As a close confidant and the first to know, Dan Cole wasn't entirely shocked when Joe Marler announced his international retirement. Marler's decision, however, elicited a different kind of reaction. “He laid out his reasons, and I thought, ‘Who am I going to room with now, Joe? You’ve left me hanging here!’” It turns out George Ford has inherited Marler’s bed, but more importantly, Sale’s 20-year-old prop Asher Opoku-Fordjour steps into his squad spot. Cole admits he’ll miss Marler, but life goes on. He questions his own place at the top level, almost daily, at 37, and Borthwick’s decision to call up the highly-regarded Opoku-Fordjour symbolizes the changing of the guard.
“I now talk to one less person, so essentially, no one,” Cole says. “For selfish reasons, you miss him because he’s a good friend, but the team keeps moving forward. He retired on his own terms, so he’s alive, well, and healthy, still my friend but not here.” Opoku-Fordjour is the first of a new wave of talent to join the senior setup, with Gloucester’s Afo Fasogbon and Bath’s Billy Sela close behind. What sets Opoku-Fordjour apart is his versatility on both sides of the scrum. England views him as a loosehead, while Sale sees him as a tighthead—though that perception has softened recently with the Sharks acknowledging his dual capabilities.
Cole, who has been around long enough to remember when one prop covered both positions, vividly describes the difficulty of switching between the two—“it’s like wiping your arse with your left hand”—but encourages young props to keep their options open rather than specializing too early. “I believe having a basic understanding of playing loosehead can help you play tighthead because if I don’t like what’s happening on the loosehead side, I can apply that on the tighthead,” he says. “Young players who play both sides appreciate both positions, and they’ll find their niche rather than saying, ‘I’m a tighthead.’
[Asher’s] been playing exceptionally well in the Premiership for Sale. I think with talents like his, it’s about not overthinking. But he always gets his hands on the ball and keeps hitting things, and the structure is there to bring out their skill set.” Cole does, however, caution against throwing Opoku-Fordjour and others into the deep end too soon. “There are several in the Premiership coming through. But there’s a significant leap between the Premiership and international rugby.”
As you look at how dominant South Africa has been, you need a strong front row to compete. But how do you bridge that gap? The easy part is playing 20-year-olds, but if you lose games and confidence in players, it’s not beneficial for anyone.” As a result, the Leicester Tiger returns to action against Australia on Saturday, a week after the heart-wrenching defeat against New Zealand. “No matter how much it hurts to lose like that, I’d much rather be in a position where it comes down to the final kick rather than being blown out by 20 points and having no chance. At some point, those games will turn. I have confidence they will because we put a lot of training and effort into making that happen.”
Had Marler not suffered a foot injury in the first summer Test against New Zealand, it could have been his 98th cap against the Wallabies, but missing out in Auckland ruled out a century this year—something Cole suspects might have been significant. “I thought part of him wanted 100 caps, but unfortunately, he hurt his foot in the first New Zealand Test, so that would have meant extending into next year. You just have a feeling, but you have no control over what he thinks or does.”
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