With the recent announcement of those selected for the QBE Autumn Internationals, tongues are wagging about those selected, and even more importantly, those not selected to represent England.
There are quite a few surprises with regular England features not having been selected, and a few new faces being given a chance to shine. England are known for their forwards, but this does not discount the vast amount of talent present in the backs. The biggest challenge for head coach Stuart Lancaster is making the magic combinations that scores the tries.
Before we delve into some of the selections and discuss how these might impact the RWC team for next year, it is important to note that the recently announced squad has been selected to face the Southern Hemisphere. This means a strong defence is of the upmost importance.
So which of the backs positions hold the most amount of contest right now?
FLY HALF
Owen Farrell (Saracens): England’s golden boy is back again, despite his lingering injury preventing him from starting for Saracens recently. Lets hope this doesn’t hinder his form. Naturally Farrell’s reliable boot places him in Lancaster’s good books. The recent years have seen his attacking game mature with him standing flatter and running faster, breaking the line more and more. A few more years and this fly-half may hold the position without any chance of contesting.
Danny Cipriani (Sale Sharks): A noted omission from the England squad. After returning from the southern Hemisphere, Cipriani’s forceful attacking has blown apart premiership defences. But he is known to be a hit and miss kind of guy, making Lancaster slightly unsure of him. Cipriani featured in England’s tests in New Zealand in June showing off his better form and hoping for a more permanent return to the England set-up. Sadly, it will not happen the next few months.
George Ford (Bath): A great player if Lancaster is looking for more running and distribution. If he can break the line, he is a real threat to the opposition bringing the centres into the game more than Farrell might. But with only 2 caps, he is quite far behind Farrell on the experience front; but experience isn’t always everything, as we see with Lancaster’s choices of some uncapped players.
Owen Farrell (Above)
WINGERS
The wingers offer up and interesting case here with some noted absences once again.
Chris Ashton (Saracens): The ever-controversial player has not been selected for the England squad for the QBE Internationals, despite being a regular feature over the past few years. He is on flying form with Sarries this year, scoring try after try. So why, you might ask, has Lancaster left out this sublime finisher? There are rumours of Ashton’s attitude not always being the best on the team with some incidents in the past. But more importantly, when facing the southern hemisphere defence is everything, and if there is one thing critics agree on, it’s that Ashton’s defence leaves a lot to be desired.
Jack Nowell (Exeter Chiefs): Dubbed as England’s ‘rising star’, Nowell holds a great amount of promise and is a real threat to England’s other wingers. Perhaps a surprise choice by Lancaster due to his lack of experience, but certainly a warning to the older players that talent is coming through fast and fresh. Nowell has a strong run that can break through defence, opening up space for an offload. He may not be the finisher like Ashton, but he is instrumental in creating that space for others.
Christian Wade (London Wasps): Wade is now an extremely well known name around the England circuit despite his single cap. There are not many people in the rugby world who don’t have an opinion on this talented winger. Noted for his try scoring ability (joint top scorer in the 2012/13 season despite having an injury for much of the season) his defence is often brought into question. But recent games with Wasps have proved that Wade is willing to work on this area to make it back into to England squad. He is a surprising absence from the QBE squad.
Chris Ashton (Above)
FULL BACKS
Mike Brown (Harlequins): Brown seems to have stolen the crown from Foden for the position of starting full back. He reads the game incredibly well, and has the pace to carry the ball for long stretches. He is a real threat to the opposition with ball in hand. However, its been noted that he has recently been rather hot headed on the field, and if he isn’t careful that’s going to end up in a badly timed sin bin. England cannot afford to lose one player on the pitch in the QBE Internationals or the RWC.
Ben Foden (Northampton Saints): Having been blighted with injury, Foden has seen his number 15 shirt go to Brown more than he would have liked. Foden is a dangerous attacking player with a wicked boot. When Foden catches a high ball and plays ball in hand – you know the defence are in for some trouble. He can read the game with great speed and finds the gap, as well as playing well with the wings, especially old team mate Ashton. Foden has only been brought into the England squad for the QBE’s as injury cover and was not in the initial pick, suggesting that he is not Lancaster’s first choice for full back.
Mike Brown (Above)
Lucy Ryall
Follow Lucy on Twitter @lucyvictoria44
Follow Impact Sport on Twitter and Facebook
Images courtesy of guardian.com, uafc.com and zimbio.com
