Loose Pass: A good cause, D-days and bizarre overlooks

Editor

This week we will mostly be concerning ourselves with local derbies for a good cause, D-days and bizarre overlooks in the England camp…

Give a little…

If ever there was a reason for neutrals to get involved in the tribal gathering that is an east midlands derby, look no further than a young chap on the sidelines of Saturday’s clash with his arm in a sling.

The derby at Welford Road last season was only 13 seconds old when Rob Horne clashed with an opponent and fell to the turf. “I’ve been told it looks like I’m trying to get up and I just can’t. Like any player, you don’t think anything’s that wrong,” he said to the Guardian this week.

It turned out that ‘nothing wrong’ was actually a complete detachment of all five nerves in his arm from the spinal cord, which has resulted in Horne losing the use of his right arm.

The former Wallaby is now back in Australia with his family, but he will be on the sidelines at Twickenham on Saturday, where charitable donations made from the purchase of tickets for the derby will be directed to a fund in his aid.

Horne continues to undergo treatment for chronic nerve pain and has recently had a major operation to try and reduce it, which involved transferring nerves from his ribs to his arm. He’ll be back Saturday to cheer on his former team-mates at what should be a pretty spicy occasion given the current form of the two teams.

But anyone going would do well to take advantage of that charitable donation opportunity for a humble young man who has had to deal with a life-changing situation. See you there!

A big moment

It’s a little difficult to escape the notion that this coming weekend’s match in Salta is Michael Cheika’s moment of truth. Clamours are for him to either be cut adrift or to fall on his sword: the ubiquitous ‘honourable thing’ sentence has been read in three separate publications since Saturday.

A defeat will be eight in ten for Australia’s coach, and as the 2015 finalists approach the 2019 World Cup it’s tough to imagine a repeat performance. The Wallabies look extremely troubled, with experiments such as the Kurtley Beale fly-half shambles last weekend looking like the experiments of someone reaching a little too far for inspiration.

But interestingly, it was tough to imagine the 2014 Wallabies reaching the 2015 final as well. The team looked to be drifting after the lost Lions tour in 2013, unsure of its identity and playing a style that seemed not to sit too well with the squad under Robbie Deans.

Cheika was the one to turn that around. He was the one to give the team its identity back then and he was the one who got the side playing with confidence and direction. Built on the back of the Waratahs’ 2014 Super Rugby success, Cheika looked to have kept the Wallabies back from falling into an abyss.

His big problem at the moment is that there is simply nothing of the Waratahs at sub-international level for a national team coach to draw upon. All four Australian franchises are in various stages of drift and none of the coaches are pioneering anything new to take any of the franchises forward.

Even at the level above, the fanfare that accompanied CEO Raelene Castle’s appointment does not seem to have been backed up by much. That’s not necessarily a reflection on Ms. Castle, but it is very symptomatic of the way the sport is struggling to find a place in Australia’s hearts and culture.

So while Cheika can be accused of overcomplicating his playing systems, experimenting too much, and one or two other things, the national team’s struggles are also a reflection on where Australian rugby is generally at present, and it’s difficult to imagine what changing Cheika would do to improve that.

Goode grief…

OK, so we know Eddie Jones has his standards and ideals and that he’s impossible to win over by pure reasoning. And we know he’ll live and die by those standards and ideals wherever he goes.

Clearly he has seen something in Alex Goode he does not like. What that is, is a complete mystery.

Goode kicks well, he catches well, he tackles extremely well. What he lacks in maverick ability – which we suspect is the reason he is overlooked, although the 207 metres made with five clean breaks and eight defenders beaten suggests it is something he has worked on – he makes up for in running super lines from deep and a keen finishing instinct.

Mike Brown has long been the preferred choice for a solid full-back with decent game-breaking ability, while Elliot Daly and Anthony Watson both carry a little more adventure with them; finishers, as Jones likes to call them, often coming off the bench when England are at full strength.

But Goode has now had two full seasons and more importantly, two full summers to rest post-season and work pre-season, leaving him looking sharper than at any time during his career to date. Surely if Chris Ashton can win back Jones, Goode can as well?

Loose Pass compiled by Lawrence Nolan