Premiership turns into England trial
Fri, 18 Apr 2008 13:17
Trial venue: The Recreation Ground
This week's announcement of Martin Johnson as new England team manager, means the final three rounds of the Guinness Premiership provide a host of young English players, a potential golden generation, with a last chance to impress the new England supremo.
Danny Cipriani's seven kicks helped London Wasps to a seventh successive Guinness Premiership win on Tuesday.
In the process, he added to a still burgeoning reputation and arguably claimed bragging rights over his more experienced opponent, Sale Sharks' Charlie Hodgson, in the encounter between two of the leading contenders for the England number ten shirt.
To add insult to injury, Sale's failure to claim a bonus point saw Wasps steal their fourth place.
Now Hodgson and either Jonny Wilkinson or Toby Flood will go head-to-head at Edgeley Park on Sunday, while Danny Cipriani takes on last season's Golden Boot winner, Glen Jackson at Vicarage Road the same day.
On Saturday the focus moves closer to the scrum as some of the pretenders to the England No.9 shirt line up in opposition.
Harry Ellis, Shaun Perry, Paul Hodgson or Peter Richards and Danny Care go head-to-head, in search of big performances to help their club reach the Guinness Premiership semifinal, to clinch selection for a Heineken Cup Final place, to qualify for the tournament next season and of course to further their case for selection for the England tour party to New Zealand under new Team Manager, Martin Johnson.
Harry Ellis is only four Guinness Premiership matches into his playing return for Leicester Tigers, but Tigers will be looking to Ellis to spark their season after having slipped from second to sixth in the Guinness Premiership in recent weeks.
Given the success of English clubs in both European competitions, Leicester know that potentially a top four finish could be needed to guarantee their participation in the Heineken Cup next season.
Facing Ellis on Saturday is another player hoping to regain his England place. Twelve months ago Shaun Perry was England's first choice scrumhalf, looking forward to helping England defend their World Cup title.
Opta statistics show that after just six matches, Perry has made the most offloads of any scrumhalf, averaging nearly two per match. Perry has also covered 185 metres in his six matches, averaging over 30 metres per match. This compares with a 20-metre gain per match by Ellis after his four matches.
Perry's extra size has made him a great foil for his forwards and he carries the ball twice as often as Ellis in a match, seven times compared to just over three times a match for Ellis.
Ellis does however have the upper hand in terms of tackles made, averaging about six tackles per match to Perry's five.
The Madejski Stadium will provide the stage for England's present and future as the Exiles' duo of Paul Hodgson or Peter Richards come up against the in-form, but uncapped Danny Care of Harlequins.
Twenty-one-year old Care has seized his opportunity since coming into the side at the expense of England's World Cup Final scrumhalf Andy Gomersall just before Christmas. His performances were good enough to see him named Guinness Premiership Player of the Month for March and for his Director of Rugby, Dean Richards to endorse his selection for the England squad to tour New Zealand in the summer.
Care will come up against either Peter Richards or the recently capped Paul Hodgson on Saturday, both vying to start the Heineken Cup semifinal against French aristocrats Toulouse.
Richards toured with England on the original 'Tour of Hell' in 1997 in his first stint as a London Irish player and will now be looking to make amends with another visit to the southern hemisphere.
But Paul Hodgson has been a prickly presence for Irish behind the scrum and has been particularly influential in their most successful European campaign ever.
In his 17 matches he has made 78 tackles and boasts the lowest missed tackle percentage of any scrumhalf, statistical support for his excellent tackling, most memorably demonstrated by his try-saving tackle against Perpignan a fortnight ago.
London Irish boast one of the paciest back-lines in the country and Hodgson has sought to exploit that by spinning out nearly 750 passes at an average of 44 per match, providing good ammunition for team-mates like Shane Geraghty, player/coach Mike Catt and England Saxons Topsy Ojo and Delon Armitage.
Care's pace is fast becoming his trademark. In just 11 Guinness Premiership matches, Care has 'rushed' for over 350 metres, the most of any scrumhalf in the league and an average of a an impressive 32 metres per match. With an average carry figure of around five per match, Care is making around six metres per carry.
As Hodgson has exploited the pace of his threequarters, Care has benefited from the pace and strength of his breakaway forwards, often to be found lurking on the shoulder of Tom Guest, Will Skinner or Chris Robshaw, more Harlequins with an eye on Saxon or full England recognition.
With thanks to guinnesspremiership.com
