England v Australia: Asher Opoku-Fordjour is new prop star

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England v Australia: Asher Opoku-Fordjour is new prop star

Maybe because Opoku-Fordjour does not fit the old tight-head mould, he has also appeared on the opposite side of the scrum.

While he plays tight-head for *****, he switched to loose-head for England Under-20s, where Gloucester’s Afolabi Fasogbon and Bath’s Vilikesa Sela give England mammoth depth at three.

The trio were hugely impressive in the team’s age-grade World Cup win in the summer, with set-piece dominance splintering France in the final.

They are not the only reasons to be cheerful.

Harlequins’ 22-year-old Baxter made his Test debut in the summer. Team-mate Nathan Jibulu, 21, is poised to pressure central contract-holder Theo Dan, 23, at *******.

Northampton’s Tarek Haffar and Emmanuel Iyogun, both 23, are two more promising prop prospects.

In all, England hope they have a golden generation lined up behind Marler and Dan Cole, who are nearing the end of their careers, and Ellis Genge and Will Stuart, 29 and 28 respectively.

West believes that, once the transition is finished, Opoku-Fordjour would prefer to end up back at tight-head.

But in modern Test rugby, versatility can be the key that unlocks the next level and a place in a squad.

West and Titterrell’s day was different. Replacements were rarer. Specialists stayed put. And the set-piece was more chaotic.

Footage from their playing days provides amusement, rather than education, to their young charges.

“The lads laugh now when they see the footage of the games we played in,” says West.

“Back then the referee did not have much involvement in the engagement at scrums – you got together and got on with it.

“There was more impact, a lot more scrums ending up on the floor and there was a certain amount of brutality involved in that.

“Even so, the players now are so much ******* and probably stronger than we were in the past. It is totally different things they do nowadays.”

Differing styles, but identical destinations. Opoku-Fordjour and the rest are arriving fast on the international scene and, as in the scrum, will take some shifting once they are in place.

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