Photograph: Steve Bardens/The RFU Collection/Getty Images Marcus Smith is seen by some as an indulgence but England need him to be part of the squad. A penny, too, for the thoughts of Zach Mercer and Sam Simmonds, both of whom would suit a slightly more buccaneering style. If the Harlequin does miss out he will rue not quite grasping his opportunity in this year’s Six Nations. Rough as it is on Earl and Ludlam, a decent 50 minutes in Cardiff might just confirm Pearson’s spot.Īlex Dombrandt also needs a cracking game against Wales to avoid being overtaken by the fast-rising Tom Willis. ![]() But the more you look down Borthwick’s list of contenders the more your eye is drawn to the rangy Tom Pearson, who offers more height and line-breaking dynamism than either of the others. Lewis Ludlam, similarly, is the kind of guy you would trust with your life. On the face of it, for example, Ben Earl’s pace feels like an asset and could offer something different. Which is where the balance of the squad selection becomes fascinating. That said, he is going to need some ball-carrying X factor somewhere. Or indeed top-ranked Ireland, currently the Kitemark of excellence for everyone else. What that says about the Premiership’s current strength is a moot point but when the final squad axe falls it will not do so on many players who would be automatic picks for, say, the All Blacks. It helps to explains the return of Care, Dan Cole and Joe Marler when the passing years would suggest there should be alternative contenders. The knockout phases are no place for wheel reinvention. When people go on about the optimal number of caps to win a World Cup, what they are really talking about is cohesion. More pertinent are partnerships and collective clarity. How long ago does Manu Tuilagi’s plunge into Auckland harbour in 2011 now feel? Or Danny Care’s debut in New Zealand in the summer of 2008 under Rob Andrew’s brief stewardship? Almost a third of the likely squad will be heading into their final World Cups and know to expect the unexpected.Įxperience, then, is not the biggest issue. Many of his soon-to-be-named players also need no reminding that rugby is a game of wildly fluctuating ups and downs. It explains his desire to be as upfront with the current crop as he possibly can. Borthwick knows both emotions, having missed the cut in 2003 after training with the wider squad all summer. If the process is marginally less fraught, with 33 players now permitted instead of the previous 31, it does not lessen the thrill for those chosen or the despair for those omitted.
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