England vs Barbarians

The squad has almost been picked. Hodgson is the only specialist fly-half. This may be seen as a meaningless game by many fans. But for Hodgson, it’s a chance to stake a real claim for the 10 shirt. I don’t think he’s up to it at all. It will be very embarassing for the management if he doesn’t perform. To pick such a large squad and not pick another fly-half the day after Cipriani is injured is an error, unless they are going to see how Flood fares at 10.

The squad (courtesy of the RFU):

FORWARDS

Alex Clarke (Bristol Rugby)

*Nick Easter (Harlequins)

Tom Guest (Harlequins)

Dylan Hartley (Northampton Saints)

Jason Hobson (Bristol Rugby)

Stuart Hooper (Leeds Carnegie)

*Chris Jones (Sale Sharks)

Nick Kennedy (London Irish)

Nick Lloyd (Saracens)

*Luke Narraway (Gloucester Rugby)

David Paice (London Irish)

Chris Robshaw (Harlequins)

Will Skinner (Harlequins)

David Wilson (Newcastle Falcons)

BACKS

*Anthony Allen (Gloucester Rugby)

*Mike Brown (Harlequins)

Danny Care (Harlequins)

*Toby Flood (Newcastle Falcons)

*Charlie Hodgson (Sale Sharks)

Ugo Monye (Harlequins)

*Jamie Noon (Newcastle Falcons)

Topsy Ojo (London Irish)

*Pete Richards (London Irish)

*David Strettle (Harlequins)

*Mathew Tait (Newcastle Falcons)

*Mike Tindall (Gloucester Rugby)

*Richard Wigglesworth (Sale Sharks)

*Denotes capped player

The Barbarians, constrastingly have a very experienced side, I think this is a very good way to blood all these potential senior team players.

My starting XV would be:

1. Clarke
2. Hartley
3. Hobson
4. Kennedy
5. Hooper
6. Robshaw
7. Skinner
8. Easter
9. Care
10. Hodgson
11. Strettle
12. Flood
13. Tindall (c)
14. Ojo
15. Brown
16. Lloyd
17. Paice
18. Jones
19. Guest
20. Wigglesworth
21. Noon
22. Tait

With a view to get Tait, Paice and Lloyd on the pitch early and Noon if Hodgson starts embarrasing English rugby. I can very easily see Richards being on the bench due to his versatility. I would have Easter or Hooper as pack leader, probably Hooper as I don’t rate Easter’s ability to lead, but it’s a tough call between Hooper and Jones in the first place.

Cipriani injured…

What to do about the 10 shirt for England? Since England won the World Cup 5 years ago, that position has been a worry. Hodgson is the only specialist 10 in the squad due to go to New Zealand, Barkley is an option too. But if Cipriani is going to be out for at least 6 months then he probably won’t play in the Autumn internationals against Australia, South Africa and New Zealand. And if you bear in mind that the rankings at the end of this year will be used to determine the pools in the World Cup in 2011, then you can see how important it is to have a long term fix. I don’t think Hodgson is worth putting in at 10 at all. He plays well for Sale and has a good partnership with Wiggleworth, but he isn’t a world class player and doesn’t have the potential to be. Although he has served England well you can’t pick players on sentiment. I think the only reason he was picked to go to New Zealand is so that Lamb could get game time with the Saxons.

Before Sunday if I had to pick a straight replacement for Cipriani I would have picked Lamb straight away. However, my opinion has changed slightly as Goode had an outstanding game, he played extremely well and kept Leicester together, he controlled the game well and in a calm fashion and that’s what you want from your 10. He’s definitely worth considering. Greenwood mentioned Goode for the New Zealand squad a few months ago on the Rugby Club and Barnes laughed at the idea. I don’t think it’s laughable now. Having said that, Lamb played well as well, the pressure got to him on a few of the kicks, but he still made some very good breaks and opened up their defence.

The other option is to move Barkley to 10, a position he isn’t unfamiliar with and to rejig the centres about, with Strettle, Tindall, Noon and Flood to pick from, that’s not a bad option at all. But we all know that Barkley is a better 12 than 10 and there isn’t a better 12 than Barkley at the moment.

