Martin Johnson Era has Begun.

[SecondRow04]

England Senior Elite Player Squad
Forwards

Steve Borthwick Saracens

George Chuter Leicester Tigers

Jordan Crane *Leicester Tigers

Tom Croft Leicester Tigers

Dylan Hartley*Northampton Saints

James Haskell London Wasps

Nick Kennedy *London Irish

Lee Mears Bath Rugby

Lewis Moody Leicester Tigers

Luke Narraway Gloucester Rugby

Tom Palmer London Wasps

Tim Payne London Wasps

Tom Rees London Wasps

Simon Shaw London Wasps

Andrew Sheridan Sale Sharks

Matt Stevens Bath Rugby

Phil Vickery London Wasps



Backs

Olly Barkley Gloucester Rugby

Danny Care Harlequins

Harry Ellis Leicester Tigers

Toby Flood Leicester Tigers

Riki Flutey *London Wasps

Shane Geraghty London Irish

Dan Hipkiss Leicester Tigers

Josh Lewsey London Wasps

Jamie Noon Newcastle Falcons

Pete Richards London Irish

Paul Sackey London Wasps

James Simpson-Daniel Gloucester Rugby

Mathew Tait Sale Sharks

Tom Varndell Leicester Tigers

Jonny Wilkinson Newcastle Falcons

Saxons Squad

Forwards

Steffon Armitage London Irish

Richard Blaze Leicester Tigers

Louis Deacon Leicester Tigers

Nick Easter Harlequins

Jack Forster Gloucester Rugby

Tom Guest Harlequins

Jason Hobson Bristol Rugby

Chris Jones Sale Sharks

Ben Kay Leicester Tigers

Michael Lipman Bath Rugby

David Paice London Irish

George Skivington *London Wasps

Andy ***terrell Gloucester Rugby

Joe Ward *London Wasps

David Wilson *Newcastle Falcons

Nick Wood *Gloucester Rugby

Joe Worsley London Wasps



Backs

Nick Abendanon Bath Rugby

Anthony Allen Gloucester Rugby

Matt Banahan Bath Rugby

Mike Brown Harlequins

Danny Cipriani London Wasps

Ben Foden Northampton Saints

Andy Goode Leicester Tigers

Paul Hodgson London Irish

Ryan Lamb Gloucester Rugby

Ugo Monye Harlequins

Topsy Ojo London Irish

David Strettle Harlequins

Mike Tindall Gloucester Rugby

Dominic Waldouck *London Wasps

Richard Wigglesworth Sale Sharks





some good picks, shame Ojo got demoted thought he played pretty well against NZ, Charlie Hodgson gone from the set up completley. Mike Tindal Demoted as well. Riki Flutey is a surprise but hes fairly good and if he is able to play for England then all the best. i would have liked Lesley Vainikolo in either sqaud so he can develop better as a player. Johnny Wilkinson is the only specialist fly half in the squad..





Let the Martin Johnson Era Begin!

 

[MunsterMan]

Varndell better than Strettle and Ojo?

 

[Bullitt]

England elite squad:
Forwards:
Tim Payne (Wasps), Mite says: Yay!
Andrew Sheridan (Sale), Mite says: To be expected. Lets see some form.
Matt Stevens (Bath), Mite says: Yay!
Phil Vickery (Wasps), Mite says: Booooooooo! Stupid, wasteful selection.
George Chuter (Leicester), Mite says: Back-up needed I suppose
Dylan Hartley (Northampton), Mite says: Yay! About time!
Lee Mears (Bath), Mite says: Boooooooo! Selected by the Bath Mafia.
Steve Borthwick (Saracens), Mite says: A fair selection on form
Nick Kennedy (London Irish), Mite says: Yay, let's see him get some game time
Tom Palmer (Wasps), Mite says: Will fight his way into the XXII
Simon Shaw (Wasps), Mite says: Long in the tooth now but will do the job
Tom Croft (Leicester), Mite says: Yay! Give him game time
James Haskell (Wasps), Mite says: When good, he's worth the spot
Lewis Moody (Leicester), Mite says: Oh god, not this s*it again…
Tom Rees (Wasps), Mite says: Yay! The best 7 in the country needs a shirt
Jordan Crane (Leicester), Mite says: Yay! An out-and-out 8 with quality!
Luke Narraway (Gloucester). Mite says: Pitty his talent doesn't match his commitment.

