There has been much ado about the fact England will play the first Test in New Zealand a week on Saturday without any of the players who are taking part in the Aviva Premiership final between Saracens and Northampton.
It’s a ridiculous situation and a crying shame that dreadful scheduling has to affect such a high-profile game.
But it shouldn’t detract from what is an ideal opportunity for England to become a stronger force in time for next year’s World Cup on home soil.
Head coach Stuart Lancaster knows full well he has 20 to 25 players who he can trust to compete with the best in Europe – as this year’s Six Nations showed.
What he must do over the next 15 months is convince them they can compete with the best in the world.
This tour gives him the chance to not only continue that process but also see what the next tier of players is like underneath that initial number.
If Lancaster has half of Leicester Tigers’ bad luck with injuries in the build-up to the World Cup, he will need to call on the strength of the country’s resources to help him out nearer the time.
If he needs to dig deep, those players will have had experience in New Zealand and will know the systems involved.
There are no tougher challenges in world rugby at the minute than a three-Test tour in the world champions’ back yard.
But it is a challenge England should embrace, not be scared of.
This is a squad where only the fly-half and hooker positions look light on either form or experience.
With Owen Farrell playing in the Premiership final and George Ford needing shoulder surgery, Danny Cipriani and new Tigers signing Freddie Burns will be charged with pulling the strings in the No.10 shirt.
While in the middle of the front row, Dylan Hartley (injury) and Tom Youngs (wife’s illness) will be missed.
That will, however, give the likes of Rob Webber (Bath) and Luke Cowan-Dickie (Exeter) the chance to show what they have got.
Elsewhere, Ed Slater (Tigers), Matt Kvesic (Gloucester), Kyle Eastmond (Bath), Henry Trinder (Gloucester), Chris Pennell (Worcester) and Marland Yarde (London Irish/Harlequins) are young men wanting to prove they are good enough to be considered for the main event next season.
This is their time and their shop window. They may not get the chance again if they don’t take this opportunity and that will be a massive driving force for them throughout the tour.
It has been suggested that because of the scheduling and the fact that English players will be tired after an arduous and really exciting Premiership season, this England team has nothing to lose on this tour.
Wrong.
This is a side full of players who will be keen to take their chance in a squad that would love to clip the wings of Kiwi confidence with one eye on the 2015 World Cup.
England may not win any of the three Tests in Auckland, Dunedin or Hamilton, but if they can compete, make it close and give the world champions a bloody nose, they can come home satisfied with their lot.
Itinerary: First Test June 7 (Auckland); Second Test June 14 (Dunedin); Midweek game v Canterbury Crusaders June 17 (Christchurch); Third Test June 21 (Hamilton).
England squad: Props: Joe Marler (Harlequins), Matt Mullan (Wasps), Kieran Brookes (Newcastle), Henry Thomas (Sale), David Wilson (Bath). Hookers: Luke Cowan-Dickie (Exeter), Joe Gray (Harlequins), Dave Ward (Harlequins), Rob Webber (Bath). Locks: Dave Attwood (Bath), Joe Launchbury (London Wasps), Geoff Parling (Leicester), Ed Slater (Leicester). Back rows: James Haskell (Wasps), Tom Johnson (Exeter), Matt Kvesic (Gloucester), Ben Morgan (Gloucester), Chris Robshaw (Harlequins). Scrum-halves: Danny Care (Harlequins), Ben Youngs (Leicester). Fly-halves: Freddie Burns (Gloucester), Danny Cipriani (Sale). Centres: Kyle Eastmond (Bath), Manu Tuilagi (Leicester), Henry Trinder (Gloucester), Billy Twelvetrees (Gloucester). Back-three: Mike Brown (Harlequins), Jonny May (Gloucester), Chris Pennell (Worcester), Marland Yarde (London Irish).
Article source: http://www.express.co.uk/sport/rugbyunion/477487/Brown-injury-boost-for-England
Inside rugby: Depleted England should embrace New Zealand tour
No comments:
Post a Comment