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Ben Youngs equalled the England Men’s appearance record in Sunday’s 33-0 victory over Italy in Rome, but should Eddie Jones have rewarded Raffi Quirke with minutes in the Six Nations?
After a disappointing 20-17 defeat to Scotland in the opening round of the Six Nations, it was vital England bounced back against a side they have never lost against.
Jones’ men remained professional in the Italian capital, scoring five tries and claiming a bonus-point ahead of their crunch clash with Wales at Twickenham in two weeks time.
Jack Nowell started his first England match in 1065 days, however, the winger’s return to international action ended within 10 minutes after he failed a Head Injury Assessment. The England medical team and referee have come under fire for initially allowing Nowell to continue before his withdrawal minutes later.
Shortly after the Exeter Chiefs man’s departure, the Red Roses found the breakthrough. A neat one-two between Max Malins and the impressive Marcus Smith set up the fly-half to score his second try in as many weeks.
Saracens’ Jamie George scored twice before the interval to give England a comfortable 21-0 lead at half-time. The first, a typical forward’s drive over the line from close range, but for his second, the hooker showed winger like speed to race clear down the right before finishing in the corner under pressure.
Smith, who scored all the points in England’s defeat to Scotland, turned provider when his perfectly weighted pass allowed Elliot Daily to run clear in the corner. With England 28-points ahead after four second half minutes, Jones turned to his bench.
With half-an-hour to go, Youngs was brought on for cap No.114 – the joint record number of caps for a male player alongside Jason Leonard. It must be noted that Rochelle Clark’s 137 caps for England Women’s team makes her the most capped player in England international history, but nevertheless, Youngs is on the verge of setting England Men’s history in the home of English rugby.
Milestone ?@benyoungs09 joins Jason Leonard as England's most capped men's player ???????
Congratulations on an incredible achievement Ben ??? pic.twitter.com/mLKMINW7HQ
— England Rugby (@EnglandRugby) February 13, 2022
The Leicester Tigers scrum-half has had his critics as of late. Former England utility back Austin Healey has publicly criticised Jones for his selection of Youngs, in which he questioned if the head coach had ‘forgotten the nature of opportunity.’
Supporters have been vocal as well on social media on the decision. Against a side who have lost all 29 of their fixtures against England, and who have finished bottom of the table 16 times in the last 21 championships, many wanted Jones to reward Quirke with minutes over an experienced figure who came on with the score line 28-0.
England held onto their clean sheet in the second-half whilst adding a fifth try in the closing stages. Bristol’s Kyle Sinckler was in support of teammate Malins to crash over underneath the posts. The win in Rome sees England sit second in the table ahead of Round 3, three points behind leaders France who have won two from two.
Sale Sharks’ Tom Curry captained England for the second-week running in the absence of Owen Farrell and Courtney Lawes. However, there was no place again in the matchday squad for youngsters Quirke and Bevan Rodd.
Like Smith, Quirke has burst onto the scene at club level and been rewarded with early international opportunities. The scrum-half announced himself when he came off the bench to score a crucial try in England’s 27-26 victory over world champions South Africa at Twickenham only three months ago.
Quirke’s omission from the squad is not down to experience as substitute scrum-half Harry Randall had only made two appearances – the same as Quirke – for the senior team before being handed his first Six Nations start. The Sharks no.9 has scored four tries in eight matches for the north west side this season, whilst Randall has scored one in 11 for Bristol Bears.
England’s loss is Sharks’ gain. With Faf de Klerk back available from injury, Alex Sanderson has the master and apprentice at his peril. Former Sale director of rugby, Steve Diamond, felt the full effect of this on his return to the AJ Bell, as his Worcester Warriors side were heavily beaten 36-12.
AJ MacGinty shined once again for Sharks, as his days at the AJ Bell continue to fall. The USA international worked his magic once more in the pick of the tries, as he effortlessly cut through the Warriors line before dinking the ball over the top for the inform Arron Reed to pick up and dive over.
AJ carving it up ?
The @SaleSharksRugby fly-half pulled the strings in usual fashion for Arron Reed to get his first of two ?
Catch the highlights show on @ITVRugby tonight at 11:45pm ? pic.twitter.com/CY0tciltPT
— Premiership Rugby (@premrugby) February 13, 2022
It was a first Premiership start of the season for de Klerk, although it was a rocky first-half for the South African. His attempted clearance was charged down which allowed Warriors a second try. However, in the second-half, he showed his quality. His delicate pass set up the onrushing Manu Tuilagi who charged over from metres out.
Quirke was introduced for the final half-an-hour, and he certainly left his mark. The youngster’s quickly taken penalty allowed Cameron Neild, to rather unorthodoxly, kick in behind the Warriors defence to Reed for his second try. Quirke then turned provider when his weaving run and pass fell into the hands of Rohan Janse van Rensburg who ran in Sale’s sixth try of the match.
Sharks have now won three back-to-back Premiership matches for the first time this season. For most of the campaign they have been perfuming well below expectations, however, after a positive start to the new year, which has seen Sale only defeated once in the league, Sanderson’s side sit four points behind Harlequins in fourth.
With de Klerk and Quirke, along with Manu Tuilagi offering a powerful boost to the back-line, breaking into the top four now seems an achievable feat.
Quirke and Rodd will re-join the England camp in preparation for the visit of the reigning champions in a fortnight. The duo though will be at Sanderson’s disposal this weekend. Sale travel to Northampton Saints on Saturday as they look to leapfrog the East Midlands side in the table, and dependent on results, Sharks could see themselves in the play-off places by the end of the evening.
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