Rugby Club: Panel debate a potential late England call up for Steffon Armitage

With the World Cup just a matter of months away and the debate on whether Steffon Armitage should be part of the England squad rumbling on, the Rugby Club panel were split on whether bringing in the Toulon back row would be the right call.

Despite Armitage’s exemplary form over the past two years, England have resisted the temptation to pick him and stuck to their policy of not selecting players plying their trade abroad.

However, Stuart Barnes argued that the flanker would be an invaluable addition to the England squad and provides a step up in class from captain Chris Robshaw.

“A World Cup may well be won by a team’s ability to dominate the breakdown or not be dominated,” he said.

“We have (Sam) Warburton, we’ve got (Sean) O’Brien, we’ve got (David) Pocock, we’ve got a bloke called (Richie) McCaw, Francois Louw – is Chris Robshaw that class? He is a Test match player, is he that class? Armitage, most of us think, is.

“It’s a massive call for Lancaster but I think it’s a case of do you want to go for broke or not? I’m still in the Armitage camp.”

Former Ireland winger Shane Horgan was in full agreement over Armitage’s inclusion, but backed Robshaw to remain in the starting XV alongside him.

“I love Armitage as a player, I think he is a phenomenal player and I would definitely have him in the squad and possibly the team but you can’t underestimate what Robshaw brings to that team,” Horgan said.

“He is perpetual motion; that guy never stops. He makes more tackles than anybody else; he clears out more rucks than anybody else and you have to have someone in that role. Do you find a place for Armitage somewhere else in the back row?

“I think it would disrupt that team so badly to leave Robshaw out and I don’t think it would be a good policy to do that. I do think they should bring Armitage into the squad though and look to get him in the team.”

Rory Lawson was also keen to highlight the positive influence of Robshaw on the England team and the importance of his leadership.

“He’s been there ever since Lancaster came in, since day one he has been the captain and I don’t think you can underestimate that,” the former Scotland international said.

“You can bring Armitage back in, he has to be in that squad. He’s an x-factor player, he can bring something very different to anyone else in that England forward pack but Robshaw is just synonymous with that leadership role.

“He is that guy that you expect to see in the tunnel, at the front of the crew. He is the man that everyone looks to.”

Gareth Thomas, however, believes that England have left it too late to call up Armitage before the World Cup despite acknowledging the current England skipper’s weakness when it comes to decision making.

“I think because of his interaction in the game, he sometimes doesn’t see the whole picture of the game because he’s got his head down,” he explained. “I think he struggles from a game management point of view but if there was any time to make a decision to change, it isn’t now.

“It’s gone. You can’t introduce players into these games (World Cup warm-ups), really I think they are kind of irrelevant because I don’t think anyone will show their hand or their new tactics, their new players, it’s more for game fitness.

“I think the time to bring somebody in has long gone. It’s the worst possible decision Stuart Lancaster could make is to bring Armitage in for the World Cup.”