One thing is certain though, Johnson mustn’t go for a quick fix as England need to do well in their test games this year. Ideally, I would like to keep Barkley at 12 and have Tindall at 13. Then you can bring Goode or Lamb on at 10 and not have to worry about changing the midfield about when Gerhaty and Cipriani come back from injury. Another option would be to put Barkley at 10, Tindall at 12 and bring Strettle on at 13 and put Ojo on the wing. Or if you wanted to go for a more defensive approach, you could have Tindall and Noon at 12 and 13. Either way Johnson’s got some big decisons to make. He’s picking a replacement for Cipriani tomorrow. There is of course, the game against the Barbarians, where England can really try things out against some good opposition. Wales did a similar sort of thing on Saturday with Shane William’s testimonial match (it just seemed like a pre-tour warm up for the Welsh to me).

The Final- It’s Leicester vs Wasps again…

I expected the Gloucester Leicester game to be extremely dull and not very high scoring. I thought that if Leicester did clinch it they would do so by playing some very boring rugby. This wasn’t the case at all. I was on the edge of my seat throughout most of the game. The first half had great rugby, but ended with a tryless score of 12-3. There were two yellow cards for Leicester who refused to conceed a try, especially when they were playing with 13 men. The second half bought even more quality rugby. The turning point was when Tuilagi broke through Vainikolo and steamrolled Lamb to put the ball down in the corner. Of course Goode didn’t miss the conversion on the touchline. There were two drop goals and a converted try in the last 15 minutes, every score tipped the balance in a different direction. Leicester had the last word though with a well struck drop goal from Goode. Gloucester 25- 26 Leicester.

The Wasps game, whilst I tipped it to be the game of the weekend, didn’t produce the sort of rugby that we’ve seen these sides play all season. My view may be marred by the incident in the second half, but I don’t think that the rugby was of the quality that these players can produce. Barkley made mistakes that were uncharacteristic of him, he made bad decisions and forced passes. Butch James played well though, and Bath attacked well through him, but they clearly missed Mears. I think that Wasps managed to close Barkley down through Rees and the man of the match Haskell. Cipriani was playing fairly well and everyone watching was expecting a bit of magic to come from him in the second half to seal the game. However, within the first ten minutes of the second half, he ended up getting trapped at the bottom of a ruck and badly dislocated his ankle. From then on, the game seemed to slow down. This could be because Van Gisbergen came on at fly-half and he plays a different brand of rugby. But I also put it down to Cipriani’s injury and players on both sides feeling anxious. Having said that, I failed to concentrate on rest of the game as I was concerned about the impact of this injury on the future of English rugby. I do know that Wasps scored another converted try and Bath scored a penalty. The score line shows that Wasps have got their old defensive mentality back as Bath’s only try came from Lewsey dropping the ball in the dead ball area. Wasps 14-7 Bath before Cipriani’s injury. Final score Wasps 21-10 Bath.

As for the final, Leicester will find it difficult to break through the London side’s renewed defence. Having said that Wasps need to think about how they themselves will break the gain line without fly-halves Walder and Cipriani. I think this one is too close to call. Wasps will be playing for Dallaglio and Cipriani- no matter what they say in the press and Leicester will be playing for each other in a way we haven’t seen a team do since England got to the 2007 World Cup Final. It’s amazing what the words of Cockerill can do to inspire a team.

 

Revised squad for the first test in New Zealand

My prediction for the first test side needed to be adjusted due to injuries affecting Johnson’s squad selection:

Those injured according to the BBC are:

J Lewsey (Wasps), S Geraghty (London Irish), H Ellis (Leicester), S Shaw (Wasps), J Simpson-Daniel (Gloucester), J Wilkinson (Newcastle), L Deacon (Leicester), P Vickery (Wasps), L Moody (Leicester).

My revised first test squad selection is:

1. Sheridan
2. Mears
3. Stevens
4. Borthwick (c)
5. Kennedy
6. Croft
7. Lipman
8. Haskell
9. Care
10. Cipriani
11. Sackey
12. Barkley
13. Tindall
14. Strettle
15. Brown
16. Hobson
17. Hartley
18. Kay
19. Easter
20. Wigglesworth
21. Flood
22. Tait

The only changes are Kennedy from 18 to 5 for the injured Shaw and also Hobson, Kay, Wigglesworth and Flood for the other injured players that were on the bench. 

I would like to have Haskell and Croft playing together as Haskell is the best back row forward in the country and Croft is the fastest. However, if Haskell can’t play 8, then you could put Croft at second-row for Kennedy and bring Easter on at 8. Croft, Lipman and Haskell must start. They add a new dimension to the way England play. Currently, you don’t need to have the best lineout forward in the Premiership to beat the All Blacks in that facet of the game. Croft is good in the air anyway.

I think Johnson might put Hodgson on the bench instead of Flood. However, I don’t think this is necessary with Barkley starting.

