England’s new centre partnership gets off to a flying start against Ireland

 Manu Tuilagi impressed in Dublin, scoring his 2nd try in two appearences for England

 

Both teams arrived at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin knowing that a loss would leave the losing team with low morale before heading to New Zealand. Mike Tindall was selected to Captain England in Lewis Moody’s absence and Paul O’Connell was given the skipper’s armband for Ireland, with Brian O’Driscoll rested.  A late change for England was forced because Nick Easter failed a fitness test. Hendre Fourie, who was devastated to miss out on a place to the World Cup, was drafted in to replace him. This resulted in James Haskell being moved to the No.8 shirt.

Jonny Wilkinson kicked off the match in front of 48,500 people and Eoin Reddan cleared the pressure with a box-kick. Ben Foden took the ball well and England threw the ball wide, attacking the open space down the left-wing. There were some promising early driving plays from James Haskell and Andrew Sheridan as England played themselves into the Irish 22. There was some excellent first-line defence from Ireland and they pushed England backwards. Wilkinson attempted a huge drop-goal; but unfortunately, he dragged the kick to the right of the uprights.

England had a devastatingly powerful first scrum as they drove the hosts backwards. The first set-piece move was a simple delayed pass from Tindall onto Manu Tuilagi, who picked a strong line and he brushed off two would be Irish tacklers and cantered towards the line for England’s 1^st try. This was a perfect start for England and their new centre partnership. Wilkinson slotted the conversion attempt with pinpoint accuracy, with the ball flying end over end over the black stripe on the middle of the cross-bar. Ireland 0 - England 7

England fielded the kick-off poorly as they knocked on and they went off their feet at the breakdown, giving the Irish a kickable penalty. However, Ronan O’Gara boldly elected to kick to the corner. The decision was warmly cheered by the Irish fans. Unfortunately for them however, after the line-out, Haskell stole the ball from the maul and Fourie powered forwards. Wilkinson cleared the pressure to Geordan Murphy, who replied with a kick of his own. Foolishly, Courtney Lawes blocked Murphy and gave away a penalty. This time O’Gara went for goal and successfully opened up Ireland’s scoring account. Ireland 3 - England 7

England next went with a short-kick off, the tactic that worked so well in Cardiff two weeks ago. England forced a penalty from a resulting scum and Wilkinson slotted the kick from about 35 metres out. Ireland 3 - England 10

England once again failed to deal with the restart as the English forwards fumbled the ball. Andrew Trimble made a powerful break through the English defence and he won the Irish a penalty. Once again, O’Gara went to the corner. The Irish were not interested in taking the percentages and kicking at goal, they were going for the jugular, which would cost them in the end. In New Zealand they cannot be so aggressive and they will need to the points as they come. The line-out went to the tail of the Irish forwards and a few powerful phases followed. Ireland was awarded a penalty, which was taken quickly. Luckily, Mark Cueto intercepted and he stopped a near certain try.

After a clearance kick from Wilkinson, Tommy Bowe caught the ball and it looked like he had one foot in touch. The touch judge’s flag went up, but play continued. Bowe threw the ball infield and Ireland ran hard and fast at the English backs.  Keith Earls side-stepped Ben Foden with great agility and Ireland kept making inroads into English territory.  The Irish attacked the short-side on the right wing and Tuilagi put in a thumping tackle on David Wallace, who unfortunately was winded and also badly twisted his knee. He was taken off the field and the Irish fans will be hoping it was only a minor strain and his World Cup dreams have not been dashed. The English defence was offside before Wallace was pushed into touch and O’Gara was given another opportunity in front of the posts. He made the easy penalty goal count and made the score Ireland 6 - England 10

Mark Cueto went off at this stage and was replaced by Delon Armitage. Foden found space and kicked ahead for the English backs to chase, where O’Gara fielded the kick and jinked his way around James Haskell. England then stole the ball and won a penalty for a questionable high tackle on Courtney Lawes. However, Wilkinson banged over the penalty and increased England’s lead. Ireland 6 - England 13

Off the back of an overthrown line-out, Tuilagi picked the ball up in midfield and made a surging 90-metre break. He looked to be in for a second try; however, he was expertly hauled down by Geordan Murphy. England looked to spread the ball out wide and a try seemed to be there for the taking. The ball made its way out to Lawes who had Chris Ashton and Ben Foden outside of him. One of the Irish defenders covering the two pace-men slipped, and Lawes only had to put in a simple pass to put one of the Northampton men in for a try. However, he tried to be too clever and with the subtle hands of a rhino, he chucked the ball into touch. Foden strongly rebuked his teammate, knowing that a try scoring chance in New Zealand cannot be missed like that. Lawes may have literally thrown his chance of a starting position away with that foolish error.

