Will England Conduct a Backs Overhaul?

Ahead of Stuart Lancaster’s team unveiling tonight, we at Talking Rugby Union wanted to highlight the key decisions he faces when selecting his starting XV?

It is within the backs where the majority of decisions will no-doubt be made, beginning with fly-half.

Frontline playmaker and kicker Owen Farrell has been announced unavailable for the final Test after suffering a knee strain in England’s narrow 28-27 defeat in Dunedin.

It is believed that Lancaster will name Freddie Burns, who impressed in the first Test in Auckland, as his starting 10 with Danny Cipriani edging past Northampton’s Stephen Myler for the cover spot on the bench.

The 26-year-old has been successfully reintegrated into the England squad after a six-year exile, winning his eighth cap in the first Test against the All Blacks and now close to claiming a ninth.

"I've learnt an awful lot from the coaches and I played with a confidence against the Crusaders that I can learn from," Cipriani said.

"The confidence is what the coaches are instilling in us and that's put me in good stead for next season and to have a big pre-season.

"England are developing something great, just with the DNA and culture that's been provided."

However, the English half-backs took another beating, just days before their bid for only a third victory over the All Blacks on Kiwi soil, as TRU understands that scrum-half Danny Care may also be unfit for the final game due to a shoulder injury.

Care's shoulder injury places him in serious doubt for featuring at the Waikato Stadium with Lancaster facing a choice between Lee Dickson and Ben Youngs at 9.

England are unlikely to persevere with the experiment of playing Manu Tuilagi on the wing after the positional switch limited his attacking threat in the 28-27 defeat in Dunedin.

Instead, Tuilagi could be restored at outside centre with Chris Ashton coming on to the right wing.

After the second defeat and loss of the series, centres Billy Twelvetrees and Luther Burrell looked doubtful for this Saturday’s Test with ankle injuries. However, the pair have both now recovered and are in contention for the climax to the series, but may lose out to the Kyle Eastmond-Tuilagi partnership used in Auckland.

Twelvetrees started well at the Forsyth Barr Stadium only to make some glaring errors in the second half and Burrell was quiet, so Eastmond may be rewarded for his strong performance in the first Test.

Elsewhere in the backs we feel that Marland Yarde and certainly Mike Brown will retain their starting spots.

Over to the front of the pack and the forwards Stuart Lancaster has the difficult but pleasing selection query of whether to bring hooker and Northampton Captain Dylan Hartley, lock Courtney Lawes and number eight Billy Vunipola into his starting side.

However, it is just whether these guys should slot in for those already in the side; namely, hooker Rob Webber, Geoff Parling and Ben Morgan.

Bath hooker Webber has impressed over his two England Test matches in new Zealand and would have every right to feel hard-done-by should he be demoted to the bench. The same applies for both second rows, Parling and Launchbury, and number eight Morgan.

Although there are no-doubt going to be a number of disappointed parties after Lancaster’s team selection this evening, with every member of the squad clawing to get one last crack at the world champions in their own backyard, these tough decisions are a joy for a coach to have.