With the announcement of England’s squad for the Autumn Internationals set to take place tomorrow morning, we’ve put together the team we think Stuart Lancaster should pick to take on Australia in the first game. What do you make of it?
15: Ben Foden
The Northampton fullback has had a torrid time with injuries over the past few seasons, but is finally back in form with a run of games under his belt. He has a counter-attacking ability surpassed by few, and has a proven ability to change games at this level – something neither Alex Goode nor Mike Brown can claim.
14: Marland Yarde
The London Irish youngster has propelled himself to the top of the wingers list. If he was in contention before the start of the season, he is now surely a starter. His finishing ability is well documented, but it is his power and work rate, both at the breakdown and in the loose, that sets him above his rivals.
13: Kyle Eastmond
With Manu Tuilagi out, this was the toughest position to fill. Not for want of contenders, mind you. Joel Tomkins and Luther Burrell came very close, while Henry Trinder and Elliot Daly are both wildcard options, but possibly need a little more exposure at the top level. Eastmond gets my vote, despite not having played a great deal at 13. With Twelvetrees’ distribution inside him, the prospect of Eastmond having space to use his footwork and combine with Foden and Yarde outside him is tantalising. His versatility may see him start on the bench, but I’d give him a go from the off.
12: Billy Twelvetrees
Pretty much a shoo-in. Luther Burrell has been brilliant for Northampton, but Twelvetrees has credit in the bank and experience aplenty from last year’s Six Nations, meaning the Saints’ man is more likely to get a look-in at 13. Twelvetrees ticks all the boxes, and given a bit more time has the potential to mature into a great player.
11: Chris Ashton
The clamour for Wade has just quietened a little this season, as his freshly-exposed defensive frailties, Yarde’s emergence, and the form of the two Saracens wingers have overshadowed him somewhat. Ashton is the man everyone loves to hate, but there’s no denying his form this season. He’ll be pushed very close by Dave Strettle, and to be honest, on early season form they both deserve a chance.
10: Owen Farrell
Farrell has been the conductor of Saracens’ relentless march to the top of the Premiership, and has looked a more accomplished player after his summer with the Lions. He is still a conservative option, no doubt, but is the right man to take England forwards for now – at least until Freddie Burns rediscovers some sort of form.
9: Lee Dickson
Dickson has started the season superbly well and deserves a shot at an England start. He has been keeping Fotuali’i out of the team at the Saints, and has made several eye-catching performances against quality sides so far. Youngs and Care will be all the better for a third option at scrum-half, and neither have been particularly excellent this season.
1: Alex Corbisiero
As obvious a choice as any on this teamsheet, Corbisiero has taken to the new scrummaging laws like the proverbial duck to water. He’s added more to his game outside of the scrum as well, offering himself more often as a carrier, and managed to bundle over for a try in the East Midlands derby not long ago. Mako Vunipola is the explosive option, but as was proved on the Lions tour is best used as an impact sub.
2: Tom Youngs
Youngs should see off the challenge of Hartley for the hooker berth. He is desperately difficult to knock backwards with ball in hand, owing to his low centre of gravity, and he must have one of the best workrates of any forward in the world right now. Has banished the lineout demons that plagued him this time last year.
3: Dan Cole
Cole’s star has faded somewhat from a couple of seasons ago, but he is still the undisputed first choice at tighthead for England. He is, for the most part, excellent in the scrums and there are few scrummaging experts who offer so much in the loose, both in terms of carrying and at the breakdown.
4: Joe Launchbury
He faded badly towards the end of last season, which probably cost him a Lions place, but this year’s Launchbury seems seriously revitalised. He gets through the work of a back-row forward, while also offering an excellent option at the line-out. Courtney Lawes and Dave Attwood will push hard, but he should see off their challenges.
5: Geoff Parling (C)
The line-out maestro’s selection becomes even more entrenched with his fellow soarer of the skies Tom Croft out injured, and for this reason he would be my captain – especially with the uncertainty potentially surrounding the back-row. What goes unnoticed is the hard work he does away from the set piece, where his mobility is surprisingly good and his defence is excellent. Part of the senior leadership group and first name on the teamsheet for me.
6: Tom Wood
Tom Croft’s injury and Gloucester’s poor form alleviates Lancaster’s selection dilemma in the back-row somewhat. Wood has played well for the Saints so far this season, and his leading of a successful tour party to Argentina will count for lots in Lancaster’s book.
7: Chris Robshaw
Had Kvesic really grasped his chance at Gloucester, Robshaw may have been gone. As it is, playing behind such a weak front five, the Gloucesterman has not done that and does not deserve to start ahead of Robshaw, who has plenty of ‘credit in the bank’ with Lancaster – something we all know means, rightly or wrongly, a lot to him.
