Dewi Morris calls on England to employ an attacking outlook during the Six Nations
Wednesday 21 January 2015 20:15, UK
Two players have been getting the headlines following Stuart Lancaster’s squad announcement, and rightly so. Danny Cipriani and Nick Easter have received their just rewards and deserve their places.
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Easter hasn’t played since the 2011 World Cup but like a good wine he has gotten better with age, and he brings huge experience to the table. He’s an old fashioned No 8, the type of one I like, and I’m delighted for the guy.
When Cipriani joined Sale I said I’d start talking about him when he moved from the front pages to the back, and he has done that. I know Steve Diamond very well and he has put his arm around Cipriani, and used the stick at times, and Danny has paid back everything he said he would and more. His form has been exceptional.
However, is Lancaster just placating the press by selecting Cipriani, or is he going to try and implement an attacking game for the Six Nations? I hope it’s a case of the latter, and his squad selection does suggest that he’s going to change tact.
I think George Ford will definitely start and I’d like to see his Bath team-mates Kyle Eastmond and Jonathan Joseph in the centre. This is a Six Nations where Lancaster should be preparing for the World Cup, not doggedly trying to win a Grand Slam.
It will be interesting to see if Lancaster views the Wales game as a must win. He may do because of the implications of the World Cup, but after watching Bath’s win in Toulouse I hope he goes with Eastmond and Joseph. Joseph reminded me of Jeremy Guscott in the way he set up that last try against Toulouse. He has an ability to glide past players and possesses incredible pace. They’re bound to make mistakes when they step up to international level, but they’ll excite the crowd and scare the living daylights out of defences.
If you get these guys the right type of ball they will do damage. England have fantastic forwards and will always produce great scrum, lineout and ruck ball, and if the likes of Billy Vunipola and Easter smash holes similar to what Bath’s back row did in Toulouse, that trio will capitalise.
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Whatever midfield pairing Lancaster does decide on, he needs to give them time to gel. He missed a trick in the autumn by picking Owen Farrell. That has been well documented but he can rectify that in the Six Nations. If Lancaster picks Ford, Eastmond and Joseph he can have a little play around with who he wants on the wing as they’re going to see lots of ball. But if you go with the likes of Brad Barritt and Luther Burrell, two players who I have nothing personal against, they will play a different type of game where England will bosh it up, get territory and possession and kick points, and that won’t be good enough to win a World Cup.
I know for a fact the likes of Joseph and Eastmond would prefer to play with Cipriani than Farrell or Myler, purely because he's almost a like-for-like replacement for Ford.
If you’re going to pick Ford at 10, you need to pick someone like Cipriani on the bench. It’s nothing against Farrell or Stephen Myler but they are a specific type of fly-half. Cipriani has shown his attacking threat for Sale; he has won games on his own, and Ford is equally the same.
I know for a fact the likes of Joseph and Eastmond would prefer to play with Cipriani than the other two, purely because he's almost a like-for-like replacement for Ford. That’s what you’ve got to have. And if you need to close the game out, Cipriani is perfectly capable of doing that too. If Ford was to get injured early on in a game, you want him to be replaced by someone who is just as capable of ripping the opposition apart.
I would be amazed if Lancaster went that way as he has put a lot of faith and time in Farrell, and we all know what he can bring. Is he everyone’s cup of tea? Not really, but he will do a good job in a pragmatic side. If that’s the way Lancaster wants to go then Farrell is his man. If he wants something different, you have to start with Ford and consider Cipriani for the bench.
I have no issue with Lancaster’s selections in the forwards. I’d love to see Steffon Armitage there but maybe that’s a flight of fancy from me. His decisions now are the style of play and that starts with the half-backs. If he’s going for Ford he has to go for an all-round attacking game, and you then pack your bench with the likes of Cipriani and Jonny May or Jack Nowell. You have to have somebody who can explode off the bench and have the ability to destroy sides.
That’s the type of selection I’d be going with. If you lose a few games in the Six Nations, which you probably will, so what? I won’t give Lancaster and England a hard time if that proves to be the case, and I don’t think the supporters will either.
England’s 34-man squad shows they have got serious strength in depth, but is Lancaster brave enough to pick the right players? It will be interesting to see what style he adapts in Cardiff on February 6.