A few scrappy phases of possession followed and then England gave away a penalty 30 metres out from their line. This time, O’Gara did not choose to go for the corner. He slotted the penalty, bridging the gap between the two teams. He made the score: Ireland 9 - England 13

The Irish had some strong possession in the English 22 and tested England’s defensive line. The ball squirted its way out into touch and the half-time whistle blew.

Half Time Ireland 9 England 13

At half-time, Martin Johnson’s men were not showing any signs of repeating their performance from at the end of the Six Nations that lost them the Grand Slam. Manu Tuilagi was having a great game; he made an impressive 90 metre break and scored a powerful solo try. James Haskell also showed his strength and ball-carrying ability in the first-half. With Nick Easter a fitness doubt, English fans will be confident if Haskell gets the call to carry the No. 8 shirt for the World Cup.

Early in the second-half, Chris Ashton picked up a yellow card. This was a big blow for England and the next ten-minutes with Ashton in the sin-bin were crucial for the visitors. A relatively simple penalty attempt from O’Gara bounced off the right –hand upright, where Tindall gathered the ball and cleared the ball towards the halfway line.

From a scrum, England dominated and forced a penalty. The line-out was well taken by Tom Croft and England set up a driving maul. After a series of phases, Tindall put through a delightfully weighted kick for Armitage to chase. Armitage won the foot race and touched down for England’s second try. Wilkinson made the conversion look simple from near the left touchline. Ireland 9 -England 20

England won a penalty from the restart and Wigglesworth took it quickly. He had Tindall in support, who put through another kick, however this time he did not have a speedster chasing, he had hooker Steve Thompson running after the ball.

Usually, teams that go a man down due to a sin-bin lose on average 7-10 points in the resulting 10 minutes. However, Ashton sauntered back on to the pitch with England up 7 points in the sin-bin period, demonstrating England’s great defensive play. Dylan Hartley came on to keep England’s front row would on their toes and give some energy to the loose play. England was left to defend as Ireland kicked to the corner.

The two captains were given a talking to by referee Nigel Owens as the penalty counts were high. England were initially penalised for an infringement at the breakdown, but the touch judge ruled that Keith Earls had tackled Foden around the neck. However, the experienced Jonny Wilkinson missed touch and instead, he found the in-goal area and gave away a scrum.

England won a penalty and kicked to the corner. The England forwards won a sloppy line-out and a few phases later, at a ruck, Ireland looked to be blatantly offside, but the referee did not give a penalty. The Irish backs broke away and Earls kicked ahead, however, it was too far ahead of the chasing Irish players.  After the 22 metre drop-out, Ireland won a scrum inside their half and Ronan O’Gara kicked downfield. He was looking for territory to get Ireland back in the game.

Richard Wigglesworth was having s good game and fielded a kick with authority. However, a few phases later, his box kick was charged down by Paul O’Connell and he gave possession away to the Irish. Jonathan Sexton, who replaced O’Gara, made a great break into the English 22. Ireland completely demolished an English scrum and kicked to the corner. The Irish backs pushed England with strong runs inside the English 22. However, Tindall used all his strength and experience to rip the ball off the Irish forwards. Wilkinson then cleared well up to the half-way line.

With six minutes left in the game, Ireland was awarded a 5 metre scrum. Tindall came off for Toby Flood in the final plays of the game. From a messy scrum, Sexton tried to make a break through the English defence. However, the Irish replacement scrum-half Eoin Reddan kicked possession away with a cross-kick. Ireland ran the clock down and then Flood dived on loose ball. The final whistle went.

Full time Ireland 9 - England 9

My man of the match Manu Tuilagi: he was exceptional in defence and he made a huge break in the 1^st half and scored England’s first try. He was closely, followed by Tindall who made breaks, tackled hard and kicked beautifully for England’s second try.

