Ex-Stormer Michael Rhodes England Call-Up

Former Stormers utility forward Michael Rhodes could become the latest South African-born player to turn out for England after he was named in Eddie Jones‘ 44-man pre-season squad.

The 30-year-old will join the rest of his teammates in a camp beginning on Saturday, England’s first since their three-match tour of South Africa where they were beaten 2-1 in June.

Michael Rhodes gets a shot at Test rugby

Jones said the aim of the cap is to get players together and plan for the season ahead, as well as look at areas of improvement ahead of next year’s Rugby World Cup in Japan.

“With just over 12 months until the Rugby World Cup, it is an important time. We haven’t selected everyone. There are a number of players we rested from the tour that we have allowed to continue their pre-season with their clubs.”

The Durban-born Rhodes has been plying his trade in England for Aviva Premiership champions, Saracens since leaving the Stormers and Western Province at the end of the 2015 Currie Cup season.

by TheSouthAfrican.com

This is getting a bit ridiculous. Eddie is reaching down to the bottom of the barrel and its not like there is a shortage of  players in England to chose from. 

5 years residency plus citizenship would help stop the NH plundering for their test teams .Would make little or no difference to the ABs .

I'd have the rules more strict the that: One can only represent a nation not if their birth if they have been living their since they were 10 or younger. I think that'd be fairer, as you'd largely be a product of that actions culture and their development programs. Players popping up for other countries like they are now is rediculous. 

If I remember correctly, Rhodes was in one of Meyer's squads, but never played. Such a pity as he was introduced to the Boks. 

...his selection has been on the cards for some time after some great seasons for Aviva Premiereship winners Saracens,  only now qualifies due to completing his three year residency..., 

but more pressure on Eddie Jones to succeed or face the chop with a more foreign looking English team ...with an Aussie born Billy Vunipola , a Kiwiborn Shields and a Saffa Rhodes as the possible back three.. another couple of Kiwis in the front row and some Nigerian locks.....plus potentially more Kiwi born players Woodward, Solomona and Te'o in the backs at the expense of English born players some might complain,,,and drongo Mitchel in place of a English defensive coach...

 Jones giving the English media plenty of ammunition should things go pearshaped..

England barely has a cultural identity these days. The way Europe is moving. Erode cultural identity and achieve a superstate. 

Th level of club rugby is dubious at best and Rhodes always was a good Super Rugby player.  He was not elected to play for the Springboks because Meyer was set on playing the dubious Alberts at 7.   

As per normal Mozart has gone off his rocker by referring to openside loosies and Rhodes is a blindsider.   We have adequate blind side loosies and we need opensiders - which neither Louw and Rhodes are.

Mind you I would prefer Rhodes to Louw as a loosie.      

Louw is not an opensider? Interesting perspective considering he was one of the best at test level for several years. 

I think I understand you. You seem like the kid who used to get picked on, who become a bitter contrarian who wants to see the better boys be suppressed for good measure. That's how it appears to me. The stuff you say is absolutely nonsensical. You've attacked nearly all of the most successful Boks of the past 20 years! 

  I will not even try to repeat all the BS you have written within the last month - so keep it up - it is highly amusing to see how you go on.    Everybody differing from you are accused of all kind of things and that is the most amusing element of it.    

Just another player that Meyer some how missed during his time as Bok coach.

Boy ... he seemed to go through his entire term with blinkers on.

Four years that we can never get back ... and we're still suffering because of it.  

Um ... yes ... Louw is not an opensider ... he's a retreaded blindside flank pretending to play at 6.

He can't seem to hold onto the 6 jersey.

Haaaaaaaaaaaahahahahahahahaa!!!

The world's best you say ... for several years, you say ... ???

I presume that's your attempt at convincing us ... much the same as you did with Mapoe, huh?

Well ... one of the supposed "worlds best" opensiders was found wanting against the lowly Japanese. I guess that's probably why he hasn't been a regular in the Boks side these last few years. 

He comes in ... exposes himself as a hasbeen blindsider ... and is then discarded ... 

Come now Pussy ... you need to stop with all these fabrications. Some of us might think that you're deliberately lying to us.   

Yep Louw has had a good career and it will be interesting to see how much more he has left in the tank. Rassie wants more guys able to slow down opposition ball and effect steals.

Duane was very good on coming back to the Bok fold but ou cc thought Duane was afraid of the wee abs who Duane has faced down many times. wee cc is going down the tubes as a poster and we can only hope the dope rediscovers some form!!! Hahahhahahahahaha

Personally to me the Du Preez twins look promising. Handling the slippery ball at the shark tank not too easy.

Beeno sensi ble and reasonable as always!

Come now, O Righteous One ... you've wanted to turn full backs into scrummies ... props into hookers ... and last I heard, Fleck was your candidate for coach of the year.

Rather stick to bible bashing us and worshiping your god Trump.

Rugby is not a strength of yours.

The EN head coach seems out of ideas. He keeps including more and more brutality to try to compensate the loser rugby EN plays. NZ players are better be prepared, it is going to be violent.

That SA player was one neck roll twist short of ending a player's life. Should have never walked any rugby field as a professional but he was a SA player so these things had to go.

Kind of disfavour SA rugby benefit of.

Shall we recount the All Black atrocities? Like nearly ending O'Driscoll's life, without punishment. Sure, South Africa gets away with everything. 5 penalties to a yellow, to New Zealand's 50+. All those citings. A little bit of research goes a long way. 

CC

You forget another aspect of Louw playing as an opensider and that was his deficient pace arriving late at breakdowns and then penalized when trying to recover balls,   He even was penalized once when he played only for 11 minutes.   His average penalties per game for that contravention was 2 penalties per game and as high as 3 at times.

You must accept that Lurker makes a constant fool of himself on site - he specializes in that.   One should rather pity the poor bugger rather than ridicule him.   

I find it funny that you proclaim that I make a fool of myself when you just exposed that you literally have no comprehension of defensive assignments at even the most basic level. You picked the wrong partner to dance with in these exchanges; A unique Danse Macabre reimagining. 

What d o you know about anything relating to rugby?  Judging by your posts - ZERO.

I know who defends who. I suppose that's the difference of having played the game and analysing film, you get a better appreciation if these things. Looming over ESPN like a reaper, searching for that deadly series of numbers to put an end to your loathed adversaries leaves you bereft of actual answers; you learn nothing. Those questions I asked you a month ago, the questions you said were stupid, they were intended to encourage some thought in your posts. By asking the question, I was alerting you to something you hadn't considered before. I knew I couldn't say it openly, so I attempted to lead your thought process to that light bulb. Yet, you resisted all the more and draped yourself in humiliation. You can't say I didn't try. 

Shall we recount the All Black atrocities?

Better not to limit to those only.

The list of all atrocities committed by AR, AU, EN, FR, IR, IT, NZ, SC, WA, plus PI rugbys will be shorter than the list of atrocities committed by SA rugby.

Maybe when tapping in all rugbys nations, there is a chance to match.

Trad saying it like it is 

Augenoffner van lurker speaking shite ,you cant have a valid comparison wi thout at least one other team to compare against even then its still flawed unless you compare apples to apples across all teams .