Jonny be gone

Stuart Barnes, Dewi Morris and Sean Fitzpatrick discuss England's starting XV for the Six Nations.

Scroll down to view Stuart and Dewi's starting XV's

So the World Cup is over and England can hold it's head up high having got to the final. But what now? With the Six Nations coming up in February Stuart Barnes and Dewi Morris present their starting XV for the tournament, while Sean Fitzpatrick gives his opinion on what England can learn from New Zealand's mistakes. Stuart has gone for a mixture of experience and youth while Dewi believes that it is not worth playing players who will not be around in four years time. They do agree on some positions, but the most noticeable one is Jonny Wilkinson. Neither Stuart or Dewi have picked him! "Jonny Wilkinson was probably the world's best rugby player from 2000 until around 2003, " explained Stuart. "But after his injury he has not been. He has seen a lot of hype and because of that the team sometimes suffer as all the media say that Jonny is the man and the team have become dependant on him. "We saw him kick goals, we saw him make tackles but what we didn't see is him give any life to the backline. He is standing deeper, his tactical play is poor and he is not getting anything out of his 3/4 line. "My philosophy behind this team is balance," continued Stuart. 'I don't want to go for a whole new team four-year before the World Cup. I have got four of the tight five who did so well in the World Cup with Dylan Hartley coming in at hooker. "In the back row, well I think you need more pace. Moody at six and Rees and Haskell work perfectly well. Gomarsall stays because he is almost keeping the place warm for when Harry Ellis is fit. "In the backline I like Powell's power alongside Geraghty. I think Charlie Hodgson is playing beautifully but I want to see Flood there for the future, and Mathew Tait showed in the World Cup final that he is a man for the future. "His broken field running is absolutely superb. We have seen him do it on the sevens circuit, suddenly he was doing it on the highest stage of all. He kicked well, he tackled well. "Build your attacking game around him if you keep Brian Ashton in charge. Suddenly from having no attack at all, we will have some and we will also have some old heads who know their way round international rugby."

The future is bright

Dewi has no such qualms about old heads, and says that youth is the future for England. The sooner they are blooded at the highest level the better. 'I agree with some of Stuart's selection, explained Dewi. "But what is the point of picking players who in four years time will not be going to the World Cup? Pick your youngsters. That is why I have gone for Tom Palmer and Nick Kennedy in the second row. "Let's have a look at these guys now in the Six Nations and not leave it two or three years down the line. "I agree with Stuart, Moody is a six, so let's keep him there. I would like to see a Wigglesworth and Hodgson combination at half-back," added Dewi. "I agree on Jonny Wilkinson, he is too deep. He is a kicker and he is a tackler but he does not give me any enthusiasm as far a backline goes. "Banahan is in for me and once again that is a wild choice. What is he? 6ft7 and 17 stone? He can make an impact. "Ben Foden was the Sale scrum-half and could not quite get in the starting line-up, he is now Saint Andre's first choice fullback and you tell me a better fullback who is playing in the Premiership at the moment?"

Lessons from the All Blacks

Listening quietly to Morris and Barnes is All Black legend Sean Fitzpatrick who agrees with Stuart. "I think England need to go with balance," said Fitzpatrick who is still reeling from New Zealand's early departure from the World Cup. "The World Cup is four years away and New Zealand made the mistake of picking a world cup team three years out. "We threw out all the experience of key players. I look back and think that maybe a Umaga would have made that difference in the midfield. I still believe that he could have been playing. 'You need to keep the Simon Shaw' s of the world in there. You need to build confidence and this is what this English team need going forward. "If Shaw is good for another two years, then pick him. If Jonny Wilkinson is the best number 10, then pick him. "The World Cup is four years away. England have to pick the best team week in and week out. If they fall over, then bring the next guy in. "You have a huge pool of players to pick from, so don't devalue the jersey by picking anyone, pick your best players."

Stuart's XV	Position	Dewi's XV
Mathew Tait	15	Ben Foden
Paul Sackey	14	David Strettle
Adam Powell	13	Mathew Tait
Shane Geraghty	12	Dan Hipkiss
James Simpson-Daniel	11	Matthew Banahan
Toby Flood	10	Charlie Hodgson
Andy Gomarsall	9	Richard Wigglesworth
Andrew Sheridan	1	Andrew Sheridan
Dylan Hartley	2	Lee Mears
Matt Stevens	3	Matt Stevens
Simon Shaw	4	Tom Palmer (capt)
Ben Kay	5	Nick Kennedy
Lewis Moody	6	Lewis Moody
Tom Rees (capt)	7	Tom Rees
James Haskell	8	James Haskell