Stuart Lancaster’s unchanged England team belies growing wealth of options
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Version 0 of 1. The Six Nations championship can be a stressful, anxious time but England’s players look perkier than they have done in a couple of years. The whoosh of soaring morale since last week’s victory in Cardiff is almost tangible and Stuart Lancaster’s confirmation of an unchanged starting XV for Saturday’s home game against Italy has continued the smoothest of pre-match buildups. Rather than rows of nervous novices, the coaches are also starting to see something very different: increasing numbers of maturing, confident players with plenty more improvement still in them. Not so long ago the Bath trio of Anthony Watson, Jonathan Joseph and George Ford, for example, were not trusted to start games at this level. Suddenly all three are automatic picks and are eyeing Italy the way a hungry lion does a sickly antelope. That is not to say they will necessarily tear the Azzurri apart at Twickenham, the visitors having lost just 18-11 on their last visit two seasons ago. The big difference this time, however, is that England have the potential strength in depth on their bench – as well as the growing self-belief and fitness – to put weary teams away in the final quarter. It explains why Stuart Lancaster looks so much happier than he did 10 days ago, despite having received confirmation that the Bath prop David Wilson will miss the rest of the championship because he needs surgery to relieve the pressure on an impinged nerve in his neck. Tight-head is not one of the positions in which England have dozens of options but still they can whistle up Premiership-hardened, improving replacements such as Kieran Brookes and Henry Thomas to understudy the fit-again Dan Cole. For Lancaster this is almost as priceless as the gleam in the eyes of Joseph and the Saracens lock George Kruis as they prepare to make their Twickenham starting debuts. “You need strength in depth to win a World Cup … you don’t win a World Cup with 15 players,” said Lancaster. “As New Zealand showed in 2011 it could be the third or fourth choice player who plays in the final. You also need competition. When they come into training one of the tricks for me is to make sure they not only remain competitive but put the shirt first so that competitiveness doesn’t become disruptive.” Two of his longer conversations this week, consequently, have been with Brad Barritt and Manu Tuilagi, during which both players were reassured they are still very much in his thoughts. Precisely when they will be back in the starting lineup, however, is suddenly a question no-one can answer; if Ford, Luther Burrell and Joseph combine as effectively as they did against Wales they will be going nowhere, regardless of what unfolds when Barritt faces Kyle Eastmond at club level this week. “You do want to keep your squad connected but equally you’ve got to make sure you put winning at the top of the list,” admitted Lancaster. “I’d be very surprised if any team goes through the whole tournament with just 23 players so I’m sure there will be changes along the way. But, equally, you’ve got to recognise one or two players are unlucky not to be playing at the moment through no fault of their own.” It is also hard to dispute Lancaster’s assertion that “we have more x-factor players now”, with Danny Cipriani once again lurking on the bench and the dynamic Courtney Lawes due back for the week of the Ireland game. No one has been receiving warmer words this week, however, than Watson after he scored what should be the first of many Test tries at the Millennium Stadium. “I think he could be exceptional for us,” admitted Lancaster. “He’s still growing and he’s still only 20.” Watson is also more self-confident than he once was, having sought help from the “mind coach” Don Macpherson. “A lot of people neglect the mental side of rugby but it’s crucial to feel 100% ready,” stressed Watson. “A year ago I would definitely have been massively nervous going into the hostile atmosphere of the Millennium Stadium. Last Friday I had the perfect balance between being calm, excited and confident in myself.” Joseph, too, has been significantly buoyed by his try-scoring effort in Cardiff. “In the week leading into the Welsh game I was very nervous. I wouldn’t say I’m more relaxed now but I’m more aware of the game.” This could be ominous news for Italy, although the centre is braced for an initial arm-wrestle. “We want to put in a good performance this weekend but we’ve got to build the scoreboard first. We can’t just go out there and think we’re going to joue, throw it around and score many tries. “It’s an international game and we’ll have to play accordingly but, hopefully, there’ll also be opportunities to attack at some stage.” |