Sam Burgess closes on World Cup spot but England leave door ajar for drama
|
Version 0 of 1. English rugby tends to stage its bigger announcements in the Shakespeare suite at Twickenham, possibly to remind modern-day hacks of their lowly place in the literary pecking order. Some of these occasions can be a case of much ado about nothing but Wednesday’s extended World Cup squad – a list so long it threatened to spill off the bottom of the page – offers no end of dramatic possibilities in the next three months. No one is in much doubt that management already know the core of their final 31-man squad, but there remains sufficient intrigue around the edges to make the coming weeks extremely interesting. Stuart Lancaster is not yet entirely sure of his best options at wing, centre, hooker, prop, lock and back-row and is now challenging every fringe candidate to help him make up his mind. In no particular order these include David Strettle and Chris Ashton on the wings, both of whom have already nipped in ahead of Wasps’ Christian Wade, and Sam Burgess, who is being considered at both six and 12, placing pressure on the incumbents in both positions. Then there is Luke Cowan-Dickie, pushing Bath’s Rob Webber hard for the spare hooker role, and Maro Itoje, the 20-year-old Saracen who can be deployed at either lock or flanker. Alongside the reinstatement of Leicester’s fit-again Ed Slater, Itoje’s rise will be making Dave Attwood and George Kruis feel distinctly queasy. Five of the 50-man squad will not even make it to July’s training camp in Denver, with another 10 to be jettisoned prior to England’s first warm-up game against France at Twickenham. A further handful will then endure the cruellest cut of all before the final squad is announced at the end of August, leaving 31 survivors to shoot a documentary with Bear Grylls – sorry, contest the World Cup. Even the currently injured trio of Joe Simpson, Tom Croft and Ben Foden could yet re-enter the equation, with Lancaster suggesting Croft could travel to Colorado despite his non-inclusion in the original 50. If Ben Morgan’s recovery from a broken leg is in any way delayed, furthermore, Exeter’s Thomas Waldrom can also expect a call, although Lancaster has stressed only five back-rowers will make his final squad. “Training will be very competitive … the intensity of the camp will give us all the answers we need,” he suggested. “In an ideal world we would probably pick 60 because there are that many players we think are good enough.” Too many cooks? Lancaster prefers to regard the huge cast as a positive, repeatedly emphasising his desire “not to close doors too early”. His plan is to give many of the fringe candidates a run against France on 15 August before having “the most difficult conversations of all” with those not selected for every sportsperson’s ultimate dream: a playing role at a home World Cup. Burgess has already had that pleasure in rugby league, which would make it even more of an achievement if he makes the final 31 for the 2015 union version. It is further complicated by the fact Bath have increasingly been playing him at blindside flanker whereas England would ideally prefer him at inside-centre. Andy Farrell, who knows a bit about cross-code journeys, confirmed he would be running in both positions once the first stage of the training camp commences in Bagshot on 22 June. “How he plays won’t change as a 12 or as a six,” insisted Farrell. “We’ve seen the same running lines, the same big hits and the same ferocity in his collisions in both positions. But what we have seen is that, having started off at 12, he has developed as a rugby union player.” Lancaster also suggested that soft winter pitches and the unavailability of some of Bath’s key forwards had not helped the former South Sydney Rabbitoh to display his true worth earlier this year, emphasising that Burgess could further advance his cause with a good performance against Leicester in Saturday’s Premiership semi-final. The same applies to Strettle and Ashton for Saracens against Northampton, with the management looking for experienced campaigners to combat the big wings likely to be fielded by both Wales and Australia. It is for reasons of defensive solidity that Wade, for now, has been overlooked, although he is set to feature alongside Danny Cipriani, Henry Slade, Elliot Daly, Joe Launchbury and Marland Yarde for an England XV against the Barbarians on Sunday week. There will also be a consolatory berth in that fixture for Exeter’s Dave Ewers, the versatility of Itoje and Slater having squeezed the big Chief out of the World Cup running. With Steffon Armitage and Manu Tuilagi not involved either, England will have to look elsewhere for powerhouse ball-carriers capable of making anyone think twice. With each passing day, the odds on Burgess making the final 31 appear to be shortening. The gatecrashers: five names to watch Sam Burgess Bath His late-season impact at blindside flanker for Bath has not gone unnoticed by England. They plan to involve him both in the back row and at centre during training next month and a good display in Saturday’s Aviva Premiership semi-final against Leicester will further boost his chances Luke Cowan-Dickie Exeter Still young but the Cornishman’s feisty enthusiasm is precisely what England’s forwards coach Graham Rowntree wants to see his pack displaying. He is right on the heels of the Bath hooker Rob Webber who badly needs a strong end to his domestic campaign David Strettle Saracens The winger’s inclusion after such a long absence is recognition of his consistent form and the fact that Stuart Lancaster has not quite settled on his best wingers. His experience will count in his favour, although a World Cup berth remains a long shot Chris Ashton Saracens Scoring regularly for Saracens, as with Strettle, has earned him another chance when all seemed lost World Cup-wise. Still needs to get ahead of Jonny May and Marland Yarde in the race for the third specialist wing slot behind Jack Nowell and Anthony Watson Elliot Daly Wasps Owes his inclusion to Manu Tuilagi’s brain fade but he has the talent, pace and footwork to embarrass the best defenders. If he carves up the Barbarians he could book himself a seat to Colorado, at which point he and Henry Slade would be vying for a utility back role |