Shontayne Hape to make England rugby union debut
Shontayne Hape is a name that England rugby union fans could be hearing a lot more in the near future after his selection to play the Barbarians this weekend.
Hape was born in New Zealand but moved to England to play rugby after it emerged that he was not likely to get a chance in the All Blacks international team. He has subsequently qualified to play for England and will make his debut at inside centre.
The move has been criticised by some puritans of English rugby but Hape will bring a lot to the current side. England coach, Martin Johnson, has said that he deserves a chance in the team and is a solid example of the new breed of player he wants to bring into the team.
The match against the Barbarians at Twickenham will be one of the last England play before their full tour of Australia and New Zealand starts. This means there will be a few fringe players looking to send a message to the coach.
Ability
He has plenty of ability and should slot straight into the side. A very strong and quick player who will rely on all of his pace and natural talent to evade the challenges from bigger players.
Hape started his career playing rugby league in New Zealand before moving to England to learn his trade playing for the Bradford Bulls. After a few seasons he decided that rugby union was the better game for him.
A chance presented itself at Bath when the Premiership side were forced to release six players who were involved in a drugs scandal. Hape was then able to play in one of the most competitive leagues in global rugby union and start regularly for the South West side.
If he doesn’t start this weekend then he is certain to come off of the bench and feature at some point during the game. He needs to trust his own ability that he will be able to have an impact on the game. The Barbarians are likely to target him because he isn’t the biggest player in the team or the most experienced.
Problems
Hape has one or two problems in his way if he is going to break into the England team regularly ahead of the Southern Hemisphere tour and the World Cup next year. These are problems that he needs to quickly address because they could hold him back.
Firstly, there will be much more experienced and hungry players in his position who will want an international chance. Hape cannot mess up once during the game because if he does then he could wave goodbye to any chance of going back to New Zealand and making a point.
Secondly, he will be under immense pressure from all areas of opposition teams. International sides see something like this as a chance to latch onto a player’s mental state and exploit it to their own advantage.
Betting Advice
Hape is not going to score that many points against the Barbarians because he may not start the game and he does not play in a position that would allow him to do so. If he played out wider then he would be much easier to back.
Stick with the experience in the team and the areas that should not have that much pressure circulating around them. Johnny Wilkinson should start the game as he is coming back from injury and he will be in with a great shout of being the highest points scorer for the contest. This is your best bet for the game.
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