Martin Johnson has made two changes to his England starting XV to take on Italy on Sunday 14 February. He welcomes back Brive centre Riki Flutey and hands Leicester prop Dan Cole his second cap after impressing as a replacement last week against Wales. Toby Flood drops to the bench as fly half and centre cover and Bath's David Wilson reverts to the bench.
Flutey, who suffered a dead leg in training only days before last weekend's match against Wales, will hopefully provide the creative spark that was so desperately missing from England's much vaunted three-quarter line. Given the size and strength of Italy's pack, expect to see half backs Danny Care and Jonny Wilkinson to kick deep into Italy territory and utilise Flutey to move the ball wide quickly to tire out the opposition forwards.
Cole comes in to shore up England's front row in the absence of first choice props Andrew Sheridan and Phil Vickery and will pack down against his Leicester team mate Martin Castrogiavanni. Johnson clearly expects the Italian pack and, in particular, the front row to cause his team the most problems, as he has named five out of his seven replacements as forwards and three of those will be utilised in the front row if used. It is therefore somewhat suprising not to see Northampton's Ben Foden named on the replacements' bench as he can cover both scrum half and full back. Should there be an injury to any of England's back three, expect to see Mathew Tait shifted from his preferred position of outside centre and Flood to move in to the centre.
England should win comfortably in Rome tomorrow but most show patience and discipline to wear down a fired-up Italian side in front of a passionate home crowd. They must kick well, both out of hand to ensure they play in the correct areas of the field, but also to penalise any Italian mistakes. It may be Valentine's Day but Italian coach Nick Mallet and his team will certainly be in no mood for gifting England an easy victory.
Saturday, 13 February 2010
England capitalise on Wales’ poor performance
England's victory over Wales last Saturday at Twickenham ensured Martin Johnson's men got their RBS Six Nations campaign off to a winning start. They will take confidence from crossing the Welsh line three times courtesy of Harlequins scrum half Danny Care and a brace of tries from Stade Francais flanker James Haskell. The rest of the victors' points came from the left boot of World Cup winning fly half Jonny Wilkinson.
Care had his best game in an England jersey. We saw him at his sniping best, his box kicking was excellent and decision making much improved. The England pack provided him with a solid platform, with fellow Harlequin Nick Easter having a storming game both in the loose and the tight. He dominated the lineout in the first half, stealing three Welsh throw-ins from under the nose of opposite number Adam Powell.
Along with fellow back row colleague Haskell, Easter provided England with the necessary go forward so often lacking in the autumn internationals. Easter is fast becoming the rock upon which Johnson is building his pack, similar to Dean Richards and Lawrence Dallaglio in the 1991 and 2003 world cups respectively. If Care can consistently perform as he did last Saturday, England will once again have a very strong 8, 9, 10 spine to their team.
Although England scored three tries, they still lack the necessary creativity in the backs. They desperately missed centre Riki Flutey who had to drop out of the squad just days before the match with a dead leg sustained in training. He was replaced by Leicester's Toby Flood who unfortunately lacks the necessary bulk to play at inside centre which is vital to create space on the outside for the likes of Mathew Tait and Ugo Monye. Tait, at last playing in his preferred position of outside centre, looking threatening when given the space to run but needsto model his game on the likes of Ireland's Brian O'Driscoll and Wales' Jame Hook to prove he can create something out of nothing.
Wales played poorly. Second row Alun Wynn-Jones cynical trip on hooker Dylan Hartley towards the end of the first half cost his team dear. When he was in the sin bin, England capitalised and scored 17 points. It just goes to show what an excellent defensive player he is. Their lineout was dire and could not create a solid platform necessary for their fast-paced style. When Wales did get good ball, they persisted with using their back row to bash into midfield but Adam Powell and captain Ryan Jones did not have the necessary off-loading skills. They should have used Lions centre Jamie Roberts a lot more - indeed, when Roberts took the ball at pace into midfield, he sucked in three defenders, provided quick ball and Wales scored with ease.
Both teams were scrappy at times and this was epitomised by a dreadful intercept pass by Welsh fly half Stephen Jones which gifted England victory in the final five minutes. But Johnson will not mind one bit. The England manager realised the importance of a winning start to any campaign and will take heart from his team's ability to push home the advantage when they really needed to.
Care had his best game in an England jersey. We saw him at his sniping best, his box kicking was excellent and decision making much improved. The England pack provided him with a solid platform, with fellow Harlequin Nick Easter having a storming game both in the loose and the tight. He dominated the lineout in the first half, stealing three Welsh throw-ins from under the nose of opposite number Adam Powell.
Along with fellow back row colleague Haskell, Easter provided England with the necessary go forward so often lacking in the autumn internationals. Easter is fast becoming the rock upon which Johnson is building his pack, similar to Dean Richards and Lawrence Dallaglio in the 1991 and 2003 world cups respectively. If Care can consistently perform as he did last Saturday, England will once again have a very strong 8, 9, 10 spine to their team.
Although England scored three tries, they still lack the necessary creativity in the backs. They desperately missed centre Riki Flutey who had to drop out of the squad just days before the match with a dead leg sustained in training. He was replaced by Leicester's Toby Flood who unfortunately lacks the necessary bulk to play at inside centre which is vital to create space on the outside for the likes of Mathew Tait and Ugo Monye. Tait, at last playing in his preferred position of outside centre, looking threatening when given the space to run but needsto model his game on the likes of Ireland's Brian O'Driscoll and Wales' Jame Hook to prove he can create something out of nothing.
