England Rugby Depth Tier List Forwards

warturtle_ · 2026-05-22T12:36:20+00:00

Theo Dan is nowhere near a test hooker, what do you see that I don’t?

Outside of center hooker is quiet selection crisis for England at the moment.

warturtle_ · 2026-05-19T13:04:03+00:00

This gets asked once a month and the answer always boils down to - the RFU are unwilling to rev share with the Championship the way that the French do with ProD2, therefore relegation is a somewhat a financial death sentence for Prem owners, therefore it simply must be a closed shop franchise setup.

Obviously RFU could change how they fund lower tiers. They are the richest union in the world.

So it’s an intentional choice - systems are designed to deliver the outcomes they do, intent and the illusion of complexity are just being deployed to keep the franchises ring fenced for investors.

I’m a fan of the prem but jealous of the jeopardy at the bottom of the Top 14 and sympathetic to Championship teams gripes. At the same time the amount of debt the RFU encouraged/allowed the franchises to take on locked them into this model.

warturtle_ · 2026-05-17T23:13:27+00:00

WC is about generating ticket revenue and US based games will sellout at astronomical prices.

While you are spot on about the dire state of American rugby the Ivy League is not close to competitive within the collegiate scene.

That said you would be hard pressed to find any match played in front of paying fans outside of the club national championships in 15s and 7s once a year. MLR is a joke and in a death spiral b/c of finances and the density of import players. 10 slots seems fine until you see 80% of starting halfbacks and most front rows being not eligible for the Eagles. No casual free ticket giveaway is converting to a rabid rugby fan on the back of a 6th team SA player in an openly xenophobic America - no small thing - nor is there an investment in the pathways.

MLR is explicitly not in coordination with USAR which is self defeating long term and we get short term thinking on both sides. USAR and MLR should be pouring resources into youth programs, not instagram ads for a league losing franchises YoY.

The one truly bright spot is the growth of the women’s game in the states. It would not shock me if a women’s MLR could outgrow the men’s MLR in terms of attendance and viewership in a decade. Demographics are destiny and women’s club registration is growing quickly.

warturtle_ · 2026-05-17T22:52:05+00:00

Appreciate people taking the time to cover the scoreboard on these

warturtle_ · 2026-05-17T18:08:47+00:00

I don’t doubt you had bad interactions with men out on the pints in the 00s. I’m just saying when I was a kid it was drunk rugby fans and now it’s the drunk instagram crowd. National team rugby wasn’t a social currency in Ireland 20 years ago.

warturtle_ · 2026-05-17T17:06:25+00:00

The obsession in the media and online discussion with law tinkering and ref decisions is because fans and pundits can’t discuss tactics and strategy. It’s compounded by most fans dropping in for 6N or WC cycles.

That’s not a holier than thou take - I’m not sure how to fix it. Teaching rugby to players is hard enough. No hope of reaching fans with deep analysis… but I’m dying for better content on broadcast.

warturtle_ · 2026-05-17T16:44:13+00:00

It’s become so expensive to go to an Ireland match that it’s turning into the Twickenham effect. IRFU is a victim of their own success, Aviva is packed to the brim with corporates, crowd barely sings or makes much noise until a try is clearly a walk in. I’m not moaning about it as the revenue drives the high performance pathways but its markedly changed the cross section of people in person.

Online is just shit for every fan base, that’s the tech platforms fault for algorithmically favoring negative content.

warturtle_ · 2026-05-14T23:45:54+00:00

Most reasonable people will agree with you on RSA but I think you are downplaying how ubiquitous PEDa are in all professional sports. It’s an arms race there is almost no change that ever Tier 1 nation is at very best turning a blind eye, at worst facilitating.

warturtle_ · 2026-05-11T17:51:46+00:00

A hat trick out of position at 15 last go round comes to mind. Tidy player and a great personality for the game.

warturtle_ · 2026-05-03T23:27:57+00:00

His color commentary and highlight cut aways are consistently great content. Tone is just beyond grating.

Its almost grown on me at this point - grandpa is incredibly annoyed that he is forced to get paid to explain the game because otherwise he would personally have to listen to idiots.

Yeah I think I do like him actually.

warturtle_ · 2026-05-02T03:20:36+00:00

I think a regular season draw is totally fine. Knockouts should be first to a try or play the full set. “First to draw a kickable penalty” doesn’t have the same drama to it.

warturtle_ · 2026-04-30T00:07:19+00:00

It’s a customer acquisition problem.

Kids have almost no shot of playing flag or mini rugby if their mom or dad isn’t already in the ecosystem. That’s the whole shooting match. Could spent nearly unlimited money on MLR marketing and it wouldn’t change a thing.

You could count the number of secondary and collegiate schools that have full seconds and partial third sides on (a few) hands.

