England Squad For The Summer Tour To Australia

[SecondRow04]

I believe it is being named tomorrow afternoon if i am not mistaken? just wondering who you think should go/will go? if the pay dispute doesn't limit the number of players going then a 44 man squad will tour.

My pics to go, based on who i have been impressed with this season

Props
Matt Mullan, John Golding, David Flatman, Dan Cole, Dave Wilson

Hookers
Dylan Hartley, Lee Mears, Rob Webber

Second Rows
Courtney Lawes, Simon Shaw, Dave Attwood, Nick Kennedy, James Gaskell

Flankers
Tom Croft, Lewis Moody, Steffon Armitage, Tom Rees, James Haskell, Andy Saul

Number 8s
Phil Dowson, Dan Ward-Smith, Nick Easter, Jordan Crane

Scrum Halves
Danny Care, Ben Youngs, Joe Simpson

Fly Halves
Toby Flood, Shane Geraghty, Stephen Myler

Centres
Anothony Allen, Olly Barkley, Jordan Turner-Hall, John Clarke, Mathew Tait, Dan Hipkiss

Wingers
Matt Banahan, Chris Ashton, Mark Cueto, James Simpson-Daniel, Lesley Vainikolo

FullBacks
Ben Foden, Nick Abendanon, Delon Armitage, Alex Goode

And from that my first team would be

1. David Flatman
2. Dylan Hartley
3. Dan Cole
4. Courtney Lawes
5. Simon Shaw
6. Phil Dowson
7. Steffon Armitage
8. Dan Ward-Smith
9. Ben Youngs
10. Toby Flood
11. Matt Banahan
12. Olly Barkley
13. Mathew Tait
14. Chris Ashton
15. Ben Foden

16. Lee Mears
17. Dave Wilson
18. Nick Kennedy
19. Tom Croft
20. Danny Care
21. Shane Geraghty
22. John Clarke

 

[iWin]

I so totally got there first

 

[SecondRow04]

haha, i know i took too long to post, both had the same idea about not being a thread then bamn two at once

 

[ranger]

I believe it is being named tomorrow afternoon if i am not mistaken? just wondering who you think should go/will go? if the pay dispute doesn't limit the number of players going then a 44 man squad will tour.

My pics to go, based on who i have been impressed with this season

Props
Matt Mullan, John Golding, David Flatman, Dan Cole, Dave Wilson

Hookers
Dylan Hartley, Lee Mears, Rob Webber

Second Rows
Courtney Lawes, Simon Shaw, Dave Attwood, Nick Kennedy, James Gaskell

Flankers
Tom Croft, Lewis Moody, Steffon Armitage, Tom Rees, James Haskell, Andy Saul

Number 8s
Phil Dowson, Dan Ward-Smith, Nick Easter, Jordan Crane

Scrum Halves
Danny Care, Ben Youngs, Joe Simpson

Fly Halves
Toby Flood, Shane Geraghty, Stephen Myler

Centres
Anothony Allen, Olly Barkley, Jordan Turner-Hall, John Clarke, Mathew Tait, Dan Hipkiss

Wingers
Matt Banahan, Chris Ashton, Mark Cueto, James Simpson-Daniel, Lesley Vainikolo

FullBacks
Ben Foden, Nick Abendanon, Delon Armitage, Alex Goode

And from that my first team would be

1. David Flatman
2. Dylan Hartley
3. Dan Cole
4. Courtney Lawes
5. Simon Shaw
6. Phil Dowson
7. Steffon Armitage
8. Dan Ward-Smith
9. Ben Youngs
10. Toby Flood
11. Matt Banahan
12. Olly Barkley
13. Mathew Tait
14. Chris Ashton
15. Ben Foden

16. Lee Mears
17. Dave Wilson
18. Nick Kennedy
19. Tom Croft
20. Danny Care
21. Shane Geraghty
22. John Clarke

Those wings look average..

 

[best_fullback]

Those wings look average..

TBH I think they are the best wing selections (if they get picked) for a while.

