Seven weeks into the season, and already we have see some incredible fixtures, heated emotion and so much discussion and competition surrounding Stuart Lancaster's England selection. Players have been sadly dropping like flies, but others have been shining so brightly, it's hard to ignore them. The background drama of the transfer rumours and stadium movements have threatened to overshadow the beautiful rugby we've had recently, but the mutterings of the assorted pub masses are reached a fevered pitch.
So who deserves the place? We'll go numerically, purely for my own sanity. So the loose heads, and with no new injuries, the top three will remain the same as the last post. Joe Marler, Matt Mullan and Alex Waller, though after the Bath game against Wasps, Mullan may find himself below Waller for the reserve shirt. This weekend of European rugby will surely show the three players who the better is.
Over to the hookers, and again, no injury changes here. Dylan Hartley, Rob Webber and Jack Yeandle continue to make considerable ticks for their names in the Premiership, despite Hartley being benched against Sale.Yeandle was named in the Opta stats team of the week, and for that, and all his performances this year, he deserves the call, particularly over David Paice , who took a yellow card for refusing to retreat before tackling a player. The two went head to head at Sandy Park, and Yeandle has come out the better.
Tight heads are still an issue, and not something I will dwell on. Dave Wilson, Henry Thomas, and Kieran Brooks have been quietly going about their business as usual, though Wilson will be expecting a dressing down, if he's not had one already, for his tripping offence last weekend against Wasps. Kieran Longbottom is still in for contention, but he needs to do something special to dislodge the two Bath men.
To the second rows, and Courtney Lawes, Joe Launchbury and Dave Attwood are the top three, with a contentious issue as to who gets the fourth slot. Graham Kitchener and James Gaskell will be in the crosshairs with Geoff Parling out injured. Kitchener and Gaskell both toured with England and having Gaskell in the squad does give an extra flanker option, so he may get the nod over the Tiger.
Speaking of flankers, the back row is an absolute minefield of talent. But before I get on to who I'd pick, I should address the Armitage elephant in the room. The rumoured switch to Bath came crashing to a halt after the financial side could not be agreed. Apparently, Bath asked the RFU for help for funding, and were rather frankly told no. And that is as it should be. No player is worth jeopardising the integrity of the Premiership. Armitage was apparently told by Toulon management that he would only be released if he was guaranteed England selection. Now either they knew it would never happen, or they really are as mad as they seem. I've enjoyed Armitage's play but I don't think he is worthy of the recall, especially since we have such strength here. My view is, if Armitage wanted to play in the World Cup, he should have signed to an English club instead of a contract extension. Sorry, but he knew the rules before he left.
Anyway, who to select? Tom Wood, Chris Robshaw, James Haskell, Ben Morgan and Billy Vunipola are bound to get selected, so who else is there room for? Jon Fisher, Jamie Gibson, Luke Wallace, Callum Clark, Thomas Waldrom, and Dave Ewers have bashed their way through the opening matches and I wouldn't like to call who should be selected. But that's the point of all this, so for my money, Fisher, Waldrom and Ewers are ahead of everyone else. Is this because of who they are playing for? Well it's easier to be picked if you're playing for a winning team. A point Clive Woodward made over Danny Cipriani.
Before I get ahead of myself, let's select the scrum halves. Danny Care, Lee Dickson and Ben Youngs, in that order. Care has just become a father for the first time, and congratulations to him and his partner. His form for Harlequins has been one of the brightest sparks the Quins have had in recent weeks, and his tournament opening try was a typical scrum half try, pouncing the loose ball after a pair of Nick Evans's kicks. Dickson has started brilliantly in this season, using his partnership with Stephen Myler and the Northampton pack, as well as the pressure from Khan Fotuali'i, to make a proper start of the season. Conversely, Youngs has been struggling as stand in captain for Leicester, generally being caught going backwards. He still has moments of skill, but my worry is the length of time he tends to hold the ball before passing. He gets his fly half in trouble doing that at Premiership level. Against the All Blacks or the Springbocks, there will be no chance.
