Latest news with #TestLevel
Telegraph
23-07-2025
- Sport
- Telegraph
England will consider 7-1 bench, props covering hooker and back-rowers at centre
England are moving closer to selecting seven forwards on the bench and are even training props to deputise at hooker as head coach Steve Borthwick aims for maximum flexibility within his matchday 23. Deploying a seven-one bench split would be a first for an England side at Test level, with the tactic having been used less than 10 times in international rugby generally after Rassie Erasmus's Springboks pioneered the trend in a warm-up match for the 2023 World Cup. Borthwick has long been an admirer of positional versatility and also of forwards heavily outnumbering backs among his replacements, owing to the levels of attrition and distances run among back-rowers at Test level, often opting for a six-two bench split. Indeed, the head coach has selected a traditional five-three bench split in only one Test this year, and that was for the latest; a 40-5 victory over the United States which could have been interpreted as squad rotation of sorts after a long tour and a 2-0 series triumph in Argentina. Borthwick and his coaches are exploring the seven-one split as a way of including as many back-rowers as possible in a matchday squad. England are seriously well stocked in that department: Tom Curry, Henry Pollock, Ben Earl and lock-hybrid Ollie Chessum are all with the British and Irish Lions; Ben Curry, Sam Underhill and Tom Willis started both the Test victories in Argentina; Guy Pepper was influential off the bench against Los Pumas, and Chandler Cunningham-South was hugely impressive in the win over the US. Ted Hill was the other back-rower on tour while Jack Willis remains ineligible owing to playing club rugby with Toulouse. Such back-row riches will leave Borthwick with serious selection quandaries in the autumn, when all of his Lions have returned. In order to best use the talent at his disposal, coupled with relatively light second-row stocks, Borthwick is exploring how to fit as many back-rowers into his squad as possible. Cunningham-South covered the second row in Argentina, with Alex Dombrandt used as centre cover alongside Cadan Murley; Hill was an emergency bench lock during the Six Nations while Earl has featured for both England and the Lions at centre, although has never started. All of Underhill, Ben Curry, Pepper, Dombrandt and Cunningham-South were on the field at the end of the victory in San Juan. After the series-clinching win, Borthwick said: 'Longer-term, with how many good back-rowers we've got – the list is long – it makes sense to have as many of those players in the squad, in a six-two, potentially a seven-one, as possible; especially when we have the positional versatility that we have. [Alex] Dommers [covers centre] really well and we've seen Ben Earl do it in the past. I want to keep building that as I see six-two as the long-term plan, to get as many of these good players in.' South Africa, the inventors of the seven-one, and France, are the only two Test nations to have employed the tactic – and to great success. The Springboks are the World Cup-winners and selected seven forwards as replacements, their bomb squad, in the 2023 final victory over New Zealand; Les Bleus won the 2025 Six Nations and did the same in the final three rounds of the championship. In March, Telegraph Sport revealed how Gregor Townsend, Scotland's head coach, had raised concerns about the seven-one approach at official World Rugby meetings but that the global governing body had no plans to outlaw the tactic, insisting that there was no medical or scientific evidence against it. All bases covered For further squad flexibility and positional versatility, Borthwick also confirmed that his coaches had had a 'discussion' before England's second Test against Argentina as to whether Jamie George's absence from the squad could be covered internally. George dropped out on the morning of the match owing to his Lions call-up and Theo Dan had to be helped off with a knee injury during the game. Borthwick called up hookers Gabriel Oghre and Jamie Blamire in the ensuing days but revealed that there had been some consideration for internal cover given the long travel time for the duo and the fact that there was just one match, against the US in Washington DC, remaining. 'We had that discussion,' said Borthwick. 'It's something that I've spoken about previously, with Asher [Opoku-Fordjour] playing both sides of the scrum. We are exploring the possibility, as we develop some of these younger props, of them being able to play hooker, too. 'We've seen that done. The one that jumps out straight away would be [loosehead] Cian Healy for Ireland against Scotland and [South African back-rower] Deon Fourie. Although we're not at that stage yet, these kinds of things [help] at World Cups... it's part of our project planning, as well as seeing which back-rowers can play in the centre, to allow us to go six-two, potentially seven-one.'
News.com.au
11-07-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
Victorian coach and former Test opener Chris Rogers on emerging opener Campbell Kellaway
One innings was 'incredible' and the other 'unbelievable'. Together, they were proof to Victorian coach Chris Rogers of an apprenticeship well served for rising opener Campbell Kellaway. Rogers says Kellaway's breakout summer, highlighted by centuries against South Australia and Western Australia, showed his progress and potential to reach Test level. Rogers knows a thing or two about first class runs against the new ball, having hit 25,470 himself, and thinks Kellaway could be a good foil for teen tyro Sam Konstas. 'The thing with (Kellaway); Konstas is the one they've (Australian selectors) projected as the opening batter, so from my point of view, the other opener almost has to be a left-hander,' Rogers said. 'When was the last time Australia had two outstanding right-handed opening batters? I think with the LBW rule, left-handers statistically have an advantage, I've read. 'I would say Australia needs to be thinking about a left-handed opening batter to take Usman's (Khawaja) spot and there's not a heap of them around. 'Campbell could be the one if he keeps improving; there's still a bit to go with him, but I think he's got the skill set that could get him there.' Kellaway struck 738 Sheffield Shield runs at 41 and a further 156 runs across three innings in the One-Day Cup. Rogers said the 22-year-old worked on technical adjustments and had 'great learning moments' before last season. The former Aussie Test opener sympathises with Konstas, as those learning moments are being discovered under the brightest of spotlights. 'When you go through that stuff it's going to take time, and the other thing is trying to understand the rhythms of the game,' he said. 'I've talked to (Kellaway) about some of the decisions he's made in critical moments which he got wrong at the time and they're great learning moments. 'You've almost got to walk through that door, go and experience it and he has … so it's starting to come together. 'That's why I feel for Konstas … how many times has he had to go and bat in professional cricket for six overs at the end of the day? I'm guessing maybe twice. 'Trying to learn that on the job, playing for Australia, good luck. And he made a mistake, that's a ball (Konstas' second Test dismissal) you should be leaving. 'But (Konstas is) trying to learn that, that is so hard and sometimes you've got to go through and learn all these things before you come out the other side and better for it.' Rogers says 'there's never been a better time' than now for aspiring Australian batters and expects future spots in the side to hinge on who takes their opportunity. 'I think Campbell has had a really, really good apprenticeship,' he said. 'One of the things that really helped him too was his one-day cricket, helping him get forward and score, made a bit of a difference as well. 'Once he got that 100 in the one-day semi-final, it opened up the world for him, so I think he's becoming a more complete player. 'The opportunity is there, it's just now up to him to be good enough and hungry enough to grind away and make consistent big scores.' Kellaway headlines a trio of talented young Victorians who have all made promising steps. Rogers thinks Kellaway, Harry Dixon and Oliver Peake each have the talent to reach the next level – and he isn't ruling out another one of his players either. 'They've all got work to do and they know it, they've all got performances they've got to consistently get on the board,' he said. 'It's there for the taking ahead of them and hopefully it's not just that three, hopefully there's a few others. 'The other one is Matt Short. Whenever he plays red-ball cricket for Victoria we are a much better side, he just doesn't play enough of it. 'It's one of these anomalies in the schedule where the white-ball players don't play a lot of red-ball cricket and then make it hard for themselves to get into the Test team. 'I think Shorty could be an excellent Test player because he can play fast bowling and he can hit spin. He'll get better and better against spin as well. 'I don't think the door is shut for a couple of others as well.'
