Right, for the Kiwis who don't know anything about this team:
Sheridan you'll certainly know about. Him and Stevens are AWESOME scrummagers, when they put their mind to it. England SHOULD have the NZ scrum going backwards, I'm not saying they definitely will.
Lee Mears - a short little hooker, I rate him quite highly in the loose (he's quite quick), solid scrummager and a better thrower than Chuter, who's been the other England hooker of late. Mears also had an excellent season with Bath.
Tom Palmer - they've clearly picked a more physical option at lock than Kennedy; Palmer is from the Johnson school of no mess. Great future for him.
Steve Borthwick - I've always rated him, I said after the RWC to make him captain and noone listened... anyway, excellent lineout and physical lock, been around for ages but only 28. IMO should lead us through to 2011.
James Haskell - absolutely awesome. VERY strong, great ball carrier and tackler, but also the number of turnovers he gets is ridiculous, almost plays like a 7. The future. One thing is he gives away a few penalties...
Tom Rees - Potentially fantastic as well. When he plays well, he's one of those magnificent 7s like Back, Williams, Holah, Hill, etc. who just snaffle up the ball when there's no way of it coming out. However the first big game I've seen him perform well in was the Heineken Cup final; he's in fine form.
Luke Narraway - only really a backup - I don't see him playing much for England in the future considering he struggles to make the Gloucester team... good ball carrier and he'll always do his best.
Richard Wigglesworth - well, if everyone's fit I'd have him down as England's 3rd choice 9 (assuming Danny Care can cut it) but he's still good. We've gone from coaxing 9s out of retirement to some outstanding young ones quite quickly; it's a shame Harry Ellis ain't touring.
Charlie Hodgson - you may know him, again on his day he's a lovely fly half to watch, runs his backs beautifully and can kick well. But normally when he plays for England he flops, misses easy kicks and tackles and everything. We've got some brilliant fly half prospects; Hodgson's a stop-gap.
Dave Strettle - very exciting player. Brilliant broken field runner, great turn of speed, great step. And VERY injury prone.
Olly Barkley - Really matured into a solid 10/12. good kicking game, good distribution and makes a few good breaks. Has a chance to make 12 his own here, we've got plenty others sticking their hands up for it.
Mike Tindall - very good at what he does. Which is run straight and hard and make, and break tackles. We might have to throw miss passes if the wingers are ever going to see it though...
Topsy Ojo - one of a crop of English wingers who are all seriously quick (Sackey, Monye, Haughton, Varndell, etc.) and have question marks over their defence. Expect all the stuff you get with your typical speedster, plus the fact that this guy is like an eel, slips out of tackles, and scores tries out of nothing.
Mike Brown - the only out-and-out fullback we could have picked. But he's been on great form this year so we'll have to see.
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Basically we'll be strong in the scrum and lineout, physical up front, and we have pace and creativity in the backs.
However, our defence may be suspect, goalkicking could be a weakness, and inexperience could be a huge problem.
If the pros go well we could win or at least make it tight.
If the cons happen then we'll lose by at least 20 points...