Back to the fly halves, George Ford and Myler have been leading the way. Leicester's injuries and rapidly reversing pack have put pressure on Freddie Burns, and the contest for the kicking tee with Owen Williams will have dented his confidence. Anyone remember Myler and Ryan Lamb contesting at Northampton? Danny Cipriani had a really good chance to stamp his name onto the shirt over Myler in round 6, but he was beaten at every opportunity. Myler has bested both of his other contenders at the Gardens, and deserves a chance in the white. I have a feeling Owen Farrell will still be picked, but he hasn't shown his form just yet. He's recovering from a series of injuries picked up early on, and Charlie Hodgeson has pinched his domestic shirt. Should he be considered as well? Possibly, he has outplayed the current England ten all season so far, but to me, and actually, a fair few commentators, Myler has been the best fly half in England.
Now I'll skip my rule of going by numbers and go to the centres. There have been so many names branded about for a call up, and the shining feet and beautiful partnership of Kyle Eastmond and Jonathon Joseph have seen the fans at the Rec salavating, and the England coaches wriggling with delight. The ready made partnership could be partnered with Ford to see how they go, but I would like to see Joseph paired with Luther Burrell. The defensive errors Eastmond made in New Zealand vanished when Burrell came onto the field, plugging the holes. He hasnt exactly been quiet in the Premiership either, partnering up with George Pisi fantastically. Burrell is a more complete centre for Lancaster's mold, and with Billy Twelvetrees performing inconsistently, and Manu Tuilagi recovering from a groin injury, Burrell should take the 12 shirt. Unless, of course, Henry Slade or Sam Hill have something to say about it. The two Exeter centres have been glorious, and at least one of them should be promoted from the Saxons. I reckon it will be Hill. Playing out of position at 13 instead of his preferred fly half role gives him some versatility not shown by any of the aforementioned. He could be played at 12, 10 or 13, and Lancaster would have their second playmaker, as has clearly helped Exeter during the Premiership. Following the suspected injury to Eastmond this weekend though, it may open the door back for Twelvetrees.
Now to the wingers, and unsurprisingly, David Strettle is being talked up as the in form winger. Mark McCall has been celebrating his wingers for their try scoring abilities, but for me, neither Strettle nor Chris Ashton deserves the slot. Ashton has too many defensive weaknesses and Strettle tends to score on the end of a backs movement where most wingers worth the shirt should score. But by far, the best winger in the Premiership right now is Semesa Rokoduguni, the Bath Action man on release from the army and rightfully should get the 14 shirt in the autumn. Opposite him, a contest is more fierce. Christian Wade (a wonderful chap), Jonny May and Marland Yarde are all the main competition, and I think Wade and Yarde have made a better start to the season. All three have had some defensive issues this year, but Wade has magical feet and Yarde has a decent size to counter the fast runners and power players of the southern hemisphere.
Finally, the fullbacks. Ben Foden has, without a doubt, been the best fullback in the Premiership, but this weekend shot himself in the foot with a poor decision to clear his lines and getting charged down for a late try. Mike Brown is the other contender, but he hasn't had the form he did last season. He's had flashes of brilliance but his hip injury has hampered him and kept him from his best. Alex Goode is thought to be as another option but he hasn't been test quality recently.
So my match day 23 then, after long considerations and the many many fixtures of the weekend, I have my starting line up for Twickenham on November 8th. Feel free to comment and tweet if you disagree. I open this to debate, and it will carry on until the squad is selected on Wednesday. For those who are curious, I will leave my supporting 10 to flesh out the squad.
1. Marler
2. Hartley
3. Wilson
4. Lawes
5. Launchbury
6. Wood (c)
7. Haskell
8. Waldrom
9. Care
10. Myler
11. Yarde
12. Burrell
13. Joseph
14. Rokoduguni
15. Foden
16. Webber
17. Waller
18. Thomas
19. Attwood
20. Robshaw
21. Dickson
22. Ford
23. Brown
Squad support
Forwards: Mullan, Yeandle, Brookes, Gaskell, Vunipola, Morgan
Backs: Youngs, Farrell, Slade, May.
Tuesday, 21 October 2014
Thursday, 2 October 2014
England after round 4
Some weeks ago, I wrote about Stuart Lancaster's training camp, and who he might select for his EPS. Since then, four rounds of Aviva Premiership action have come and gone, and the selection process might have changed somewhat. A couple of weeks ago, Premiership Rugby and the RFU announced they would be delaying the announcement of the EPS until the first week of the Rugby Champions Cup, allowing for six weeks of Premiership rugby for players to stake their claim. With not even skipper Robshaw promised a place, everyone has a chance. When I wrote previously, I narrowed down from the fifty five selected in the training camp to the thirty three likely to be selected for England's EPS for the autumn internationals.