- Ashton looks like genuine class, amazing season,
- Sinbad always should have been given a better chance at International level - one of the best wingers that has ever been in the Prem IMO,
- Banahan - well, I've never really rated him that much, think hes a bit 1 dimensional; he and Vainikolo just remind me too much of each other but Banahan has proved me wrong on occasions,
- Cueto isn't great but he is a good team player and has bucket loads of experience so I don't think you can leave him out.

Out of all them I would maybe think about swapping Monye for Vainikolo because he does have genuine pace. Just never, ever play him at 15 again Johnson.

Im more worried about the centres!

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Ashton's one of the most promising players in the premiership imo, he does some fantastic work, especially when linked with Foden,
Cuetos got a brilliant rugby brain. He may not be the fastest, but he knows what he's doing, and brings experience. He's also very solid under the highball, and can move to fullback if needs be.

 

[ranger]

TBH I think they are the best wing selections (if they get picked) for a while.

- Ashton looks like genuine class, amazing season,
- Sinbad always should have been given a better chance at International level - one of the best wingers that has ever been in the Prem IMO,
- Banahan - well, I've never really rated him that much, think hes a bit 1 dimensional; he and Vainikolo just remind me too much of each other but Banahan has proved me wrong on occasions,
- Cueto isn't great but he is a good team player and has bucket loads of experience so I don't think you can leave him out.

Out of all them I would maybe think about swapping Monye for Vainikolo because he does have genuine pace. Just never, ever play him at 15 again Johnson.

Im more worried about the centres!

-Ashton looks to be one of Englands best talents
-Cueto has looked off in the last few years, somethings not quite there
-Simpson-daniel i would have given a run 5 or so years ago, but is he still up to it? has he grown any?
-Banahan has looked out of his depth everytime ive seen him play
-Vainikolo is the definition of 1 dimentional.

I think Banahan or Vainikolo would get found out bigtime against the SH with the kind of tactics they are playing, you effectively need 3 fullbacks to counter them.

Who are your realistic options for the centres?

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Not directed at me, i know, but for centres i'd have
12. Barkley
13. Tindall

With Tait on the bench

 

[SecondRow04]

-Ashton looks to be one of Englands best talents
-Cueto has looked off in the last few years, somethings not quite there
-Simpson-daniel i would have given a run 5 or so years ago, but is he still up to it? has he grown any?
-Banahan has looked out of his depth everytime ive seen him play
-Vainikolo is the definition of 1 dimentional.

I think Banahan or Vainikolo would get found out bigtime against the SH with the kind of tactics they are playing, you effectively need 3 fullbacks to counter them.

Who are your realistic options for the centres?

It just depends on how they are played, the way they have used Banahan and Vainikolo in the past has been one dimentional. They play a lot differently for their clubs because they are used properly. Both of their work rates seems to have improved a lot and they are popping up in the right places. I would have Banahan on the bench as he would be a good impact player in the last 30, and id have stuck Big Les in the Saxons to see how he gets on.

As for the centres, i think it has to be

12. Barkley
13. Tindall/ Clarke

And again agree with Olyy with Tait on the bench, i hate using the word for him but he does have that versitility that allows him to slot into the back 3 positions if needed.

 

[best_fullback]

-Ashton looks to be one of Englands best talents
-Cueto has looked off in the last few years, somethings not quite there
-Simpson-daniel i would have given a run 5 or so years ago, but is he still up to it? has he grown any?
-Banahan has looked out of his depth everytime ive seen him play
-Vainikolo is the definition of 1 dimentional.

I think Banahan or Vainikolo would get found out bigtime against the SH with the kind of tactics they are playing, you effectively need 3 fullbacks to counter them.

Who are your realistic options for the centres?

Well its the old conundrum of what we would actually like to get from the tour. Me personally; I would like to see our team starting to mould around some genuine candidates with next years world cup in the distance - try out some combinations. I don't think it should be about just playing every single player who goes on tour because then we just end up getting absolutely dicked.

On that I would probably choose Barkley or Flutey at 12 and 13 Clarke/Hipkiss/Tindall. I very much lean towards the '12 who can play a bit like a 10' role and having a solid 13 outside. Tindall showed against France that he is still very useful but will he still be in 12 months time? Who knows.

At the moment i'd say: Barkley 12, Tindall 13