Stuart Lancaster has named his first England side since becoming interim coach against Scotland this weekend in the Calcutta Cup. Eight new players are involved in the match-day 22, with Owen Farrell and Brad Barritt starting in the centres and Phil Dowson making a first start at number 8.
Dowson wins his first cap at 31, one of only four players in the team over 30 including Charlie Hodgson and Tom Palmer. Joe Marler and Charlie Sharples will travel with the squad as reserves.
England:
15. Ben Foden, 14. Chris Ashton, 13. Brad Barritt, 12. Owen Farrell, 11. David Strettle, 10. Charlie Hodgson, 9. Ben Youngs, 1. Alex Corbisiero, 2. Dylan Hartley, 3. Dan Cole, 4. Mouritz Botha, 5. Tom Palmer, 6. Tom Croft, 7. Chris Robshaw, 8. Phil Dowson.
Replacements:
16. Rob Webber, 17. Matt Stevens, 18. Geoff Parling, 19. Ben Morgan, 20. Lee Dickson, 21. Jordan Turner-Hall, 22. Mike Brown
tERRIFIC,POWER PACE AND GRIT UP FRONT,IF WE DRIVE PAST THE RUCK AND CLEAR OUT THE bACKS CAN HURT sCOTLAND, BUT IT IS AN EVENING K.O. Cold nasty and who is refereeing?
totally agree. if rolland or owen are involved we will have big probs!
Front 5 Yes.
Back row 2/3 Dowson weak link imo.
Backs Yes.
Subs Yes.
Would have started Morgan and had Dowson on the bench but otherwise good. Like the fact with fly-half cover on the pitch we can get Turner-Hall and Brown on the bench. Still think we may lose but for once performance and intent is as important as winning.
Still not convinced that Barrit can do anything other than run in a straight line at people. JTH is the same. Do we not have any centres who can pass the ball?
Pressure on Hodgson, but hopefully his Saracens form continues and he puts us in the right areas.
Sharples unlucky not to start, I would prefer him over Strettle.
Forwards look good, no real weak links.
Hopefully Dickson gets on and increases the tempo at 60 minutes to finish off Scotland.
Farrel?
Disappointed that Marler and Sharples aren’t in the 22. Thought Sharples would have been starting! Not to even be in the 22 is an odd choice but guess with Foden & Brown they can cover the back 3.
Fairly happy with the rest but for the first time in a long time feel that Scotland have a real shot of beating us which would be massive in terms of any title hopes!
With Wood, Flood & Manu back and the team gelling more they’ve got potential oozing all over the place!
Don’t forget we have Lawes to return as well, and if Palmer and Botha have good games, we suddenly have some strength here for once…
Pretty much as expected. There may be the odd discussion over a pint as to who should be in and who shouldn’t but on the whole probably the best team we could hope for. The real discussion will start after the game when we know who steps up to the mark and who falters!
Beginning to feel excited and vaguely optimistic. Worringly this comes about 45 minutes after posting that I had no expectations for this six nations and that was a good thing. Am becoming concerned about my mental state!! Six nations fever has arrived!!
Don’t worry Staggy, I get exactly the same before every game. Gloss over the glaring weaknesses and focus on the ‘potential’, get all excited and then ultimately sob into a beer glass after the game…
This time will be different though, I’m sure.
I reckon Dowson will offer a lot more than Morgan would. Not taking anything away from Morgan, he’s a great player but Dowson is a clever player to have on the pitch and gives 110% all the time
At last we finally see a team take look like they can take English rugby forward. Amazing line up, however my only no no would be Ashton, I think he’s over rated. But nonetheless can’t wait for Saturday!
Arrogant maybe but he’s scored an average of almost a try a match so don’t think he’s overated!
just checked for Eng played 18 scored 15 for NS played 99 scored 88 and his league scoring record is simliar compare that with say Cueto and tell me he’s overated!
Totally agree, arrogant and cocky, but definitely not overrated as a try scorer. Record says currently he’s the best finisher we’ve got. And he knows exactly where to be to score those tries.
Ashton seems to be doing the business for England. As long as the stats say so, he should be in.
I’m glad to see my team prediction wasn’t too far off the mark. I think Strettle has edged out Sharples with experience as much as anything. One thing that worries me with Strettle is that his tackling is sometimes a little weak. But let’s face it, he’s better than Banahan or Cueto. Farrell at 12 with Barritt at 13, is an interesting one. But Barritt is very good at straightening the attack. Something our attack has struggled with in recent times.
I’d also prefer Sharples over Strettle, but think you’re right in that Strettle’s experience has worked in his favour this time. Sharples is still young though so his time will come.
As for the centres, they tend to switch between 12 and 13 for Sarries, so don’t think the numbering is too important.
Given the players available I think selection on whole is the right one. My reservations are Farrell, Barritt & Turner-Hall as non seem to be dynamic, maybe club constraints have dictated how they play. Hope I am proved wrong!
Interesting comments about Rolland & Owen my Anglo half felt that English teams in European Cup suffered at hands of the Celtic referees especially Northampton..