Just to refresh your memory, I've rewritten the table from before.
Now though, we come into some problems. News this week has come out with players getting long term injuries, including Alex Corbisiero and Geoff Parling, two winning Lions and stalwarts of Lancaster's England. The full list of the injured comprises of: the aforementioned Corbisiero and Parling; Tom Croft; Mako Vunipola; Ed Slater; Tom Youngs; and a short term injury list of Owen Farrell, Manu Tuilagi, Courtney Lawes, Mike Brown and Tom Wood. I'm sure there are others, but I can't remember them at this moment!
So who do we replace them with? Assuming Farrell makes a recovery, he may not be completely fit to play for England during the internationals. If he is, he has enough credit in the bank to return to the forefront as playmaker. Let's assume for the moment that he isn't returning to the EPS just yet. Who gets the nod at fly half? Well, we need to consider the half back pairings. Danny Care and Farrell have been together for a while now, with Lee Dickson coming in for Care this time last year, and Ben Youngs before then. Now though, we have four fly halves all competing, and four scrum halves, equally competitive. This season, we've seen Stephen Myler, George Ford and Danny Cipriani all knocking on the door far louder than Freddie Burns, but Burns has the credit in the bank after a stellar performance in the summer. Myler has consistency, Ford has the magical feet, and Cipriani has some wonderful performances under his belt. There is, however, a murmur in the south. A young man by the name of Henry Slade has been using his tomahawk to chop at the door everyone's knocking at. Apparently adept at 13 as well as 10, Slade has been outstanding throughout the past four weeks, despite being out of position. He deserves to be picked at least in the Saxons squad, and given the opportunity to stand up and be counted. I'll come back to Slade though, as there is a centre spot up for grabs and his current form in that position has taken him to new heights.
Let's check the nines. In terms of early season form, Dickson holds the advantage, purely from a table view. Harlequins and Leicester have not allowed Care or Youngs to shine as they would've liked. Richard Wigglesworth has been marginally hamstrung by Neil De Kock and Saracen's rotation policy, but Dickson has had a similar issue with Kahn Fotuali'i at the Saints. I would expect to see Care in the drivers seat come the 8th of November, but with Dickson sat on the bench. Possibly even a switch depending on the next two weekends, and whom is selected at fly half. If Lancaster is going for a straightforward 9/10/12 axis that has been proven time and time again. Dickson, Myler and Burrell, combined with the forwards inevitably pulled in from Franklin's Gardens, might provide a strong spine for England. Much like the Welsh players did for the third Lions test, but supported by some key players. There is a fifth option though. Chris Cook of Bath has had an excellent start to the season, and his partnership with Ford may be key in this weekends game against Saracens. With Farrell out injured, Ford will be faced with wizened master, Charlie Hodgson, a sterner task than rival Myler last weekend. Hodgson has been the master for a long time, and even before Farrell was properly injured, Hodgson was selected before Farrell. It'll be a debate that'll rage through time until the EPS is selected.
Returning to the forwards, we should look at our loosehead pool. Now we have lost both Mako and Corbs, we'll need to look at the next generation. Marler will be grabbing the shirt, there's no doubt that the Harlequins skipper will be in pole position, but who deputises? Matt Mulan will be up there as a contender, having been included in the New Zealand tour and the recent training camp back in Blighty. Alex Waller would be the next taxi off the rank, following an outstanding play in the midweek game against the Crusaders, and a fantastic season for the Saints in the absence of Corbs. Has he made enough of himself to get cast as England's next loosehead?
Hooker comes next, and there are a lot of contenders. With Tom Youngs now out until around Christmas, the Saints vs Bath game gave a prime chance for watching Andy Farrell and Graham Rountree to see the two hookers, Dylan Hartley and Rob Webber, duke it out for England's number 2 shirt. Unquestionably, Hartley won the battle. A full 80, credited for a try saving tackle and man of the match make him likely to save his spot. Another young English hooker making a name for himself is Jack Yeandle of Exeter. The Chief's stand in captain has burst into full view at the expense of the injured Luke Cowan-Dickie. Man of the match last weekend gives him boost in the estimations of the England management. Dave Ward and David Paice remain on the call list, but with Harlequins poor start and some scrummaging issues, and Paice not having been selected for a while now, Yeandle remains high on the list for me. Jamie George celebrated his 100th cap for Saracens, despite being just 23, and he probably will be called up at least into the Saxons, if not the full EPS.