Who impressed?

Manu Tuilagi- another fine performance from the young centre. He was always a threat in attack and was imperious in defence.

Mike Tindall- led the side well and tackled everything in an Irish shirt. His kick ahead for Armitage was fantastic and he did the basics well.

James Haskell - powerful off the back of the scrum and was a danger in the loose. He showed today that he is very capable of being England’s 1^st choice No. 8.

Who did not impress?

Courtney Lawes had an error-strewn game. He made handling errors and butchered a simple try for England with an outrageous out of the back of his hand pass that flew into touch. He may have lost his starting place with that performance.

England look to get back to business as Martin Johnson names a strong side to face Ireland in Dublin

 Chris Ashton will be looking to add to his impressive try-scoring record after returning from injury

 

Martin Johnson has named a more experienced squad to face Ireland on Saturday. The starting fifteen sees Chris Ashton and James Haskell returning from injury, as well as introducing a new centre partnership of Mike Tindall and Manu Tuilagi.

The back-three look dangerous in attack, yet confident in defence, following strong performances in the November Internationals and some impressive plays in the warm-up tests. Ben Foden played well at full-back against Wales with his counter-attacking play, which has caught the eye of the England manager. He links up with Chris Ashton, who makes his first start for England in the warm-up series. Ashton had a devastating effective season with Northampton and England, scoring one of the tries of the season against Australia in the 35-18 victory at Twickenham in November. Ashton will be looking to make the headlines once again with his trade mark swan dive - the Irish back-line will have to be on their guard to keep him from scoring.  Ashton’s work-rate makes him one of the most dangerous attacking wingers; he is always on the shoulder of someone in support which makes defending against him very difficult.  Mark Cueto is once again selected to start on the wing. He has not returned to the form he reached in 2007, unfortunately, his try-scoring record is not that impressive at International level. He has only scored 16 tries in 47 games. If you compare that to the likes of Shane Williams with 57 tries in 85 games for Wales or Doug Howlett in his prime for the All Blacks with and impressive 49 tries in 62 games. To justify Cueto’s selection he needs a big game with a try or try-assist to one of his colleagues. Delon Armitage would be an exciting attacking option from the bench if the game opens up in the second half.

The centre partnership I suggested in my last post has been picked by Martin Johnson. Tindall captains the side in Lewis Moody’s absence and is joined by Manu Tuilagi, who had an excellent debut against Wales in the 1^st Test, scoring the decisive try. Critics worry about Tindall’s lack of pace, but there is a healthy balance with the inclusion of the Leicester centre. Tuilagi is quick and has excellent footwork, but the defensive line will not be weakened at all. The young centre has installed so much confidence in the Leicester coach Richard Cockerill that this week he said that Tuilagi could tackle Sonny Bill Williams or any of the huge South African centres that run at him. This is quite a big statement to make, but judging from the defensive master class that Tuilagi has shown for the Tigers and what we have seen from his many aggressive tackling brothers, it is a reputation that he will look to back up with style. Hopefully Tuilagi will re-vitalise Tindall and the whole back-line will run hard and fast at the Irish defensive line.

After Toby Flood’s difficulty to get the back-line firing in Cardiff, Jonny Wilkinson returns to the starting team, hoping for another strong performance after an excellent 1^st Test at Twickenham. Wilkinson will bring control and experience to the No.10 shirt and he will hope to make sure he starts against Argentina in New Zealand. After the disappointing news that Danny Care has lost out on a place to the World Cup due to injury, Richard Wigglesworth has been given an opportunity to stake his claim for a starting position. He had a great season at Saracens, sharing the starting position with Neil de Kock. Wigglesworth has great pace off the back of the scrum and will look to provide Wilkinson with quick ball and offer a good passing performance. Expect to see Joe Simpson coming off the bench for the last 20 minutes to use his footwork and speed against a tiring Irish defence.

