A couple of talking points to come out of the second week of Guinness Premiership action were the injury to Delon Armitage and the performance of Wasps number nine Joe Simpson.  Foden made his England debut against Italy in February |
London Irish full-back Armitage dislocated his shoulder against Gloucester, which means he will miss England's autumn internationals. It's a great shame because Armitage has been a revelation for England since breaking into the team. His elusive running is always a threat and he's brave and committed under the high ball, rarely missing a catch. He isn't a first-choice penalty kicker, but can certainly fill in or take over if a number one is having problems. He will be difficult to replace. The only other regular club full-back in Martin Johnson's elite squad is Olly Morgan, and he will have to rediscover his form of last season to catch the eye of the selectors and warrant a starting place with England, but Gloucester are not giving him the best platform from which to promote his credentials. Sale's Mathew Tait is also an option. He certainly has the footballing talent to cope with playing full-back and would be a massive threat with his pace coming into the line in attack.  | 606: DEBATE |
I would prefer him at centre, but if he gets the nod at full-back I hope he makes a positive impression - he's one player who is far too talented to be merely an also-ran. Mark Cueto has played full-back before for England and is in reasonable form for his club Sale. He kicks well out of hand with his left peg and can still score the tries when needed, as he showed this weekend against Newcastle. There might even be an outside opportunity for Danny Cipriani. The Wasps man can kick goals, he's not short of pace and he can catch high balls. It's just his defence that might cause Johnson to keep him in the Saxons squad. That said, Northampton's Ben Foden would probably get the nod from most observers at the moment. He is continuing his attacking ways from last season, he loves to takes players on and generally succeeds. I would go with Foden, he's just been irresistible with his attacking play and there are few players in the Premiership with his ambition to attack, and succeed in doing so, on a regular basis. And so to Simpson, who was lavished with praise this week for his performance against Bath and rightly so. His acceleration off the mark is his greatest asset and threat to the opposition - two of his breaks led to tries for Tom Varndell and David Lemi. To challenge the likes of Harry Ellis of Leicester and Danny Care of Harlequins he will need to keep this level of performance as high as that all season. It is very refreshing to see players like Simpson breaking through and not being intimidated by the physicality of the Premiership. Speed and skill will almost always overcome beef and brawn, and I'm pleased to be seeing more of it.
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