Re: England Team For First Test
InbetweenWasp
08 June, 2018 11:37
Quote:Banstead Quin
The Ford one is a struggle for me as well. I think the reason that Ford looks average is that they want everything to go through Farrell so it limits Ford's game. You need Farrell on th pitch for his kicking (accepting he had a poor 6 nations in this regard) but he's not a 10 and he's not a 12 so it limits the England midfield.
Cipriani wouldn't look any better at 10 with those restrictions.
Unfortunately, I doesn’t look like we’ll ever get to find out if Cips would look better or not. For my money, he would:
- He’s in way better form than a Ford, has been for the last 2 seasons
- He’ll take the ball flatter and has shown better decision making than Ford, buying time for the other backs to find space and cause issues
- He tends to vary his passing and kicking more than Ford, creating unpredictability for opposite defences
- Arguably, with experience and age on side, he’s a better leader than Ford at this stage and capable of organising and demanding what he wants from the other backs in attack
- Despite his reputation of old, he hardly needs babysitting in defence either (not that Ford neccessary does either)