Yesterday, Stuart Lancaster named his England squad for the forthcoming RBS 6 Nations Championship, a side still reeling from the debacle of the World Cup on New Zealand Soil.
With the next World Cup on British shores, the demand for a strong home team increases and the road to 2015 starts with this years 6 Nations Championship. The predominant theme from Lancaster yesterday seemed to be that this was a fresh start for an England setup that had got it so badly wrong in 2011. Lancaster, an interim coach, named a squad that could be said to be a make do and mend for this tournament.
Following the retirement of key, experienced figureheads such as Wilkinson, Thompson and Captain Moody, the exclusion of the likes of Tindall due to misdemeanours and the apparent abandoning of names such as Cueto and Hape, youth is the watchword for England. There are XXX uncapped players in the squad with the emphasis on a new dawn for English Rugby.
The standout name in the 30 man party is Saracens fly-half come centre Owen Farrell. The exciting 20 year old has been the catalyst for Sarries Premiership success this term and was not an unexpected pick for Lancaster. However, it is surely unlikely that the young man with be challenged with the critical number 10 shirt, this instead bound for the recalled Charlie Hodgson. Hodgson, originally sidelined for his kicking frailties, will get the nod due to the injury to Toby Flood, ruling him out of the start of the tournament. This, on paper looks an intriguing prospect for England fans to savour. The distribution of Hodgson combined with the flair of Farrell and the raw electricity of Tuilagi could be a devastating attacking edge to an England midfield so lacking in va va voom.
The other key area, that of scrum half is an area of concern for England. While 12 months ago, this was a position of immense strength for England, it now looks a potential weakness. In last years 6 Nations, England had Ben Youngs at his creative best and in Danny Care, as good a manager of a match in world rugby. Now, with Care left out due to a drink-driving charge and back up Richard Wigglesworth injured, Youngs is the only number 9 with big match experience. Lancaster has opted for Northamptons dependable Dickson and Wasps raw talent Joe Simpson as back up for Youngs, who himself needs to rediscover the form that he left at the airport when travelling to New Zealand.
The blueprint for all England sides is of course the 2003 World Cup winning squad. The test for this squad in 2012 is how many of its members progress to the world cup squad in 2015. The 2000 six nations England squad contained 16 of the men who went on to be part of the victorious squad in Australia 3 years later. Out of a squad of 23, this was a large proportion. Lancaster and England will hope that at least ten to fifteen of this squad will be a part of the world cup party in 3 and a half years time.
There will be obvious doubts cast about the nature of this 30 man squad. To discard key, experienced figures, still performing well such as Easter and Cueto and to drop some of the most exciting names before the last world cup, such as Delon Armitage is a bold and dangerous move by this interim England setup. Many will ask whether this is a squad really designed to compete with Europe’s elite in a months time, or whether it is a way of punishing those who fell so badly short of the mark in New Zealand.
Either way, there will be great anticipation in the crowd to see how this new crop fares in an England shirt and whether any can stay the course and be household names in English rugby. After all, until you’ve given them a go, you will never know.
The squad in full:
Forwards: Props: A Corbisiero (London Irish), D Cole (Leicester Tigers), J Marler (Harlequins), M Stevens (Saracens), D Wilson (Bath Rugby); Hookers: D Hartley (Northampton Saints), L Mears (Bath Rugby), R Webber (London Wasps); Locks: M Botha (Saracens), L Deacon (Leicester Tigers), C Lawes (Northampton Saints), T Palmer (Stade Francais). Back-rows: C Clark (Northampton Saints), T Croft (Leicester Tigers), P Dowson (Northampton Saints), B Morgan (Scarlets), C Robshaw (Harlequins), T Wood (Northampton Saints).
Backs:Full-backs: M Brown (Harlequins), B Foden (Northampton Saints), Wings: C Ashton (Northampton Saints), C Sharples (Gloucester Rugby), D Strettle (Saracens); Centres: B Barritt (Saracens), O Farrell (Saracens), M Tuilagi (Leicester Tigers), J Turner-Hall (Harlequins); Fly-halves: T Flood (Leicester Tigers), C Hodgson (Saracens); Scrum-halves: L Dickson (Northampton Saints), J Simpson (London Wasps), B Youngs (Leicester Tigers).
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