Robshaw and the England backrow

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Whilst I wouldn't say Robshaw is one of the great natural talents of his generation, he is a very decent rugby player and his strong mentality and natural leadership skills mean he is likely to be a fixture for England up until the next WC. He reminds me of Tom Rees (although maybe not quite with the same level of ability) and England are lucky to have him.

If he is a fixture then it is probably at 7, which seems to be where he and his coaches think he should play. Morgan looks first choice at 8 at present, and if this doesn't change it means England have a lot of good backrow forwards competing for one starting place (whether you think Robshaw is a 6 or a 7):

Croft, Wood, Haskell, Clark, Fearns, Johnson, Dowson, Gibson, Kvesic, Craig (who I think can do a Croft impression at the line-out but with more physical presence), Launchbury, Welch, and Lawes. Scaysbrook, Seymour and Saull also have their admirers. And of course if Armitage wants to come back to England he can be added to the list.

Then there are other emerging players like Nutley, Sisi, Vunipola, Jones (who I think is a fine prospect who gets little press), Wray and Harrison. Further back, but possibilities for 2015, are players like Itoje and Clifford.

A few years back England was struggling for backrows, now the challenge is finding the right combination. There is going to be a lot of competition for places.

Knowsit - France play a left-right flanking partnership. There is no real blindside or openside. The roles are shared.

Reflecting on this a bit, I think there's also a question of how teams play. People don't think of Robshaw as a fetcher because he isn't constantly stealing ball, but Quins play a very specific way at the breakdown. They prefer to get their defensive line in order and absorb the pressure, and only go for the turnover when there's a realistic chance of getting it. Even so, Robshaw will usually come up with the ball a couple of times a game, particularly when it's absolutely vital to win one. The end of Saturday's final was a case in point.

England in the 6N looked to me to be playing a similar game - they trusted their defensive line and line speed to create pressure and force mistakes, and only prioritised the breakdown when it was on.

The only real question mark I can think of about Robshaw as an out-and-out 7 is his absolute speed over the ground. He isn't Neil Back. However, when did you last see him caught out of position? The man learned his trade under Deano, and has that uncanny ability to be where you need him, when you need him (but without the shambling gait, rolled down socks and beer belly).

Sgt_Pooly wrote:Never heard of Pocock being described as having "raw pace". Pocock is a pretty poor carrier also I find, great on the deck though similar to Brussow.

I think Pocock's actually a really good ball carrier. He rarely gets the ball in space, but instead operates in the tight and so is rarely seen making the flashy, long yard runs. However, he always gets over the gainline and makes really powerful dents in any defence. Usually requires two tacklers at least to get him down. I compare Pocock's carrying to Robshaw- always makes the hard yards.

Check out Pocock's tries in this game- a good example of his carrying in both the open (1.30) and tight play (~1.45).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwCZakhLAkg