Billy Twelvetrees must be fuming. For the last two years, he has bumbled along in the England squad, rarely doing anything of note in a white shirt and yet always remaining in or around the team. You see, Twelvetrees is a man who has all the attributes to be a world-beating rugby player – he just doesn’t use them consistently enough, for whatever reason.
Lancaster is at heart a pragmatist, however, and he knows that Twelvetrees should, on paper, be a very good player for England. He probably trains immensely well and adds a lot ‘in camp’. So for two years he has been afforded more chances than anyone else to make an England centre shirt his own in the area that bamboozles the coaches like no other.
It is therefore bizarre that his missing out on the World Cup squad has come because they have picked a guy that has just one international rugby union match to his name, and under a season of the sport under his belt. A player that has impressed more in a position for which he is not being considered.
Burgess’ inclusion is completely out of character for Lancaster. Usually ruthlessly pragmatic, he must know that he does not yet have enough evidence of whether Burgess can cut it against New Zealand in a World Cup final. He might, but we can’t be sure. Nearly every decision Lancaster has made in his reign so far has been calculated in ruthless detail – this one simply cannot have been.
Andy Farrell was a brilliant rugby league forward who made a bang average rugby union centre. The blueprint is there, although it should be said that Burgess has much more time ahead of him having moved codes much earlier in his career.
Worryingly, there are few outside of the England camp that are positive about Burgess’ inclusion. Speaking to Will Carling last night at the Heineken World Cup launch party, the ex-centre was especially disparaging about the selection of the code-hopper.
“He’s not ready,” said the ex-England captain. “I don’t understand the rush. The guy was quite an outstanding rugby league player. He was jaw-dropping. But he is not ready to play in a World Cup at centre.”
One of Burgess’ notes in the ‘pros’ column is his contribution to the camp, to the atmosphere in the team. But in the cut-throat environment of a World Cup, is that really enough to get you selected?
“They can’t pick people in the squad because they’re ‘good guys’ and they’re good for morale,” added Carling. “They’ve got to have earnt their place; they’ve got to be there for a reason. And I don’t understand the rush with him.
“I think he will be good. But at the moment, there’s no-one I know – ex-players or coaches – that I respect, that says ‘yeah, he’s ready’. There seems to be an obsession with the guy, and I don’t understand why.”
That last comment is both eye-opening and alarming in equal measures. That none of the ‘experts’ think it is the right decision begs the question of why the England coaches would think it is.
Nobody has epitomised Lancaster’s steady pragmatism like Billy Twelvetrees. Nobody represents more of a gamble than Sam Burgess. If it works, he will be hailed as a genius. If it doesn’t, it will be probably the most-talked about selection faux pas ever.
It is a decision upon which a coach’s reputation can depend.
By Jamie Hosie
Follow Jamie on Twitter: @jhosie43
Photo by: Patrick Khachfe / Onside Images
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What about Luther Burrell? Think he offers more of an attacking threat than 12trees
I urge anyone who thinks Burrell should’ve been included to watch the Northampton v Racing Metro game in the Champions Cup last January. Hopelessly out of his depth at that level, forget a RWC.
Well if William Twelvetrees (is that a Tolkien name by any chance?????GOT?????) has World-beating skills where have they been ever since he was 1st involved with England?????
Last week V France he was shocking. Utterly shocking…his pass to the floor being a case in point.
The selection of Burgess with man with no real xp in this game, let alone this level may well be another Achilles’ heel to go with the lineout at present.
Setting up nicely for the ‘Free Celts’ to visit to Snickers in a fortnight.
A must win for ‘House of Lancaster’ as they march ever onward to their rightful destiny and become the World beaters we are always told they have become. (well by the English controlled media anyway)
The way I see it Burgess has been taken as more of a squad player than a starter. The clear preference is for a Barritt/Joseph centre pairing. I would expect to see Burgess/Slade used against the likes of Fiji and Uruguay.
So when you say “he does not yet have enough evidence of whether Burgess can cut it against New Zealand in a World Cup final”, the reality is he probably doesn’t need it, either because that fixture may never happen or if it does then Barritt will start
12T has all the skill but has never shown it on the international stage. Whether it be in attack or defence.
As Adam mentioned above Burrell has been shown up defensively in some club games before, and although has shown some great signs, has not been consistent enough.
Burgess has obviously shown some very good signs in training, and I believe he will be a huge asset to the squad, much more than 12T or Burrell.
I know everyone has Barritt nailed on to start but I think I would prefer Burgess at 12 when looking at the likely 15 – there is a serious lack of carrying power in the team that he would help address, in addition I think he is more likely to bring JJ into the game than Barritt. Barritt is great defensively but with Ford and JJ is he the man to link it in attack and hold defenders?
For once I agree with Carling and I don’t think his comment is just cross code snobbery.
The “obsession” with Burgess was evident as soon as he set foot in Bath. The RFU have ,I suspect, been leaning on Lancaster ever since and now they have what they wanted.
Bomber has compounded the problem with his muddled selection policy and ,it could be argued, a lack of genuinely world class candidates for both shirts. Only JJ has really grasped the nettle and we have to hope he doesn’t suffer a dip in form during the tournament because we don’t have a like for like replacement in the squad.
We can only wait and hope………………………..
I agree with you and Carling.Facts are Sam had a few nondescript games at 12 for Bath moved to 6 and showed he was more comfortable there but SL insisted he was tried at 12 at the Saxons where he was clearly lost.Back to 6 at Bath.So SL and his rl mate Andy F decide he is a 12 plays 60 mins and is now a top 4 centre in the country!Ludicrous is not too strong a word I feel.Also remember 4 former rl centres who failed at Union-Farrell Paul Tomkins and Hape.What makes anyone think no 5 is going to succeed?Finally a half wit knows you pick players with experience for a World Cup.SL has had 31/2 years to sort out the centres so now 2 of 4 centres have precisely 1 cap each.If this all goes wrong it’s the coaches fault not the players.I hope Stu is saying his prayers coz he needs the Almighty!
So Harlequin, what would you have done in SL’s place? Who are these centres that he should have been picking to gain them the requisite experience before the world cup?
Should he have kept on playing 12Trees despite him clearly not being world-class? Should he have ignored on-form players such as Joseph and Slade in favour of keeping in out of form players just because they have experience?
Let’s look at his options on the centres front
Bath – Eastmond & Joseph – one picked the other close but you can’t play them together at this level
Saracens – Barritt and Taylor / Wyles – the only eligible centre has been picked
Northampton – Burrell and Pisi – Burrell only just missed out
Leicester – Loamanu and Tait – I like Tait but he’s not better than those picked
Newcastle – Socino and Powell
Sale – Tuitupou and Leota
Harlequins – Sloan & Lowe/Hopper – Sloan one for the future, Lowe regrettably injured too much
Gloucester – 12Trees and Meakes/Purdy – we know all about 12Trees
Exeter – Slade and Hill – Slade picked and Hill perhaps one for the future
Wasps – Leiua and Daly – Daly one for the future
London Irish – Geraghty and Griffen – again I like Geraghty but he’s not better than those chosen
London Welsh – May and Reynolds
So who has SL missed? Who should he have been building up?
Its clear that had injury and silly behaviour not intervened his chosen centres would have been Barritt and Tuilagi and by now they would have had lots of experience.
As for the inexperience, well the SA centres are likely to be Kriel and Allende with a total of 9 caps between them, the Kiwis will probably select Milner-Skudder with his 2 caps and will probably take Sopoaga as well with his 1 cap
They don’t seem to bothered
Spot on there Pablito. SL and the other coaches can only go by what they’ve seen on the pitch in the two warm up games, and in training. They’ve obviously seen something in Burgess and Slade which has put them above Burrell and 12T (not hard in his case).
SL has come out and said that Burgess and Slade work well as a duo, and we saw that in the first France match. Did Burrell and JJ work as well? In my humble opinion no. They were ok in the Six Nations, but there were still a lot of blunders.
Simple Pablito Luther Burrell because he has 12 caps and played a season with JJ.No he’s not a great player and can be inconsistent but he is a good player in my book and clearly less of an unknown unproven like Sam.For SL to say he is not a gamble flies in the face of facts and logic
Pablito it’s not the choice so much but that lack of foresight. SL knew when he took over that both time and caps were limited, and therfore needed to be more forward looking in his selections, than would otherwise be recommended.
Enter exhibit a: Henry Slade. Junior world cup winner and lauded by many as a future star. A 10 maybe, but had all the skills to fill the problem 12 position; good defence, excellent kicking (from hand and from the tee), decent turn of pace (certainly better than the incumbents Burrell, Barritt and 12t), great hands and a good communicator (something that seems to bring the best out of young Farrell ).
To be fair, SL appears to have noticed this when picking Slade for the end of season Baa Baas match in 2014. Slade performs very well against a very experienced Baa Baas team who were not against roughing him up. Then what. Summer tour? No. AIs? No. 6n? No.
Would this have been a risk to introduce him so early into his career. Yes. But any more risky than picking a player with one cap for your wc squad? Had SL not looked a gift horse in the mouth Slade could have had as many as 12 caps (even as a replacement) and could be a genuine contender to start in the centres.
Sadly unless the incumbents get injured SL too reluctant to take a chance (am thinking Ford in the AIs and Joseph in the 6n) which has cost us.
Look at Schmidt for Ireland. Not afraid to start the AIs with a new inexperienced centre pairing, and now no 2 in the world (one of SL’s stated aims).
That is crazy isn’t it… 2 of 4 centres have only half a game each! When you also consider the lack of game time for BB and JJ there is a complete lack of familiarity and experience in the centres.
Stu absolutely crazy!31/2 years to prepare and we finish up with this.That is piss poor management.In most companies you would be fired for less not awarded a 6 year contract!Ceo’s of huge corporates don’t get that.Absurd!
I take your point Pablito. Obviously Bomber can only select qualified players and those he feels are good enough.
I do feel that Daly should have been given a chance in the 6N though. The one thing that stood out alarmingly when I read your list is the paucity of English centres at premiership clubs. We need to be careful that we don’t end up like the French and the England football team.
The attitude of certain players hasn’t helped. I winced when I read Burrell’s comment that he had nothing to prove before the Paris game. WRONG Luther and now you’ve paid the price. Maybe some of his average performance was down to disaffection with the trumpeting of Burgess,even though they share similar backgrounds?
We’ll never know. What we do know is that someone has taken a massive risk here. Let’s hope it pays off.