Tighthead props have always been thin on the ground, and with the injury to Dan Cole extending even further into the future, Lancaster has a very short list to call from. David Wilson and Henry Thomas will be a given pairing, having trained together and united at Bath. Kieran Brookes of Newcastle is an outside chance of being selected to the team, but he will be in the EPS. Kieran Longbottom of Australia now has been discovered to have an English grandmother, and since his arrival to the Premiership has made enough of a splash to warrant a consideration. Maybe he will be selected over Brookes, but that depends on injuries and how well the squad trains together and if Lancaster has the option of an expansion.
Second rows now, and here is a contentious issue. No doubt, Courtney Lawes, Dave Attwood and Joe Launchbury will be selected. Lawes is expected to be fit for this weekend, though Jim Mallinder may opt to rest him for a further week. With Parling out for the foreseeable, who should take his place? There's a case for Christian Day, the lineout maestro of the Gardens who never was selected. Charlie Matthews and George Robson both have Saxons experience, and Michael Paterson nailed his colours to the England mast this summer. Kearnan Myall could also be in for an England return, and Graham Kitchener could be called up. Decisions, decisions. Alternatively, Lancaster could call up an additional flanker to the bench, moving Ben Morgan or Billy Vunipola up to the second row.
So to the back row then. Handy to have that seque. I'm not convinced that Chris Robshaw is safe in his shirt. He has fought valiantly for the last four weeks, but he's been fighting a losing battle. His squad has slowly been slipping backwards, and the way Lancaster made the point of no one being safe, not even the captain, suggests there may be changes in the wind. For my mind, the best English flankers playing at the moment are James Haskell and Tom Wood. Jon Fisher has stepped in superbly into Wood's boots in light of his back injury. Hopefully the later will be fit to play at the former's former club, and he will push his way back into the squad. I was hopeful for Tom Croft to be fit to return, but sadly, that's not the case. Dave Ewers, Luke Wallace, Callum Clark, Jamie Gibson and Matt Kvesic are all looking to be brought in from the Saxons cold and be called up to the next level. To my mind, and bare in mind, I am slightly biased, Fisher should join the squad. Wallace also deserves a chance, after consistently performing for all the time he spends on the pitch. He gets subbed for Harlequins, often a surprise from my view, as I feel he can outperform Robshaw. No one can doubt Robshaw's heart and passion though. I'd be very surprised to see Robshaw dropped from the EPS, but captaincy may not be his. It raises a whole new issue as to whom is called up to the arm band. To me, and some of my colleagues, the answer is simply Wood. He is the voice of the team on the field, often seen pushing the players on, and contesting hard all game long. If Robshaw is put to the bench, Wood will almost certainly step up as he did in Argentina. Failing that, Hartley may be the man given the command again as he did in South Africa.
Finally for the forwards, the number 8. There is only one truly thriving 8 at the moment. Anyone? No? Yes, at the back? Yes, Thomas Waldrom. The last year, he failed to make the starting line up for Leicester, but since moving to Exeter, he has dominated all over the park. The Tank Engine has had his firebox lit again, and he has got to have barged his way into contention. Ben Morgan has been quietly going about his business, as has Billy Vunipola. But Waldrom has been barnstorming his way into the hearts of the Sandy Park faithful. Has he done enough to warrant a recall? I think so, but at the expense of the Saracens 8. Vunipola hasn't reached his peak yet, and he needs a little longer to recover from the injury he sustained in the Premiership final. Odds are, Waldrom won't be called into the full squad, but I'd like to see him transfer his form in the Premiership to a full cap again.
Now, we move to the backs again. Back to the centers, and unless Tuilagi makes a fully recovery, he won't be in the full squad straight away. He should be in the EPS, along with Luther Burrell and Billy Twelvetrees. The Gloucester captain hasn't put much wrong, and he offers the second playmaker that Lancaster seems to like, whereas Burrell has had a barnstorming season start. The interesting conversation becomes centred on Kyle Eastmond, Jonathan Joseph, Sam Hill, Henry Slade and Elliot Daily. Five fiery competitors, and I've not even included Brad Barritt and Anthony Allen in the list. Slade deserves a shot, and his adaptability to play at centre or at 10 means he could be the answer to Lancaster's dilemma. With such a strong boot on him, Slade can pick off the opposite side to the park of Ford, Myler, Farrell and Cipriani, and if he is placed at 13, as he is at club level, he would be ideally partnered with Burrell at 12 and Wade as his wing man.