Backs:
Josh Lewsey (Wasps), Mite says: One step forwards, 2 steps back.
Mathew Tait (Sale), Mite says: Oh goody, Rob Andrews lovechild…
Paul Sackey (Wasps), Mite says: He'll do for the bench
James Simpson-Daniel (Gloucester), Mite says: Yay! About time!
Tom Varndell (Leicester), Mite says: Oh FFS
Dan Hipkiss (Leicester), Mite says: Yay! A good 13 at last!
Jamie Noon (Newcastle), Mite says: Oh FFS
Olly Barkley (Gloucester), Mite says: Won't play much…
Toby Flood (Leicester), Mite says: Yay! A 10!
Riki Flutey (Wasps), Mite says: Yay! A 12!
Shane Geraghty (London Irish), Mite says: Yay! A player!
Jonny Wilkinson (Newcastle), Mite says: Oh f*** right off Tabloid selections…
Danny Care (Harlequins), Mite says: Yay! The bestest 9 we have!
Harry Ellis (Leicester), Mite says: Playing for Leicester apparently warrents selection on its own.
Pete Richards (London Irish), Mite says: K…

Overall... Too many of Johnsons Leicester mates combined with the RFU old boys network means the wrong players will get starts and nothing will change. Pitty.

 

[candybum]

Riki Flutey?? lol good on the guy.

Hey thought everyone said Wilkinson is gone burgers, whats up with that guy anyways? maybe Johnson was put him in there because he won them the world cup? lol

 

[MunsterMan]

So England fans, what is your best XV from that squad? Anybody else think picking Varndell over Ojo and Strettle is baffling? As is picking Andy Goode and Tindall for Saxons.

 

[Bullitt]

Well, he's [Wilkinson] done nothing to warrant selection.

From that;

1. Sheridan
2. Hartley
3. Stevens
4. Kennedy
5. Palmer
6. Croft
7. Rees
8. Crane
9. Care
10. Flood (Cipriani when fit)
11. Simpson-Daniel
12. Flutey/Geherety
13. Hipkiss
14. Sackey
15. Lewsey

 

[nam97]

Riki Flutey?? lol good on the guy.
[/b]

Yeah I reckon, that kinda leaped out at me. Haven't heard or seen his name for about 2 years.

 

[Sir Speedy]

<div class='quotemain'>
Riki Flutey?? lol good on the guy.
[/b]

Yeah I reckon, that kinda leaped out at me. Haven't heard or seen his name for about 2 years.
[/b][/quote]
Really? Us who discuss NH rugby have had to suffer the English jabbering on about his future all year. <_<

 

[Macsen]

The start of a new error!

 

[Gavin]

<div align="left">Not sure why Peter Richards has been included in the Elite Squad, same with Wilkinson and Chuter. Would have rather seen Ryan Lamb in the squad instead of Jonny with Cipriani in brackets.</div>

 

[Fa'atau82]

Good squad, some players who have reps to earn or re-kindle though.

You have to keep some vets while in transition.

Good on JSD, it's about time!

 

[Cymro]

Some interesting players been selected and I have to admit selecting Wilko is not the greatest thing but who else do they have to fill the 10 void?

 

[Prestwick]

I think the reason why Ojo and Strettle were dropped down a team was because they broke Jonno's cardinal rule from the Sir Clive era: be the story on the back pages, not the front. Strettle may have been an energiser bunny in bed, but that doesn't do well for his chances under Martin Johnson and I'm sure he's made that perfectly clear in private.

