36 domestic fixtures, 7 Champions Cup
matches and 5 Challenge Cup showdowns that is what our England players have
contributed to over the past 6 weeks. It has been one of the most exciting
starts to a season in recent years as the results have been as predictable as
the Great British weather and over that time players have found and indeed lost
form.
Today, at QBE's Head Office in Central
London, Stuart Lancaster announced his EPS squad for the forthcoming QBE
Internationals. This was the first of a series of announcements leading up to
the 8th November and the first clash with the All Blacks. Stuart first
announced Chris Robshaw as his Captain and then explained the selection
decisions that he and his team had made. As expected there were a few key focus
points in particular the selections choices made behind the scrum;
"Backs wise it has been very
competitive across the board, we’ve had long debates in every position but
ultimately it has come down to two criteria. One is consistency, consistency
over time and the fact that we judge everyone on having very good qualities in
all areas but stand out in two and probably the second is getting the balance
right in our back line; that blend of pace, power and footballing ability"
After being picked for the first time
27 year old Semesa Rokoduguni will contribute greatly to that blend adding some
'punch and power' out wide which is needed in a squad without Manu Tuilagi. In
Stuart's words 'Mike (Catt) and Faz (Andy Farrell) are keen to get
him in and spend some time with him'. It was plainly evident that, like all of us, they see the potential housed in the winger and Stuart highlighted that they
have already discussed the option of Rokoduguni starting in the first test
against New Zealand.
Following his consistent form Stephen
Myler's inclusion will have been greeted by cries of delight from Saints' fans
everywhere whilst tears of joy for those in the Cipriani and Burns camps, for
it was at the expense of Danny and Freddie that Stephen was
included. Stuart highlighted that had Stephen been available for selection in
the summer, and not been part of the Aviva Premiership Final, he would have
started the first test against the All Blacks. This coupled with his consistent
form pushed him ahead of the other two and ultimately secured his
inclusion. Stuart was keen to point out that Danny was not playing badly, far from it, however he and the team believed that Stephen truly deserved his chance this year autumn.Stuart stressed explicitly that this is not the finished product, the 33 men on the announcement sheet today may not be the same 33 or so that are announced for the 6 Nations or indeed the World Cup;
"This is another stage in the
development of a team and it is by no means the finished article as we lead into
that World Cup; everyone still has plenty to play for and we’ll create
opportunities as and when we can."
Today marks the start of an extremely
exciting and special time of year, after one final weekend of Europe things
step up and notch and International Rugby takes centre stage. The excitement is
building already and with the individuals named today and those that remain
chomping at the bit to get in the squad we can all see that English rugby is in
a superb place and we are posed for a colossal set of matches against the best
sides that the Southern Hemisphere has to offer in the 2014
QBE Internationals.
The Full 33 Man England EPS Squad
The
following players will not be available for the 2014 QBE Internationals: Alex
Corbisiero (shoulder), Dan Cole (neck), Tom Croft (knee), Tom Johnson (neck),
Geoff Parling (concussion), Chris Pennell (groin), Ed Slater (knee), Mako
Vunipola (knee), Tom Youngs (shoulder).
