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Monday Maul
Outsiders stake their England claim
Tom Hamilton
February 23, 2015
Jack Nowell returned from training with England to star for Exeter Chiefs © Getty Images
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The fallow weekends during the Six Nations give those keen on proving their international claims a chance to shine and four English individuals did just that. Monday Maul assesses their performances alongside looking at some unsettled times for the Cardiff Blues and Sam Burgess.

England competition heats up

A World Cup year inevitably leads to club coaches trumpeting the various virtues of those players who are on the fringes of the national side. Prior to Saturday's match between Harlequins and Exeter, it was Conor O'Shea's turn to sing the praises of Danny Care, who currently finds himself behind Richard Wigglesworth and Ben Youngs in the England pecking order.

Ben Youngs, Danny Care and Richard Wigglesworth train with England, Pennyhill Park, Surrey, February 17, 2015
Ben Youngs, Danny Care and Richard Wigglesworth are all vying for a spot in the England XV against Ireland © Getty Images
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The day before, without the pre-match endorsements of Dai Young ringing in his ears, Elliot Daly put on a remarkable show for Wasps in their draw at Newcastle. He played a key role in all three tries as he teed up two and scored one himself.

Come Saturday, Exeter travelled to Harlequins with the attention again focusing on those who are just outside the current England mix. But while Care was in the spotlight, Exeter pair Henry Slade and Jack Nowell did their claims a world of good with impressive performances. The latter has a better chance of playing for England sooner rather than later having trained with the national side last week only to then return to Exeter in time for their last team run prior to their trip to the Stoop.

"If that's not a great test of character then what better one could he have had today?" said Baxter of Nowell's impressive reintegration. "He knew he was going to have limited time with us and he knew a big performance was possibly going to get him in the running to play for England.

"If that's a test of character, then he's certainly come through with flying colours. He was exceptionally good again today, so if Stuart [Lancaster] wanted to see him in a test, he's had one and he's done very, very well."

And then there was Danny Cipriani who put in yet another superb performance for Sale in their win over Saracens. He teed up Sam Tuitupou's try and commanded the game beautifully. Like Nowell, Cipriani was the focus of post-match praise on the week he re-signed with Sale.

"He's a team player and I think he fits into our set-up well, plus he enjoys Manchester," coach Steve Diamond said. "His performances have come from his contentedness of living up here. He's ambitious and so are we as a club."

It is the perfect scenario for Lancaster. His first XV are playing well, they've won two from two in the Six Nations, and such is the collective desire of the England contingent in the Premiership, those on the outside looking in want to continue pushing their claims in case anyone slips up.

The Sam Burgess conundrum

Sam Burgess looked frustrated at the Rec on Saturday. He started as Bath lose 21-13 to their title rivals Northampton. A day later his old side the Rabbitohs smashed St Helens 39-0 to take the World Club Challenge. You could forgive him if he felt a pang of doubt over his move to union.

 
Burgess needs a chance to learn the game away from the omnipresent glare
 

By Mike Ford's own admission, Bath haven't yet worked out how to get the best out of Burgess. For all his efforts against Northampton, he made just six metres with ball in hand. It was not the gainline-breaking brilliance that Bath and England hoped for when he returned to these shores last year.

"In the last two weeks we have had a plan to get Sam in the game from set-pieces and we have not delivered," Ford said. "We're not saying that by April he's got to be the best centre in the country or anything like that. We'll take it game by game and the more he plays, the better he'll get.

"He realises the hype that greeted his arrival. I think he had a perception that he'd come in and pick up the game straight away. Things frustrate him: the scrums and the time the ball is out of play. He's standing around getting cold. He has to deal with it all and then take his chances."

On Saturday's viewing, Bath cannot justify picking Burgess ahead of Jonathan Joseph, Ollie Devoto or Kyle Eastmond when they are all fit and firing. Burgess will come good, but he needs a full pre-season under his belt and a chance to learn the game away from the omnipresent glare.

The fittingly named Cardiff Blues

If reports from Wales are to be believed, Cardiff Blues coach Mark Hammett will no longer be their director of rugby by the end of the week. It is a marriage that just has not worked, but also his six-month spell in the job suggests the relationship has not been given enough time.

Their 40-24 loss to Treviso on Friday night was as poor a performance as you will see from the Blues. They have the talent in their ranks - Rhys Patchell performed admirably while many of his team-mates failed to deliver - but they need shaking up.

They currently lie third-bottom of the Guinness Pro12 and Blues and Wales fans alike will hope whoever is given the job can breathe new life into their stuttering campaign.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd
Tom Hamilton is the Associate Editor of ESPNscrum.
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Tom Hamilton was brought up near the stands of the Recreation Ground and joined ESPN in 2011. He is now Associate Editor of ESPNscrum.
Follow him on Twitter @tomESPNscrum