THERE has been some wailing and gnashing of teeth following Zach Mercer’s decision to leave Bath and join Montpellier this season. However, the idea that England have lost a polished gem of a No.8 misses the mark.Mercer is a talented footballer, but he had every reason to look for another challenge. Last season he was not playing well enough in an ordinary Bath team to make the transition to international level, despite his two England caps in 2018.A main deficiency in his game was ball retention.Although he is a dangerous open-field runner the frequency with which he lost...