England 30 man Squad

So in the light of recent developments such as the injury to Care, the declaration of fitness by moody, sheridan and youngs and form over the last 2 games, here is my 30 man squad:

Props
Sheridan- No. 1 LH in Jonno's eyes if fit he will go. Good in the scrum and a powerful ball carrier, I hope he is still the same player after the injuries and operations of recent years. looking forward to seeing him against Ireland.
Corbisiero- Has made a smooth transition to test level rugby, ousted a very limited Tim Payne from the team, and whilst he is no world beater, he is a young man and should have a long test career ahead of him.
Cole- No. 1 TH head for over a year now, key part of a solid scrum. I would like to see him develop the other areas of his game and become one of the worlds best over the coming years.
Stevens- Ability to play both sides makes him the obvious choice as 4th prop, proven ability at this level and has shown form as well. Could well play his way into the first 15.

Hookers
Hartely- 1st choice for me, has the edge with his carrying but we need to see some more of it.
Thomson- Still quality, the front row is not an area of weakness for england.
mears- too small to be first choice at test level, he is still a player i like great ball carrier

Locks
Palmer- at his peak right now, good all round lock. definite starter.
Lawes- very dynamic lock a bit still to learn but another definte starter.
Deacon- Im sure he will go, if we lose a front line lock we will need his set piece ability. He calls the line out and scrummages well to. I feel shaw will miss out, although i would like him to go, i think other positions need cover more than lock, especially with croft in the squad.

Backrow
Moody- if fit, the captain will go, that simple. also england miss him when he is not on the pitch he brings intensity and rattles the opposition.
Croft- 1st choice blindside at the moment, not seen much of him in the recent tests bjut has been a reliable perfomer for some time now.
Wood- Is pushing croft, england do have balance issues in the back row but as long as they can play as a unit I dont think wood will let anyone down. Robshaw will feel unlucky not to be given a chance but im just not sure he is up to test rugby.
Fourie- with moody seemingly unable to stay fit i feel jonno will want cover in this position. i'd expect wood or haskell to be first choice cover but a couple of injuries would leave england very short. fourie does look powerful and is a specialist openside.
Easter- unpopular with some and he does lack the pace of some of the more modern 8's but im a fan. raely goes backwards and rarely misses tackles, also has good control at the base. 1st choice.
Haskell- potentially better than easter but has to prove it. only player able to cover no. 8, flanker still his best position.

Scrum half
Youngs- 1st choice, with care out a certainty. hope he regains match fitness quickly.
Wigglesworth- decent player, covers fly half.
Simpson- probably the most exciting player, with ball in hand, left in the england squad. i fear jonno may not take him but he must! im a real fan and after the lack of creativity we have seen from england it would be criminal not to take this guy.

Fly half
Flood- not sure who will be first choice but despite some lack lustre performances I dont think flood is at fault for all of englands woes creatively
Wilko- He is still class, takes the points when on offer has a big role to play in the world cup. Hodgeson to miss out with cover coming from wigglesworth and flutey.

Centres
Flutey- not many options in the centres, he will go as a ball playing inside centre, with a boot.
Hape- im not a fan. jonno is.
Tindall- never going to be the most exciting player but when used correctly he is still a good one. takes contact well and defends well, should allow others to shine offensively.
Tuilagi- has to go, offers something different.

outside backs
Ashton- England only reliable try scorer.
Cueto- reliable, has kicking option and current incumbent. could lose starting berth to armitage though...
banahan- england have perserved with him and he is a good player, i hope he can prove his worth against top opposition but i do have my doubts. his experience will edge out sharples.
foden- 1st choice, great player imo.
armitage- good full back, versitile and has shown good form. looks like jonno was right to stand by him. i would like to see him start on the wing.

Other than a possible swap of Robshaw for Fourie, I'd be very surprised if this isn't the squad (assuming everyone stays fit). Would like to see us being a bit more adventurous and including either Monye or Sharples instead of Banahan, but don't see it happening (although the inclusion of Tuillagi and Armitage in the squad means Banahan's ability to cover the centre positions is less important to the squad).