Handy link there to the back three. Wade, Yarde and May. There's very little debate here. Although Strettle and Varndell have been tearing up the premiership, these three youngsters are very much key to Lancaster's speed set. Similarly, the fullbacks are likely to be the same as last year. Mike Brown, Ben Foden, and Alex Goode. In that order. However, Brown hasn't looked as sharp as he did last season, and Foden has recovered from an injury beautifully, celebrating the form of his life at the Gardens. Even Goode is making a push to be the England 15, with a lovely solo effort against Sale at the weekend. However, Foden is currently top of the pile of the three at the moment, and with Brown appearing to be nursing a slight hip injury, caused by an awkward aerial collision with Jack Nowell on Saturday, I'd wonder if Foden might be returning to the white shirt with 15 on his back, despite his wonder try against the Crusaders.
So there we have it. All of that waffle above though can be summed up with a handy little table.
This is who I think Lancaster will draw his 33 men from. I know there's 37 names here, but allow me some flexablity. After all, we have another three weeks before Lancaster gathers his recently resigned team together and says "Right, who shall we call first?" I hope all of those who have slight knocks will be fit enough to play again before the selection, and this table may change week by week, so we shall have to wait and see. In the meantime, let's get back to the Premiership, shall we?
Just to refresh your memory, I've rewritten the table from before.
Loose-head
|
Hooker
|
Tight-head
|
Lock
|
Corbisiero
|
Hartley
|
Wilson
|
Lawes
|
Marler
|
T. Youngs
|
Thomas
|
Launchbury
|
M. Vunipola
|
Webber
|
Brookes
|
Parling
|
Attwood
| |||
Flankers
|
No 8
|
Scrum half
|
Fly half
|
Robshaw ©
|
Morgan
|
Care
|
Farrell
|
Wood
|
B. Vunipola
|
Dickson
|
Ford
|
Croft
|
B. Youngs
|
Burns
| |
Haskell
| |||
Centres
|
Wing
|
Full Back
| |
Tuilagi
|
Wade
|
Brown
| |
Burrell
|
Yarde
|
Foden
| |
Twelvetrees
|
May
|
Goode
| |
Eastmond
|
Now though, we come into some problems. News this week has come out with players getting long term injuries, including Alex Corbisiero and Geoff Parling, two winning Lions and stalwarts of Lancaster's England. The full list of the injured comprises of: the aforementioned Corbisiero and Parling; Tom Croft; Mako Vunipola; Ed Slater; Tom Youngs; and a short term injury list of Owen Farrell, Manu Tuilagi, Courtney Lawes, Mike Brown and Tom Wood. I'm sure there are others, but I can't remember them at this moment!
So who do we replace them with? Assuming Farrell makes a recovery, he may not be completely fit to play for England during the internationals. If he is, he has enough credit in the bank to return to the forefront as playmaker. Let's assume for the moment that he isn't returning to the EPS just yet. Who gets the nod at fly half? Well, we need to consider the half back pairings. Danny Care and Farrell have been together for a while now, with Lee Dickson coming in for Care this time last year, and Ben Youngs before then. Now though, we have four fly halves all competing, and four scrum halves, equally competitive. This season, we've seen Stephen Myler, George Ford and Danny Cipriani all knocking on the door far louder than Freddie Burns, but Burns has the credit in the bank after a stellar performance in the summer. Myler has consistency, Ford has the magical feet, and Cipriani has some wonderful performances under his belt. There is, however, a murmur in the south. A young man by the name of Henry Slade has been using his tomahawk to chop at the door everyone's knocking at. Apparently adept at 13 as well as 10, Slade has been outstanding throughout the past four weeks, despite being out of position. He deserves to be picked at least in the Saxons squad, and given the opportunity to stand up and be counted. I'll come back to Slade though, as there is a centre spot up for grabs and his current form in that position has taken him to new heights.
