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 1st 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 1st 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.
No comments:
Post a Comment