A lot has been made about the need for Stuart Lancaster to start planning for the Rugby World Cup now and that his team selection for this 6 Nations is his final chance to blood players before taking a squad forward. And whilst I agree in principle, I can’t help but think that we are too late and that 2019 is a more realistic target with the current players.
Anyway, here is my England squad for the Six Nations and why I believe they are the right players going forward.
Tighthead Prop – Dan Cole
There really is no other name here that could be considered. The stand out performer year on year in this position. The concern is keeping him fit as there really isn’t anyone else who can do a job here and the lack of depth is a concern.
Hooker – Dylan Hartley
Dylan has been ‘Captain Fantastic’ this year in his performances for the Saints, and it actually looks like he benefited from having the summer off and having time to reflect. He looks a happier man for it as well.
Loosehead Prop – Mako Vunipola
Mako sneaks in ahead of Joe Marler because I think he offers more around the park than Joe. It appears he has been having the better season in the scrums as well, but arguably with a better engine behind him. There are concerns about his joints already for such a young player but I see him and Joe competing for the same shirt for the next 10 years.
Second Row – Courtney Lawes
Some many others would be putting forward the likes of Kitchener or Parling but quite frankly no one in the game other than his American beast of a club mate, Samo Manoa, defends quite as well or as hard as he does. His tackling is just lethal and fully enhances his prospects above any other.
Second Row – Joe Launchbury
This guy is going to be in this shirt for a long time. He has everything you want from a second row. He comes across as quite a quiet lad but you just have to look at the impact he has been having on games now that he has settled, and I very much see him as the generation’s Ben Kay.
Blindside Flanker – Guy Thompson
This is my left field nomination. So much talk has been about Robshaw and Wood being the wrong way round but I would have Guy in there for a very simple reason: He is in my opinion the best support runner in the Premiership andi if Wasps could teach their players to see him better and to give him those passes that he is so desperately screaming for, I think they could have been further up the table. I know Guy has worked significantly on his defensive capabilities and they are getting better all the time. But the game now is about scoring points and there are few better at doing this than Guy Thompson.
Openside Flanker – Tom Wood
For me this one goes on form, rather than captaincy. With Hartley in the side Wood gets the nod from me as I think he has been brilliant this season, where Robshaw has been more workman like. They are very different players and Wood suits the type of game I would like to see England play more of than Robshaw does.
Number 8 – Sam Dickinson
I know most would be going with Billy Vunipola but for me he has to be Sam has been one of the stand out players of the season. Billy lacks some of Sam’s experience and is to much of a blunt instrument where am Dickinson has the guile and ball handling skills that I think set him apart. Now I know what Northampton were missing last season.
Scrum Half – Lee Dickson
Another Saint, and he gets in here because of that link as I think he is the right scrum half to get the best out of the players, the pace he has brought to the Northampton game has been breathtaking and has definitely made him the pole position player for me. Youngs is out of form, Care is coming back into it but doesn’t quite get there this time for me, and Wigglesworth might have the best kicking game out of all the scrum halves but I don’t think he performs well in front of a struggling pack and England need that ability. That’s not to say the England pack struggle far from it, but more often than not it is in the loose than we get found out not in the tight.
Fly Half – George Ford
Normally I would go with Freddie Burns but he has been so out of sorts this season. Thank god Flood has now gone which means we aren’t going to have to worry about him messing it all up for us again. Farrell is there but I am just not convinced he suits the wider expansive game in the way that Ford does. Ford’s decision making still needs work, but to be fair to him, the level he needs to get to can only come from playing at International level. He offers that little bit more excitement and dynamism that Farrell does. I love Cipriani and would love to see him being given another shot and certainly the improvements in his game this season are brilliant. I just think his face is never going to fit with this crop of players and his time might just have passed.
Winger – Anthony Watson
This is a really tough decision with both Wade and Yarde out for the season, but Watson really has come on in leaps and bounds at Bath and is looking like the real talent. He has a very rounded game and although his natural position is Full Back he has the speed to really bring the game to light.
