Autumn Internationals - RuckedOver's England XV

Autumn Internationals.  Some say pointless money-spinners, others say glorious exhibitions key for measuring the development of a national side.  As a romantic, I’ll go with the latter – the next month or so is sure to provide us with some top drawer tries, big hits, hideous alternate strips and a depressing reminder of the north/south rugby divide (perhaps).  And, as usual, every man and his dog has an opinion on what the England team should be – and, as usual, I feel like I should chuck in my 2 cents worth.  Ruckedover’s England squad is below – let me know what you’d change...

Front Row

The front row, as is tradition, remains an area of comparative strength for England – even without the perennially injured Alex Corbisiero.  The Northampton man was my man of the match in the decisive 3rd Test for the Lions over the summer but, although he is a big loss in the scrummaging department, Mako Vunipola has acquitted himself impressively in the tight this term and remains a superb ball carrying option.  Plus, he has the advantage of being able to freak opponents out with his terrifyingly large earlobes.  A no-brainer for the number 1 shirt, although Joe Marler is now an experienced and powerful campaigner who will provide adequate back-up.

Hooker, on the other hand, is far more closely contested, with Dylan Hartley looking like he's scrubbed up on his ball carrying and linguistics to well and truly throw his hat back into the ring.  That said, Tom Youngs is the man in possession of the shirt, and his work rate in attack and defence is a real plus to the side – and he's coping with the new scrummaging laws better and better each week.  Despite baring a slight resemblance to Quasimodo, the Leicester hooker has done enough to hold off the challenge of the Saints captain but, with both men marshalling two of the best-functioning lineouts in England, that number 2 shirt is in good hands.  As long as Dylan's on best behaviour.

Tighthead is another position where the temptation is to shout the name of the man who's been in possession of the shirt for the last 4 years.  It's hard to believe he's just 26, but Dan Cole remains the premier tighthead in England despite increasingly looking like a Infernos nightclub bouncer.  His form hasn't been spectacular and he hasn't been winning the turnovers he's won in previous years, but class in permanent and his main rival, David Wilson, hasn't done quite enough to prise the shirt off him.

 

Second Row

That number 4 shirt is well and truly up for grabs now, with Courtney Lawes weighing in with a series of bone-jarring performances of late – but he's also added another string to his bow, carrying with far more venom off the inside shoulder than we've seen before.  The current incumbent – Joe Launchbury – is a superb talent who impressed last season and has looked sharp so far this year, even in a struggling Wasps pack.  There are still a couple of questions about his 'nastiness' though, or lack of it, and that does weigh against the cherub-faced lock.  For that reason, Lawes gets my nod at second row, although Launchbury is a dead cert to be in the squad.  The selection pool is looking increasingly rosey here, with Ed Slater also impressing early in the season.

However, for all of Lawes' virtues, he isn't the brightest crayon in the box and he needs his 'Victor Matfield' to rule the lineout whilst he goes about dismantling opposition players limb by limb.  There is one obvious candidate here, of course – Geoff Parling.  After an excellent Lions tour and a solid start to this season, he has really stepped up as a leader for this England pack.  With unrivalled lineout expertise and a phenomenal workrate, Parling was the only man – along with Chris Robshaw – to not completely embarrass himself against Wales at the Millennium Stadium this year.  His back up is a man who makes a welcome return the international scene, Dave Attwood.  Another lineout caller, he may lack the pure lineout nous and the workrate of Parling, but the Bath man is powerful presence in the tight and is getting back to his best – balancing out his natural aggression with intelligent calling at the set piece.

 

Flankers

The question on who you pick at blindside is made more difficult by the fact that everyone – usually Welsh – will tell you that England's opensides are not 'real' opensides and are actually blindsides.  Ignoring this waffle, the man who finds the path to the shirt clear following the unfortunate injury to Lions star Tom Croft, is Tom Wood.  The Saints flanker was bang in the middle of the frame for the captaincy, which has been handed to Chris Robshaw, but Wood offers similar leadership and graft, and perhaps a bit more athleticism around the park.  His performance against New Zealand last year was a perfect example of his qualities – powerful, physical, fast and seemingly everywhere.  With Croft injured, Wood's immediate backup is Exeter work horse Tom Johnson.  Despite having a face that looks like it's composed almost entirely of plastic, Johnson is a bundle of energy and can certainly add zip to a side, even if he lacks the out and out physicality of others.

