10.

[backdoc]

Jacob’s made The a rugby Magazine’s dream team for the last round.

https://twitter.com/therugbymag/status/1465425355896987655?s=21

With his nemesis Twelvetrees at 13

[Covkid40]

Jacob’s made The a rugby Magazine’s dream team for the last round.

https://twitter.com/therugbymag/status/1465425355896987655?s=21

It’s things like this that drive me mad. Yes he had moments of brilliance but we all know he’s capable of these things but his basics and game management are not consistent enough. Jacob can be 9/10 and 4/10 in the same game! I’d be more than happy with 7/10 every week with odd sprinkles of magic thrown in every now and again. Please answer honestly which premiership club right now would swap there starting 10 for Jacob?

[Lwasp]

It’s things like this that drive me mad.

No need for madness. The RM team of the week is not selected. It's purely the highest scoring players in each position in their fantasy game. You can challenge the scoring system and which metrics do and do not get included etc but this week no 10 scored more fantasy points than Jacob.

Over the course of a full season? Jacob is the 4th highest fantasy FH scorer, however he does play a lot of minutes. He is only the 15th highest fantasy FH scorer when looking at fantasy points/80 mins played, behind JG amongst others.

Maybe this week wasn't that bad. Certainly the point garnering stats suggest it was better than average.

[wasps]

Weren't Leicester supposedly considering Jacob to replace Ford?

[NellyWellyWaspy]

Weren't Leicester supposedly considering Jacob to replace Ford?

The fans want(ed) him. He was, after all, signed with them before he moved to Wasps.

[Covkid40]

Weren't Leicester supposedly considering Jacob to replace Ford?

That’s not the question I asked, I asked which premiership club would swap there starting 10 for Jacob? Right now would Leicester swap Ford for Jacob? Would Gloucester swap Hastings for Jacob? I’m not questioning his commitment or desire just his ability to be consistent. He needs to be THE man we turn to in good times and bad.

[Shugs]

I bet Bath would swap Cipriani for him! It’s beyond question that he needs to improve but I don’t believe it’s the case that he needs to drag the team up by it’s cost tails any more or less than a loose head/lock/full back/winger etc. He has the opportunity to shape our play and affect game management more than most but all roles are interlinked - as has been alluded to in this thread in terms of Umaga’s performance and how it correlates to the scrum. I think it’s as basic as he needs to improve.

[Covkid40]

I bet Bath would swap Cipriani for him!

That proves the point, the only club you can name that would swap there 10 for Jacob is the team bottom of the league that haven’t won a game yet! After 3 seasons can we honesty say we’ve seen an improvement in his basics? He’s no longer a fresh faced kid new to first team action. He needs to improve and fast or his career could drift away.

[hopwood]

I still think he will improve, and he was often between a rock and a hard place on Friday night. Poor ball coming to him, with our pack going backwards meant Glaws had the line speed to be up on him so fast he couldn't pass or kick. Yes, he did make mistakes, but I would not be critical of him, not in the rabid way some posters here are.

Spot on. I agree.

[Rugbyintheblood]

I still think he will improve, and he was often between a rock and a hard place on Friday night. Poor ball coming to him, with our pack going backwards meant Glaws had the line speed to be up on him so fast he couldn't pass or kick. Yes, he did make mistakes, but I would not be critical of him, not in the rabid way some posters here are.

Spot on. I agree.

Agreed. Also I’ll not quickly forget those two tries in 5 minutes especially the one where he broke through Atkinson’s tackle to score.

[wasps]

It's also worth bearing in mind that those 2 tries came at the end of the game and show that he was still alert and looking for opportunities.

While some of the commenters here had given up on both the game and him, he was still looking for any opportunity to put points on the board.
He didn't believe the game was over

That in itself is an important skill

[coddy]

Of course he will improve, how many Professional Sportsman reach their peak by the time they are 23?

I firmly believe Jacob is on a upward (albeit slightly zig zagging) curve in his path to optimum effectiveness. Give him 3 more seasons of experience to get to where we all think he should be instead of comparing him to Smith, Ford and Fiver.

[Shugs]

Coddy, I think that’s part of the point. I quite agree - in 3 years he may be the finished article. No-one is disputing he’s a serious talent. But at 23 he’s going to have dips in form and show signs of inexperience - we’ve seen that over the last 2 seasons. If, by your estimates he needs another 3 that’s five years. We have to be realistic budget wise and Blackett has made the bold decision to throw his lot in with Umaga and Atkinson. Recruitment wise I think he and his team have worked wonders. So we have what we have and, at the moment, I don’t think we’re savvy or consistent enough at 10. That being said I 100% back Umaga as I do anyone else wearing the Black and Gold.

[hopwood]

Coddy, I think that’s part of the point. I quite agree - in 3 years he may be the finished article. No-one is disputing he’s a serious talent. But at 23 he’s going to have dips in form and show signs of inexperience - we’ve seen that over the last 2 seasons. If, by your estimates he needs another 3 that’s five years. We have to be realistic budget wise and Blackett has made the bold decision to throw his lot in with Umaga and Atkinson. Recruitment wise I think he and his team have worked wonders. So we have what we have and, at the moment, I don’t think we’re savvy or consistent enough at 10. That being said I 100% back Umaga as I do anyone else wearing the Black and Gold.

I think Wasps have been very unfortunate with the 2-season injury to Mills.
Jacob has needed another playmaking experienced head outside him, to broaden his awareness and accelerated his learning.
Jimmy’s influence can’t be understated, but Mills would have brought another set of skills and way of doing things.
You generally learn from those around you, and I think we’ve been very unfortunate to have missed Ryan’s insights, creativity and strategies.

[Rossm]

Absolutely, hopwood.