back-three injuries and, without that, you can't put him there for England while Lawrence is playing so well. It's not like there'd actually be a club partnership in the centres, given that Dingwall and Lawrence have barely played together!

I'd take Dingwall and Lawrence - the latter is our nailed-on 13 right now, and the former has the club connection with 9/10 which'll be important with the curtailed build-up. Ojomoh's unlucky given his form, but I'd rather not throw him in there completely green with less than a week's training.

Although I will take any combo as long as we're not going to try and make Lawrence/Slade work again. Or worse, the ICEMAN.

Puja

[Danno]

What did I say about Candymanning?! What did I say?!

[Which Tyler]

[Slade work again. Or worse, the ICEMAN.

Why have one, when you can have both?

[twitchy]

[Captainhaircut]

Telegraph reporting no Farrell in autumn squad (announced on Sunday apparently).

“Door remains open” though. Christ we need a good autumn series…

[Puja]

Telegraph reporting no Farrell in autumn squad (announced on Sunday apparently).

“Door remains open” though. Christ we need a good autumn series…

Just came here to post the same: https://archive.ph/iOabU

TFFT on several different counts. Firstly, I think everyone's fed up of him getting handed appearances and opportunities where no-one else would because of "intangibles" and "leadership" rather than actual form - he's not playing as well as Dingwall or Ojomoh and those two deserve a chance (let alone the madness that putting him into the fly-half debate would be). Secondly, he's going to be 36 by the next RWC - even if he was the form 12, I'd want us to be looking at someone else in terms of future planning.

Thirdly, I think it's better for him - he would cop quite some abuse from fans and the media if he was parachuted in, and it is easy to forget that he's a human being who is trying his hardest (while we can say many things about Fazlet, that one is never in doubt) and doesn't deserve the obloquy he gets for other people picking him.

I'm actually not averse to Farrell playing for England again or Farrell at 12 - he is a good player with a lot of talents and could still be a very useful option for us going forward. But I am exceedingly happy that he's going to need at least 4 months of sustained, good club rugby to come back, rather than just being overpromoted on his brand again.

Puja

[twitchy]

Farrell "not making" the squad is easy clickbait on a slow news day and will probably be rolled out until he retires.

[Captainhaircut]

It still boggles my mind this narrative that he was so hard done by. Everyone in the media does nothing but praise him- like he is some sort of rugby messiah. A few folks on social- which he would claim to not be interested in- rant on a bit and all of sudden it’s some sort of mental witch hunt. “Disgusting” according to his dad- who subsequently says in his book that everyone has gone too soft…

He hardly got the level of abuse that someone like Beckham did and Farrell is meant to be a tough Wigan lad who isn’t interested in what people think unlike someone like Beckham…

There’s no way in hell he should be anywhere near the England side particularly at 12. There’s not a single effective side in a world who are picking at 12 who offers no running or carrying threat.

[Yorkie]

According to the DT this evening, Tom Willis has signed for Bordeaux next season.

[Captainhaircut]

What the fuck did he even bother coming back for then?

A mind boggling move considering he has a central contract.

Fucks sake.

[Danno]

According to the DT this evening, Tom Willis has signed for Bordeaux next season.

...why?

[FKAS]

Walking away from the England central contract, from plethora of Prem interest and a chance to play at the next world cup. Well Bordeaux must have offered something special to him.

[Danno]

I blame Jack

[Captainhaircut]

I’m on an 11 hour flight and I’m absolutely fuming now.

[Scrumhead]

WTAF?!

Why now at the point he’s pretty much established himself as a starter for England?

Bizarre and TBH, as an England fan, it’s hard to take.

[FKAS]

Been confirmed that he's leaving for France by Sarries.

[Scrumhead]

I blame Jack

I mean, he was surely an influential part of the decision. Disappointing from both.