The injury prone prop Andrew Sheridan returns to add some much needed physicality to the English pack. Sheridan tore opposition front-rows to pieces in the 2007 World Cup in France; hopefully, if he is back to full-fitness he will be able to replicate those performances in New Zealand in September and October. The highly experienced Steve Thompson returns to start at hooker. Thompson is an expert in the line-out and a strong scrummager; however, he is likely to be second fiddle to Dylan Hartley this autumn. A strong performance in Dublin could put pressure on Hartley and give him a chance of a starting place. The final member of the front-row is Dan Cole, who has had a less than convincing warm-up series. Cole needs a strong showing in Ireland to prevent Matt Stephens from starting in the No. 3 shirt. Stephens has performed well since returning from his absence from the game due to his drugs ban. His move to Saracens has worked wonders for his career and he will be a key member of the England pack in New Zealand.

Louis Deacon and Courtney Lawes are selected in the second-row. Lawes should feel confident that he will be given a starting position in New Zealand. He is a destructive ball-carrier and an excellent line-out option. Deacon is another player who needs a great performance in Dublin; it is likely that the experience of Simon Shaw will be preferred over him. Deacon is another good line-out option; the line-out is an area that will be crucial to the outcome of the match. Paul O'Connell and Donncha O'Callaghan make up the highly experienced Irish second-row, who are two of the best second-rows in the World. The competition in the set-piece will be fierce and will ultimately decide the match.

The back-row that Martin Johnson has chosen shows England’s intent to compete with Ireland at the breakdown. Tom Croft is quick to the breakdown and will look to secure English possession and steal the ball from the Irish. Croft is also another agile line-out option, England have plenty of jumpers to chose from so hopefully there will be plenty of variety with the line-out calls from Thompson.  The powerful presence of James Haskell is once again called upon. Haskell will look to knock the Irish forwards backwards and make the hard yards through the Irish defence. His tackling rate will have to be exceptional in order to keep the likes of Keith Earls and Tommy Bowe at bay. Nick Easter had an error-strewn game in Cardiff and needs to return to the form that has impressed selectors with his commanding ball carrying and defensive leadership.

Ireland have decided to rest Brian O’Driscoll, instead, they will be capably led by Paul O’Connell. Veteran Leicester full-back Geordan Murphy starts at full-back after a long absence from the Irish team. Tommy Bowe and Keith Earl will be two players to look out for. Without O’Driscoll at outside-centre, Ireland lack defensive leadership, leaving gaps for Tuilagi and Tindall to exploit.

An impressive set of forwards have been selected for Ireland. The back-row is particularly striking with Stephen Ferris, David Wallace and Jamie Heaslip chosen. It will be a huge challenge for Croft, Haskell and Easter to cope with the physicality and speed at the breakdown of the Irish back-row.

Prediction: England by 6. Martin Johnson has selected a much stronger squad for the final warm-up game. With Ashton and Tuilagi returning to the side, England’s back line will be vey dangerous on the counter-attack and with their set-piece moves. Wilkinson will provide direction to proceedings, getting England territory and he will keep the scoreboard ticking over by kicking his goals. If the English pack can set a platform, the backs will be able to find gaps in the Irish defence.

England team: Ben Foden, Chris Ashton, Manu Tuilagi, Mike Tindall, (captain), Mark Cueto, Jonny Wilkinson, Richard Wigglesworth, Andrew Sheridan, Steve Thompson, Dan Cole, Louis Deacon, Courtney Lawes, Tom Croft, James Haskell, Nick Easter

Replacements: Dylan Hartley, Matt Stevens, Simon Shaw, Tom Wood, Joe Simpson, Toby Flood, Delon Armitage.

Ireland: Geordan Murphy, Tommy Bowe, Keith Earls, Gordon D'Arcy, Andrew Trimble, Ronan O'Gara, Eoin Reddan, Cian Healy, Jerry Flannery, Mike Ross, Donncha O'Callaghan, Paul O'Connell (captain), Stephen Ferris, David Wallace, Jamie Heaslip.

Replacements: Rory Best, Tom Court, Donncha Ryan, Dennis Leamy, Conor Murray, Jonathan Sexton, Fergus McFadden.

England Squad announced - Ricki Flutey misses out as Martin Johnson picks based on form

Johnson will be hoping that the squad he has selected will be able to seriously challenge for the Webb Ellis Trophy he won with England in Australia in 2003

Martin Johnson has picked his squad of 30 to fly to New Zealand for the World Cup in September. For some players, Johnson’s phone call created excitement and pride and for others, it produced heartbreak. After already dropping a player of great experience, in Joe Worsley, Martin Johnson has once again showed his ruthless streak by reducing the training squad down.

