IT WAS not that long ago that big was regarded as beautiful on the wing as teams looked to uncork the next Jonah Lomu.
Going through opponents rather than around them became the fashion, but sport moves in cycles and now it is the likes of Cheslin Kolbe who are setting the trend.
Kolbe, the Toulon and South African wing who won the series against the Lions with a moment of brilliance on an otherwise sterile tour, tips the scales at 80kg (12st 6lbs). Lomu, the New Zealand wing who died at the age of 40 in 2015, weighed half as much again.
Newcastle’s Adam Radwan, who scored a hattrick against Canada on his debut for England in the summer, is somewhat closer to Kolbe than Lomu at 86kg. The 23-year-old started this season as he ended the last one, scoring tries out of nothing with six in his last five Premiership matches before this weekend.
“He can do pretty much what he wants,” said the Newcastle hooker, George McGuigan, who showed a turn of pace for his try at Bath last weekend, his seventh in as many Premiership matches. “There is no substitute for pace and it is great to watch as someone on his side.
“He puts a lot of hard work into training and it is paying dividends. Newcastle wings have always tended to do ridiculous things and Radders is so fast that when he gets the ball in free space, you tend to stand on the halfway line. As a team we now have a good mix of a strong pack and pace out wide.”
England head coach Eddie Jones turned up at Newcastle’s training session last Wednesday, two weeks after forwards coach Matt Proudfoot had been there.
“It had not happened before in my three years here,” said McGuigan, below. “Four of the lads are in the squad and it gives the boys a buzz thinking they might have the chance of a look-in.”
McGuigan has established himself as Newcastle’s first-choice hooker, but it is his deputy, Jamie Blamire, who has caught the eye of Jones.
The hooker was called up in the summer and, after making a try- scoring debut from the bench against the United States, scored hat trick against Canada the fol- lowing week after start- ing.
“I have not had much contact with England and I have no idea where I stand,” said McGuigan. “Jamie is a great player and good luck to him. I will try and keep playing as well as possible, keep my head down and what happens happens.”
Falcons hope Mike Brown, a close season recruit from Harlequins, will be fit for selection next weekend when they travel to Saracens. The former England full-back picked up a rib injury in preseason and has not been rushed into action.
“The back three have been doing well and we allowed Mike another week to get better,” said Newcastle’s defence coach, Nick Easter. “He has been brilliant for the group already and we are looking for him to be a mentor to our young backs.
“I spoke to him when he signed and said he would have a bit of a different role. He still wants to play and improve at the age of 36, but he also has a nurturing role as part of the development of our backs. I cannot think of a better person to be their mentor. He is someone who is still playing rather than stopping ten years ago and not realising the game had moved on. He has the knowledge 72 Test caps and hundreds of Premiership appearances bring. He is gold dust for our youngsters.”
Radwan has become one of the Premiership’s most talked about players and Easter has likened him to Jason Robinson, a World Cup winner with England in 2003 who played on the wing and at full-back.
“There is less room on the pitch now and that makes pace even more relevant,” said Easter. “Radders is a very special player and Jason was very similar. He did not have that out-and-out pace, but he was electric over the first five or ten metres and he could skip past tacklers even when defences were suffocating.
“We have serious competition in the back three which we have not had previously and that drives your standards, your hunger to learn and your desire. The exciting thing is there is much more to come, honing the other rugby areas of their game, communication and organisation. We do not want them to wait for the ball to come to them.
“Adam is very hungry to learn and down to earth. He does not get ahead of himself and his pace, together with his low centre of gravity, means he can beat opponents in the proverbial phone box. He can step off both feet which makes it even more difficult for defenders.”
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