Jeff Probyn: Lancaster must be able to pick on-form players

The first European break gives us time to look back at what has been a hectic start to the season. Five games in and the Premiership table already has a familiar look with the usual suspects occupying the top and bottom slots.
Season after season, it is the usual group of clubs, Leicester, Saracens, Northampton, Quins and Bath rivalling at the top spot, while the rest rumble along.
At the start of the season it was the unspoken question of whether it would be Newcastle or Worcester to suffer the fate of relegation and in what could be called the Battle of the Deans.
Well so far it is Dean Richards’ Newcastle, with two wins from five, stealing the march on Dean Ryan’s Worcester nil from five – but there’s still along way to go.
With a new scrum set call, the Heineken row and referee mistakes all having their share of the headlines and with the European competitions just starting, now is the time for the England senior team to take centre stage.
With just a few weeks until the start of the Autumn Internationals, Stuart Lancaster has thrown a cat among the pigeons by not confirming his captain, adding to the speculation that this autumn could see a few changes to the team so badly beaten by Wales at the end of last season’s Six Nations.
For Chris Robshaw, being left out of the Lions would have been a blow to his confidence and he would have been hoping for Lancaster to give him an early boost by confirming him as captain.
Instead, the uncertainty of Lancaster’s comments will put extra pressure on him and the squad which, if Lancaster keeps him as captain, is unnecessary.
So far, Robshaw has played well in a Quins side that has not yet reached the high standards that coach Connor O’Shea expects – but that may not be enough.
There is no doubt about Robshaw’s ability to perform at Premiership level where he has comfortably played the openside role, but the question that kept him out of Lions selection still remains: Is he a good enough openside to compete with the specialist at international level?
Lancaster, by not confirming Robshaw as his captain, has tacitly answered that question by keeping his options open in the back row.
It’s been interesting to read the various commentators suggesting that an ‘on- form’ Danny Cipriani could be recalled to the England squad.
What seems to be forgotten is, under the current agreement between the clubs and the Union there are only two times in the season when the EPS is announced and only those players selected in the squads can play for England.
So, even if Cipriani or any other player were in top form, they could not join the Elite Players Squad or be picked for England’s Autumn Internationals, unless there is an injury to one of the EPS players and so must wait until the pre Six Nations re-selection.
If I were Lancaster I would be making sure that those currently conducting negotiations for the new player release deal put in a clause that allows for at least a few form players to be added to the EPS at any time of his choice.
If you want to have the best international team, then you must have the ability to bring in on-form players at any time you feel you need them and not be constrained by just two picks a season.
Although you can understand the clubs wanting a bit of certainty to plan for the loss of players on international duty, the idea Lancaster can make the best on-form team selections months in advance of big games is to say the least optimistic. If you add the possibility of injuries it leaves him with a pretty thankless task.
The clubs will say that they need the certainty of early selection as they have to play competitive games throughout the international window but it was they who insisted that there were no breaks in the club game schedule while the internationals were being played, so they should be able to cope.
To add more pressure, the first game against Australia is being touted as a ten-year anniversary celebration of England’s 2003 World Cup win, with all the triumphant team expected on the pitch at Twickenham before the match that kicks off at 2.30pm.
As Toulon‘s home game against Bordeaux Begles in Stade Félix-Mayol kicks off 18:30 local time (5.30pm GMT) Jonny Wilkinson will have to plan his day carefully if he is to be involved at both venues!
The celebrations could be short lived if Australia continue the form that saw them demolish Argentina 54-17 a few days ago.
Although Australia have not had the best of the Rugby Championship this season, that last game has sent a message that says they are a side that, on their day, can play some scintillating rugby.
The approaching autumn games against Australia, Argentina and New Zealand are an important measure of how far the England squad have progressed under Lancaster and he knows that only at least two wins out of three, would be cause for celebration.