Jordan Crane feels England have failed to get the best out of Kyle Sinckler during his international career, with the tighthead prop set to be unavailable for his country from next season as he heads to the Top 14.
Crane coaches the defence at Bristol Bears, where Sinckler has been since 2020 and shown some of his best form at the club in recent weeks.
Whilst the former Leeds, Leicester and Bears back row admits the prop was not always the easiest player to manage, and that it has even taken the club a while to get to grips with Sinckler, he laments the fact that England coaches were unable to fully understand the character of Sinckler in his seven years playing for his country.
“Obviously he’s an emotional guy,” Crane said, speaking on The Rugby Paper Podcast. “Sometimes he can get distracted but when he’s on it he’s one of the best tightheads in this country, in terms of ball-playing, set piece, and everything else he’s got. Lucky for us at the minute he’s well and he’s engaged in what we’re doing.
“The old-school mentality of rugby is: everybody’s the same, everybody’s got to buy into the same thing and do the same thing, but society’s changed, people have changed.
“You have to understand the person to get the best out of them. What I’d probably say with Kyle in England, they didn’t necessarily understand him completely to get the most out of him.
“It’s probably taken us a few years to understand that and get him to the best spot.”
With first-choice tighthead Dan Cole now aged 37 and neither back-up Joe Heyes or Will Stuart starting consistently for their club sides, our columnists on the podcast suggested the possibility that Sinckler, or Castres-bound Will Collier, could still be considered for England’s two-test series against New Zealand this summer.
Collier played a key role in Harlequins’ shock Champions Cup quarter-final victory at Bordeaux-Bègles last weekend, and England coach Steve Borthwick showed he was prepared to select players who were heading across the channel – but not yet there – in his World Cup squad last year.
If it was a choice between Sinckler and Collier, Crane would have the former based on his recent performances in the Premiership, but he feels neither are likely to be picked in a tour where development should be the priority.
“12 months ago he probably had a dip,” he added. “But since he’s got back from the World Cup, not being selected by England and knowing his leaving us at the end of the season, it’s been the best I’ve seen him play.
“He was brilliant against Gloucester in our last Prem game, Northampton the week before that; a lot of the games we’ve won he’s been massive in – against Sale away he was our best player.
“Taking that burden off him of questions about whether he’s going to be selected for England has freed him up. I would say he’s on our best run [of form] for Bristol Bears at this current time.
“Collier was outstanding at the weekend, and he’s a great tighthead prop, 100 per cent he should’ve been capped more for England.
“But if you’re going to take one to New Zealand I’d take Kyle Sinckler over Collier with them both being in the same situation, both going to France at the end of the year. If they’re looking for progression though, and trying to bring players through, I can’t see them taking anyone going to France at the end of the year out to New Zealand.”
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