Former England scrum-half Matt Dawson has called on Ben Spencer to show his club ability when playing for the national side this summer.
The 53-year-old appeared on The Good, The Bad, & The Rugby podcast to discuss England’s upcoming Nations Championship campaign, alongside former England great Paul Grayson.
Part of Dawson’s analysis focused on the half-back selection of Spencer, as he pondered whether we will likely see the Bath man at the top of his game this summer.
“There is something holding him back when he’s in that England jersey, and whether it’s historical, whether his relationship with somebody,” he said.
“I’ve got no idea, but he is not the same player as I see in a Bath jersey. I would love him to be, because I think he’s very different to those two Northampton scrum-halves.”
Spencer doesn’t fit the mould of a typical number nine. Although he has the attributes of one, he brings control and leadership that set him well above most others in the Gallagher PREM. Sadly, these traits have rarely come to light in the international arena.
“Just be Ben Spencer”
At 33 years old, Spencer’s England career took a while to gain any momentum, stuck behind the likes of Ben Youngs, Danny Care and even Dan Robson and Willi Heinz for many years.
Spencer made his England debut on the 2018 tour of South Africa, coming off the bench to replace Youngs at Ellis Park, but only made his starting bow six years later in the 2024 Autumn Nations Series fixture against New Zealand.
His impressive performances for club side Bath, combined with the retirement of the above players, led to further call-ups to the England squad. Still, his quality of play hasn’t quite translated to the international stage.
“He’s in charge of a proper load of artillery at Bath and manages it really well,” continued Dawson.
“It was a big step up into the international game, and it’s not all about hitting cheat lines and scoring great tries, and hopefully there will be lots of that, but there’s a vast majority of the game where you’ve got to be really pragmatic, and it’s fast and furious in the mind, and the decisions have to be absolutely spot on.
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“I do see Ben doing that week in, week out with Bath, but when he’s at England, it’s as if he’s trying to pretend to be a player for England rather than just be Ben Spencer.”
With the emergence of Alex Mitchell as England’s number one choice at scrum-half, Spencer still appears to struggle to gain the control that he so clearly has at Bath.
As a quieter man than many, perhaps the international environment doesn’t suit him as well as the comforts of Bath. However, with the emergence of youngsters Archie McParland and Charlie Bracken coming through the ranks, Spencer needs to put a marker down this summer.
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