The England has just been announced, and here it is.
Ayoola Erinle does indeed make his first start and replaces Shane Geraghty at 12. Mark Cueto shifts to full-back, but the back three remains the same,
In the forwards, Simon Shaw and Joe Worsley start ahead of Louis Deacon and Tom Croft respectively.
England team
15 Mark Cueto (Sale Sharks)
14 Matt Banahan (Bath Rugby)
13 Dan Hipkiss (Leicester Tigers)
12 Ayoola Erinle (Biarritz)
11 Ugo Monye (Harlequins)
10 Jonny Wilkinson (Toulon)
9 Paul Hodgson (London Irish)
1 Tim Payne (London Wasps)
2 Dylan Hartley (Northampton Saints)
3 Duncan Bell (Bath Rugby)
4 Simon Shaw (London Wasps)
5 Steve Borthwick (Saracens, captain)
6 Joe Worsley (London Wasps)
7 Lewis Moody (Leicester Tigers)
8 James Haskell (Stade Francais)
Replacements
16 Steve Thompson (Brive)
17 David Wilson (Bath Rugby)
18 Louis Deacon (Leicester Tigers)
19 Tom Croft (Leicester Tigers)
20 Danny Care (Harlequins)
21 Shane Geraghty (Northampton Saints)
22 Mathew Tait (Sale Sharks)
Jesus…..
this has damage limitation written all over it. some of the changes were obvious and what has tait got to do to start a game?! teh croft dropping had to come as he like a lot of the players that has played well in SA and not been injured have been playing poorly, probably due to their training being put out of sink. having spoken to a few S and C guys about rugby periodising it seems to case. there is still too much of johnson picking what he’s confortable with (see deacon on the bendge and banahan still on the pitch- why?) think stuart maybe onto something there about forward picking the team. can’t wait for the backlash from a NZ win and hopefully the RFU putting pressure on Johnson to pick players like lawes, kennedy, tait and the when fit flutey, tindall, stettle and armitage.
I remember being excited a few years ago when it seemed we were in for a golden generation of youngsters coming through:
Hartley, Stevens, Croft, Rees, Haskell, Care, Cipriani, Geraghty, Allen, Hipkiss, Foden, Monye, Varndell, Tait….
Never, ever, ever, were the likes of Deacon and Erinle in the picture!
What the hell’s happened. These guys all showed promise, performed consistently for their clubs, and yet (unlike other sides such as Australia and France) we don’t seem to be able to nurture them and coach them to produce the goods at international level.
“Erinle at 12…..MINT! He’s never played at 12 and alongside a fellow brute/battering ram in Hipkiss, this selection stinks of fear.”
Well one of them played 12 in the Heniken Cup final.
Wasps let him go due to injurys etc.., and i doubt Biarritz would have bought a journey man.
He’s big, powerful and a great tackler, is he up to the NZ midfield we’ll see but it’s not as daft a decision as dropping lawes and foden.
*holds head in hand*
I’m just pleased to see us pick a youngster like Simon Shaw. I just hope this match hasn’t come too soon for him after only about 12 years of international rugby and 50-odd caps.
I’m sure if he can come through this test and play well, he’ll be a real asset to us in RWC 2011. We all know that lock forwards peak at 38 don’t we?
I so wanted Johnno to prove people wrong, but I think the comments on here comparing his selection policy with Robinson’s is unfair on Robinson if anything.
Dear Santa,
Please can you bring me Clive Woodward and Ian McGeegan for Christmas? It’s not for me it’s for my friend England Rugby.
Love,
Little Paddy.
what a rubbish backline….how in this world is Monye still here?
He has never been a good international wing and most definately the worst fulback I have ever seeen in international rugby…what a joke of a player…