Ben Spencer, who has only four baseball cap caps, did well in Bath at Twickenham. Photo: Getty Images/David Rogers
Steve Borthwick won't catastrophize the situation, but it appears that a number of positions in the England backbone are open to capture. It is clear that, given the proximity of the World Cup, this is not ideal. Consider how sedentary Ireland and France are compared to them. However, this means that this season's finale will give Borthwick a reason to think about players capable of crashing into the opposing hierarchy.
In the semi-finals of the bout Jack van Purtvliet is the owner. As you would expect from such a young man who has mastered a key role, the 21-year-old has, by his own admission, gone through a mixed campaign. At his best, Van Poortvliet exudes conviction. The Leicester Tigers are hoping he will perform well ahead of their title shot. With the Tigers out of the Premier League this weekend, a number of opponents have signed up for the World Cup training camp.
Ben Spencer: The value of experience
The prospect of another World Cup must make Ben Spencer feel strange. Four years ago, he participated in the preparation for the tournament before missing out on Willy Heinz as Eddie Jones picked two halves of a scrum on a 31-man team. Spencer remained on the reserves in 2019 and was called up when Heinz was injured for the semi-finals. He came in and out of the bench as South Africa pulled away from Yokohama.
Many believe Spencer should have made more than four caps and all of them were substituted. And it's curious that one of them stepped onto the biggest stage the sport has to offer. At the beginning of this cycle, Spencer moved from the Saracens to Bath and grew into an influential leader. Now 30, he scored in Saturday's win over the Harlequins at Twickenham and has always been a versatile operator.
Here, in the second minute, Spencer is feeding Max Ojomo with a sledgehammer tail:
Dino Lamb and Andre Esterhuizen are defenders , which should be monitored in the event of the next breakdown. They circle around the capture area…
…and Spencer catches them in pursuit by selling a dummy and firing a sniper rifle. . Unloading off the floor at Ojomo almost earns a try:
Scrum Halfs 1
Deceptively fast, Spencer saves Bat when the Harlequins use the understaffed blind. Lewis Gjalthema and Kadan Merli team up to outflank their rivals from this ruck:
But Spencer is recovering, to put Murley in front:
Scrum Halfs 2
As a former protégé of Richard Wigglesworth, one would expect Spencer to be an accurate kicker. His boxing punches weren't always perfect. This strike has gone too long and Merli is capitalizing on breaking free chase:
Scrum Halfs 3
However, Bat goes through a very sharp sequence early in the second half. With Merli in the wastebasket, they dribble with their 22's. Orlando Bailey feeding Ollie Lawrence here behind Ted Hill's run:
Baths reach five meters from the far sideline, 10 meters do not reach the middle. Spencer looks over the backfield of the Harlequins and will also notice that Louis Laina is lying flat:
The Harlequins are trailing by one defender, three players. Because Bata's ball movement threatens them far, they must be careful when filling the front line. This manipulates the space, which becomes available two phases later, after Bat has moved into the field to create a corner:
Spencer finds this great for 50:22:
Scrum Halfs 4
Joe Kokanashigi's attempt was decisive, and Spencer has once again become an integral part of the game. The subtle part of awareness starts things. Spencer feeds Ojomo again…
…and follows him, joining the ruck to ensure that Alex Dombrandt can't steal the ball. H. J. van Velse becomes a substitute midfielder, and Bat is back in the forefront:
Scrum Half 5
See the rest of the score:
Spencer throws the game-winning pass and the defender to watch is Simon Kerrod. Substitute support leads teammates to turn this breakdown as Bat's strikers organize in midfield. Kokanashiga remains hidden:
From here, Spencer knows he can close the gap if he fixes Luke Wallace because Riley will push:
Spencer does a great job sending Kokanashiga through:
Scrum Halves 6
Ben Young's longevity has meant that Spencer and Dan Robson have spent most of their careers on the sidelines watching when it comes to England's participation. Could that change for the World Cup? Other scrimmage linebackers are also pushing their own business.
Alex Mitchell: Sparking Saints
Northampton's win over the gaudy Newcastle Falcons doesn't give too much indication of test potential. However, Alex Mitchell enjoyed the nice touches. He shot quickly and scored…
…and hurried over to Adam Redwan to contact him. Mitchell starts this sequence in the outfield, having hit the box moments before:
Even here, a blind run from a set piece helps keep Newcastle's defense blind. Defenders will always remember Mitchell's movement:
This second connection with Tom Collins demonstrates one of the main qualities of Mitchell. It's smart and fast in broken margin scenarios:
Overall, despite a few mistakes, Mitchell had a promising Six Nations. Particularly impressive was his performance in Wales, where he and Van Poortvliet were effective for 80 minutes. Van Poortvliet took over and Mitchell arrived to handle business in preparation for England's second attempt with fast service.
The latter is seemingly ready to start one of the World Cup warm-up tests to see if he can bring energy both from the start and in shorter cameos. Borthwick and England coaches will be particularly interested in Mitchell's efforts in the Premier League semi-final against the Saracens.
Halfs of the bout leading Sale Sharks
Injuries hampered Raffi Quirk's progress with England and also saw Gus. Warr billed himself as Sale's first scrum half for much of that tenure. Warr, a former England under-20 international, was one of the best players of the season.
He is a neat and tenacious player, and this moment, at the end of the half against Gloucester, sums up his actions. At the beginning of a long period of defense, when Sale was reduced to 14 people, Warr hit the arm of Stephen Varney, his colleague:
< p>A little later, when Ben Curry is getting ready for the jackal, Warr is loitering around:
He's waiting in «in play» until the ball is open…
…and fights his way to Varney, causing a loss that leads to a break:
Scrum Halfs 7
Quirk did arrive for an explosive cameo role that galvanized both Borthwick and Alex Sanderson, his boss at Sale.
It can be said that Quirk spent a lot of time with Faf de Klerk because he is especially dangerous in counter attack scenarios. This clip starts with Varney lifting a high ball and Tom Roebuck taking the lead:
Quirk connects to his flank, outplaying a couple of defenders and breaking away. Unfortunately for Sale, Roebuck returns the pass:
Scrum Halfs 8
Later, however, Gloucester was punished. This is a prime example of how impatient kicking can hurt teams: Ben Morgan's clearance gave Sale a platform to launch:
Quirk's custom work kicked off the case. He's circling around Joe Carpenter…
…getting a simple pass and accelerating in a passive chase. Pass to Sam James clear and precise…
Scrum Halfs 9
…and Quirk follows him to send Jono Ross on a test track.
Powerful and fast, Quirk certainly brings something unconventional to the mix. The match between him and Warr and Van Poortvliet and Youngs in the second Premier League semi-final will be exciting.
The number of teams in this World Cup has increased from 31 to 33, which means that Borthwick is unlikely to bring all two halves of contractions. Before being fired, Jones planned to select three; old head, manager of the game and potential intruder of the game.
Borthwick overlooked both Young and Danny Car during his first Six Nations, suggesting that he feels that England can do without the old head. Unless Borthwick thinks that player could be Spencer. Van Purtvliet has the tools to implement a territory-based approach.
If England wants to prioritize speed and quick service, as Ireland did with Jamison Gibson-Park, then Mitchell seems to be in a strong position. Trying to replicate Antoine Dupont's genius is useless, although Quirk is great on defense and can create big chances. Harry Randall, who started last season in the Six Nations, seems to have fallen out of the picture for now.
England have some intriguing opportunities this weekend. The coming weeks and the unfolding of the Premier League season will no doubt provide more information on the position of their halves of the scrum.
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