Out of that 30, I think the only questions to resolve for the starting XV are:
Flood or Wilkinson at 10 (based on the Wales matches, Wilko may have moved back in front)
Flutey or Hape, or a very fortunate accident that allows Allen, 12x3 or Barritt to be called up
Whether Armitage or Banahan will take over from Cueto.

Otherwise we have:
Sheridan
Hartley
Cole
Palmer
Lawes
Croft
Moody
Easter

Youngs
Tindall
Ashton
Foden

Just checking, how do you pronounce Engalnd.

Like this


Eng - al - land?

Biltong

Use the England football team pronunciation - think of a Swedish au (what a) pair by the name Inga Lund

dummy_half wrote:Biltong

Use the England football team pronunciation - think of a Swedish au (what a) pair by the name Inga Lund

Isn't she the wife of Erik Lund?

And Biltong i have no idea how you pronounce Engalnd!

Surely there as to be BIG, BIG, question mark of Moodys fitness.
Is he going to be 100% fit or only 60% fit?..If he only gonig to be 60% then surely he should not go to the RWC.

Would of liked to see Sharples and Robshaw in the 30 man squad.

robshaw/fourie? i just think robshaw is a bit similar to the other flankers in the squad but without the pace or experience.

majestic, moodys fitness is a serious doubt but i'd still take him over robshaw.
if he does breakdown robshaw could always come out as a replacement. England miss something when moodys not there.

I think the only position under question is Shaw or Fourie

Having said that jonno always comes out with something completely unexpected

eg. Erinle or worsely out of the blue

I agree with Matt. It'll be what the OP has put, with possibly (hopefully!) Shaw instead of Fourie.

Robshaw won't go no matter how much the 606v2ers want it. He hasn't played. Sharples and Monye are also very unlikely to go.

I hope I'm wrong and something exciting happens, but I reckon it'll be a pretty dull announcement.

Has anyone any idea of the timing of the squad announcement?

Normally I'd expect it at mid-day

Midday or 1 o'clock

im certain there will be at least 1 shock inclusion or exclusion.

19.45 BST.

BBC claim Flutey will not be selected.

Dr Kenneth Noisewater wrote:19.45 BST.

BBC claim Flutey will not be selected.

Are you saying the the team announcement is 1945?

Do all squads have to be announced simultaneously? You could argue that the IRB should be told of the squads privately - just in case team A waits on team B's decision and elects to include player x over y because that gives them a perceived better advantage of progressing to the quarters.

Portnoy - I'm new on v2 so can't post the link until I passed my 7 day probation.

BBC Sport says the England squad announcement is at 19.45 BST.

Dont know the Beebs source, but this already signals Johnno's intent to take Tindall and Hape. (Tindall was a given but Hape...? Oh dear...)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/14614058.stm

I really don't think it matters what time the squads are announced. Johnson isn't waiting for Scotland (who have announced their squad) and Argentina to name their squads so that he can tailor a squad to beat those 30 players.

robbo277 wrote:I really don't think it matters what time the squads are announced. Johnson isn't waiting for Scotland (who have announced their squad) and Argentina to name their squads so that he can tailor a squad to beat those 30 players.

Nor do I Robbo. But it's conceivable that it could be slightly significant in one pool or another at one RWC or another. Just seems to me to be a sensible protocol.

Looks like Flutey will miss out so that Simpson can go as a specialist 9, reason is apparently MJ is worried about Wigglesworths poor performances so far and how Youngs may go back from injury.

Also Fourie si set to miss the plane so that Shaw can go.

Portnoy wrote:

Dr Kenneth Noisewater wrote:19.45 BST.

BBC claim Flutey will not be selected.

Are you saying the the team announcement is 1945?

Do all squads have to be announced simultaneously? You could argue that the IRB should be told of the squads privately - just in case team A waits on team B's decision and elects to include player x over y because that gives them a perceived better advantage of progressing to the quarters.

Australia announced their squad last week while the French one is out too along with quite a few other nations. NZ's announcement is 2pm tomorrow NZT (3am BST). The rule is that they have to be named by the 23rd IIRC. I don't think knowing which fringe squad players are going to make much of a difference to anyone else's squad selections though.