Highly-rated: Billy Twelvetrees
Former England fly-half Stuart Barnes is excited by the selection of Gloucester centre Billy Twelvetrees to England's Elite Player squad.
Barnes hailed coach Stuart Lancaster's "fascinating selection" of Twelvetrees and backed the former Leicester midfielder to shine for his country.
Twelvetrees, along with Northampton flanker Calum Clark, was one of just two uncapped players included in Lancaster's 33-man squad ahead of the upcoming Six Nations tournament, which starts next month.
The 24-year-old, well-known for his handling game, has formed an effective partnership at club level with fly-half Freddie Burns.
Although Twelvetrees is unlikely to force his way into the starting line-up for England's Six Nations opener at home to Scotland on February 2, given their last match was a record-breaking 38-21 win over world champions New Zealand at Twickenham in December, Barnes believes his inclusion is significant.
"Twelvetrees is the key selection for me; I don't think he will be starting against Scotland, but the key thing for me is what it tells us about this regime," Barnes told Sky Sports.
"Twelvetrees has a lovely pass of left and right, he can kick and he can carry; he is a fascinating selection."
Barnes, renowned as a running fly-half, won only 10 England caps in a nine-year Test career with the selectors generally opting for Rob Andrew, more of a 'kicking' No 10 during a period where the emphasis was on a forward-orientated game.
More recently, concerns have been expressed about the current side's lack of midfield creativity although these were stilled after England rounded off 2012 with a stunning defeat of the All Blacks.
Barnes, however, believes former Leicester midfielder Twelvetrees can bolster England's attack.
"Twelvetrees has played some outstanding games for Gloucester but also some indifferent ones, but he is a passing 12," he added.
"I remember talking to Lancaster at Bath when he took over this England job and he said he wanted a 12 who could distribute the ball; England have beaten the All Blacks but they have not got that 12 yet.
"Twelvetrees has that capacity. He has a lovely pass of left and right, he can kick and he can carry. He is a guy who can change the way England play."
Comments
APV1 says...
@ NHsaints - wow. That could even work. Have you sent the memo to EPS HQ?
@ Frooschman - whilst I agree with some of what you're saying, I still think MT is our best 13 by some margin. JTH (and others) are good, but MT's something else. He's not as skilled a some, but that's coming with time (I think I've even seen him try a chip-kick recently), as is his pace. He's never going to be a racing snake, such is his physiology, but he's not actually that slow either. I think that NHsaints highlighted that one of the reasons he looks so... so... "one-trick" (I can't find the words I want), is that Barritt isn't a play-maker from 12. BB and MT are both big lads who can get over the gain-line with brawn. But think of the best centre combos and there's usually one basher (Tindall, Nonu, JDV, Bastareaud, etc) and one "player" (Greenwood, Smith, JdJ, Mermoz, BOD, etc). At the moment we have two "bashers" and need 36 to create that balance. At least, that's my take on it.
@ nabberuk - easy now. Nowt finer than a Bath fan, I assure you.
Posted 11:44 11th January 2013
nabberuk says...
"Frooschman says...
1. I?m a Bath fan not a Saints fan. Please don't tarnish my reputation.
"
lol, that made my day!! if i were you i wouldn't of admitted to being a Bath fan!
Posted 09:22 11th January 2013
Frooschman says...
Lawynd, You're right, we aren't blessed with depth when it comes to genuine outside centres. We don't have a BoD or a Smith waiting in the wings. However I would prefer to see Joseph given a run ahead of Tuilagi because I think he is a more rounded option. We have quite a bit of quality and quite a few options in the back three that I think are under-utilised because Tuilagi lacks the ability to bring them into the game. I'll give you an example, Tuilagi's try against Australia. Yes he scored. But it was far closer than it should have been. If he'd straightened his line he would have fixed the defense. If he'd then give the pass at the right time the winger would have been home free and quite possibly had the time and space to get round under the posts. Maybe it was youthful exuberance but I doubt whether BoD or Smith would have put his team in that position. A better line and a well timed pass would have negated the need to go to the TMO.