Stuart Barnes and Will Greenwood picked a similar backline to mine last night on Rugby Club. The only difference was Ojo for Strettle. Ojo being preferred because of Strettle’s suspect defence this season. Understandable. They didn’t pick a pack of forwards.

 

Martin Johnson’s First England squad selection

Finally, Johnson’s first decision in charge and it’s not a bad one now is it? I think it’s a good squad that’s been picked. It’s a very young squad capable of suprising New Zealand.

My prediction for the England squad was:

FORWARDS: Borthwick, Chuter, Croft, Easter, Freshwater, Hartley, Haskell, Kay, Kennedy, Lipman, Mears, Moody, Rees, Shaw, Sheridan, Stevens, Vickery,

BACKS: Barkley, Brown, Care, Cipriani, Ellis, Gerhaty, Lamb, Noon, Ojo, Sackey, Simpson-Daniel, Strettle, Tait, Tindall, Wigglesworth, 

The actual squad is:

FORWARDS: Borthwick, Croft, Easter, Hartley, Haskell, Hobson, Kay, Kennedy, Lipman, Mears, Narraway, Paice, Palmer, Payne, Rees, Sheridan, Stevens, Worsley,

BACKS: Barkley, Brown, Care, Cipriani, Flood, Hodgson, Noon, Ojo, Richards, Sackey, Strettle, Tait , Tindall, Wigglesworth,

As you can see, there isn’t a huge amount of difference. Johnson’s gone for 14 backs and 18 forwards, whereas I went for 15 backs and 17 fowards.The main differences being the players who are ‘injured’ or players that I thought were injured, such as Flood. Other differences don’t really effect the 22 I want to see play in New Zealand. On the whole I do agree with the squad he has picked. It’s going to be interesting to see who he plays at 5,6,7 and 8.

We know England are able to dominate the current All Blacks in the scrum and at the lineout, especially as their players have been playing different rules. England need to score tries though.

We’ll get a little taster of what some of these guys are capable of at Twickenham on 1 June when they play the Barbarians (the day after the Guinness Premiership Final) and after that watch out All Blacks. 

Final Round of the Guinness Premiership

Wow! It was a very exciting day yesterday. Leicester just scraped into the top four, despite being written off by many, including Cockerill, although cynics would say that Cockerill is after Loffreda’s job. So my predictions for the top four were only one off thanks to a try from Varndell in the last 5 minutes.

It’s a shame that Quins didn’t beat Leicester as the semi-finals would be a rematch (albeit in different locations) of two of the best games of the season- when Bath played Wasps at the Rec and when Quins played Gloucester at the Stoop. Wasps and Quins winning those encounters.

I don’t think Leicester have what it takes to beat Gloucester at Kingsholm, it’s not an easy feat. They do have more of a chance than Quins would have though. But you can never write Leicester off.

I think that Stuart Barnes may be proved wrong this season- Gloucester’s defence at the moment can win big games. The Bath defence was solid too, hence the low scoreline (8-6). The Wasps defence on the other hand hasn’t been as good as it has been in previous seasons. Edwards will have to sort that out, if Wasps are going to take this title. I was at Headingley and I saw Wasps play a very open style of rugby. I think they will need more structure to beat Bath. Bringing Cipriani in at ten will help that. 

It is all very close at the moment, almost too close to call. Bath need to have a fully fit squad to choose from to beat Wasps. Stevens and Mears played very well yesterday, they worked the fringes well. I do think Wasps will win it though, purely because Cipriani’s vision can beat almost any defence. Sackey, Tindall Stevens and Mears are big injury worries in terms of both their clubs and England at the moment. Hopefully they’ll be fully fit for next week.

The quality of the rugby this weekend really showed why we don’t need new laws bought into our game. I look forward to next week. The quality of rugby from potential England players also showed that England have more than a good chance of beating New Zealand when they tour.

My England squad for New Zealand

With the England squad due to be announced on Tuesday by Martin Johnson, fans across the country are scribbbling down their selection on the back of beer mats and receipts. They do say that a coach’s favourite problem is to have too many good players to choose from. With players like Foden, Ashton, Narraway, (to name a few) all playing so well for their clubs it is difficult to pick a 32 man squad. However, if I had to make the announcement on Tuesday, I would pick the following squad.

