England manager Martin Johnson announced two uncapped players in his elite squad for the Six Nations on Wednesday. With only two years until the 2011 World Cup in New Zealand, he will hope that ex-Kiwi rugby league and now Bath centre Shontayne Hape and Northampton’s prodigious try scoring winger Chris Ashton will bring much-needed creativity to the three-quarter line following a turgid series of autumn internationals. Ashton is joined in the elite squad by his team mates: second row Courtney Lawes and full-back Ben Foden. Shane Geraghty, also of Northampton, can consider himself unlucky to miss out and must settle for a place in the Saxons squad along with Danny Cipriani.
Having been ravaged by injuries for the autumn internationals, Johnson must be relieved to welcome back the experienced no. 8 Nick Easter, full back Delon Armitage, British and Irish Lions centre Riki Flutey, hooker Lee Mears and fly-half Toby Flood. However, depth in the front row remains a concern with first choice props Phil Vickery and Andrew Sheridan currently out injured along with Leicester veteran Julian White. Forwards coach Jon Wells and scrum coach Graham Rowntree will undoubtedly be keeping a close eye on up-and-coming props Dan Cole and Alex Corbisiero with a view to promotion to the senior squad as cover should injuries once again deprive Johnson of his preferred choice.
Assuming Steve Borthwick will retain the captaincy, I expect him to be joined in the second row by Simon Shaw. The Wasps veteran showed on the British and Irish Lions tour to South Africa that he still combines his raw power in the tight with deft off-loads in the loose to great effect. For me, Louis Deacon has not justified his place in the senior squad and can consider himself incredibly lucky to be picked over London Irish lock Nick Kennedy and World Cup winner Ben Kay who both link up with the Saxons.
The back row is missing Joe Worsley who is recovering from knee ligament damage sustained against New Zealand back in November but is still probably the strongest area of the squad. England’s star of the autumn Louis Moody, seen by many as England’s real on-field leader, must start alongside British and Irish Lion Tom Croft. Both provide tremendous speed around the park vital for quick ball at the breakdown as well as excellent lineout options. Nick Easter adds the necessary bulk and a great off-loading game at No. 8 to compliment the harem-scarem style of Moody and Croft.
Providing the England pack can produce quick ball, the half backs and three-quarter line have the talent and speed to cause problems for all defences. For me, Paul Hodgson just about gets the nod over Danny Care at scrum half – his pass off the ground is marginally quicker and his kicking game more solid. Toulon has given Jonny Wilkinson a new lease of life and is my pick to play at 10. His ability to keep the scoreboard ticking over with his metronomic goal kicking and dropped goals, not to mention his rock-solid defence, must not be overlooked.
It is, however, the choice of centres that provokes the most debate. By picking Hape in the squad, Johnson has given himself the option of playing a powerful inside centre with a creative speedster outside him. Sounds familiar? Carling/Guscott, Tindall/Greenwood and more recently, Roberts/O’Driscoll. If Johnson picks Hape to start, he must pair him with the effervescent Mathew Tait who is one of the few players in England who can beat defenders with only a yard of space. However, I expect Johnson to pick the more experienced Riki Flutey who has a better kicking game than Hape and pair him with Dan Hipkiss who provides solid defence and a good target going forward for the pack.
Finally, the back three must both be safe under the high ball to cope with the ever increasing amount of up-and-unders and have the speed to exploit rare space in attack. This immediately rules out Bath winger Matt Banahan who does not have either. How he is higher than David Strettle and Paul Sackey in the pecking order is beyond me. Delon Armitage must be one of the first names on the team sheet at full back, whilst the ever-reliable Mark Cueto not too far behind. The final wing berth is a straight shoot out between Ugo Monye and new boy Ashton. Monye should just shade it.
Whilst the starting fifteen are important, replacements are becoming more influential and I do not see this trend disappearing in a hurry. In Lawes, Mears, Haskell, Foden and Care England have the impact players to hurt teams in the final quarter. It will be down to Johnson and his team of coaches to decide when to unleash this power but does he possess the management skills to make it happen? If he doesn’t yet, he has two years to learn.
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