At openside, all the talk of the summer was about Chris Robshaw's place being under threat from the excellent Matt Kvesic.  However, partly down to some strong early season form (in particular, a magnificent display against Clermont) from Robshaw and an anonymous series of displays by Kvesic at his new club, Gloucester, that argument has been put well and truly to bed.  The argument about England not succeeding because they lack a true 7 is drivel – South Africa won a world cup with two 6-and-a-halfs (Burger and Smith).  What matters is how they fit into a game plan – and Robshaw is one of the best for flat-out work rate.  He sits in the top 5 of every important forward-based chart in the Premiership – tackles, carries, offloads and turnovers – and still people question his ability.  His leadership is unwavering and his ethic an inspiration, and he looked like a one-man side at times against Wales on that fateful day in Cardiff.  For me, Robshaw is an easy shout at 7, and for the captaincy.  The talented Kvesic will have to show more at club level before being given a crack at that shirt.

 

Number 8

A short while ago big Ben Morgan seemed to have made that number 8 shirt his own, but some indifferent form behind a Gloucester pack currently as tough as damp paper bag has seen increasing pressure on his spot.  The man who the press and general public seem to want in is big Billy Vunipola, the chap who seems to be a result of cross-breeding a human with a rhinoceros – and he certainly impressed in England's summer tour of South America.  However, I'm yet to be convinced.  His ball control at the base of the scrum is poor enough that Saracens see it fit to play him at 6 rather than at 8, and his workrate and attitude still leave a fair bit to be desired.  The former will improve with experience, but the latter needs some individual application.  For that reason, I'd start Morgan to see how he performs in a solid pack, with Vunipola (who is failing to shine even in a dominant pack) on the bench for some hefty impact.  It's worth pointing out as well what a shame it is that the two form English number 8s – Dave Ewers of Exeter and Sam Dickinson of Northampton – aren't in the EPS.

 

Scrum Half

A very tricky one to call as Ben Youngs, the incumbent and Lions 9, has looked short of form and fitness on his return – despite improving in his last display.  The Leicester man missed pre-season with injury and looks to be carrying the effects of missing out on 3 weeks of good conditioning – those effects mainly being a couple of extra kilos of unwanted 'baggage'.  It's meant that the best parts of his game – namely his attacking threat around the fringes and the ability to speed the game up – have been lacking their usual 'zip'.  For that reason, if I was Lancaster, I'd give him the week off – for the Australia game at least – to shed a couple of pounds and give his body a break from impact.  That leaves the door open for Danny Care and his terrible haircut to take the reins at scrum-half, following a strong start to the season, whilst Lee Dickson, who is in outstanding form for Saints, is also pushing hard.  Dickson actually should be assured of a bench spot either way, as he offers something different to Youngs and Care – the starting spot is between those two.

 

Fly half

Naming Owen Farrell at fly half is definitely one of the easier decisions to make, despite it being standard procedure to ridicule him for a lack of attacking nous.  However, he grew into the 10 role during the Lions tour and looked to have picked up some good habits from Jonathan Sexton when it comes to attacking the line, whilst maintaining the strong kicking game and control that have been his best assets so far.  The Saracens man has looked sharp in the opening games of this season too, and is developing an eye for a gap as well as a strong relationship with Chris Ashton.  Farrell, despite not being the most naturally gifted of the 10s, deserves his shot.

The harder call to make is who should back him up on the bench.  The fashionable thing to do is put Freddie Burns straight in there, but his form for Gloucester has been disappointing to say the least, with little imagination to his game and his kicking from hand out of sorts.  He will benefit from playing games as opposed to bench duty.  That leaves the decidedly unfashionable Toby Flood and his gigantic ears as Farrell's back up, and I'm going to go against standard opinion and say that Flood is a classy operator in good form, with bags of experience and leadership skills.  Currently, it's a no-brainer to have him in the squad.

