England team Vs Ireland

Team will be announced today apparently. I', d like to see:

Sheridan- needs to prove fitness.
Hartley- NO.1 IMO. thommo can come on a grab another try if he wants though.
Cole- Not fully match fit yet and will have to battle with stevens for no.1 spot.

Palmer
Lawes- this is our top pairing and we need to play our best team against the irish

Croft- he has players chasing hid spot and needs to stand up and be counted
Wood- moody out, so between haskell and wood. slight injury concern for haskell he can cover 3 back row positions from the bench
Easter- well off the pace at MS, needs the game time. is his position under threat?

Simpson- I want to see him given a go, one of the most exciting players in the squad. he could be a key player for england at the world cup

wilko- with simpson inside providing pace and creativity wilko can do what he does best. pin the opposition back, kick the points and tackle hard

Tindall- first man organising the defence, people are concerned if he plays IC the other backs wont see the ball but he can be used as a decoy and a crash ball option. tindall can provide quick ball from 2nd phase.
tuilagi- vital he starts for me, he is a threat to defences best at 13 not 12.

armitage- cueto just hasnt shown the form to start, armitage retains the kicking option that cueto offers and adds pace.
Ashton- key man, out and out try scorer england dont have many in the squad
foden- quiet so far in warm ups needs to pick it up this weekend because his place could be under threat from armitage

Keys for me are:
the half back pairing
combining tindall and tuilagi in the centres
and giving armitage a start

I think Joe Simpson should have a run out but I got a feeling that he will play Ben Youngs to get him some match fitness and ready for the first world cup game.

I agree with you about the centre partnership and I think that this is the best way forward for England. Tindall has got the experiance at 12 (2003) so I think it would work.

youngs will not be fit for saturday so i expect wigglesworth will start but i want to see simpson start.

leachy15 wrote:I think Joe Simpson should have a run out but I got a feeling that he will play Ben Youngs to get him some match fitness and ready for the first world cup game.

I agree with you about the centre partnership and I think that this is the best way forward for England. Tindall has got the experiance at 12 (2003) so I think it would work.

I don't think Tindall did play at inside centre. Greenwood played 12 and Catt played 12 occasionally. Greenwood wore the number 13, but that was due to superstition after nearly dying on the lions tour in 2001 wearing 12.

Wood in front of Haskell might be a bit harsh. Thought Haskell was excellent at Twickenham competing at the breakdown, which is where the game was lost at MS with Easter and others not showing up.

I would love to see SOB/Ferris flatten Wilko would be great. That's a decent team HQ.

O'Brien has got a serious injury and will not play.

In fact, he is unlikely to play the first one or two matches in the pools.

Hopefully Ferris is fully fit and recovered.

Looks a good team to me - definately would like to see the Tindall/Tuilagi pairing and I agree that Tuilagi needs to be at 13 in order to make the most of him.

Tindall at 12 seems like a good option - well the best we have - his passing/distribution skills will be limited but he'll be solid in defence and take the ball into contact when needed.

All the papers indicate Tuilagi at 12.

I would love to see Cueto taken out and Armitage in there but i have a feeling it'll be another chance for 'reliable' Cueto to show us how wingers don't play.