As for guile, think of it as the ability to get over the gain line using brains rather than brawn - because one day he will come up against someone bigger than him. A side-step would be nice or a show-and-go, maybe even a dummy or a change of pace. Although that would of course require pace to change.
Posted 08:58 11th January 2013
Felly says...
.....and breathe, NHSaints.
Posted 01:18 11th January 2013
lawynd says...
So nine tries (plus the assists) in seventeen caps isn't enough? Good to know. He also isn't slow and offloads well in the tackle...guile? Wasn't he a character in Street Fighter? Or are you suggesting he doesn't have any tricks or isn't a liar? Otherwise, I'm not sure what you mean...the lad's one of the most effective players we have in the backs and I defy you to give me three English players better than he is in the position.
Posted 17:07 10th January 2013
NHsaints says...
I think our future is Burns, 12trees and Tuilagi in the midfield, the interesting part of that though is that if we put 12trees at inside centre then we have the misspass capacity in the midfield which means we can still hit the outside channels even with Tuilagi's average passing game as well as being able to hit the 12 and 13 channels from 10 with burns. The best bit about that though is that we can have Ashton on the wing we're hitting, play brown at Fullback and bring him to the line leaving Foden to move back for a second wave attack or counter from fullback. The advantage to this is that Brown is very good at making it through the first tackle (for quins) and at picking lines off JTH in the gap between 12 and 13 and also very good at taking the outside ball from Hopper between 13 and 14 so doing that combination means we can have Brown hitting the line (on the reverse angle against drift defences and the flat line against rush defences) but we get the advantage that as the opposition 12+13 see him coming they have to make a split second decision- mark their opposite men or mark Brown, now if we have the ball coming to twelvetrees from burns they can either decide to mark tuilagi and brown in which case 12trees is away or mark 12+13 and then brown is through or mark brown and 12trees in which case you're leaving tuilagi unmarked (you definitely can't get away with that) or the winger steps in and they mark 12, 13 and brown and leave ashton an open run down the wing so effectively we then have a 3 on 2 in the midfield all the time. This would work where for other teams it wouldn't because Ashton being free on the near wing will mean any linebreak will be capitalised on by his great support lines and any turnover ball or second phase ball in broken field play will see Foden at his best (1 on 1 defensive situations) or countering against a disorganised defence.
Posted 16:45 10th January 2013
Frooschman says...
1. Iżm a Bath fan not a Saints fan. Please don't tarnish my reputation.
2. One good game, and I'll admit he had a good game, does not excuse sixteen bad ones. The kid is a one trick pony and lacks the pace, hands and guile to unleash those around him.
3. Iżm just not a fan of the lad. There are plenty of Leicester players I rate but he is not one of them. I make no excuse for it.
Posted 16:44 10th January 2013
APV1 says...
@ TVaddict - you're probably right. perhaps I want too much too soon and we nee to get the "W" first and the development of the players and squad will, naturally, follow.
Damn my Pom arrogance again!
@ Frooschman - I remember commenting on the NZ : Eng match thread that I didn't think I'd ever seen Barritt run so well. If he brings that to the 6N, then all is forgiven and he'll no longer be considered a one-trick pony - smash it up and defend like all buggery.
Posted 16:27 10th January 2013
lawynd says...
@Frooschman - Tuilagi can, and does pass and offload; your terrible Saints bias is showing through yet again. Did you conveniently forget that he set up ALL of the England tries against the All Blacks?
Posted 15:59 10th January 2013
Frooschman says...
On the Burns v Farrell question, for me there was very telling moment in the NZ match. Burns had been on the park only a short while before he popped a very flat pass to Barritt I think. Regardless it was flat and fast and allowed the centre to accelerate onto the ball. Waiting for him was Nonu who of course made his tackle but the difference was that Barritt was at pace and went over Nonu. Don't get me wrong, Nonu made his tackle and held Barritt but by going forward in the tackle Barritt provided a platform for his forwards to attack. I remember at the time thinking that we had seen precious little of such basic distribution skills for the first hour or so while Farrell was on the park.
