Cipriani v Farrell weakens the defence considerably. There are no bad tacklers in my line above. I don’t know enough about Teo, but he must have something about him to have made the trip.

Cipriani is yesterdays news never mind his Drink Drving case. Personally I think he should call an end to his England career and focus on the club side, look at France too. What’s the point of getting knocked around with the Saxons, he should just rest

Fair question but Ashton and Wade have both played for dominant teams which helps. Wade got 6 tries in one game, most of which were simple run ins.

Roko’s rate has been pretty good considering how crap Bath were.

Actually I think Wade should be in and that Ashton is decent too but EJ knows what he’s doing. Ashton’s out on the “we can only accommodate one dickhead rule” and he’s said Wade needs to defend better.

I can’t see Yarde’s worth myself but EJ talked about his power when running over Ritchie McCaw for a try in NZ a few years ago and thinks he can be the real deal.

Wasn’t always a big Nowell fan but he’s really proved himself. Watson should be at 15 because neither Brown nor Goode are ever going to be top international fullbacks.

I wouldn’t care if there was 20 dickheads if they were the best players!

Aaaaand he’s in!

Indeed but I meant I can’t see how he’ll make the squad for Rio.

For anyone still interested in Jarryd Hayne’s brave struggle to achieve his lifelong dream of representing Fiji in 7s at the Olympics – and I must admit I’m starting to lose interest – there’s a good, pithy article HERE

Is that the Danny Cipriani who is clearly in the Saxons to get game time, the one who has just been signed by England’s spendiest club or a different one?

#JAMBYFACTS

That may have been the case in days gone by but I think EJ seems a shrewd judge of character. If he thinks any individual, no matter how good, will have a negative impact on the ability of the side to reach their full potential then he’ll be left out.

Graham Henry did it to Justin Marshall.

Word is Ashton was offered a place on the Saxons tour but turned it down. It’s Saracen’s gain. It means they’ll have him for the whole season – except when he’s banned, of course. 😉

Is he (Manu) just fragile in a way that some big guys can be? E.G. Simon Taylor,a lion at 20,and little afterwards; and dare I say it, Warburton who seems to just find form and then get broken? (Not that he is big by modern standards)

I do wonder if half the idea of Teo coming in, is as a poor man’s Manu

Having just seen some Hayne clips for Fiji 7’s…. he runs with all the speed and grace of a prop which can’t be ideal in such a fast and loose style of play….

I watch loads of Hayne playing in the State of Origin and there is nothing prop-like about him.

When England beat the ABs in 2012 Lancaster thought it heralded a new golden era – with a wrecking ball centre at 12, England were going to dominate the world game. He became fixated on the idea that if Manu was right, everything was right. When Manu was gone he tried a succession of lumpen luminaries to fill the Manu sized hole. Such as Barritt, Burgess and (to a lesser extent) Burrell.

Te’o looks OK but, at 29, why bring him in from nowhere unless it’s a short term fill-in for the Manu sized hole? Surely a younger English player would benefit more in the long term?

No but compared to his gazelle like team mates he did look more like a hippo.

Of all the XVs high flyers only SBW has made a decent fist of 7s. He gave up everything else and has stuck in the whole season. He’s not the force he is in XVs but he’s learned and he’s effective.

I think you’ve explained it better. Maybe it is a comparative thing but in his brief appearance Hayne did look like a hippo. Hippos are not slow by any means but they aren’t especially graceful. That isn’t a bad comparison 🙂 Didn’t follow his NRL or NFL stuff too much but 7’s is a different kettle of fish again. It is good 7’s is coming in to the mainstream limelight again and it is interesting to see most of the crossover players struggle

That is exactly what I wonder, but if you want that type of player then who do you look to in the younger players… not many options I can think of

Indeed. I was merely comparing and contrasting him with some of the stellar XVs players who’ve been giving it a whirl.

No doubt he’s a phenomenal athlete and making that transition to the NFL was stunning. However, he’s coming in far too late, he’s not in condition, he doesn’t understand the game and he’s trying to get into the best side in the world. If he was trying to play for Portugal then Ok – but Fiji??

SBW is one of the greatest cross code athletes of all time. He’s worked at it. Hayne seems to think he can just turn up and walk in now he’s been dumped by the 49ers. It’s disrespectful.

Well they stuck him in to see what he could do. Only because of who he is rather than what he can do at 7s.

If he gets into the Rio squad on merit – he’ll have suceeded.

It’s unlikely.