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Weighing in on the England squad

TRF_Olyy

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With the world cup just around the corner I thought I’d weigh in on the much discussed topic of the England team, and what we can expect from them this year.

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With the world cup just around the corner I thought I’d weigh in on the much discussed topic of the England team, and what we can expect from them this year. After typing out two pages of player evaluations, and only covering the front row, I thought I’d limit myself to a look at the unit.

The Frontrow. After a couple of years of mediocrity in this area, England are getting back to their best. Even as a Sale Sharks fan I’ve never been a huge fan of Sheridan, and having missed the best part of six months through injury (and being in and out of the treatment room before that too) I thought he was a poor choice. That was until I saw the Ireland match, he carried hard, scrummaged well, and did not look a man rushed back from injury. Dan Cole looked to have gotten out of his six nations slump, tackling everything and scrummaging well. Stevens is back and at his best being able to cover 1 and 3 to a very high standard. Corbisiero is another revelation, coming out of nowhere and holding his own against Castrogiovanni in the Six Nations. Steve Thompson has played very well since coming back into the England squad, boosting the scrummaging power of the front row, and really getting under the skin of the opposition forwards. Hartley, while more energetic in the loose, has a tendency to stand up under pressure. Mears is good in the lineout and in the loose, but doesn’t offer the Thompson, or even Hartley.

The Locks. Tom Palmer has been a revelation for England, and after years of Steve Borthwick it was a real night and day when he came into the squad. Strong in the lineout, and good around the park, it’s hard to fault his game and he should be a nailed on starter. Courtney Lawes is yet to regain his form after a long layoff through injury, which caused him to miss the Six Nations, but on form he is a force to behold. He doesn’t tire, and hits like a freight train. Louis Deacon is…dependable. He won’t win you a game, but isn’t likely to lose you one. He often disappears in the game though, and I wouldn’t start him. Simon Shaw is the oldest man in the squad (and probably the whole tournament), but still has his place in the squad. He excels in a tight game, performing well in the maul, and the “stick it up your jumper†type play, but not doing well in fast open play, often taking the ball at a standstill.

The Backrow. With Lewis Moody still injured, James Haskell looks set to take his number 7 shirt. While normally I would be adverse to this, Haskell has been the form backrow (in the England squad) for a while now, and he brings energy and power to the flank. His eye for the tryline doesn’t hurt either. Tom Crofts form has slipped a bit recently, though is well worth a start, if only for his work in the lineout. Nick Easter will likely start at 8 for the majority of games, and while he is strong at the restart and good in the lineout, he is painfully slow and rarely breaks the line. Tom Wood takes the last spot â€" viewed as a blindside despite playing openside, he is the only fetcher in the squad, and is good at what he does. He was part of a strong English backrow in the Six Nations, and will be putting pressure on Croft for his starting spot.

Flyhalf. Opting to take only two flyhalves, Johnson has chosen Toby Flood and Johnny Wilkinson. Flood, like several other Leicester Tigers in the England squad, has seen his form drop off considerably since the Six Nations. He is better at engaging his backs than Wilko, but once his confidence is knocked his whole game can go to pots, which isn’t ideal for the guy in charge of half of the team. A spell on the bench, behind Flood, has spurred on Wilkinson and his game has improved for it. More of his form from Toulon is leaking into his form for England, and he’s taking the ball shallower than before, and bringing his backs into the game more. It’s hard to argue against him being our starting 10.

Scrumhalf. Another young Leicester player, Ben Youngs has seen his form knocked since the Six Nations. Having missed all of the warmups recovering from a knee injury, it’s hard to know what to expect from Youngs. When he first broke on to the international scene he was a revelation, and if he can regain the form of last Summer/Autumn, then he’ll rightfully take the 9 shirt. Simpson is a similar player to Youngs, though with a bit more pace. Quick, and accurate, distribution and always looking for a snipe, he was probably the form 9 in the Aviva last season. He is the only member of the squad travelling with 0 caps, but the potential is there. Wigglesworth is different to the other two, despite never really having an extended run in the England squad, he travels as the most experienced of the three, after injury to Care. Wigglesworth is a bit slower than Youngs and Simpson, and possesses a better kicking game, having spent some time at flyhalf as well. He also offers a goal kicking option.

