All change in England squad

England interim Head Coach Stuart Lancaster

With one squad selection the ghost of World Cup past has been shed, and a new era has been ushered in to the world of English Rugby Union.  New Zealand is to be ushered out, highlighted at this weeks press conference within which the elite squad was announced with the word barely mentioned..  The 32 men selected are to lead their country into this years six nations, defending the crown Martin Johnson led his side to last year despite a last game loss in Ireland. 

A lot was made of the benefits of selecting an interim coach, could a big impact seriously be made or would it just paper over cracks on the short term.  Only for them to be highlighted once again once the tournament gets underway next month.

One thing is for certain, with this selection Stuart Lancaster has selected what will hopefully form the basis of the squad for the next World Cup to be held on these shores.  When he stated "this is a new era for England," he clearly showed this is a building job with 2015 the ultimate target.

A new younger breed has been brought in, while the old guard have been shown the door.  Jonny Wilkinson, Lewis Moody and Steve Thompson, all former World Cup winners, retired following last years New Zealand showpiece.  While Mike Tindall, Mark Cueto, Nick Easter, Shontayne Hape and Riki Flutey have all failed to make the grade.

Toby Flood, Manu Tuilagi and Courtney Lawes are all on the short term injury list, but more crucially Andrew Sheridan, Louis Deacon and Richard Wigglesworth will miss the entire tournament.

Saracens new star Owen Farrell

Amongst the new breed it is Owen Farrell who has hit the head lines after a string of stellar performances, being one of nine uncapped players to be selected.  His Saracens midfield team mate Brad Barritt is also included, while a partnership with team mate Charlie Hodgson could also be on the cards with Flood set to miss the first two encounters.

Dave Atwood, Geoff Parling, Alex Goode and Henry Trinder, the last three all uncapped, are also included after gaining promotion from the Saxons to cover for some of those on the treatment table.  Scarlets number eight Ben Morgan earns a place after declaring his allegiance to his country of birth and not Wales for whom he qualifyed under a three year residency rule, with Northampton Saints back row Calum Clark perhaps the boldest selection.

It is not yet known who will the captain the side with Tom Wood and Chris Robshaw though to be front runners although it is believed Lancaster wants a host of other names to step up, he said:  "The most important thing is to get the leadership group right. We need to develop a new group of leaders. From there, natural leaders will emerge."

Tom Palmer proves an exception to the Rugby Football Unions now overseas player rule, stepping in for James Haskell who is in Japan on sabbatical.  On the largely youthful side selected, Lancaster added:  "We've picked a side which is exciting, talented and committed to get us back to where we want to be, at the top of the game.
"I've spoken to those not selected and told them the door is not closed.
"But I want to use this Six Nations as an opportunity to develop the next players in those positions and develop a leadership group that is strong and wants to be the best.
"We think it's a tremendous opportunity to build a squad that has potential for now and for the future.
"We trust the players we have selected, a lot have been involved for a while and have been to the World Cup.
"They have been on the cusp of it for a while. Now they deserve their chance after proving themselves in big games for their clubs."

The England squad in full is as follows:


Forwards:  Props: A Corbisiero (London Irish), D Cole (Leicester Tigers), J Marler (Harlequins), M Stevens (Saracens), D Wilson (Bath Rugby); Hookers: D Hartley (Northampton Saints), L Mears (Bath Rugby), R Webber (London Wasps); Locks: M Botha (Saracens), L Deacon (Leicester Tigers), C Lawes (Northampton Saints), T Palmer (Stade Francais); Back-rows: C Clark (Northampton Saints), T Croft (Leicester Tigers), P Dowson (Northampton Saints), B Morgan (Scarlets), C Robshaw (Harlequins), T Wood (Northampton Saints).

Backs:  Full-backs: M Brown (Harlequins), B Foden (Northampton Saints); Wings: C Ashton (Northampton Saints), C Sharples (Gloucester Rugby), D Strettle (Saracens); Centres: B Barritt (Saracens), O Farrell (Saracens), M Tuilagi (Leicester Tigers), J Turner-Hall (Harlequins); Fly-halves: T Flood (Leicester Tigers), C Hodgson (Saracens); Scrum-halves: L Dickson (Northampton Saints), J Simpson (London Wasps), B Youngs (Leicester Tigers).