FORWARDS: Borthwick, Chuter, Croft, Easter, Freshwater, Hartley, Haskell, Kay, Kennedy, Lipman, Mears, Moody, Rees, Shaw, Sheridan, Stevens, Vickery,

BACKS: Barkley, Brown, Care, Cipriani, Ellis, Gerhaty, Lamb, Noon, Ojo, Sackey, Simpson-Daniel, Strettle, Tait, Tindall, Wigglesworth,

I don’t think that the squad Johnson picks will be far off that. I couldn’t imagine he’ll judge it on much more than their current performances and potential. From that 32 man squad I would look to make this my provisional first test side. The second test would see the backs and back row moved about slightly based on performances. I don’t think Vickery is sure about whether or not he’ll be fit to go on the tour at the moment, but if he is I would take him, but not start him.

1. Sheridan
2. Mears
3. Stevens
4. Borthwick
5. Shaw
6. Croft
7. Lipman
8. Haskell (c)
9. Care
10. Cipriani
11. Sackey
12. Barkley
13. Tindall
14. Strettle
15. Brown
16. Vickery
17. Hartley
18. Kennedy
19. Easter
20. Ellis
21. Gerhaty
22. Tait

I would put Haskell as captain. I would like to have Haskell and Croft playing together. However if Haskell can’t play 8 then you could put Croft at second-row for Shaw and bring Easter on at 8.

I’ve got a funny feeling Johnson will pick Borthwick as captain instead of Haskell. There’s no need to have Cipriani as skipper as he will lead the backs anyway. Tindall’s experience should help guide him although Tait playing outside Barkley could work quite well in the last quarter of the game. Right now I think Care is a slightly better choice than Ellis, based on his vision and play with ball in hand and great delivery. Kennedy has performed so well for London Irish. The club has the best lineout in the country and as the tests will be played without the ELVs, scrums and lineouts are areas where England should be able to dominate.

At the end of the day I’m not making the decisions so let’s see what Johnson says on Tuesday after the Gloucester vs Bath game.

A quick catch up

Activity on this blog has been low recently. However, with Martin Johnson being made team manager, ELVs coming into effect in August and England securing second place in the 6 Nations with a respectable performance against Ireland, there is a lot to talk about. And lets not forget about the most exciting finish to the Guinness Premiership. Whilst you expect that next year the focus will be more on who will be relegated (my money will be on Newcastle.) This year the focus is on the top end of the table.

I didn’t get a chance to watch the Ireland match live as I was out of the country, I did see all of the last round of the 6 Nations later though. It was a shame that Italy came away with nothing, but good to see the bond Mallett made with his team through the game of rugby, despite the language barrier. Lievremont bonded with his players in a different way and introduced a type of blooding of players that some say is revolutionary. If every team did it, it would lower the standard of the competition and simply wouldn’t work. This is why I doubt that it will catch on with the other nations. It also takes away a lot of team spirit and sense of structure.

Cipriani’s performance against Ireland was brilliant. He really stepped up to the mark. He did have a little delay in getting back into his usual position in the Wasps team though with Walder being on such good form.

I think it’s difficult to say that a team doesn’t deserve a Grand Slam. However, had the coaching set up for France, Ireland and England been different Wales would have almost certainly finished fourth or worse. They played some very good rugby, but the talent in those other countries is far greater than that in Wales and there is only so much that Gatland and Edwards can do with the side. There is only so much that confidence can do. I mean the majority of that Welsh side ended up losing to Saracens a few weeks later. If they beat the World Champions when they play them it will be blown out of proportion. South Africa have had many players move to the Northern Hemisphere and have picked a coach based on race issues, not his merit of coaching. England were the worse World Champions after the World Cup and South Africa need to be careful not to fall into the same line of criticism. England won 5 out of the 11 games they played in 2004. Let’s see how South Africa fair this year. I’m sure they will be able to beat this injury ridden Welsh side.

Scotland now have Andy Robinson getting involved in the coaching setup. It’s very interesting and I think he’ll do a much better job of coaching Scotland than he did of coaching England, if he ends up taking Hadden’s job. This is unlikely though. It’s very good to see Argentina getting some more games, would be nice if the standard of their opposition was better though.

There is no doubt that England have enough talent to surprise New Zealand in this upcoming tour, but it is unlikely that they will be able to sneak a win down there. It is the hardest place in the world to win and you get the feeling that Rob Andrew isn’t able to inspire current professional rugby players. At least we know that Johnson will have more than a little input in the selection though.

As for the Premiership, I predict Gloucester, Bath, Wasps and Quins will make the top four and a  Bath v Wasps final at Twickenham, with Wasps to win it, assuming they don’t meet in the semis.