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).

Inexperienced England given chance to shine!

With the announcement of the England XV to face Barbarians on Sunday at Twickenham, it provides a great chance for some of the squad to push for a place in the World Cup Squad. Although Stuart Lancaster will coach the squad, assisted by Jon Callard and Simon Hardy, and most of those involved will be charged with defending the Churchill Cup next month. For the elite few though, with a good performance here, could just see themselves jetting out to New Zealand later this year.

Amongst those given a chance to impress is Dave Attwood, who last year found himself in the first team squad for the tour of Australia. However two counts of stomping and injuries have blighted progress, however he could be on the road back into Martin Johnson's plans. Also the likes of Luke Narraway, who captains the side, and Matt Banahan who have been in and out of the full side will hope to cement a place back there.

There's a nice blend of youth and experience in this side, with some called up for the first time whilst others have been brought back in from the cold. Given a great chance to prove themselves to the first team hierarchy, something they could also do at the forthcoming Churchill Cup. It will be no easy task though, against a Barbarians side with plenty of experienced faces. Paul Sackey will be hoping to prove himself with a try at against his home nation at HQ, and will be capably supported. The Likes of Benoit Baby, Mathieu Bastareaud and Sergio Parisse will all be on display, hoping to earn victory for the famed Baa-Baas. Teams in full:.

England:

Brown (Harlequins), Simpson-Daniel (Gloucester), Trinder (Gloucester), Banahan (Bath), U Monye (Harlequins), Hodgson (Sale), Hodgson (London Irish); Marler (Harlequins), Paice (London Irish), Doran-Jones (Gloucester), Kitchener (Worcester), Attwood (Gloucester), Johnson (Exeter), Fearns (Sale), Narraway (Gloucester, capt)

Replacements: Gray (Harlequins), Brookes (Newcastle), Gaskell (Sale), Gibson (London Irish), Young (Newcastle), Myler (Northampton), Turner-Hall (Harlequins)

Barbarians:

Jeanjean (Brive); Sackey (Toulon), Baby (Clermont Auvergne), Bastareaud (Stade Francais), Visser (Edinburgh); Michalak (Toulouse), Pienaar (Ulster); Perugini (Aironi), Ghiraldini (Benetton Treviso), Kubriashvili (Toulon), Lund (Biarritz), Tito (Cardiff Blues), Van Niekerk (Toulon), Smith (Toulon), Parisse (Stade Francais, capt)

Replacements: Bruno (Toulon), Hayman (Toulon), Geldenhuys (Aironi), Williams (Cardiff Blues), Tillous-Borde (Castres Olympique), Mason (Toulon), Rabini (La Rochelle)

England V France: Time for the talking to stop

We are now a little over two days away from what is being billed as the crunch encounter of this years Six Nations campaign.

By the time England and France have finished doing battle at Twickenham on Saturday, the victorious team will be fully expected to go on and claim a grand slam.

In the build up it seems France are a little on edge ahead of the game.

We have seen Marc Lievremont shouting off, with his 'everyone hates England' jibe, attempting to wind up the hosts and provoke a response.

Instead we have seen Martin Johnson remain tight lipped, and Toby Flood openly mock the comments.

In addition the visitors to HQ have made several changes to their starting XV for the game.

Sebastien Chabal, Vincent Clerc, Dimitri Yachvili and Yannick Jauzion have all been recalled, while Maxime Medard is shifted to full back.

There's no doubt they will attempt to be more physical than Italy, and get in the faces of the English front row.

But in addition they will not concede sloppy ball like the Italians did, and will definitely not stand off and allow England to attack in flowing fashion.

England on the other hand have made just one change, as Andrew Sheridan comes back in after injury with Alex Corbisiero moving out of the side.

This seems a more settled side, and it is no secret that they have been scoring freely while France haven't exactly had a tight defence.

And despite French claims that they have a plan to contain Chris Ashton, the Northampton wing will no doubt be a threat.

On home soil, and form considered, England should run out the victors but it certainly won't be easy.

However after their next game at home to Scotland, a potential grand slam finale will rest on a tricky trip to Ireland.

How nice it is to be able to dream of a first English grand slam since 2003.

Have England turned a corner?

Away from all the aggro of the will they won't they situation enrolling in South Africa, a different set of home internationals has just done the unthinkable down under.

A 21-20 victory for Martin Johnson's Rugby Union side could've saved the ex Leicester Tiger from the axe, with a first win in Australia since the remarkable World Cup Triumph seven years ago providing a nation with fresh promise.

This first win over Tri-Nation opposition since the 2007 World Cup, highlighted a number of things that both pundits and fans alike have been calling for for a long time.

Ben Foden is a natural full back, and after barely featuring it is refreshing to now see him becoming something of a regular in the national set up.

His out put is integral to any potential future success, with his running game being the strong point for the Northampton Saint.

However it was his team mate Chris Ashton and Ben Youngs who were the stand out performers on Saturday.

There is one common element among these names, young fresh talent emerging that is finally being given a chance to shine.

Both Ashton and Youngs grabbed a try a piece, with the wily nous showed by Youngs showing that he could be a main player for years to come.

It is Ashton though that should get the appetite going.

Last seasons top try scorer by a long margin should have featured earlier for the national side, and should have been given more of a chance during the Six Nations.

It is good to know that in Johnson, we have a man who isn't prepared to change things if he's done it wrong the first time.

Maybe something a certain Mr. Capello should take note of.

The mix between youth and experience in the side is perfect, and it is a situation that all players involved could learn from and prosper.

The domination of the pack continued from the first game, but after seeing that sheer physical power won't win games alone England mixed it up.

The Aussie threat was taken down a notch if not entirely stopped, with some of their running skill on show in the first game switching sides.

With that blend of power and pace they came back to level the series 1-1.

Let's all pray that it isn't another false dawn served up from an English national side.