8: Billy Vunipola
Another to benefit from Gloucster’s poor form, Vunipola has leapfrogged Ben Morgan in the competition for England’s no.8 spot. He is brutishly strong, and his time playing on the blindside for Saracens can only have done his workrate and fitness good.
Subs
16: Dylan Hartley – brings leadership and a fiery aggression from the bench.
17: Mako Vunipola – the ultimate impact sub; no team will want to deal with him 60 minutes into a test match.
18: Henry Thomas – has made a storming start to the season with Sale, and is a more viable long-term option than Dave Wilson (who is, admittedly, unlucky to miss out).
19: Dave Attwood – a return to the form of a few years ago sees him beat Lawes to the bench spot.
20: Matt Kvesic – Lancaster will keep the faith with Kvesic, despite a poor start to the season and the strong challenge of Will Fraser.
21: Danny Care – has shown better form this season than Ben Youngs, and brings that much-talked about ‘X Factor’ from the bench.
22: Toby Flood – in sublime form for the Tigers, Flood will provide a calm head and a willingness to attack the gainline. Burns simply not in good enough form at the moment.
23: Christian Wade – deserves a tast of international rugby purely on his finishing ability, and with Eastmond able to cover so many positions he could get a shot from the bench. Jonny May also pushing hard after a barnstorming return from injury.
By Jamie Hosie
Follow Jamie on Twitter: @jhosie43
Photo by: Patrick Khachfe / Onside Images
My team would be (drum roll…)
1. Corbs
2. T.Youngs
3. Cole
4. Lawes (just on current form)
5. Parling (c) – totally agree Parling should be captain. Too much uncertainty over the back row, if Croft comes back from injury and forces Wood out (note the ‘if’) then we are back to square one picking a captain!
6. Wood
7. Robshaw
8. B. Vunipola
9. Youngs
10. Farrell
11. Yarde
12. 36
13. Daly (my wildcard! Also wouldn’t mind Tomkins. But think Lancaster will go Burrell)
14. Ashton
15. Brown (Foden a close second)
16. Hartley
17. M. Vunipola
18. Wilson
19. Launchbury
20. Kvesic
21. Care (offers more from the bench- if Dickson gets in the squad he has to start, not an impact sub)
22. Flood (pretty inexperienced back line so having a few caps on the bench is a good shout)
23. Eastmond/Foden
As people have stated above, really disagree with the whole ‘Parling & lunchbury are too lightweight’ (I have only picked Lawes as he has found some great form this season, and would be happy with Launchbury), Parling scrummages in one of the most dominant packs in Europe with Leicester. The Welsh demolition was more down to a comparatively light non-no.8 (wood) playing out of position and M. Vunipola not being as good a scrummager as Corbs. Corbs starting and the haaauge B. Vunipola at 8 should sort that problem (or Morgan is he was on form).
Lacking just a little bit of South African style thuggary that I miss from the old school England, but plenty of exciting talent in there!
I would have referred to it as SA style thuggery but with a hint of British reserve. It was there but never on display in an ostentatious way. But by golly if it had to come out then sure as eggs is eggs, johnny foreigner was going to get a damn good biff on the nose. I will now return from the 1950′s!
Couldn’t have put it better…
Parling as captain.
Am I right in thinking only 3 changes are likely to be made – Barritt, Tuilagi and Croft out? Is anyone else injured?
Number 8 is a worry. Would love to see Lancaster throw the ultimate curveball and pick Ewers for Croft #nochance
I believe he can draft people in for injured Saxons as well? Anthony Allen has just been ruled out (yet another centre), Haskell and Tait are also out.
Would love Ewers to be picked… Him and Dickinson are the form 8s but in the Heineken Ewers stepped up a level, whilst Dickinson kinda faded.
Lots of noise being made about Ewers and Dickinson, and rightly so, but let’s not forget that Billy V has been excellent as well. A couple of games at 6, but handled the positional shift very well and has been his usual brutish self since moving back to 8. The shirt is very much his at the moment.
Very true, but we always like to champion a new horse, Stuart Barnes style (last year ‘Burns is the future of English Fly-halves’, now hes forgotten about Burns and its Ford who is the saviour of English rugby). New is always better for us armchair critics…
Ha, think you’ve hit the nail on the head there Henry!
I’m an Exeter fan but think for his long term development it’s best not to select Ewers yet. It’s his first season as first choice so the rest during LV and just more experience at Perm level will do him good.
Agree Twelvetrees will come in for Barritt, and I think Burrell is a more like-for-like swap for Manu, and Lancaster will probably go down that route with Eastmond on the bench.
I wouldn’t put Lee Dickson at 9 for the same reason that you haven’t picked Brown, namely that Dickson (like Brown) doesn’t have a proven ability to win games at this level whereas Youngs and Care (like Foden) do. The choice is between the two.