Let's check the nines. In terms of early season form, Dickson holds the advantage, purely from a table view. Harlequins and Leicester have not allowed Care or Youngs to shine as they would've liked. Richard Wigglesworth has been marginally hamstrung by Neil De Kock and Saracen's rotation policy, but Dickson has had a similar issue with Kahn Fotuali'i at the Saints. I would expect to see Care in the drivers seat come the 8th of November, but with Dickson sat on the bench. Possibly even a switch depending on the next two weekends, and whom is selected at fly half. If Lancaster is going for a straightforward 9/10/12 axis that has been proven time and time again. Dickson, Myler and Burrell, combined with the forwards inevitably pulled in from Franklin's Gardens, might provide a strong spine for England. Much like the Welsh players did for the third Lions test, but supported by some key players. There is a fifth option though. Chris Cook of Bath has had an excellent start to the season, and his partnership with Ford may be key in this weekends game against Saracens. With Farrell out injured, Ford will be faced with wizened master, Charlie Hodgson, a sterner task than rival Myler last weekend. Hodgson has been the master for a long time, and even before Farrell was properly injured, Hodgson was selected before Farrell. It'll be a debate that'll rage through time until the EPS is selected.
Returning to the forwards, we should look at our loosehead pool. Now we have lost both Mako and Corbs, we'll need to look at the next generation. Marler will be grabbing the shirt, there's no doubt that the Harlequins skipper will be in pole position, but who deputises? Matt Mulan will be up there as a contender, having been included in the New Zealand tour and the recent training camp back in Blighty. Alex Waller would be the next taxi off the rank, following an outstanding play in the midweek game against the Crusaders, and a fantastic season for the Saints in the absence of Corbs. Has he made enough of himself to get cast as England's next loosehead?
Hooker comes next, and there are a lot of contenders. With Tom Youngs now out until around Christmas, the Saints vs Bath game gave a prime chance for watching Andy Farrell and Graham Rountree to see the two hookers, Dylan Hartley and Rob Webber, duke it out for England's number 2 shirt. Unquestionably, Hartley won the battle. A full 80, credited for a try saving tackle and man of the match make him likely to save his spot. Another young English hooker making a name for himself is Jack Yeandle of Exeter. The Chief's stand in captain has burst into full view at the expense of the injured Luke Cowan-Dickie. Man of the match last weekend gives him boost in the estimations of the England management. Dave Ward and David Paice remain on the call list, but with Harlequins poor start and some scrummaging issues, and Paice not having been selected for a while now, Yeandle remains high on the list for me. Jamie George celebrated his 100th cap for Saracens, despite being just 23, and he probably will be called up at least into the Saxons, if not the full EPS.
Tighthead props have always been thin on the ground, and with the injury to Dan Cole extending even further into the future, Lancaster has a very short list to call from. David Wilson and Henry Thomas will be a given pairing, having trained together and united at Bath. Kieran Brookes of Newcastle is an outside chance of being selected to the team, but he will be in the EPS. Kieran Longbottom of Australia now has been discovered to have an English grandmother, and since his arrival to the Premiership has made enough of a splash to warrant a consideration. Maybe he will be selected over Brookes, but that depends on injuries and how well the squad trains together and if Lancaster has the option of an expansion.
Second rows now, and here is a contentious issue. No doubt, Courtney Lawes, Dave Attwood and Joe Launchbury will be selected. Lawes is expected to be fit for this weekend, though Jim Mallinder may opt to rest him for a further week. With Parling out for the foreseeable, who should take his place? There's a case for Christian Day, the lineout maestro of the Gardens who never was selected. Charlie Matthews and George Robson both have Saxons experience, and Michael Paterson nailed his colours to the England mast this summer. Kearnan Myall could also be in for an England return, and Graham Kitchener could be called up. Decisions, decisions. Alternatively, Lancaster could call up an additional flanker to the bench, moving Ben Morgan or Billy Vunipola up to the second row.
