#360rugby: Freddie Michalak is back, England’s exiles excel

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  • Michalak (top l), Strettle and Pyrgos (r).

    It seems François Trinh-Duc has fallen victim of a combination of a guillotine happy panel of French selectors and the resurgence in form of Toulon outside-half Freddie Michalak.

    Against England veteran Michalak was far from perfect, but he did show the supreme skill-set (with ball in hand and kicking for posts) that once upon a time had him marked out as a star of the future.

    Over time his erratic nature has let him down but the soft hands he displayed to send Yoann Huget through to the try line and his metronomic boot will see him travel to England as France’s first-choice 10.

    It will be Michalak’s third World Cup and on current form, it looks as if the72-times capped playmaker will finally repay the faith coach Phillipe Saint-Andre has kept in him.

    Wake-up call for undisciplined England
    For the second week running, England’s highly-regarded pack was bullied by a more powerful French unit.

    It is no secret that England place a significant importance on their ‘engine-room’ putting their backs on the front foot.

    Once the French gained the upper-hand in this department, George Ford’s inexperience at the top-level suddenly became apparent with his game-management suffering.

    Fans of the red rose should not fret. As the old adage goes, teams do not turn bad overnight and Chris Robshaw’s men must use the loss to motivate them against Ireland next week.

    Danny Cipriani showed good pace to finish a try at full-back and the Shark may have done enough to keep Henry Slade out of the squad, given their similar style of play.

    In Cipriani England now have a back-up plan should things go awry during the World Cup, with Farrell not offering significant enough diversity from Ford at fly-half.

    Pyrgos gives Scotland selection dilemma
    In many ways Henry Pyrgos embodies the spirit and character of the Scotland squad.

    While the English-raised scrum-half is by no means the most skilful half-back going, he has been able to achieve significant honours through hard work, grit and a determination to win.

    Last weekend the Glaswegian’s warrior spirit was on full display once again as he came off the bench to seal the Scots’ first win of 2015 with a late try against Italy, which snapped a six-game losing streak for the Dark Blues.

    Coupled with his confident display as Scotland captain a week previously in a close-fought loss to Ireland, Pyrgos’ displays should give regular skipper Greig Laidlaw plenty to think about.

    While it would be a considerable achievement to overtake Laidlaw and Edinburgh PRO12 young player of the year Sam Hidalgo-Clyne in Vern Cotter’s pecking order, Scotland will now benefit from genuine competition in a position that has been lacking for some time.

    After the World Cup, Pyrgos could likely be the man charged to spearhead Cotter’s rejuvenated Scotland.

    England exiles show selectors what they are missing
    The official party line following David Strettle’s exit from England’s World Cup training squad was that the winger wanted a full pre-season with his new club Clermont.

    While masquerading like a selfless and honourable gesture from the outside, make no mistake that Stuart Lancaster gave the former Saracen the nudge following his announcement to hop over the pond post World Cup.

    It now looks as if England fans may be left ruing Lancaster’s decision after another try-less display from England’s youthful wingers highlighted the need for more venom and experience in attack.

    Strettle joined Nick Abendanon, another player unlucky not to receive a call-up, in touching down on the first day of the season for their adopted club in a dominant 44-6 win over La Rochelle.

    While Abendanon was not selected for any training squads, Strettle still stands a chance of a recall. Any injury to England’s wide-players will surely test Lancaster’s resolve to refrain from selecting foreign-based talent.

    Extra-time
    The name Poirot is usually associated with a diminutive, sleek and devilishly sly Belgian detective, but that will be the case no longer.

    Introducing Jefferson Poirot,Bordeauz Begals new 123kg loosehead prop. Unlike his famous namesake, there is nothing subtle about him as you can see from this footage. 

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