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Is Mark Wilson still injured? He did a pretty good job at 8 last year, making up for power of carries with volume and work-rate. I guess you could partner Curry and Underhill with a big 6/8 (Ted Hill, Lewis Ludlam, Itoje/Lawes etc) and hope to achieve similar balance. I'm not sure if a 6-7-8 of Curry, Underhill, Earl has quite enough bang but who knows with Eddie...
owl-
I think Wilson has been injured, just coming back from it now.
I hope he doesn't mess around with playing a lock in the back row, don't think it has ever been that successful, I did like the look of Ludlum in the brief glimpses at the WC.
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Crocked knee for Wilson
I don't see him playing both Curry and Underhill - I think that's why Ted Hill is included, for more beef at 6, with Underhill or Curry to be benched. Any injury to whoever is the starting 8 (let's face it, it's going to be Earl) leaves this squad woefully exposed. Likewise, scrum half...
I quite like the 3/4 line though.
Sam_w
c00ps
Yes, think they would have beaten us in the first final whatever happens, as we were overawed by the situation (I was there, the overall feeling was one of disbelief that we were even there!), last season where they came back from so far behind shows the depth of their squad to come back from so far behind (I thankfully wasn't there! but was when we actually won...).
As for selections, I have no idea, I guess it means Earl is going to play number 8, but Eddie has said in the past that Simmonds is too lightweight, Earl is exactly the same weight and a whole 2cm taller...