England have had a mixed couple of weeks of rugby against France with an unconvincing victory at Twickenham followed by what can only be described as a significant setback in the return leg at the Stade de France last weekend.
While the warm-up matches have cemented in some selection choices, it’s thrown others very much into the air, particularly in the front row with very few players demanding selection in a series of below-par performances. Lancaster will confirm his final decision on Thursday and it’ll will be interesting to see who he omits. There’s no doubt that there would have been some sleepless nights in the Lancaster household but it will be worth it should England overcome the significant challenge that awaits them
So who makes it? And who doesn’t? Here are our selections.
Props
The front row selection is difficult, and as mentioned, will have been made more difficult in the wake of the last fortnight. On the basis of current injury, lack of match practice and fitness and what seemed like a distinct lack of confidence in England’s first World Cup match against France, Alex Corbisiero should be cut from the squad. Since his great form of 2 years ago Corbisiero has been struck with the worst luck when it comes to the injuries he’s sustained and this has impacted heavily on his rugby.
This season he made a valiant effort for Northampton and warranted his place in England’s squad but he is still lacking the match presence and power in the scrum to warrant a place at the World Cup. While he will undoubtedly feature for England after the World Cup, he might be left out in this instance.
Hooker
Rob Webber was England’s most solid hooker and despite his wayward lineout ball and it was good to see Tom Youngs put his hand up somewhat in his open play attack and defence. Jamie George has the potential to be an England regular in the near future and showed glimpses of this on Saturday evening. As talented as he is, Luke Cowan Dickie demonstrated in his nervous performance at Twickenham that he isn’t quite ready for the rigours of test rugby. Purely based on the form we saw in the World Cup warm-up matches, England’s way forward is with Tom Youngs, Rob Webber and Jamie George offering cover for any injuries
Second Row
Courtney Lawes and Joe Launchbury will start for England during the World Cup and as for combinations, they are undoubtedly the best way forward. This means that it was always going to be a choice between Dave Atwood, George Kruis and Geoff Parling as to who should be omitted from the squad. Parling’s dependability and experience means he has to stay; he’s a man who has played for the Lions and knows how to deal with high pressure situations. The choice between Kruis and Atwood is a close one but Atwood lacked grit and intensity in both performances despite coming off the bench in both warm-up matches against France so he will, ultimately, be the man left out. Kruis had a very successful season with Saracens and is continuing to grow as a player the more confident he gets so Lancaster will be looking forward to seeing how he performs at the World Cup.
Back Row
Unlike the rest of the team, the back row is a relatively simple decision for Lancaster. Calum Clark did his World Cup hopes no favours during his first cap for England with an ill disciplined display and arguably lost his place then and there with him being very much on the fringe anyway. Nick Easter has been a great servant for club and country during his career but this World Cup might be a bridge too far; he doesn’t possess the same impact going forwards he once had and general presence on a match, and despite the fact he is a great motivational asset, it isn’t enough to make the squad. Easter and Clark will unlikely make the final squad.
Scrum Halves
Richard Wigglesworth has been very much up against it in terms of selection when competing with two men who have claimed the number one and two scrum half spots for England for the last 5 years, Ben Youngs and Danny Care. Wigglesworth had a fantastic season domestically with Saracens and is another man who definitely deserves to be in contention, but he lacks the flair and attacking dynamism of Youngs and Care and while nothing should be taken away from the fact he is a fantastic rugby player, it seems likely that his place in Lancaster’s squad will be over when the decision is made on Thursday.
Fly Halves
It hasn’t been the easiest two weeks for England’s George Ford and Owen Farrell, the two men who will be competing for the starting 10 jersey, but they will 100% be in the squad on Thursday evening and their separate successes over the last 2 years justifies this. Danny Cipriani will be a surprise inclusion and could be pivotal for England particularly in the last 15-20 minutes of a game. Cipriani’s injection in to the team last Saturday galvanized the team and provided a structure to their attack that had been missing for the last 65 minutes; his versatility in the backline is another huge positive and he should be given his chance to prove himself.
Centres
The centres is Most definitely England’s biggest area of focus and controversy; do you include Burgess and omit Barritt and risk a defensive meltdown in the midfield? Do you include Slade over Twelvetrees and hope that he can produce the scintillating performance he gave at Twickenham on the big stage?
The answer to both these questions is yes. Brad Barritt always gives everything when he plays for England and as far as his defensive capabilities go there aren’t many better; strong and organised defences win games. But for England to win this World Cup they need to look beyond this outdated cliché and rely on the youth of English rugby to stamp their mark. Henry Slade organised England’s attack better than any other player on his debut and he showed how willing he was to front up in defence and make the tackles when they were necessary. Burgess proved how powerful he is in attack and defence, but also what a skilful footballer he is with his great distribution skills and tactical awareness. Both men playing together provided a perfect balance in the midfield and this showed throughout the match.
Twelvetrees has struggled to make an impact over the last two matches and Brad Barritt has been nursing a hamstring injury consequently playing no part in either; it’s arguably a risky decision to make but both men should be excluded from England’s 31-man World Cup squad.
Wings
In Jonny May, Anthony Watson and Jack Nowell England have three very accomplished and confident wingers that will prove to be vital for their success at the World Cup. All of the players will be in the squad come Friday evening but will need to build on their impressive performances over the last two weeks and continue to make England a significant threat out wide.
Fullbacks
Mike Brown and Alex Goode will still be in the squad on Thursday and rightly so; they have both produced consistent and promising performances in their respective starts for England and they just need to keep it going. Both players have the capabilities to start for England and it’ll be whoever holds their nerve and impresses.
The Rugby Drum’s Predicted England RWC Squad
Fullbacks M Brown (Harlequins), A Goode (Saracens)
Wings: J May (Gloucester), J Nowell (Exeter Chiefs), A Watson (Bath)
Centres: S Burgess (Bath), L Burrell (Northampton), J Joseph (Bath), H Slade (Exeter Chiefs)
Fly-halves: D Cipriani (Sale Sharks), O Farrell (Saracens), G Ford (Bath)
Scrum-halves: D Care (Harlequins), B Youngs (Leicester)
Back Row: J Haskell (Wasps), C Robshaw (Harlequins), T Wood (Northampton), B Morgan (Gloucester), B Vunipola (Saracens)
Second Row: G Kruis (Saracens), C Lawes (Northampton), J Launchbury (Wasps), G Parling (Leicester)
Props: K Brookes (Newcastle), D Cole (Leicester), J Marler (Harlequins), M Vunipola (Saracens), D Wilson (Bath)
Hookers: J George (Sarcens), R Webber (Bath), T Youngs (Leicester)
Players to be cut: Luke Cowan-Dickie, Alex Corbisiero, Dave Atwood, Calum Clark, Nick Easter, Richard Wigglesworth, Billy Twelvetrees and Brad Barritt.