So this is it… the time has come, we know the two
starting XVs and the impact benches, we know the venue; the magnificent
Twickenham Stadium, but what we don’t know is which team will be victorious
when George Clancy blows his final whistle on Saturday afternoon.
Undoubtedly the majority of the pressure is on England,
they are playing at home, two years out from a home Rugby World Cup and they
are playing one of the ‘big guns’ Australia. In fairness, the visitors aren’t
without their own set of pressures, both individually and collectively, because
a 3 out of 10 winning ratio just isn’t good enough for themselves, their fans
or their media. However the real question is who has the upper hand?? Well
clearly it depends who you speak to regarding the answer to that million dollar
question. The Australian’s could easily take it to England and cause the upset
that we all hope that they won’t do. They have the fire power and talent in all
areas of the field but so far this year they haven’t been able to put it
together consistently for 80 minutes week in week out. Could they be slightly
shaken by the fact that it is all change at the helm with James Horwill being
stripped of the captaincy due to his poor form? Well maybe, however in his
place comes Ben Mowen who is a huge player with superb leadership qualities so
it is unlikely to be a problem. Perhaps the biggest shock of the announcement
was the choice of Mr Quade Cooper as Vice-Captain. Clearly a leopard can change
his spots!!? Then in terms of X factor and try scoring ability there is no
question that the Wallabies mean
business. When you can bench a player like Leali’ifano and have a backline that
has the names Israel Folau and Adam Ashley-Cooper in and I think you realise
that this is the real deal.
Yesterday Stuart Lancaster said that “rugby is played with
skill, power and pace but it is also played with emotion” and for this England
team emotion will have a big role to play in this game. The last time that 9 of
our starting line-up wore their England shirts they were humiliated by Wales;
comprehensively out classed all over the park and when a grand slam is at stake
that hurts and it hurts a lot. This match against the Wallabies is the first
opportunity for redemption and personally I think that the emotion will not overpower
our starting XV but it will do exactly as Stuart suggests and fuel a big
performance. Our injury list has been well documented and yes Manu, Brad, Corbs
and Geoff are huge losses but I am not going to dwell on it because right now
we are where we are and there is nothing that anyone can do about it before
Saturday’s fixture. We have a squad that is filled with players who are in the
form of their lives; Lee Dickson, Mike Brown, Marland Yarde and Courtney Lawes,
to name but a few and in theory whether they are wearing their club shirts or
the red rose of England their form should be the same. There are many lingering
questions about this ‘new look’ England team; has this squad had time to gel?
Have the set pieces been cemented, will the ‘smaller’ centre partnership be
effective and does this squad have the belief and ability to beat Australia, at
home on Saturday afternoon?
You may be wondering why I haven't gone into much more
detail regarding players on both teams or predicted the final score? Well this
is because; I like you, am waiting to see how things develop on Saturday. I
have faith that England can do the job, however equally I am aware of the
strength of Australia. In the build-up to this match we have all spoken
countless times about England’s potential and equally about their flaws, and
now it is time for us to stop speaking and start watching. There are only 23
men who can answer all of our questions and they will do that, one way or
another, on Saturday afternoon, on the pitch at Twickenham Stadium and
personally I cannot wait to watch them do it
 |
| It is crunch time for England |
Match Day Squads
England: Mike Brown (Harlequins), Chris Ashton
(Saracens), Joel Tomkins (Saracens), Billy Twelvetrees (Gloucester), Marland
Yarde (London Irish), Owen Farrell (Saracens), Lee Dickson (Northampton); Mako
Vunipola (Saracens), Tom Youngs (Leicester), Dan Cole (Leicester), Joe
Launchbury (Wasps), Courtney Lawes (Northampton), Tom Wood (Northampton), Chris
Robshaw (captain, Harlequins), Billy Vunipola (Saracens).
Replacements: Dylan Hartley (Northampton), Joe Marler
Harlequins), David Wilson (Bath), Dave Attwood Bath), Ben Morgan (Gloucester),
Ben Youngs (Leicester), Toby Flood (Leicester), Ben Foden (Northampton).
Australia: Israel Folau (NSW Waratahs); Adam
Ashley-Cooper (NSW Waratahs), Tevita Kuridrani (ACT Brumbies), Matt Toomua (ACT
Brumbies), Nick Cummins (Western Force); Quade Cooper (vice-captain, Queensland
Reds), Will Genia (Queensland Reds); James Slipper (Queensland Reds), Stephen
Moore (ACT Brumbies), Ben Alexander (ACT Brumbies), Sitaleki Timani (NSW
Waratahs), James Horwill (Queensland Reds), Scott Fardy (ACT Brumbies), Michael
Hooper (NSW Waratahs), Ben Mowen (captain, ACT Brumbies)
Replacements: Saia Fainga'a (Queensland Reds), Benn
Robinson (NSW Waratahs), Sekope Kepu (NSW Waratahs), Kane Douglas (NSW
Waratahs), Ben McCalman (Western Force), Nic White (ACT Brumbies), Christian
Leali'ifano (ACT Brumbies), Bernard Foley (NSW Waratahs)
