OUTSPOKEN AND UNMISSABLE… EVERY WEEK
Henry Arundell, Louis Rees-Zammit, Anthony Watson and Joe Cokanasiga are four wingers who can light up the field in any company, and that is a mouthwatering prospect at the start of the new Premiership season.
The youngest is Arundell, and the biggest thing about the London Irish and England 19-year-old is the way he caught the eye of everybody in such a short time last season.
This is because we live in the social media age, and it did not take long before the spectacular tries he scored and breaks he made – such as his solo length-of-the field touchdown against Toulon and the chances he created for England U20s – were getting plenty of attention.
Then the dream start went from strength to strength when Eddie Jones picked him for the England tour of Australia, and the story took another sensational turn when he scored a try against the Wallabies with his first touch at Test level.
It helped England to give the first Test scoreline some respectability and set themselves up for a series victory, but the real challenge for any player in Arundell's situation is what happens this season, because you are now no longer an unknown quantity – and everyone is looking to see if you can continue to make the same impact.
That is a tough situation to be in because, no matter how confident you are, there will always be a bit of self doubt because you have not played in that rarefied air for long enough. You think you can breathe at that altitude, and there's no doubt that Arundell has got the pace and skill set, so it's about self-belief.
From what we have seen so far it is all positives, and there are no negatives. In simple terms, if you give Arundell the chance to score he's very likely to take it. That is why the lenses will be zooming in on him. However, it's a mistake to think that Arundell needs protecting, when what he really needs is to just go out and play.
It is a reality that all players at the top level need to know themselves, and be smart about looking after themselves in terms of preparation. Young players like Arundell should also remember that there are guidelines which state how many games a top player should play.
This is important because Rugby Union has been very late to realise that players do not need much contact in training – but thankfully that's changing now. For example, in Rugby League, which is known for its defensive intensity, there is not much contact training during the week. They save it for matches. On the other hand, in Rugby Union there has been a tradition of “beasting”, with players put through regular full contact sessions between matches.
Arundell is a stocky, powerful young winger, but in my experience the more physical you become as a three-quarter, the more the chance of injury. When he scored against Australia the try was sensational because he bumped off two tacklers by going between them and then beat the last defender with an outside swerve. If he wants a long career, my suggestion is that he relies first on his footwork, pace, and fend to do the damage, and does not make a habit of looking for contact.
Louis Rees-Zammit is only 21, but the length of his highlights reel for Gloucester, Wales, and the Lions, makes it seem as if he's been around at international level a lot longer than a couple of years.
Rees-Zammit has all the armoury, whether it is out-and-out pace, the swerve and sidestep, or the accurate chip ahead. He is so quick and shows such skill that he has scored some amazing tries already – but then people started questioning whether his positioning and defence is what it should be. The brilliant tackle and turn-over Rees-Zammit won on his own line for Wales against South Africa this summer proved how hard he's working on that side of the game – and he was very unfortunate to be yellow-carded.
The few times I played on the wing I felt so exposed, but these days, because of the amount of kicking, they are much more involved. If I was playing on the wing now, I would work hard on my aerial game. Whether it is your timing coming onto the ball, or your jump technique, you would want to hone it.
As a pro you have the time to do it, and you can polish both what you're good at, and where you need to improve, to perfection. That's why I think that there is no excuse to have average skills at the top level.
It is all about wingers like Rees-Zammit getting into the game for Gloucester as much as possible. It is about communication and reading the game so that you get your hands on the ball and can use your array of skills and speed.
A lot of wingers find it tough mentally in those periods when the ball does not come their way, and even though they are going up and down the tramline in defence and attack, it means that sometimes they can switch off subconsciously.
I don't know if this is what happened to Joe Cokanasiga on the tour to Australia when he was dropped by Jones after the first Test, but it's not clicking and it is up to the coach and the big Bath winger to get in sync.
I'm sure Eddie wants to win the World Cup, and with Cokanasiga you have a potent game-changer at your disposal. But, for me, if I was coaching him, and he hadn't carried the ball 12 times in the game, then I'd be thinking there's something I'm not doing right.
For example, at every lineout Joe should either be taking it up or running as a decoy. I'd be bringing him infield to wreak havoc at every opportunity, otherwise it's a waste. Cokanasiga has been unfortunate with injuries, but if he gets a run of games where he is carrying strongly, then he walks into the England side.
That is something Anthony Watson has managed to do on a regular basis because he is a class winger, who has been very good consistently for England. He's been unfortunate with injuries in recent seasons at Bath, but he has joined a good Leicester team and will see more ball because he is part of a better team with players who are all on the same page.
Watson has plenty of competition with the likes of Jonny May, Jack Nowell and Tommy Freeman challenging, but he has the pedigree to rise to the occasion, and if he starts scoring tries for the Tigers he will be in Jones' plans.
If you ask Premiership supporters what they most want to see this season they will tell you attacking rugby rewarded with good tries. They should be in luck because wingers like Arundell, Rees-Zammit, Cokanasiga, and Watson have what it takes to get the league up and running in style.
