Exiled: Steffon Armitage
England head coach Stuart Lancaster has appeared to call into question the fitness of flanker Steffon Armitage.
Speaking in defence of England captain Chris Robshaw, Lancaster addressed the calls from both the public and the media for Armitage to be included back into the set-up by questioning whether he was fit enough to handle Test rugby.
"I want our players to stay in England and play in England," said Lancaster to the press on Monday.
"At Toulon he [Armitage] plays behind a dominant pack and they have got world-class players in every position. They are beating everyone on the front foot.
"To play for 80 minutes, at the highest level in Test rugby, when you're not on the front foot and have to keep running around at high levels of intensity, you've got to be fit."
Armitage was named on Monday as the best foreign player in the Top 14 by Midi Olympique, having excelled last season as Toulon reached both the Amlin Challenge Cup and Top 14 Finals.
England came unstuck against Australia's Michael Hooper last Saturday, raising the issue once again on whether a recognised "fetcher" is needed at openside flanker rather than England captain Robshaw.
The Harlequins captain produced more turnovers than any other player during the June series against South Africa, but appears more physically suited to the blindside flank.
"Chris has been named captain for the series and I'm more than happy with his contribution on and off the field. I don't see that Chris' performance would warrant being dropped," added Lancaster.
"There are not many in my opinion who play at seven in England in the same way as Michael Hooper or Richie McCaw do. It's quite hard to magic someone up to play in that way in our competition."
Comments
APV1 says...
It doesn't require magic, it requires Armitage.
FFS!
Posted 11:50 20th November 2012
marbun says...
They do happen to be pretty round in Toulon.....
Posted 11:47 20th November 2012
jonesy2 says...
he does not look like a rugby player. looks more like the bloke who fixes your computer
Posted 11:36 20th November 2012
unebrindille says...
So S Armitage is brilliant among a constellation of international stars but not fit for international duty....
Far fetched for me....
Posted 11:32 20th November 2012
Artherfish says...
There seems to be a tasert admition that the England pack will be on the back foot in this series and so we need flankers who Know how to be on the lossing end of a forward battle. not sure thats quite the right way to go about things.
Our pack isn't doing the business at present and if we are not going to kick pionts when offered (madness) then we are going to need to be a shed load better and obn the front foot. If Steffon is the best foriegn player in france who just stuffed the team we buckled to then surly he is worth a look. Is the the backroom hand of RFU policy makeing desicions for SL.
Re kicking the pionts. Despite Oz out thinking us and shutting down our pack we could still have won had cool heads and grown up thinking on the field been aplied. Its not a definate but we had then end of game popsetion and teritory and penalties we could(should) have kicked. Now we have slumped in the rankings and will suffer in the draw for our home world cup.
Posted 10:59 20th November 2012
Chubbylugs says...
Surprised by Lancaster here. Not so much regarding steffon, but by admitting we're a bit sh!7.
I think he's missed the point also. The fact that we don't have a dominant pack means we need a faster looser game surely so must need a proper 7?
Posted 10:47 20th November 2012
jamesliveinhope says...
interesting choice of image to accompany an article about fitness, but I have the same feeling about Waldrom.
Ignoring the insinuations about the "real" reason, Lancaster has a point. How many "world class" players have proven to be not quite the full ticket when playing outside of the comfort zone of their club. Its not just about the change in quality but the change in understanding.
Personally, I still cannot fathom why England insist on having a Leicester 8 and 10 yet leave the Leicester 9 on the bench (although it sounds like Morgan will be at 8 against the Saffers if Lancaster's recent remarks are anything to go by)
Posted 10:36 20th November 2012
AllezBrive says...
Armitage plays week in, week out against the likes of Dusatoir, Nyanga, Parisse, Harinordiquy, Vosloo, Chouly et al and is specialist open Flank. He has just been voted the best foreign player in the Top14 for last season, when Toulon weren't beating everyone M. Lancaster. I have seen him play against Brive and his work was huge and scored a fantastic try. I am not saying he is a saviour because England lost to Wallabies after Les Bleus totally outplayed them but when he is not even considered for the squad. I wonder if M.Lancaster has taken the time to speak with M.Laporte as to Armitages fitness, or even Jonny. Maybe, it is possible that his performance improves playing in Top14. I know it is hypothetique but if M.Gatland chooses Armitage for The Lions and he goes well, that could be embarrasing for someone. Also interesting The Boks pick Pienaar and Louw who play in NH but someone from England team cannot go to Toulon to check on Steffon, or Paris if they play there. I think Twickenham to Paris is as easy travel today as trip to Sale or Exeter to check on a player. Maybe M. Lancaster does not like his face? However, it is good for Toulon that M.Lancaster does not choose him, but I think questioning his fitness may be an excuse for non selection.
Posted 10:06 20th November 2012
heart_of_oak says...
This is a poor excuse and it has damaged my belief in Lancaster.
Posted 09:37 20th November 2012
IronManI441 says...
It does seem like Armitage would fade in the last 20 minutes of a match if he was on the back foot the entire time, purely just based on his size. I would imagine that although his poaching is class, he would never get around the park like Hooper or Pocock, who are simply world class athletes mixed with some great dark art skills. However Armitage is a hell of an player as he has shown all season at Toulon and it isn't like Robshaw couldn't start at 6 and move to 7 when Armitage goes off and bring Tom Wood on at 6. Also I think with a bit of work Courtney Lawes could be a world class flanker, he has got the athleticism and work rate and just needs a bit of mentoring at the subtler aspects of being a fetcher.
Posted 09:36 20th November 2012
lawynd says...
I question the logic of this statement (if indeed it is accurate). Whilst I can appreciate the problems with getting players based in France released (which possibly should be a matter for the IRB, based on recent release issues in general), shouldn't England want to have a dominant pack to work behind? After all, that has been a cornerstone of our game for many years...is it all of a sudden being abandoned in favour of...well, non-dominance? Clearly there's work to do (our front row in general needs more experience, we're missing a couple of players in the second row, our back row isn't balanced), but surely we should be going out there with the mindset of obtaining front-foot ball? Otherwise, what's the point?
Additionally, we've already picked players at 9 and 10 (Care, Youngs and Flood) who thrive off front-foot ball and suffer if forced to play behind a retreating scrum, at both club and international level. Why is it ok for them but not Armitage?
Posted 09:33 20th November 2012
dodgyrog says...
the only way to find out what condition he is in, is if you include him in a squad?????????????????????
Posted 09:27 20th November 2012