Wales played poorly. Second row Alun Wynn-Jones cynical trip on hooker Dylan Hartley towards the end of the first half cost his team dear. When he was in the sin bin, England capitalised and scored 17 points. It just goes to show what an excellent defensive player he is. Their lineout was dire and could not create a solid platform necessary for their fast-paced style. When Wales did get good ball, they persisted with using their back row to bash into midfield but Adam Powell and captain Ryan Jones did not have the necessary off-loading skills. They should have used Lions centre Jamie Roberts a lot more - indeed, when Roberts took the ball at pace into midfield, he sucked in three defenders, provided quick ball and Wales scored with ease.
Both teams were scrappy at times and this was epitomised by a dreadful intercept pass by Welsh fly half Stephen Jones which gifted England victory in the final five minutes. But Johnson will not mind one bit. The England manager realised the importance of a winning start to any campaign and will take heart from his team's ability to push home the advantage when they really needed to.
Saturday, 6 February 2010
England back row must take centre stage
England take on Wales today at Twickenham in the opening game of this season's RBS Six Nations. Martin Johnson has named one of his strongest line ups of his short management career with only injuries to first choice props Andrew Sheridan and Phil Vickery, flankers Tom Croft and Joe Worsley and centre Riki Flutey affecting his plans.
The last minute loss of Brive centre Flutey is a massive blow to Johnson's plans to thwart the dangerous Welsh centre pairing of Jamie Roberts and James Hook. By bringing in Leicester's Toby Flood, this gives England a stronger kicking option and a like-for-like attacking threat but does weaken the defence considerably. If Flood and Mathew Tait, who has finally been given a chance to start in his preferred position of outside centre, struggle to cope with the bullish running lines of Roberts, expect to see ex New Zealand rugby league convert Shontayne Hape brought on for his first cap sooner rather than later.
Flutey's departure also puts more pressure on the England back row of Louis Moody, James Haskell and Nick Easter to perform. Like last year when Joe Worsley man-marked Roberts for the entire match, they must make every tackle count and not let Roberts across the gain line. If Johnson needs to introduce fresh legs in the second half, London Irish's flanker Steffan Armitage can provide the exposive power required both in attack and defence to keep up the pressure on Roberts.
Up front, England must create a solid platform for half backs Danny Care and Jonny Wilkinson to launch England's back division who Johnson says have been given a license to thrill. With Wales losing two of their three first choice front row players this week, England should now have parity at least in the tight and the lineout looks strong with captain Steve Borthwick and veteran Simon Shaw running ths show. Haskell and Moody provide good options at the back of the lineout too. If the England backs are to thrill the capacity crowd, hooker Dylan Hartley must have the confidence to throw long and use these options at the back of the lineout to give Wilkinson, Flood and Tait the space wide out away from the Wales back row combination of Martin Williams, Adam Powell and captain Ryan Jones.
As captain, Steve Borthwick must quickly develop rapport with referee Allain Rolland to ensure that England do not give away needless penalties at the breakdown, especially as the laws around the tackle area have been revised. From today, the tackler must allow the ball carrier to release the ball before attempting to steal possession. Whichever team gets to grips with this new interpretation first will win this crucial game and set themselves up with a chance of winning the Six Nations Championship.
The last minute loss of Brive centre Flutey is a massive blow to Johnson's plans to thwart the dangerous Welsh centre pairing of Jamie Roberts and James Hook. By bringing in Leicester's Toby Flood, this gives England a stronger kicking option and a like-for-like attacking threat but does weaken the defence considerably. If Flood and Mathew Tait, who has finally been given a chance to start in his preferred position of outside centre, struggle to cope with the bullish running lines of Roberts, expect to see ex New Zealand rugby league convert Shontayne Hape brought on for his first cap sooner rather than later.
Flutey's departure also puts more pressure on the England back row of Louis Moody, James Haskell and Nick Easter to perform. Like last year when Joe Worsley man-marked Roberts for the entire match, they must make every tackle count and not let Roberts across the gain line. If Johnson needs to introduce fresh legs in the second half, London Irish's flanker Steffan Armitage can provide the exposive power required both in attack and defence to keep up the pressure on Roberts.
Up front, England must create a solid platform for half backs Danny Care and Jonny Wilkinson to launch England's back division who Johnson says have been given a license to thrill. With Wales losing two of their three first choice front row players this week, England should now have parity at least in the tight and the lineout looks strong with captain Steve Borthwick and veteran Simon Shaw running ths show. Haskell and Moody provide good options at the back of the lineout too. If the England backs are to thrill the capacity crowd, hooker Dylan Hartley must have the confidence to throw long and use these options at the back of the lineout to give Wilkinson, Flood and Tait the space wide out away from the Wales back row combination of Martin Williams, Adam Powell and captain Ryan Jones.
As captain, Steve Borthwick must quickly develop rapport with referee Allain Rolland to ensure that England do not give away needless penalties at the breakdown, especially as the laws around the tackle area have been revised. From today, the tackler must allow the ball carrier to release the ball before attempting to steal possession. Whichever team gets to grips with this new interpretation first will win this crucial game and set themselves up with a chance of winning the Six Nations Championship.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)