No. 8 Ben Earl, who has been playing the rugby of his life in both the No. 8 and No. 7 jersey so far, has been one of England’s most impressive players thus far in this World Cup, if not the most outstanding performer.
That makes for a pretty potent three, and South Africa head coach Jacques Nienaber is aware of that, along with 104-cap vice-captain Courtney Lawes of England and British & Irish Lions openside Tom Curry.
Nienaber praised Earl and Lawes for effectively playing an entire match in a two-man back row against Argentina in the tournament’s opening game after selecting his Springboks team to play England this Saturday. Nienaber said that England’s back row “complement each other quite well” after announcing his Springboks team to face England in the World Cup semi-final.
The England backrow has been compromised by Borthwick choosing only one specialist no 8 in vunipola and then not trusting him to start a test!! This forces Ben Earl to play out of position; he’s a terrific player but not at no 8, a position you need years to become adept at.
When compared to the British and Irish Lions, France, or Ireland, our backrow lacks the strength to carry the ball.
We require a large ball that can transport eight people.
Lawes World Class, carries the team.
Curry loose canon can’t tackle.
Earl fast but too light compared to the Boks.
Still looking for the vaunt.
Agree, they may be bit faster to the breakdown but won’t be able to impact rucks or boss our back row in the tackle. Curry is walking red card, should have been carded against Fiji, and as you say has notackle technique when faced with bigger players.