Loose Pass: England’s unused back-row riches, what Antoine Dupont’s GOAT status hinges on and being ‘short-changed’ by the Champions Cup
Antoine Dupont and an inset of Toulouse teammate Jack Willis.
This week we will mostly be concerning ourselves with England’s unused back-row riches, Finals before the Final, and Antoine Dupont’s travails since returning from injury…
How many tricks have been missed by England?
To watch some of the more relevant games of the past fortnight has been surely at least to note how many of England’s finest back-row players are not playing, or seemingly will ever be playing, for England any time soon.
Both Willis brothers are huge misses for England, and while Jack’s decision to remain at Toulouse after he was rescued from redundancy is understandable, less understandable is why the RFU did not consider his plight at the time to form some sort of exemption criterion for overseas-based players, and even less understandable is the manner in which the RFU has seemed to simply let Tom Willis go to Bordeaux in the prime of his career.
The preference is seemingly to nurture the precocious talents of Henry Pollock, but it was not the Willis brothers giving away penalties and yellow cards at crucial moments of the weekend’s matches; nor was it Alfie Barbeary, who backed up the crucial intervention against Saracens last week with a man-of-the-match display as Bath roared back against Northampton. Nor was it any of those three provoking the ire of the crowd with an NFL-style spike of the ball in the faces of the home fans. Nor was it any of those three nurturing a new injury in a career absolutely riddled with them. Tom Curry deserves his place fully in an England jersey, but only when he is fully fit, and how much has that really been since the last World Cup?
It was, however, Tom Willis leading the charge for Saracens at Bath before the home side scrapped back into things. It was Jack Willis delivering, once again, a man-of-the-match performance even in defeat as Bordeaux turned the screw on Toulouse.
England ought to have a back-row for the ages right now with every box ticked and double the depth. Instead, Ben Earl gets through the work of 1.5 players, Pollock contributes and gives away, both with abandon, and every time Tom Curry is able to walk, he is asked to run and hit as well, before leaving the field injured. The depth behind that trio is not enough that England can simply allow world-class players to leave – and similar arguments can be made for the centres and the waste of Joe Marchant’s talents (even if he does find a way back into the set-up next season).
Europe’s real Final comes a month early
It may read as a lament – perhaps more accurate, another lament – about the odd nature of the European calendar and the way the seedings play out, but it’s hard not to feel a little short-changed by the way the European Cup draw has played out this season.
If Bordeaux v Toulouse might not have been to everyone’s taste as a Final because of it being all-French, then maybe fair enough. The same applies to Bath v Northampton being all-English. But Bordeaux v Bath has to be, on current evidence, the best against the best that England and France, and by extension, Europe, has to offer. A shame it is in the semi-final; full of quality though Leinster palpably are, this is not a Leinster vintage to compare with others from the recent past. Toulon’s domestic struggles have been well-documented, although the recent form trend is noticeably upward.
This assessment of Bordeaux v Bath is clearly rough on Northampton too, who played their part in one of the modern-day classics on Friday night. It is also rough on Toulouse who up until this season very much had Bordeaux’s number (remember that Top 14 Final two years ago?) But both the weekend’s winners appear to have mastered the art of winning in those key final quarters, of being able to close games out and dig deeper into the structures to squeeze the crucial errors from the opposition. You’d be brave indeed not to bet on these two quarter-finals also being the respective national finals in May/June as well.
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Dupont going through a mid-career challenge
There’s little danger of Antoine Dupont’s place as one of the GOATs of rugby being downgraded anytime soon, but nor is there any danger, for the first time in a few years, of his winning any of the usual player awards either.
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He has not been the same since coming back from injury last November. Fewer tries, more errors under pressure and a smattering of yellow cards have been mixed up with his usual moments of superhuman skill and strength. That would have been expected in the weeks after being back, but there continues to be hiccups in the form, fewer of those energetic wriggles through crowded fringes, more mistakes made because he found himself unable to do those things he used to do and ended up in no-man’s land because of it.
Dupont would not be the first player to return from an ACL injury a quarter of a yard slower, not least with age creeping up on him as well. But his continued residence in the house of GOAT may well hinge on his being able to reinvent himself in his position, such as Brian O’Driscoll, George Gregan, Dan Carter and one or two others noticeably did during the latter parts of their careers.
READ MORE: Antoine Dupont issues Top 14 ‘warning’ after ‘very difficult’ Champions Cup exit for Toulouse