 

Centre

As usual, England's problem position – not least now that Brad Barritt and Manu Tuilagi are injured.  The absence of the latter, in particular, denies fans the opportunity to see one of the world's best carriers and strike runners outside a centre with a little more creativity – but it does present opportunities for others to stake a claim.  In the 12 shirt, there seems to be a straight shoot-out between Billy Twelvetrees, Luther Burrell and Kyle Eastmond.  I've got other plans for Eastmond, so I'll come to him in a minute, but I'm going to plump for the blonde-haired wonder for the inside centre spot.  Burrell looks like a great player – a strong carrier, hard tackler and a smooth distributor – but he has been caught out in his defensive positioning an alarming number of times early on.  Twelvetrees, on the other hand, offers superb distribution skills along with real authority in the midfield, as well as having the international experience to go with it.  This is his chance to make the shirt his own – he just has to resist the temptations to do everything himself and take the complicated option (i.e. the miss-7 pass) when a simple one will do.

Outside centre is another interesting call for Lancaster.  The general consensus seems to be to that it's a straight shoot-out between Joel Tomkins and Henry Trinder.  Tomkins is certainly the closest 'like-for-like' replacement for Tuilagi – a physical presence with the ability to make killer offloads.  But we haven't seen him do enough to really thrust him into prime position for international recognition in my opinion – he's still learning the game.  Trinder, on the hand, is the traditional outside centre with plenty of speed and a lightening outside break, much more the rapier than the bludgeon.  He also seems to have addressed his defensive failings and is certainly pushing hard for a starting spot, especially because of his relationship with Twelvetrees built up at Gloucester.  But I'm not going for either of these – I'd pick Kyle Eastmond, who partnered Twelvetrees so well in Argentina.  Like Tuilagi, he has out and out X-Factor (a completely different type of X-Factor, mind) with rapid feet, explosive acceleration and deceptive strength.  Having the option of a completely different kind of threat in the midfield could be a great asset for England (think Catt and Tindall in 2003) and will force oppositions to adjust their defensive patterns.

 

Wings

England seem to be blessed with a plethora of nearly men on the wing – blokes who look the business at club level and then fade into obscurity on the international scene.  But in Marland Yarde, they may just have found the real deal.  Blessed with serious pace, good feet and, now, some real strength, Yarde is just the athlete England want in their side.  He’s also shown a great eye for the tryline in club colours this year, having scored twice on debut over the summer, and he looks to have a good attitude that means he’s willing to work hard and get stuck into the dirty stuff as well. And Austin Healey made the worrying point that he’s still carrying about 4% too much body fat...meaning there’s still room for improvement.  He takes a wing spot ahead of a rejuvenated Ugo Monye, who has been unfortunately injured, and Dave Strettle, who has been in try scoring form for Saracens.  As for Mike Brown?  Well, wing was never really his position...

On the other wing, I’ve opted for captain popular himself, Chris Ashton.  Like him or loathe him, Ashton seems to have got his swagger back this year, popping up here, there and everywhere and hinting at a return to form that showcased him as one of the best finishers in world rugby two years ago.  Saracens’ new and more expansive game plan seems to be playing to his strengths and a great display against Toulouse, in which he was a constant thorn in the opposition’s side, proved that he may well be approaching his best once again.  He gets the nod just head of Christian Wade, who hasn’t quite managed to shine in a struggling Wasps side, but still looks like a class act, and Charlie Sharples of Gloucester.

 

Full Back

I mentioned that Mike Brown was never a winger, and that’s because he’s a damned fine fullback.  With Twelvetrees starting, the need for Alex Goode at 15 diminishes as the inside centre can take on second receiver roles, and Brown has shown himself to be the best attacking full back in the country – and the most consistent one too.  He may not be the quickest, but he is as wriggly as an over-excited puppy and has the strength to worm his way out of an extraordinary number of tackles – he will beat the first man on the counter attack every time, which cannot be said for the other contenders. 

Ben Foden is one such contender, but I challenge anyone to remember the last time Foden actually tore it up like he used to 3 years ago.  In fact, I can’t remember the last time he beat the first man when running a kick back.  He remains a reliable presence under the high ball, an intelligent footballer and a fine finisher, but in terms of form, Brown is streets ahead of the competition.

 

 

RuckedOver’s England XV to take on Australia

And so that’s it for our breakdown of the England side – I’d pick the squad below, but what changes would you make?

1.  M. Vunipola, 2. T Youngs, 3. Cole, 4. Lawes, 5. Parling, 6. Wood, 7. Robshaw (captain), 8. Morgan, 9. Care, 10. Farrell, 11. Yarde, 12. Twelvetrees, 13. Eastmond, 14. Ashton, 15. Brown.

SUBS:  Hartley, Marler, Wilson, Launchbury, B. Vunipola, Dickson, Flood, Trinder