Zach Mercer officially booked his place in England’s World Cup squad with this
Such are England’s back row options at the moment that some very good players have missed out on this Six Nations, and will miss out on the World Cup.
Even with some of England’s star players such as Tom Curry and Courtney Lawes being out of action for much (all in Curry’s case) of the Six Nations, the likes of Billy Vunipola was not even selected, while Sam Simmonds is yet to play. Even the current Gallagher Premiership player of the season Ben Earl was dropped from the last Test against Wales.
Just to add to the selection headache for Steve Borthwick, arguably the best English player over the last 12 months will be available for selection come the World Cup later this year. That is the current Top 14 player of the season Zach Mercer, who continues to tear it up on a weekly basis in France with Montpellier.
But even for the dynamic No8’s standards he produced an assist at the weekend against ASM Clermont Auvergne that he can be proud of. In fact, any player would be proud of it. Cobus Reinach was the player to score the try, but the Springbok had a clear run to the line following Mercer’s break after beating two players from his own 22. The special thing was that he beat the first player with a through-the-legs dummy. France international Arthur Itturia was the player that was duped in a piece of play that was previously reserved for the likes of Carlos Spencer.
Take a look:
@top14rugby juste pour ça et en toute objectivité on vote @Mercer8Zach ! 🔵⚪️#teamMHR https://t.co/6FQaQNmiWL pic.twitter.com/0NAARnbUPg
— Montpellier Rugby (@MHR_officiel) March 6, 2023
Mercer had already set up a try for All Black George Bridge earlier in the game with a miss pass at the base of the ruck. The 25-year-old is untouchable at the moment, and looks destined to play for England later this year having already agreed to join Gloucester ahead of next season.