The first interesting decision is the dismissal of Ricki Flutey from the England camp. Flutey has struggled to find his form recently and had a less than convincing season with London Wasps. However, Johnson may live to regret leaving Flutey at home. England line-up, without much dynamism in the centres, with Mike Tindall, Shontayne Hape and Matt Banahan, who are all crash-ball players that lack the creativity of Flutey or Flood at centre. Manu Tuilagi adds some much needed pace to the back-line, yet he maintains physicality in the centre with very strong defence. Tuilagi will look to add further tries to his try on his debut against Wales. I had picked Flutey as one of the men who was in danger to miss out on a place to New Zealand. If he had found good form in the warm-up games and showed more promise in training he would have been a great addition to the squad in New Zealand.

Another decision that Johnson may regret is the selection of only two specialist fly-halves; Jonny Wilkinson and Toby Flood. Charlie Hodgson is not the most exciting No.10 in the World, but taking him as a spare fly-half could have been a good idea. Wilkinson has a terrible track-record with injury following years in and out of the treatment room after the 2003 World Cup Final. An injury can obviously happen to a player at any time, so if Flood and Wilkinson both injure themselves, England would be left with only Richard Wigglesworth to cover the No.10 jersey. A 30 man squad is difficult to chose, because there will always be a lack of cover in at least one position.

Due to the nature of the game, Joe Simpson has been given a chance to fly to New Zealand with the squad. Danny Care must be devastated to miss out with an injury to his toe. With Ben Youngs’ fitness in doubt and strong performances in the warm-up games, he would have been a likely first choice scrum-half. Simpson will possibly get some game time against Ireland this weekend to show his lightening pace and nimble footwork. He needs a strong performance if he is to push for a starting position. It is more likely that he will get game time against Georgia and Romania.

Ben Foden and Delon Armitage have both been given a ticket to the World Cup with England, deservedly after dangerous attacking performances and strong defensive tackles in the warm-up matches. There will be intense competition for the full-back position. Both players are versatile as they can cover wing and full-back, Armitage has even been known to don the No. 13 jersey for London Irish. Foden should start at full-back and Armitage should replace Mark Cueto on the wing. A back-three of Foden, Armitage and Ashton would be one to strike fear into the hearts of any team England will face this autumn.  Mark Cueto has not been in try-scoring form for England for some time and is past his prime. However, Johnson is likely to trust Cueto’s experience in New Zealand and leave the try-scoring to Ashton and Foden.

In the Forwards, Martin Johnson has been fairly conservative with his selection policy. He has if anything, been over cautious with his selection of five props to travel to New Zealand. Admittedly the front-row is a dangerous position and there are lots of injuries. One only has to look back to 2003 when Trevor Woodman missed out on two pool games due to a neck injury. Hopefully Andrew Sheridan will be back to full-fitness as his set-piece ability is devastatingly powerful. He was impressive in the 2007 World Cup in France and won England several crucial penalties at the scrum. Matt Stephens is back to full fitness and is on excellent form. He should partner Sheridan and Dylan Hartley in the front-row. His play in the loose is impressive and he is a dynamic scrummager. Alex Corbisiero is not yet proven at International level, but he will get his chance against the weaker teams in the pool. Dan Cole has been inconsistent in the warm-up games so far and has a lot to do to nail down a starting position. David Wilson is going as injury cover following an average season with Bath, he unfortunately does not offer much beyond the basics of front-row play.

At hooker, England have the privilege of choosing between World Cup-winning Steve Thompson and the in form aggressive Dylan Hartley. Thompson is definitely past his peak in terms of performance, but he can still offer a vast amount of experience, leadership and deliver quality possession via the line-out and scrum. Hartley will be looking forward to pushing on from an excellent season with Northampton. He helped lead his club side to a Heineken Cup Final and to an Aviva Premiership Final. Hartley is commanding at the breakdown and offers some pace and skilful hands in open space. Lee Mears goes as injury cover, but he will be looking to push Steve Thompson for a place on the bench.