Other than that, I by and large agree with your team, although I’d have Wood as my captain.
I think more likely that Ashton will be selected at 14, with Yarde moving to 11. Yarde played at 11 for the Argie tests, and to my knowledge Ashton has not played at 11? Agree with the selection though.
I do think that Jonny May is probably still behind Strettle at the mo. Glos’s poos form and Strettles recent try scoring record means May will probably have to stay in the Saxons.
Dazza, to be fair May is performing exceptionally well in a struggling Glos team. That says a great deal. He’s certainly one of the form wings at the moment, but seems to have picked a time to shine when several others are also looking good, more’s the pity. So I don’t expect him to break through in the AI’s short of a massive run of injuries.
As far as Strettle goes, I’m a fan of his, but he does seem to flatter to deceive a bit in an England shirt. Personally unless the options are looking thin, I would move on from him.
Is Ben Youngs injured? I would rather have him than Dickson.
1) Corbisiero
2) Young’s
3) Cole
4) Launchbury
5) Parking
6) Wood
7) Robshaw
8) Vunipola
9) Dickson
10) Farrell
11) Yarde
12) Twelvetrees
13) Burrell
14) Ashton
15) Foden
With Vunipola, Hartley, Thomas, Lawes, Johnson, Care, Flood and Eastmond on the bench. Lawes because he offers more impact, and Johnson simply because he has started the season better than Kvesic has.
Good team all in all,
I like all the players but not the blend:
3 changes:
Launchbury, he is a great player but if we are to pick Parling, and we have to, we need more grunt. I would go with Lawes, he is in fin form and can add a harder edge to the pack.
Robshaw, Mr safe we know what he offers but England will not win the world cup with Robshaw at 7, Kvesic hasn`t played well but he has the potential to be a great 7 and I don`t want us to arrive 10 games before the WC and people saying that he hasn`t the experience.
Eastmond, could be an option for 12, but 12t`s is in a better position, I would go with Trinder, same reason as Kvesic, he could do it and needs to be risked.
other than that I like the team
I absolutely think England can win a World Cup with Robshaw at 7 as long as the backrow is balanced. He has been England’s best player for the last two seasons. He is England’s most consistent player since he seems to always play well. He is about as well rounded a flanker as one can be because he tackles well, is good over the ball, passes well, is a good link player, a good ball carrier, and an intelligent player. There are no weaknesses in his game. I feel that he is grossly unappreciated.
Corbs is now out so can we expect to see Mako starting at 1 with Marler coming off the bench? I wouldn’t say that Marler is a much better scrummager than Mako and although Marler is a good player it concerns me how often he seems to be looking for a scrap on the field. I wouldn’t mind seeing twelvetrees and Tompkins as the centre pairing, think that they could form a good if not temporary partnership.
Losing Corbs is a huge blow – you could see the difference he made in the first and third Lions tests, and of course the only AI we had him for last year was *that* performance against New Zealand.
I don’t rate Marler, he’s not a particularly good scrummager and he’s miles below Mako and Corbs in the loose (both in terms of work-rate and just general handling skills). But that’s probably the way it’ll be,
I also still have concerns about the weight of the second row. I wouldn’t mind seeing launch berry bulking up a bit, even if it means he loses a bit of pace. I don’t think having a massive back row solves the problem as I would prefer a mobile back row unit to a mobile second row pairing.
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaah. The one player I didnt want injured! Apparently he is out for 3 weeks, so here’s hoping that was a pessimistic estimate and he will be back for New Zealand. He’s used to coming back to match fitness from injury so I would have no quams about bringing him straight in the moment he’s given the all clear by the doctor.
Annoyed about Corbs. But disagree with you about Marler. He proved on the Argie tour that he could scrummage. Yes he got done by Adam Jones, but there are quite a few props who can say that.
As for in the loose – he has always been more involved than Corb who is only now starting to throw his weight around. Marler has great hands for a big guy and offloads and supports very well for Quins
Sure, Vunipola is better in the loose but here’s Marler unleashing a side-step worthy of a centre…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KJ7ERPbqq0
I’d be happy with Marler starting with MV to come on later
Yes, I watched that game – but remember it’s “only” Wuss, who are struggling quite badly.
I’m still haunted by England v Australia last year – he was awful. Dropped balls, poor passes, basic skills letting him down and 3 penalties conceded. I hope he steps up, as we don’t have much choice really.
Thought he struggled in the scrum against Scarlets, OK it’s not all on him as Quins are clearly suffering without the Johnston/Kohn partnership, but I wasn’t sitting thinking “if we lose Corbs it’s fine, ‘coz we can bring this animal in”
Marler has become a liability. I still think he could be a great england player but wants to fight more than play. He should watch Hartley s fall from grace and learn. Anyone who prefers a sidestepping prop to a scrummager should think twice, we are england not fiji!