Inside Centre – Billy Twelvetrees
This is probably his last chance to make this spot his own. He has that second receiver capability you need that none of the other contenders have as he has played Fly Half for so long himself. His passing ability puts him in a different league, now he just needs to settle.
Outside Centre – Luther Burrell
Probably the form player of the season and rightly deserves his call up. A huge ball carrying centre he would fit the mold of England’s previous Outside Centres by having the size to support him. Luther’s biggest hidden talent is his off loading ability, which has served Saints so well this season. This guy is going to be a big part of England’s future to the extent I don’t see Manu Tuilagi getting back in quite as quickly as he might be thinking he wiil.
Winger – Jack Nowell
This kid is electric plain and simple. The impact he has on Exeter’s game is immense, and he has shown that same workman like graft to go looking for work wherever he is needed. Yarde and Wade might start ahead of him on paper but I think this kid could just be the one to mix things up. Exeter might struggle to keep hold of him if they can’t break into the Top 4 in the next few season.
Fullback – Mike Brown
Quite simply there is no one else I would pick in this position. He has everything that you want from a Full Back plus the grit of a hard 7. Whilst Goode is clearly the more talented player I just don’t think he has the mental application or toughness that Brown has and that’s why Brown has to start for me.
Substitutes
Tighthead – Will Collier
I like youth and the progression this young man has made this season has been outstanding. He gets in ahead of Henry Thomas because I don’ think Thomas has been as good this season as Collier has. With youth on his side I feel Collier would benefit more from the exposure and develop faster into a far better player for club and country and may just be the challenge that Cole needs.
Hooker – Dave Ward
Where the hell has this guy been hiding and why did nobody spot him sooner. Week after week he has been one of Quins’ top 3 performers and he does it with a versatility hookers just shouldn’t have. His throwing in gets him in ahead of Tom Youngs who still lacks the consistency with the throwing into to justify selection
Loosehead – Joe Marler
Joe seems to be getting on top of the new scrum laws and is now starting to grow in strength. He still would be behind Corbiserio who would have started but for his injuries. But if Joe continues to improve his technical game at the rate he has he will be back in the starting line up before to long.
Second Row/Back Row – George Robson
Quite simply the most overlooked player in Lancaster’s reign and how Parling ever got in ahead of him is both a crime and an insult to this truly talented player. Robson’s game has everything that you want from a second row and he is probably the best lineout caller in the English game right now.
Scrum Half – Danny Care
Getting back to his best and start to cook in a way that only Danny can. I still feel he spends too much time eyeing up opportunities with the ball in hand and that slows his distribution down. But he has an eye for the gaps that very few of his peers do and that gets him on to the bench.
Fly Half – Owen Farrell
Still learning and still growing and his game has come on leaps and bounds since the Lions. If tomorrow was the World Cup final he would start because he has the tactical game awareness for that match. The problem is that match is such a one off and he really needs to be able to bring a more expansive game with him. Saracens new ambition to run the ball has definitely helped but I still think he needs to learn to open up a bit more during a game.
Centre – Henry Trinder
At risk of becoming a forgotten man this season with all of Gloucester’s woes, but there is something about this player that makes me believe that he could be the long term answer to England’s problems at Outside centre. The vision in his game rivals that of Burns and Twelvetrees and he has been missed by the Shire when he has been out injured.
Wing – Semesa Rokoduguni
The last of my wildcards. This son of sevens has become an immense player since being picked by the Army just 2 years ago. My own Saxons Sevens watched him tear up the Nivelles 7s like nobodies business. And wow haven’t Bath bulked him up along the way. This guy is arguably the most lethal runner in open space and I still don’t think Bath are getting the best of him. Everybody talks about the next Jason Robinson and this Fijian could just be him. I am glad to see that Lancaster has recognized the potency of Rocky and I look forward to seeing him break into the England team soon.
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