In a word: brave. We're finally starting to discard the chaff from the real sidewinder missiles. Sure, he has picked a fair few from Leicester but look at who he's picked: Crane, Croft, Ellis. Flood & Moody. Ellis I couldn't care less about other than we don't want to end up with another crisis at 9 again so I support having three scrum halves.

Whats really brave? The fact that he's chosen Johnny Wilkinson as the only specialist ten without any basis performance wise at all. Thats going to come back to bite him on the arse.

Crane, Croft and Flood merit their inclusion, the first two on sheer talent and form alone. Moody as well has learnt to be incredibly aggressive without giving away the needless penalties or get binned every game like Grewcock. In any case, in this brave new world of rewarding cheats with free-kicks instead of punishing them with three points or tries however, Moody's discipline problems seem remarkably old hat anyway.

Finally however, with the phalanx of Geraghty, Hipkiss and Flutey we have some centers with get up and go, va va voom, ka-pow, zing and other batman-esque sound effects. At the very least have the intelligence to throw missed passes to leave out Noon and pick out the likes of JSD anyway!

Like I said, I like this squad of 32 and Jonno has said he is not afraid to promote from the Saxons squad in the event of injury if he feels that the replacements in the elite squad aren't up for it at that moment in time. Competition is the key and this fosters it.

I'll post an XV later.

 

[SecondRow04]

My 22 Would be..

1.Sheridan
2. Hartley
3. Stevens
4. Shaw
5. Kennedy
6. Haskell
7. Rees
8. Crane
9. Care
10. Flood
11. Simpson Daniel
12. Flutey
13. Hipkiss
14. Lewsey
15. Tait

16. Mears
17. Vickery
18. Palmer/Borthwick/Croft
19. Croft/Moody
20. Sackey
21. Geraghty
22. Noon/ Barkley


i understand that varndell was picked because of strettle and ojo's behavoir but i would much rather have Banahan or Vainikolo as cover. I think England need a powerful winger in the squad.

 

[Prestwick]

Right, my XV:

1. Sheridan
2. Hartley
3. Stevens
4. Shaw
5. Kennedy
6. Haskell
7. Rees
8. Crane
9. Care
10. Geraghty
11. James Simpson-Daniel
12. Flutey
13. Hipkiss
14. Sackey
15. Tait

Tah-dah. Winnars!

 

[peppers07]

Wilkinson is past it and shouldny shouldnt have been been picked I think lamb or Geraghty would have been better until Cipriani is fit again. I havnt seen a lot of the Guiness premiership this season only about five matchs but from what ive seen of Ben Foden he should be in the senior sqaud. Is he bad at defence or something?

 

[errlloyd]

I think its fair to say Epic Fail on that coach.

 

[Prestwick]

Wow! That probably ranks as least useful comment of the month so far! Congratulations!

Are you going to elaborate on that utterly wonderful statement or are you just going to sit there and continue to stew over the one-dimensioned likes of Jamie Noon pwning Ireland earlier this year?

 

[Sir Speedy]

Wilkinson is past it and shouldny shouldnt have been been picked I think lamb or Geraghty would have been better until Cipriani is fit again. I havnt seen a lot of the Guiness premiership this season only about five matchs but from what ive seen of Ben Foden he should be in the senior sqaud. Is he bad at defence or something?
[/b]

Nope, it's just he can be suicidal at times. While he does many magnificent things, he does some downright dreadful things aswell - Wasps interception try against Sale in Adams Park this year; we could have had a vital losing bp if he didn't do that. (Then again, we could have had bonus points many-a-time this year.) <_<

 

[Prestwick]

The problem with Wilko is that he needs a strong willed pair of guys at center to take the pressure off of him. If there are others doing the thinking for him, he is very good when left to his own devices. However, if all the pressure is on him to do something and direct the team, he just self-destructs. I think the Six Nations this year was a perfect illustration of that....

...especially with that crazy 'pass' to Cipriani in the Wales game..ugh...I can't unsee what I saw during those crazy, crazy 40 minutes...