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England - Squad Announcement Thursday 27th

A full trial match? Really?

Do the players get to pick their respective teams?!

That would be entertaining!

I thought Wales has proved that a Probables v. Possibles match is a whack idea. Clearly not.
 
reporting on Twitter that Cipriani out of squad.

Mail, Torygraph and Indie all reporting it :(
 
Le sigh.

Off to France with him then!

A real shame, as I grew to like him. Wasn't a fan during his school days, although he mellowed while at Wasps. Not sure what happened after that horrific injury. Can't begin to imagine what that can do to you mentally.

That said, I think he'll suit the French game. Get him a hard and fast pitch and enjoy the view.
 
If it's true then the decision stinks!
Thousands of England fans are going to be disappointed that Lancaster is going to rely on the likes of Farrell, Barritt and Burgess.
Who is going to bring that x factor that makes the differencebetween winning and losing in a tight match?
If Slade goes too, then I'll lose all interest in England's progress - or lack of.
 
I've lost a lot of faith in Lancaster . His stubbornness is infuriating to say the least . Maybe it wouldn't be too much a bad thing to go out early and to get another manager in that has some balls when it comes to big calls . It's not like Cipriani has only been good in the last few weeks

He looked like a man that had run out of ideas on Saturday . Seems like he'd laid out his best hand and it backfired tremendously
 
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on the plus side Steve James (telegraph Journo) just tweeted me saying rumours are that Slade is already in.
 
I was bitterly disappointed when Eastmond was cut. There have been so many frustrations concerning the squad selection, from Itoje to Wade, Simpson to Tuilagi, Hartley to KE, which probably speaks more to our strength in depth than anything, but it is endlessly annoying to see great talents cut, and 36 still being considered for the final cut.

If Cipriani is dropped, as I suspect he will be (see squad prediction here: http://fourballsblog.blogspot.co.uk/2015/08/englands-predicted-world-cup-squad.html), then that will be another one of those infuriating moments that the media will hop on SL's back about. He desperately needs to prove himself as a coach this RWC, and needs every single one of his controversial selections to come good, or there will be plenty of rightly angered fans out there.
 
Having a little debate over Easter or Attwood.

Do you take a 4th specialist lock in Attwood and leave Wood/Haskell to cover 8 when Morgan isn't 100% fit?
Or do you take Easter who has shown his impact at lock and take just 3 specialist SRs?

Attwood better in the lineout, but we have plenty of options there.
Easter is a better ball carrier.
Attwood's work rate and impact of the bench is insane though.

Both great tacklers, and sparking a big debate between me and my friends!
 
Stephen Jones from the Times is properly on Lancasters case today, moaning about everything, form the trial to why Burgess shouldn't be picked....
 
Of late, I've become more and more appreciative of Nick Easter, so I'd have him as back up no 8 - Wood, who I've never particularly appreciated, is not an 8.
If that means omitting Attwood, then so be it.
Parling should be a first choice as he is crucial in organising the line out, which did not function at all well in the French games.
Let the debate continue!
 
Of late, I've become more and more appreciative of Nick Easter, so I'd have him as back up no 8 - Wood, who I've never particularly appreciated, is not an 8.
If that means omitting Attwood, then so be it.
Parling should be a first choice as he is crucial in organising the line out, which did not function at all well in the French games.
Let the debate continue!

Lawes and Launchbury are our first choice, no doubt about that in my opinion, the lineout didn't function because Tom Youngs was abhorrent and has seemingly brough back Dylan Hartley from the dead after such a shocking throwing performance. I love Parling, and he has to go with us, I think most people would agree that the former Lion goes ahead of Attwood, but are we worried about not having a reliable 2nd choice No. 8 due to Morgan's lack of fitness and Wood/Haskell not playing there regularly. I'm not sure I am concerned at the moment, and think we will be fine, which is why I'm confident to take Dave, but many others think Nick should go.
 
Lawes and Launchbury are our first choice, no doubt about that in my opinion, the lineout didn't function because Tom Youngs was abhorrent and has seemingly brough back Dylan Hartley from the dead after such a shocking throwing performance. I love Parling, and he has to go with us, I think most people would agree that the former Lion goes ahead of Attwood, but are we worried about not having a reliable 2nd choice No. 8 due to Morgan's lack of fitness and Wood/Haskell not playing there regularly. I'm not sure I am concerned at the moment, and think we will be fine, which is why I'm confident to take Dave, but many others think Nick should go.

I wouldn't put all the blame on Youngs, but fair enough, he didn't have his best game, but for the line out to function smoothly, a lot depends on who is calling them. This is where, in my opinion, Parling is your man. I'm not sure who of Launch and Lawes was calling, but the line out definitely needs fixing.
And, let's not forget that Youngs and Parling worked very well for Leicester.
 
I didn't like Lancaster before it was cool.

Trend setter.

Also with no one really shining at 6 Croft might be the answer to the lineout. If he is fit as stated.
 
I didn't like Lancaster before it was cool.

Trend setter.

Also with no one really shining at 6 Croft might be the answer to the lineout. If he is fit as stated.

No question, Croft would be the answer at 6. He's been training with the squad for a while now so we ought to be able to assume that he's fit.
As I've said before, I'm not Wood's number one fan and I believe that Croft should be first choice 6 with Haskell on the bench, but we all know who Lancaster's favourites are!
 
Cips out and if Morgan is out I'll lose it. He needs more game time and he tears teams apart as an impact sub. Yes, Easter was good when he came on but Morgan would have been as good if not better in those circumstances.

I want us to win the World Cup or get knocked out embarrassingly. The RFU like him though so we could lose every game and he will get a contract extension til 2040.
 
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