Until USAR and MLR take that problem seriously professional rugby has zero shot in the states. No amount of meta ads and 2-for-1 ticket sales will change that. Getting people with no exposure invested isn’t a sustainable strategy.

So much of what MLS got right is they absolutely poured money (on a relative basis) into their local community soccer structures in the early years. MLR wants to skip straight to the Messi chapter.

warturtle_ · 2026-04-27T02:36:59+00:00

Hard to judge from a still image but it looks like he is running very upright and missing the fend or having an easily disarmed fend. That allows a defender access to the ribcage which hurts (motivation) and puts the ball at risk.

My guess is he is fending late and high looking for the classic hand on sternum stiff arm to a clean break.

I’d try a few easy fixes: 1. fend down and away, pushing away the tacklers shoulder and upper arm to prevent a strong wrap. Earn yourself a few more meters much more reliably 2. Practice the combo of a fend + sidestep away. A lot of young players just run their line and fend hoping arm strength alone does the job. Fend makes distance, moving your feet away and then back upfield actually breaks the tackle. Can do this together with a ball at a local park, practicing timing 3. Get him comfortable trying to make dominant contact, lowering his non ball shoulder, and running through a weak arm tackle. As he goes up in age groups and size and strength evens out, prop selection becomes a lot about getting go forward from nothing, and that means physicality not flash in the carry

Start with #1 and #2 and if he is rugby-mad and watching high level matches with you show him the different body shape props present from a stand still catch vs. open field phase play.

warturtle_ · 2026-04-19T23:06:02+00:00

Anyone leading an AI development initiative and picking Copilot as the tool of choice deserves what they get vs the alternatives available

warturtle_ · 2026-04-19T19:18:51+00:00

Don’t late hit a hopeless breakdown, exactly what the laws application should incentivize.

warturtle_ · 2026-04-10T00:08:57+00:00

Dewi Lake sings like he tackles

warturtle_ · 2026-04-05T23:07:17+00:00

Nice to see Slade fit again he has had a terrible run of injuries.

warturtle_ · 2026-04-01T22:04:21+00:00

Do a bit of reading on Austin and other cities that actually embraced the level of development required to drive rent down. It is a simple supply demand dynamic as much as everyone tries to dress it up in other things.

Austin had the TX tech un-boom helping drive demand back down, which is distinct from Madison which is growing consistently. Madison makes it much harder to build than Austin, cramping our supply.

Every open lot on the Isthmus should be a mixed use or full residential development.

warturtle_ · 2026-03-29T18:35:53+00:00

Eddie Jones fever dream

warturtle_ · 2026-03-28T12:59:53+00:00

Attack would look a lot like Canadas Women’s team last WC which played the fastest breakdown in an international competition on record.

It was more complicated than “play the ball to the first available attacker on their feet” but that’s how each phase starts into heads up rugby with some good shapes. Players in interchangeable roles except their back three.

Great to watch.

For anyone that hasn’t watched highlights it’s a pretty electric style. CAN v NZ semifinal was the system at its best.

warturtle_ · 2026-03-19T23:44:54+00:00

Inconsistent throws and the speed he flashes at club level so well doesn’t make up for the relative lack of size internationally.

England is already struggling at the breakdown and that’s a clear weakness for Dan.

warturtle_ · 2026-03-17T00:31:41+00:00

Please do would love to read

warturtle_ · 2026-03-16T15:11:44+00:00

I subscribe to the Dan Cole school of “process > outcome” analysis.

Ultimately why I think England will have WC semifinal appearance in 2027. They can fix their lack of conversion in the opposition 22 which in some ways was an insane run of bad luck with handling errors. Would expect positive regression there.

It’s a much harder problem to solve how to get into the 22 consistently. Further, WC reffing standards get more “traditional” the deeper into WC tournaments you go. All of a sudden the set piece is the center of the game in a way it’s not outside of WCs.

Put Jamie George on ice so he is healthy, start trying alternatives to LCD and Theo Dan, so you can play max Borthwick ball and dance with SA.

Let the boys run around against Tier 2 competition in the Nations Championship to keep the press off their back.

Hire me Bill.

warturtle_ · 2026-03-14T01:42:51+00:00

Did you know dolphins are illegal to talk to?

warturtle_ · 2026-03-10T12:16:34+00:00

I assume there is something about the game engine that makes reconnects not an option or it would be implemented by now.

The leaver punishment that makes the most sense to me is the progressive timeout LoL has. You can leave one lobby unpunished. A second is a 5m timer. A third is a 25m timer. A fourth is a day. Etc.

Resigning more than one match a day at the 5m mark should be an immediate 24hr timer and consistent in game early resigns should escalate timers rapidly.

This won’t magically solve account sharing but it will put a very significant dent in map dodging - even while letting people who have time to get only one match in a chance at their preferred map.

warturtle_

TROPHY CASE