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 1st 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 1st 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.
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
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