Pick our magic men – Bath tell Stuart Lancaster
Bath’s marauding trio put Saracens to the sword on Friday with performances of pace, power and panache that had watching England attack coach Mike Catt purring in admiration.
Eastmond is back to his best after being scapegoated for England’s heavy third Test defeat against New Zealand in June, while centre partner Joseph demonstrated his all-round prowess and winger Rokoduguni produced another blistering display on the wing.
England boss Stuart Lancaster names his EPS squad on October 22 and Booth believes all three must in with a shout. He told The Rugby Paper: “It depends what the England coaches are looking for but all three of these guys are putting their hands up “Jonathan Joseph is back to the level he was before he got injured last year and he’s been exceptional.
“He was our stand-out player in pre-season and he’s showing greater maturity because he’s taking ownership of his performance. He’s contributing from a leadership perspective and his defensive displays have been fantastic.
“We know what he delivers in attack but he put in big hits against Saracens and his work-rate to get out and be aggressive in the contact area was terrific. People have been looking at that area of his game but you can’t criticise him now.”
Rokoduguni , one of the form Premiership wings with four tries to his name, is also worthy of an England call according to Booth, who said: “I hope he’s in there. All he can do is play well for Bath and he’s certainly doing that.
“He was good last week at Saints, was good again against Saracens and his statistics speak for themselves. England know what they’re looking for and I know they’re watching him closely, so all Roko can do is keep delivering.”
As for Eastmond, his summer blip is behind him and Booth added: “It’s all about performances and he’s been unbelievable. Kyle’s delivering to a very high standard and he’s got real quality attributes
“Everybody talks about what he does in attack but his defence against Saracens was outstanding. He was chop-tackling their big blokes back behind the gain-line and that’s what you want to see.”
Booth believes Bath could have bumper representation when England name their squad.
He concluded: “I’m not an England selector but in addition to JJ, Kyle and Roko, you’ve got George Ford, Dave Attwood and David WIlson. All those England-qualified boys can do is put their hand up for Bath each week and hopefully their performances will take care of themselves.”
NEALE HARVEY
