An ex-England No9 isn't sure about Randall as a Test scrum-half
Harry Randall is set to appear in the biggest match of his rugby career this Saturday, the 24-year-old getting chosen as the starting England No9 in their must-win Guinness Six Nations encounter versus Wales at Twickenham. The Test rookie’s previous starts have come against the USA, Canada and Italy, teams of a very different calibre compared to what he will now face in round three of the championship this Saturday.
Randall's inclusion was a surprise. There were no indications from England and little if any media speculation that he would be the chosen No9 as the expectation was that the seasoned Ben Youngs would be reinstated as the scrum-half starter. Instead, the 32-year-old will have to settle for making his 115th record-breaking England appearance when he inevitably comes off the bench at some stage in London.
England boss Eddie Jones has explained how he wants his team to play with greater pace, that opposition teams are more vulnerable in the opening 20 minutes of matches as defences are only settling in at that stage regarding how the referee is going to officiate the game. He added, by way of doubling down on his theory, that 78 per cent of teams who score the first try in a Test match go on and win.
That statistic is currently running at 66.6 per cent heading into Six Nations round three as Italy, in round one at France, and Scotland, in round two at Wales, were game-opening try-scorers who didn’t go on to win those matches. But back to Randall and the reasons why Austin Healey, a former England scrum-half in the Clive Woodward era, reckons that the Bristol half-back isn’t the player best equipped to fire up Jones’ attack.
Healey has been having a running battle with Jones over how the Australian has been coaching England and there was a fractious over-and-back exchange via the media surrounding the round two game versus Italy. Now Healey has turned his attention to the inclusion of Randall and has written in his latest UK Telegraph column that Jones has got this particular England selection wrong.
“With Harry Randall starting against Wales many expect England to play at pace, but let’s be clear, playing fast club rugby is still two yards off a fast international game,” began Healey. “He normally plays in a team at Bristol who love playing in a broken-up game, picking up and going by himself.
“With England, his first job is to get the ball in Marcus Smith's hands as fast as possible, or whichever runner is available for the next phase. I would have been tempted to stick with Ben Youngs, or even Danny Care. Why? Randall is rapid and loves a loose match, but I am equally not sure about him as a Test scrum-half.
“Having started previously against the USA, Canada and Italy, Wales on Saturday is going to be Randall's biggest game for England by some margin. Let's see how he gets on. As for Youngs, congratulations to him on breaking the all-time men's England cap's record. It's a phenomenal achievement, and you have to ask whether it will be surpassed, and who might do it."
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John, McKenzie was 10 years ago and he only lasted 15 months until the disgustingly unfair affair that brought him down. I thought that if he didn't get another gig over Eddie V2 then he was done. I read that he had been approached but declined to put his name in the ring.
There are no potential Wallaby coaches outside of McKellar unless you have some inside info?
Go to commentsThe way they are defending is sometime pathetic to be honest. Itoje is usually on the inside of the rush and he is paired with a slower tight forward. Unable to keep up with the rush we have seen the line become disconnected on the inside where the big boys are. How many times have we seen Earl rush past the first receiver almost into no mans land covering no attacker. It looks like a system without any guidance. Tome Wright, Ikitau and a number of Wallabies went back to this soft centre as did Williams, Jordan and several others. Also when the line is broken the multiple lines of defence seems to be missing. The rush is predicated on a cover and recovery system with multiple lines of defence but with England you dont see it any more. Fitness and conditioning seems to be off as well as players are struggling to keep up with the intensity of the rush. Felix Jones has left a huge hole. The whole situation was and is a mess. Why they insist on not letting him go and having him work remotely is beyond me. Its leading to massive negative press and is a hot button issue thats distracting from the squad. Also the communication around Jones and his role has been absolute rubbish and is totally disjointed. While some say he is working remotely and playing a role others are saying theres been no contact. His role has not been defined and so people keep asking and keep getting different answers. England need a clean break from him and need to start over. Whatever reason for his leaving its time to cut the rope before the saga drags the whole Borthwick regime down. As for Joe El Abd well good luck to him. He is being made to look like an amateur by the whole saga and he is being asked to coach a system thats not his and which has been perfected and honed since 2017 by Nienaber, Jones, Erasmus and Co and which was first started by White in 2004. He is literally trying to figure out a system pioneered by double world cup winning coaches at the highest level and coach it at the same time. Talk about being on a hiding to nothing.
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