Year Zero: England's 32 man new beginning
So, the cat is finally out of the bag with regards to the England squad. Stuart Lancaster finally has his 32 man squad but it's how he uses it that will define him as coach. Although his role is only interim in nature, Lancaster has the opportunity to either play himself into the role full time or give his successor, whoever that may be, a platform to work from. Lancaster has armed himself, and it will be interesting to see what his opening salvo will entail. We can but speculate, so let's do so:
Starting upfront, a few pick themselves. The tighthead shirt surely belongs to Dan Cole, the bearded rock around whom England's scrum looks set to be built for years to come. Dave Wilson shades Paul Doran Jones on experience, and is a fairly experienced if unspectacular backup. On the loosehead side, an interesting conundrum presents itself. Matt Stevens is the experienced man and provides a third reasonable option at tighthead to boot, but it's one of many new duals for positions behind him that is more interesting still. Joe Marler, uncapped and very much a project selection at just 21, and Alex Corbisiero, scarcely much older, are both infantile in prop terms. The lack of experienced depth is a short term worry, but having these two mobile looseheads fighting it out for the next 10 years is something that will only make both players better. Corbisiero is your man for now, but if and when Marler gets to grips with scrummaging at the top level then he will more than make the shirt his own. Between any two of those five, the hooker position is Dylan Hartley's to lose. With experienced backup Lee Mears injured, it falls to the super mobile, one time back rower Rob Webber to fill the impact role late in the day. His selection over the steadier, more consistent Joe Gray of Harlequins is an interesting one, but if he gels with the lineout Webber could be here to stay.
Behind them, injuries to Louis Deacon and Courtney Lawes will likely see them sit the first weeks out. Shame as Lawes, a long term prospect as an enforcer in the tight 5, picks himself when he is fit. Consequently, Lancaster has broken one of his own rules and selected Tom Palmer of Stade Francais who will surely run the lineout at Murrayfield come February as well as providing the much needed experienced head amongst a largely inexperienced group of locks. Saracens Mouritz Botha pips out Quins' George Robson, who can probably feel a touch hard done by given his impressive 2011 form, for the final spot. Geoff Parling of Leiceister provides mobile and dynamic injury cover for both Lawes and Deacon, but Palmer and Botha are expected to make up the engine room at least to begin with.
The back row is where it gets interesting and a lot depends on where Lancaster decides to strike his balance. He has a variety of options at blindside. After years spent going criminally unnoticed under Martin Johnson's radar, Chris Robshaw may finally get his chance to fill Richard Hill's long vacated role as the pack's grafting, hardworking tyro. Then again, Tom Croft has impressed in the loose and offers more in the lineout, presenting Lancaster with a nice alternative, but one hell of a difficult choice. At openside, two Saints will fight it out for the starting spot. Tom Wood, so impressive so often at the top level, will get a chance to nail down the 7 shirt long term. His backup at club level and perhaps the surprise selection of the lot in the form of Calum Clark provides mobile competition and is one of many shrewd young selections who now gets the opportunity to build up international experience. In both cases, the prospect of healthy competition for places leading up to 2015 is very exciting indeed! Though neither is a specialist, you can argue the case that no one is really putting their hand up as an option other than these two.
However, with so many relatively new bodies set to be in contention, this and a potential lack of experience is something with which Lancaster has to be very careful with. This is a problem which is best exemplified in the number 8 position. Whilst Phil Dowson is vastly experienced at Saxons and Heineken cup levels, he's still a rookie on the biggest stage of all. The sole other option at 8, the newly declared Ben Morgan, is something of a wildcard selection. One of these two needs to step up as a ball carrier or Lancaster's once relatively lauded dropping of Nick Easter could yet seem like a fairly grave error indeed.
Behind the scrum, it seemed until a couple of weeks ago that Ben Youngs and Danny Care were fine candidates to make up a potential Bracken/Dawson style pantheon for the next decade. When Care blew his chances through drunken indiscretion, it opened the door for Saints' Lee Dickson who is both a capable enforcing scrum half as well as an excellent passer. Wasps' Joe Simpson retains his squad place and provides the mobile option, but unless Youngs' passing is seen to improve, we could yet see Dickson starting at Murrayfield where the ability to marshal a pack around the park is paramount to any joy England may get up there.
This mentality could well be extended across to the fly half position. Whilst the selection of Owen Farrell now at the age of just 20 is as good as earmarking him for the starting shirt in 2015, cleverer still is the selection of his clubmate and mentor Charlie Hodgson. Whilst Hodgson has tried and failed with England before, there's still no one better at running a game than him and that's partially why Saracens are where they are these days. With Toby Flood injured and Farrell likely to feature in the centres at least to start with as well as take kicking duties, Hodgson will be left solely to play to his strengths and England will be all the better for it.
With Farrell almost certainly set to line up at outside centre due to Manu Tuilagi's injury (and set to be covered by Henry Trinder), Mike Tindall's vacated inside centre berth is wide open. Again, Lancaster has opted for two rookies from two of the form sides. Whilst it would be easy to plug Brad Barritt into a backline in which he is surrounded by clubmates and coached by his club coach in Andy Farrell, Jordan Turner Hall, hands down the best offloader in the Aviva Premiership, cannot be ruled out either. Given the need for a 12 with a kicking game has been removed by the presence of what are essentially two fly halves, either could slot in but I expect Lancaster to stick with the Saracens axis in the midfield, at least for now. It's also worth noting that for the first time in the best part of a decade, England look set to have a midfield with some sort of balance, with Farrell set to fill Will Greenwood's void as a creative centre.
On the wings, it's two between three of messrs Strettle, Ashton and Sharples. Whilst Chris Ashton, a world class finisher, surely picks himself, the left wing is set to be a straight fight between David Strettle, a man with pace to burn both forwards and sidewards but no luck with injuries, and Charlie Sharples, a young bolter with decent finishing ability to boot. Unfortunately for him, he finds himself behind a man who were it not for injury would surely have 40 caps and several international tries by now. Strettle shades it and provides some flair to go alongside Ashton's swan diving swagger and searing pace.
Last but by no means least; Lancaster's biggest dilemma is the one at the back of the park. Ben Foden, an excellent finisher and support runner in the vein of Christian Cullen, and Mike Brown, an English Chris Latham for this decade with a howitzer for a left foot, are chalk and cheese style wise. Both deserve a spot when it comes to form, and having one trying to displace the other is only good for the pair of them, but I'd expect a rotation at first. Foden looks primed to start games England will look to attack whereas Brown will start the tight ones, offering an extra kicking option as well as iron curtain defence. Put simply, whoever starts will have no room for error, as the other will surely only come knocking.
Whilst there is a telling lack of experience now, it's crucial that Lancaster bloods these young players now as in 2015, the experience will be there and this England team should stand up to be counted when that time comes. Instant results should not be expected, but the key battles have been set up so that this team is allowed to develop and for that, Lancaster deserves credit whatever the results. England, as she should, expects ¦