The selection in the second-row provides no real shocks. There is great blend of youth and experience in this selection. Courtney Lawes is another Northampton player who had a great season. He is an agile line-out option and was terrific in open-play in the Heineken Cup. He will break through tackles and off-load well which will give people like Chris Ashton running off the outside shoulder, space to exploit. Experienced work-horse Simon Shaw was predictably given the call to represent his Country at the World Cup. The veteran former Wasp will be a crucial member of the squad. His physicality and weight will help the front-five drive other packs backwards and give England a good platform to attack from. The second-row will be positions that are seriously contested. Shaw and Lawes should start as this would provide a duo that has pace and power in plentiful supply. Tom Palmer and Louis Deacon are excellent options for the second-row, however, England need the presence of Shaw and the energy of Lawes.

Another position with a lot of competition is the back-row. England has the luxury to choose from either the physically imposing James Haskell or the leadership and determination of Nick Easter at No. 8. Haskell scored in the 1^st Test against Wales at Twickenham and had a strong showing in the No. 8 shirt. However, Haskell is more of a natural No. 6. He is strong at the breakdown and is an intimidating presence in open-field play. Easter should start at No.8, but he needs to seriously improve following a less than convincing performance against Wales in Cardiff. Easter’s driving from the back of the scrum and tackling around the breakdown will be vital for England’s success. On the flanks, Johnson has picked Tom Croft, Tom Wood and Lewis Moody as Captain (if fit). Wood is a flanker who lacks the experience of Moody and Croft, but is an impact player; he could be a creative and useful addition off the bench in New Zealand. Moody needs to recover from his knee injury as soon as possible as his leadership is crucial for England to progress in the tournament. He commits himself to every tackle and his work-rate is a credit to him as a player. Tom Croft is a versatile back-row player who can also appear in the second-row. Croft does pop up on the wing occasionally scoring tries. However, his speciality is around the ruck. He can turn over the ball with ease and secures quick ball for his team. It is a tough decision to choose who should start in the back-row. The strongest selection would be Croft, Haskell and Easter.

Finally it was disappointing to see that Charlie Sharples was not given a chance to show his worth in an England shirt in the warm-up games. Johnson knows what he can expect from Cueto and Ashton and it would have been exciting to see Sharples given some game time. He was reportedly the quickest member of the training squad and the second fittest. During his short career at Gloucester so far he has become a Shed favourite and has proved he knows his way to the try-line. However, it is not all doom and gloom for Sharples. He has won his 1^st cap and is on Martin Johnson’s radar. Hopefully we will see more of the young flier in next year’s Six Nations. During the World Cup he will be England’s loss as he is definitely a game-changer and therefore Gloucester’s gain. He will be running rings around the Aviva Premiership this season and he would be a good bet for the Premiership’s top try-scorer this year.

Forwards:
Props: Dan Cole (Leicester) Alex Corbisiero (London Irish), Andrew Sheridan (Sale), Matt Stevens (Saracens), David Wilson (Bath).
Hookers: Dylan Hartley (Northampton), Lee Mears (Bath), Steve Thompson (Wasps).
Locks: Louis Deacon (Leicester), Courtney Lawes (Northampton), Tom Palmer (Stade Francais), Simon Shaw (unattached).
Back row: Tom Croft (Leicester), Nick Easter (Harlequins), James Haskell (Ricoh Black Rams), Lewis Moody (Bath), Tom Wood (Northampton).
Backs:
Full-backs/wings: Delon Armitage (London Irish), Ben Foden (Northampton), Chris Ashton (Northampton), Mark Cueto (Sale).
Centres: Matt Banahan (Bath), Shontayne Hape (London Irish), Mike Tindall (Gloucester), Manu Tuilagi (Leicester).
Fly-halves: Toby Flood (Leicester), Jonny Wilkinson (Toulon).
Scrum-halves: Joe Simpson (Wasps), Richard Wigglesworth (Saracens), Ben Youngs (Leicester).

My team to start vs. Ireland

1.    Andrew Sheridan

2.    Dylan Hartley

3.    Matt Stephens

4.    Courtney Lawes

5.    Simon Shaw

6.    Tom Croft

7.    James Haskell

8.    Nick Easter

9.    Ben Youngs

10. Jonny Wilkinson

11. Delon Armitage

12. Mike Tindall (Captain)

13. Manu Tuilagi

14. Chris Ashton

15. Ben Foden

Have you got any thoughts/ comments? Who do you think should have made the final 30? Comment below or message/follow me on twitter @tommyd91