Jeremy Guscott: Lancaster must take England brake off
When you see names like Tom Wood, Ben Morgan, Tom Croft, Dan Cole, Manu Tuilagi, Billy Twelvetrees, Danny Care, Ben Foden and Ben Youngs you definitely get the feeling that they have an opportunity to be part of something special. Add Mako Vunipola, Tom Youngs, Kyle Eastmond, Freddie Burns, Owen Farrell, Billy Vunipola, Christian Wade, Marland Yarde and it could be very special.
The hand-brake on England’s ambition is that Wales, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa are ahead in terms of development. These teams are already refining and fine-tuning for the World Cup in two years time.
To be in with a realistic chance of winning the Webb Ellis Trophy for the second time, England have to start beating these teams at home and, crucially, away, over the next 24 months. Only then will they to have the confidence to know they could win a World Cup.
Let’s start with the front row forwards. Cole had a pretty average Lions tour by his high standards. He didn’t look comfortable and the more experienced Adam Jones showed his class and helped power the Lions to victory by dominating his opposite number at scrum time. Cole needs to bounce back smartish, and Lancaster shouldn’t rely on reputation to select a player.
David Wilson is hard on Cole’s heels, and if he and Bath find form then he should be given his opportunity – but I would back Cole to remain in situ.
Leicester have a formidable scrum led by Cole, and that’s unlikely to change. I’m sure it will be challenged, but it will take an experienced pack to get the better of Cole and Co.
Dylan Hartley is very lucky to be included, but it shows how highly regarded he is by Lancaster and Graham Rowntree. Tom Youngs had a great Lions tour and will start the domestic season as England’s top hooker, while Rob Webber will push hard from the Saxons. Alex
Corbisiero is out on his own as first-choice loosehead. The other No.1’s, Mako Vunipola and Joe Marler, have good mobility but have yet to prove themselves as demon scrummagers. Both are young and have time on their side. However, they have to develop quickly because that area is undoubtedly a weakness that good sides with hard, tough tightheads will exploit.
The second row is strong with Geoff Parling, Joe Launchbury, Dave Attwood and Courtney Lawes. The last two are behind, but not by much, and they have a big chance to be the top contenders before the World Cup starts. Again many people think England need the grunt of someone like Attwood, but you cannot just have that. You need intelligence – the mind is quicker than the body.
The back row could take a column in itself, but the players are there and it’s up to Lancaster to get the balance right. The hardest area for Lancaster will be his choice of openside.
Many people get the openside and captaincy debates in a tangle, especially around Chris Robshaw. Many consider the appointment of a long -term captain as being of paramount importance, but the best solution is to pick a captain from within your best fifteen. Selection is the key, as is so often the case at international level.
The talk has already started about Robshaw. Is he the best No. 7 in the country and should he be captain? Let’s get one thing straight. Playing in the Aviva Premiership for Quins, there are very few, if any, opposite numbers who get the better of him. He has led Quins and England proudly, performing to the best of his ability, many times coming out the best statistically.
Robshaw is the glue that holds everything together, allowing others to be the stars, and he does most things very well. He’s incredibly unselfish and a team man to the end. However, Robshaw doesn’t turn the ball over a lot by comparison with the likes of Sam Warburton, Justin Tipuric, Richie McCaw, Sam Cane or David Pocock, and this is an attribute which is needed at the elite level.
If England could compete consistently at the level when they played New Zealand at home last November then Robshaw has a place at 7 in the team. The crux comes when they don’t play to that level and you need your openside to come up with a game-changing play.
Robshaw and Matt Kvesic are the openside options, although I would like to have seen Will Fraser in there.
There’s only so many you can pick, but I believe Fraser could be developed into an out-and-out 7.
However, Saracens will play him more as a carrier, not a fetcher-carrier linking with both backs and forwards. It’s a shame, it is a player’s decision why and where he plays. You have to support the team – but also you have to realise where you could make a big impact if the decision was solely yours. Which, ultimately, it can be.
The backs are exciting, if not overly big by modern rugby professional standards. However, they are full of flair, skill and speed.
The one dynamic missing is their ability to spin the ball accurately down the line when required under the biggest pressure. They are not alone, but, to beat the best, the skill of good passing has to be re-introduced.
The likes of Eastmond and Wade will be challenged size-wise, but their footwork and speed will keep them very competitive. Twelvetrees and Tuilagi could form a formidable centre partnership with the support of Brad Barritt.
At half-back you have potentially long-term rivals at fly-half in Farrell and Burns, who will compete with each other for as long as Ben Youngs and Care at scrum-half. Those combinations will come down to who is in form and possibly the way Lancaster wants his team to play.
My belief is that the team should dictate how they want to play and with all this attacking talent it should definitely slant more to attack and scoring tries.
Full-back is solid with Foden, Mike Brown and Alex Goode, but again they need to break out of the England stereotype of defend, catch and kick.
Look at the best full-backs in the world, like Israel Dagg and Kurtley Beal – their attacking abilities are well known and documented. No-one really talks about their kicking and defensive skills, and England’s full-backs should follow suit.
This squad has massive potential.
The talent has arrived, but now Lancaster has got to bring it out and make it flourish – and that’s always easier said than done.