Centres. Ah…what to say. We travel with four centres, but really, only two. Manu Tuilagi is the name on everyone’s lips, with regards to the England squad. Only just 20 but a real force to behold, he is very quick and incredibly powerful. Two caps and two tries, he should hopefully go into the WC as England’s first choice 13. Mike Tindall will captain in the absence of Lewis Moody, and having put in his best performance of recent years at inside centre, to accommodate Tuilagi, these two should hopefully make up our first choice centre partnership. Shontayne Hape travels after putting in a poor performance against Wales. He looks for contact instead of looking for the pass, even if there’s a massive overlap, and rarely, if ever, breaks the line. He can tackle well, but his positioning is not great. Matt Banahan is considered our fourth centre, despite not being a centre. Banahan is a good club winger, and is a good finisher for Bath. That’s where it ends though. The England management are convinced he is a versatile/utility player, but he’s not, and has never put in a solid performance in the centres. Considering his size and weight he has no power hitting the line and is routinely driven backwards in the tackle. Apparently possesses a great offloading game, but this more often goes to the opposition than to his support runners.

The Backthree. After a great Six Nations in 09, Delon Armitages form slipped, and kept slipping until the inclusion of Ben Foden. His start against Wales in Twickenham showed Armitage back to his best, so England now have to real options at fullback, both pushing each other for a start. Armitage also plays wing and 13 to a high standard, so is well worth a bench spot at least. Foden is probably one of the best counter attackers in the game. Deceptively strong, very quick and great open field runner, Foden is likely to be the starting fullback. Chris Ashton is a great talent, while he gives a penalty away nearly every ruck he enters, he runs brilliant support lines, and at the hint of a half break he’s running on the guys shoulder. Cueto offers experience to the back three, and while he doesn’t have the pace to exploit the gaps he finds, he’s very hard to put down, often wriggling out of tackles or driving on, gaining the few extra metres. His starting spot is under threat by Armitage, after a good performance against Ireland.

The tournament ahead. It’s hard to know what will happen with England. We have the potential to play a brilliant running game or to really grind out a win, but also to go to pots and play terribly. It’s a much stronger squad than we put out in 2007, but that we’re still trying out combinations in the final warm up test doesn’t body well. It’s been said before, but with the age of the players, I think that this squad’s tournament will be 2015.
Looking at 2011 though, and trying not to be biased, I think that England will top group B. It’ll be a hard match vs Argentina, and I think a close win is on the cards. Convincing wins against Romania and Georgia (though with Georgia being the harder of the two) leading into the Scotland match, which I think will be similar to the Argentina match. From there it’s into the knockouts where anything can happen. While, like any fan of any side, I’d be sad not to see England bring the Webb Ellis back with the them, I think that making it to the semi-finals should be a priority, and to not do that would be very disappointing.
 
Nice article :). Have to agree on nearly everything. Glad to see it wasen't just me who thought Ashton gives away an amount of stupid penaltys :p.

Cueto is in doubt for the starter with a back injury?
 
Yeah, hasn't recovered fully from the injury vs Ireland - apparently it could put him out for upto three weeks (if this was true I'd say drop him and get Sharples involved, considering that's half the tournament he's not there for)

Funny how Johnson made a big song and dance about how everyone will be 100% for the game, now they're dropping like flies :p
 
I reckon we will get be very competitive in this tournament. Haskell has had a great season and Im glad to see even those that dont like him are agreeing!
 
is the Hape/Banahan centre partnership which played in Dublin possibly England's worst of all time?
 
Probably
We've had some sketchy ones before (I think Geraghty and Erinle played together a couple of years ago?) but that one takes the biscuit
 

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