The Mystery of the missing TV

Tom Varndell has scored 80 tries in the Premiership throughout his career, 6 short of the current record.  He’s topped the table three times, and so far this year he has scored 5 tries in four games. He is unarguably one of the best finishers in the Premiership and his defence was arguably the thing that stopped Wasps being relegated during the darkest of days not so long ago. 

He is active online in support of the club, and even when the move to the Ricoh was announced he came across as both professional, and sympathetic to the fans – quite an achievement all things considered. He is one of the fastest sprinters in the squad, and always seems to know exactly where the line is.  So why I ask is he not getting into the starting team?

He’s only started three times out of eight games, with one run off the bench (probably two by the time this is published).   Those five tries would seem to suggest that form isn’t the issue so what is going on?

It’s been suggested that perhaps this is simply a strategy to look after his arm.  He suffered a ruptured bicep – a potentially career ending injury – not once but twice, but if this really was the issue then you’d expect it to be common knowledge.  If it was being done to protect his career then you’d expect people to know about it.

It has also been suggested that perhaps Sailosi  Tagikakibau offers a little more physicality and strength in defence.  That’s hard to argue with, but on the strength of this season if that was the reason to drop a winger it would be Wade sitting on the bench and not Varndell.

Another possibility that has been mooted is that he is being lined up for the England 7s team at the Olympics in 2016.  This is certainly possible, he’s exactly the sort of player you’d want in a 7s team.  Fast, good at reading the game, and almost always beats his man in a one on one.  But  if this is the reason then he isn’t going anywhere just yet, and he runs in tries for fun.  Lets use him and get the points.

The only other possibility is that he has fallen out of favour with Dai Young for some reason.  I really hope this isn’t the case.  TV2 as he is affectionately known by those of us who remember when he signed for the club is a firm favourite.  He is loyal, skilled, charismatic and really seems to care about the crowd.

Let’s hope it is nothing significant, and that he’s back starting again soon, because the reality is that he is the first name on the team-sheet for many of the fans, and him being sent to Coventry (you see what I did there?) is hurting a lot of people.   He’s well on his way to being a club legend, and if he were to leave because of a personal issue a lot of people would struggle to support it.

What do you think the reason is?