England’s 32-man Elite Player Squad:S Borthwick (Saracens), G Chuter (Leicester), J Crane (Leicester), T Croft (Leicester), D Hartley (Northampton), J Haskell (Wasps), N Kennedy (London Irish), L Mears (Bath), L Moody (Leicester), L Narraway (Gloucester), T Palmer (Wasps), T Payne (Wasps), T Rees (London Wasps), S Shaw (Wasps), A Sheridan (Sale), M Stevens (Bath), P Vickery (Wasps).

Forwards:

Backs:O Barkley (Gloucester), D Care (Harlequins), H Ellis (Leicester), T Flood (Leicester), R Flutey (Wasps), S Geraghty (London Irish), D Hipkiss (Leicester), J Lewsey (Wasps), J Noon (Newcastle), P Richards (London Irish), P Sackey (Wasps), J Simpson-Daniel (Gloucester), M Tait (Sale), T Varndell (Leicester), J Wilkinson (Newcastle).

England’s 32-man Saxons Elite Player Squad:

Forwards:S Armitage (London Irish), R Blaze (Leicester), L Deacon (Leicester), N Easter (Harlequins), J Forster (Gloucester), T Guest (Harlequins), J Hobson (Bristol), C Jones (Sale), B Kay (Leicester), M Lipman (Bath), D Paice (London Irish), G Skivington (Wasps), A Titterrell (Gloucester), J Ward (Wasps), D Wilson (Newcastle), N Wood (Gloucester), J Worsley (Wasps).

Backs:N Abendanon (Bath), A Allen (Gloucester), M Banahan (Bath), M Brown (Harlequins), D Cipriani (Wasps), B Foden (Northampton), A Goode (Leicester), P Hodgson (London Irish), R Lamb (Gloucester), U Monye (Harlequins), T Ojo (London Irish), D Strettle (Harlequins), M Tindall (Gloucester), D Waldouck (Wasps), R Wigglesworth (Sale).

There are a couple of  omissions from the England Elite squad that will confuse some fans. But I think that that Johnson has made some good decisions. I genuinely thought that Lewsey wouldn’t play again after being omitted from the Six Nations side. The inclusion of players like Lewsey and Wilkinson is another sign of the new Johnson era (despite being relatively old players.)

Part of the reason for Johnson picking Lewsey will be down to a lack of front runners for the 15 shirt. Abendanon (picked for the Saxons) is definitely a contender. Based on Tait’s performance in the last test, many will say that Tait should also be considered but it seems that his talents may be better utilised at 13. Speaking of 13, Tindall has been dropped. I am a big Tindall fan but he was the only member of the back division to keep his starting place in both tests along with Ojo and whilst he kept structure to the game and made good decisions he simply lacks the pace to play 13 at International level. There is the option of switching him to 12 but with the abundance of talent there in the form of Barkley, Flutey and Geraghty, there is simply no room. Not to mention that England haven’t played a big 12 and a runner at 13 succesfully since Carling and Guscott. If he works on his pace with the Saxons then he may recieve a recall, if not then the Saxons will benefit on the training field from his experience anyway.

There are three specialist fly-halves in the Saxons and only one in the senior squad. Clearly, Johnson plans to move up either Goode, Lamb or Cipriani for the 6 Nations (assuming all are fit). This gives these three players a more than fair chance to battle it out with each other.

Johnson has picked a good blend of youth and experience and with the new agreement between club and country we should no longer see players thrown in at the deep end in Six Nations tournaments and Tours. They will be ‘blooded’ in training long before they make their first cap. There will be no learning of players during tests but demonstrations of player’s talents and their ability to play under pressure. With the addition of Smith as an attacking coach as well England should start playing some very good rugby. Rugby that is capable of winning a Grand Slam in 2009.

The values that the English players already have from their club rugby that I alluded to at the end of my previous post will be transposed to the international setup much like it did in the 2007 World Cup. However, this time they should gel as a unit of players and coaches. Johnson has some very challenging tests to prepare for in Autumn, he calls them the “the toughest set of Test matches” he has ever been involved with. That may be the case but he will also have more in time with the players and money than any rugby team has had in the history of the game. There are no more excuses now and there is no one else to blame. England to win 2 out of 4 tests and the Six Nations.

As for the actual game tomorrow, I am very excited by the prospect of Tait playing full-back. I think that he can really make that shirt his own if he plays well tomorrow. If England want to go for a relatively slow full-back like Mike Brown then they might as well shove Wilkinson there for the Autumn tests. His kicking game, solid defense and general aura would be a great benefit to the side. Tait and Abendanon are very good attacking options at 15.

I think that Ollie Barkley’s omission from the squad comes down to potentially three reasons; he was involved in the hotel room antics, they are looking to smash the Kiwi midfield with Noon, or to give the illusion of having depth at 10 by having one on the bench, this creates a much more structured game plan as it means the back-line have to worry about being moved round too much. Basically, Johnson made an error in picking Hipkiss to replace Cipriani over an out and out 10 like Goode. If Goode was playing, Nonu and Carter would get absolutely smashed.

I don’t think Narraway had as a good a game as everyone has been making out, the forwards as a unit played well. Mears and Narraway didn’t play well enough to warrant a start this week. I think Croft should have been put at 6 and Haskell at 8. It won’t surprise me if Paice comes on early in the second half for Mears as well.

The problem with putting Noon at 12 is he lacks a lot of creativity, England were lacking this creativity last week. He has clearly been picked because of his relationship with Flood at Newcastle and his defensive attributes. However, having Flood and Care playing half-backs will make a massive difference.

Sale’s highlights this season have been pretty dull to be honest and Wigglesworth and Hodgson showed why last week. I do rate Wigglesworth, but as soon as Care came on he sped the game up and added another dimension. His vision led to Ojo’s second try, a try that made the result a little ‘rosier’ for England fans. Ojo had a great debut and will make a good partner for Sackey when he comes back from injury. Varndell lacks the skill set to become a good international winger at the moment, but hopefully his raw pace will serve England well this weekend. Varndell can’t kick, pass, catch or tackle very well and I am very surprised he was the first choice substitute for any injured wingers in the senior squad.

Anyway, I predict a much closer game then the last one. England only lost the game during very small windows last week and Noon and Tindall in the centres should help the team cut out the errors. 

England will be closer from all they have been through this week and they have always had a camaraderie that many other international rugby teams envy. Whilst the game has turned professional, the values from the amateur era still hold true with the home nations. Values which the All Blacks can only learn about when they come over and play their rugby in the Premiership and Heineken Cup.

One of the main selections that has been widely criticised is Brown at 15. If he doesn’t play well in this test he will certainly be dropped for the next one. His lack of pace in the Barbarians game was telling and if he is to remain a contender for the 15 shirt he needs to put in a good performance this weekend, otherwise the likes of Abendanon (who is starting for the Saxons) or Tait will be considered more seriously.

Speaking of full-backs, Hook is playing there this weekend and dare I say it about a Welshman playing rugby but that is a pretty exciting prospect.

Predictions for the weekend-New Zealand to beat England by less than 7 (depending on the performance of the 10s). Australia to tear Irelands midfield up and beat them fairly convincingly, with the correct sort of ball. Wales to lose to South Africa but they’ll make South Africa feel like they’ve been in a game this time and the scoreline ought to be more respectable. England A to beat Irealand A convincingly. Argentina to beat Scotland by more than two scores.

If England do win tomorrow they’ll need to thank Haskell and Rees, that’s for sure. Set your alarms, kick off is next.

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.

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 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.

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.

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. 

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.

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.