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).

Goodbye Jonny Wilkinson

Wilkinson kicked England to World Cup glory

English Rugby lost of the finest players of a generation yesterday when Jonny Wilkinson announced his retirement from test rugby.  The mercurial Fly-Half will no doubt forever be remembered for that drop goal in Sydney in 2003, bringing the World Cup back to these shores after defeating hosts Australia in the final.

However he was much more than that.  From a young age he was tipped for the very top, while his training routines, and more importantly kicking practises, are notorious.  He was not only a tremendous goal kicker, the best for many years, his offensive distribution was also second to none whilst defensively he was equally as solid.  Just hear some of the stories from opponents he has faced over the years,  he was an all round Fly-Half, arguably transforming the position with each performance. 

It was no coincidence that when he was playing his best rugby so were England, just cast your mind back to a shoulder that was once in full working order.  Some of the performances he has put in over the years have just been immense, and it is justified that many people connected to the game have been falling over themselves to heap praise on the Toulon star.

Lewis Moody, an ex international team mate, said to Radio 5 live: 
"Jonny is one of the most professional individuals I have ever worked with.
"He put everything into what he did, it was incredible to watch him."
He added:  "It's a real shame he's decided to retire, but what he's given to English rugby is immense.
"He was ferocious in the tackle, it was one of the things that made him so special at fly-half.
"He brought his own mark to the fly-half role, and he dedicated himself to being the best he could be.
"It was inspiring to train with him, he was a very controlled player, a calming influence on the pitch - I was privileged to play on the same pitch as him."

Clive Woodward, who handed Wilkinson his international debut in 1998, was equally as complimentary, telling the BBC:  "The way he defended and attacked, he was a very special player.

In action for club side Toulon

"All of us involved in that team [in 2003] just felt very lucky and privileged to have had him around at that time.
"He would have taken the decision to retire very seriously but he will still be playing for Toulon, and he has been playing very well for Toulon.
"I'd just like to say well done to him. He has done so much for not just English rugby but also world rugby on the field, and especially off the field."

Woodward went on to talk about the injury problems Wilkinson suffered in the latter stages of his international career, adding:  Every player has injuries and he probably had more than his fair share but that was the way he played the game.
"I remember trying to keep him out of rucks so many times and trying to keep him out of contact but that wasn't him, he wanted to get involved.
"He would smash into rucks and that was because he wanted to be a real team player.
"He has had a long career. He came into the side when he was 18 and this is the end of an era and it is perhaps fitting that we move on from that era now."

With Stuart Lancaster now taking temporary charge of the international fold, supported by Graham Rowntree and Andy Farrell, perhaps the time was right to call time.  It in no doubt the end of an era, but now the team can progress with eyes towards the 2015 World Cup and hopefully a new golden age for English Rugby.  It won't be easy to find the next Wilkinson, but that is what the new management team are charged with.

Whilst there is now only one real winner with the announcement of the news.  French club Toulon be the recipients of Wilkinson's undivided attention.