So to the back row then. Handy to have that seque. I'm not convinced that Chris Robshaw is safe in his shirt. He has fought valiantly for the last four weeks, but he's been fighting a losing battle. His squad has slowly been slipping backwards, and the way Lancaster made the point of no one being safe, not even the captain, suggests there may be changes in the wind. For my mind, the best English flankers playing at the moment are James Haskell and Tom Wood. Jon Fisher has stepped in superbly into Wood's boots in light of his back injury. Hopefully the later will be fit to play at the former's former club, and he will push his way back into the squad. I was hopeful for Tom Croft to be fit to return, but sadly, that's not the case. Dave Ewers, Luke Wallace, Callum Clark, Jamie Gibson and Matt Kvesic are all looking to be brought in from the Saxons cold and be called up to the next level. To my mind, and bare in mind, I am slightly biased, Fisher should join the squad. Wallace also deserves a chance, after consistently performing for all the time he spends on the pitch. He gets subbed for Harlequins, often a surprise from my view, as I feel he can outperform Robshaw. No one can doubt Robshaw's heart and passion though. I'd be very surprised to see Robshaw dropped from the EPS, but captaincy may not be his. It raises a whole new issue as to whom is called up to the arm band. To me, and some of my colleagues, the answer is simply Wood. He is the voice of the team on the field, often seen pushing the players on, and contesting hard all game long. If Robshaw is put to the bench, Wood will almost certainly step up as he did in Argentina. Failing that, Hartley may be the man given the command again as he did in South Africa.
Finally for the forwards, the number 8. There is only one truly thriving 8 at the moment. Anyone? No? Yes, at the back? Yes, Thomas Waldrom. The last year, he failed to make the starting line up for Leicester, but since moving to Exeter, he has dominated all over the park. The Tank Engine has had his firebox lit again, and he has got to have barged his way into contention. Ben Morgan has been quietly going about his business, as has Billy Vunipola. But Waldrom has been barnstorming his way into the hearts of the Sandy Park faithful. Has he done enough to warrant a recall? I think so, but at the expense of the Saracens 8. Vunipola hasn't reached his peak yet, and he needs a little longer to recover from the injury he sustained in the Premiership final. Odds are, Waldrom won't be called into the full squad, but I'd like to see him transfer his form in the Premiership to a full cap again.
Now, we move to the backs again. Back to the centers, and unless Tuilagi makes a fully recovery, he won't be in the full squad straight away. He should be in the EPS, along with Luther Burrell and Billy Twelvetrees. The Gloucester captain hasn't put much wrong, and he offers the second playmaker that Lancaster seems to like, whereas Burrell has had a barnstorming season start. The interesting conversation becomes centred on Kyle Eastmond, Jonathan Joseph, Sam Hill, Henry Slade and Elliot Daily. Five fiery competitors, and I've not even included Brad Barritt and Anthony Allen in the list. Slade deserves a shot, and his adaptability to play at centre or at 10 means he could be the answer to Lancaster's dilemma. With such a strong boot on him, Slade can pick off the opposite side to the park of Ford, Myler, Farrell and Cipriani, and if he is placed at 13, as he is at club level, he would be ideally partnered with Burrell at 12 and Wade as his wing man.
Handy link there to the back three. Wade, Yarde and May. There's very little debate here. Although Strettle and Varndell have been tearing up the premiership, these three youngsters are very much key to Lancaster's speed set. Similarly, the fullbacks are likely to be the same as last year. Mike Brown, Ben Foden, and Alex Goode. In that order. However, Brown hasn't looked as sharp as he did last season, and Foden has recovered from an injury beautifully, celebrating the form of his life at the Gardens. Even Goode is making a push to be the England 15, with a lovely solo effort against Sale at the weekend. However, Foden is currently top of the pile of the three at the moment, and with Brown appearing to be nursing a slight hip injury, caused by an awkward aerial collision with Jack Nowell on Saturday, I'd wonder if Foden might be returning to the white shirt with 15 on his back, despite his wonder try against the Crusaders.
So there we have it. All of that waffle above though can be summed up with a handy little table.
Loose-head
|
Hooker
|
Tight-head
|
Lock
|
| Marler |
Hartley
|
Wilson
|
Lawes
|
Mullan
|
Webber
|
Thomas
|
Launchbury
|
Waller
|
Ward
|
Brookes
|
Attwood
|
Paterson
| |||
Flankers
|
No 8
|
Scrum half
|
Fly half
|
Wood ©
|
Morgan
|
Care
|
Farrell
|
Haskell
|
B. Vunipola
|
Dickson
|
Ford
|
Robshaw
|
Waldrom
|
B. Youngs
|
Cipriani
|
Fisher
|
Myler
| ||
Centres
|
Wing
|
Full Back
| |
Burrell
|
Wade
|
Brown
| |
Twelvetrees
|
Yarde
|
Foden
| |
Slade
|
May
|
Goode
| |
Eastmond
|
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