Also, all this talk about Barritt being the weak link for not having the distribution skills of Twelvetrees - what about Tuilagi?! Regardless of his try scoring in the Autumn that lad is simply a lump (and not a terribly quick one) - his passing was woeful! Who plays on the wings and at full back is a moot point if they're never getting any decent ball. Whilst I applaud the selection of Twelvetrees I'm quite concerned by the automatic assumption that a kid that can't pass will fill the 13 shirt!
Posted 14:41 10th January 2013
TVaddict says...
@APV1
If the Scotland game was any other time I would agree, however it is our first game and for our first game we need to play a full strength team to 'clear the cobwebs'. I would choose exactly the same 23 that played against New Zealand apart from the necessary changes due to possible injuries (i.e. Brown to fullback and Foden to left wing, Vunipola to 1 and Marler on the bench).
For the Italy game I'd like Burns, Twelvetrees and a new right wing prospect to start (maybe JJ considering the current squad, though I'd prefer Wade). I wouldn't change many forwards with this game though, maybe try the Lawes and Launchbury combo.
Posted 14:38 10th January 2013
ArmchairGeneral says...
APV1 you've for to stop copying me. The most annoying copies are the ones you write before me.
Posted 14:03 10th January 2013
APV1 says...
Whilst not taken them lightly, I think that we SHOULD beat Scotland. If we ignore Scotland beating Aus and us beating NZ, I think we are still the better team (damn those arrogant Poms, eh?!). Likewise against Italy (ignoring their result against France). So should we, perhaps, use these games to "have a go"?
Start with Farrell and Barritt, by all means, but use Burns and 36 from the bench and see how they get on. Burns did so well against NZ, he should be fine. And I can't see 36 being too phased either - he's played some pretty intense rugby for the Tigers and Glaws, after-all.
@ rugby_rockstar - in fairness to Barritt, "Auntie Jill" is only her pseudonym, as we all know. Her real name is Nikita and she's an assassin, so it's not really a good comparison.
Posted 11:51 10th January 2013
ArmchairGeneral says...
Farrell vs Burns reminds me of the Andrew vs Barnes rivalry, or even the Mertens vs Spencer but I hope this time Burns comes out top. The difference is Burns is maverick but also a very reliable points kicker. Hopefully England get on top Vs Scotland early and Burns and 12.3s come on together. They have a full half to make their claim because later games I'd go for a Leicester loaded bench: Youngs, Parling, Croft, Youngs, Flood all coming on around 50 - 65 mins. So losing 10/12 combo vs Scotland loses the bench as well in 2nd game. that should bring out the best in them.
Posted 10:20 10th January 2013
lawynd says...
@Centre12 - do you watch any AP games? One of the reasons Twelvetrees left Leicester is that he wasn't getting any game time at 12, and was instead shoehorned in as a makeshift 10 when Flood was absent. Until this season he simply hadn't played enough rugby to be considered for England.
Posted 09:41 10th January 2013
rugby_rockstar says...
Yeah, we don't beat New Zealand very often, so when we do we jump about a bit and shout stuff like, "WAHEY!!!!!"
Can someone buy Mew2000 a steak and cheese pie? He's feeling a bit delicate and vulnerable.
Anyway as far a Twelvetrees go, I'm thinking that my Auntie Jill would be a more attacking threat that Brad Barritt so thing's would definately improve in the regard. Not so sure about defence though. He may make the bench, but you won't see him in the tight matches except when covering an injury.
Posted 09:34 10th January 2013
ben7 says...
@mew2000. You still sulking?
Posted 08:58 10th January 2013
mew2000 says...
yes you had beaten the abs last year and how many times was it before you did that ? about evry 4-5 years isn't it?
Posted 07:18 10th January 2013
Centre12 says...
Completely agree and I can't believe it has taken this long for him to be selected by England, how Turner-Hall, Allen and Barritt were selected ahead of him before now is an absolute mystery to me. England may have put in a very convincing display against the AB's but what is that old saying "one swallow does not make a summer" England still lack that creativity in midfield and I can not wait to see him win his first cap. Burns, 12Trees & Tuilagi now that is an awesome midfield and one that could gain 3 years of playing together before the WC.
Posted 07:13 10th January 2013