SIX NATIONS NEWS:MARTIN JOHNSON'S revised England squad announced yesterday morning contains expected recalls for Mark Cueto, Mike Tindall and Olly Morgan, as well as a call-up for the uncapped Northampton fullback/scrumhalf Ben Foden, but it fails to address the problem position of secondrow.
Wasps’ Tom Palmer remains in the 32 even though he will miss the Six Nations because of a shoulder injury. Johnson said he would take in the final two rounds of the Heineken Cup before deciding a replacement: Ben Kay, Richard Blaze, George Skivington, Louis Deacon and the promoted Chris Robshaw are the options in the Saxons squad, which has also been updated today.
Six players who were named in the squad last July have been dropped. James Simpson-Daniel, Peter Richards, Olly Barkley and Jordan Crane have been demoted to the Saxons, Jonny Wilkinson is injured and Tom Varndell has dropped off the radar, while the Bath flanker Michael Lipman, who featured in the November internationals, remains with the Saxons after Lewis Moody’s recovery from injury, although he may be brought back to cover for the injured Tom Rees.
One of England’s problems in November was a lack of experience in key positions, especially midfield. The return of Tindall, who has been in outstanding form for Gloucester, will help offset that, while Cueto gives Johnson options at fullback or on the wing.
There is no place for the heavily touted London Irish flanker Steffon Armitage, who remains in the Saxons but, like Lipman, may yet profit from Rees’s absence, while another of England’s problem positions, prop, is highlighted by the inclusion in the reserve squad of Johnson’s veteran former team-mate at Leicester, Julian White, who is 36 in May.
Foden comes in for the third scrumhalf, Peter Richards, another versatile player who has appeared in the midfield, but his best chance of selection lies at fullback, although he may be on the bench against Italy because Harry Ellis will not have played for seven weeks because of suspension.
The overall impact of the changes behind have been to add experience and pace, but the forwards remain largely unchanged, even though as much attention was needed in that area.
ENGLAND (Revised 32-man senior elite player squad): Backs: D Armitage (London Irish), D Care (Harlequins), D Cipriani (Wasps), M Cueto (Sale Sharks), H Ellis (Leicester), T Flood (Leicester), B Foden (Northampton), R Flutey (Wasps), S Geraghty (London Irish), U Monye (Harlequins), O Morgan (Gloucester), J Noon (Newcastle), P Sackey (Wasps), M Tait (Sale Sharks), M Tindall (Gloucester). Forwards: S Borthwick (Saracens), G Chuter (Leicester), T Croft (Leicester), N Easter (Harlequins), D Hartley (Northampton), J Haskell (Wasps), N Kennedy (London Irish), L Mears (Bath), L Moody (Leicester), L Narraway (Gloucester), T Palmer (Wasps), T Payne (Wasps), T Rees (Wasps), S Shaw (Wasps), A Sheridan (Sale Sharks), M Stevens (Bath), P Vickery (Wasps).
Guardian Service
