In less than 24 hours we’ll finally know who Stuart Lancaster and his coaching staff have chosen to be in the England Elite squad for the forthcoming Autumn Internationals against the Southern Hemisphere.
Lancaster wisely delayed selection until mid-October and has been given plenty to think about with the opening few matches of the Aviva Premiership showing a number of players stepping up to the mark and coming in to seriously good form at just the right time. Personally I really hope Lancaster takes this opportunity and makes some changes, especially with the Backs – Ashton for one has been given one too many chances and, in my opinion, has never performed against the ‘big teams’ at international level. It’s time for change and the likes of Marland Yarde, Christian Wade and Semesa Rokoduguni are more than ready to take up the challenge!
A slightly more difficult selection must be at 10 – Owen Farrell has more than earned the right to be first choice but there’s a pretty good queue of contenders waiting in the wings; George Ford, Danny Cipriani, Freddie Burns and Stephen Myler have all been playing well for their clubs and deserve the opportunity to challenge Farrell for the coveted jersey.
So, it’s not going to be long before we find out for sure and no doubt there will be much debate over who has been selected. None of the four matches are going to be easy for England but that’s just what the team need in their 12 month build up to the Rugby World Cup! It promises to be an amazing month of rugby.
If I were lucky enough to be in charge, below are the players I would put my faith in:
BACKS:
Fullback: Mike Brown, Ben Foden, Anthony Watson
Wing: Marland Yarde, Semesa Rokoduguni, Christian Wade
Centres: Kyle Eastmond, Jonathan Joseph, Manusamoa Tuilagi, Luther Burrell
Fly-half: Owen Farrell, George Ford, Danny Cipriani
Scrum-half: Danny Care, Ben Youngs, Lee Dickson
FORWARDS:
Prop: Joe Marler, David Wilson, Matt Mullan, Dan Cole, Kieran Brookes
Hooker: Dylan Hartley, Rob Webber
Lock: Joe Launchbury, Courtney Lawes, David Attwood
Back-row: Tom Wood, Chris Robshaw, James Haskell, Ben Morgan, Billy Vunipola
Who would you choose?
This will be your last chance to see the Southern Hemisphere teams take on England before next years Rugby World Cup and as always, we’ll be there to celebrate it all. For every match, the VU Clubhouse will be hosted by Victor Ubogu and Lee Mears, with a number of the England boys (both past and present) in attendance. There’s no better place to soak up the unique atmosphere of Rugby Internationals at Twickenham, so come and join us and see for yourselves!
For more information and to book online, simply click HERE or call us on 01225 788 880