The series might be won and lost, but this Saturday’s final
test between England and New Zealand will be played as if the Hillary Shield
was still up for grabs. After falling so short in the first test which they
ought to have won, and having a poor performance in the second masked by a
flattering scoreline, England will be desperate to leave New Zealand with a win
to their name. So, with the match-day squad yet to be announced, here are our
thoughts on what England need to do in order to win Saturday’s game in
Hamilton.
The Centre Partnership
Two matches, two centre pairings. Will the third test be
accompanied by another trial in the midfield, or will Stuart Lancaster opt for
one of his already tested combinations? Whilst Billy Twelvetrees and Luther
Burrell may be the Six Nations incumbents, their impact in Dunedin was not as
large as many England fans had hoped; Twelvetrees made several costly mistakes
from hand and boot, whilst Burrell felt anonymous in attack for much of the
game. Putting Manu Tuilagi on the wing seemed only to limit England’s attacking
options, rather than strengthen them as the coaching staff had hoped.
One thing is for certain; on Saturday, Tuilagi must start at
number 13. The sooner the wing experiment is forgotten, the better. What is
less certain is who will partner him at twelve. Burrell seems too similar to
Tuilagi for such a combination to work; both are physical players best used to
smash gaps in the opposition’s defence. That leaves Twelvetrees and Eastmond.
Of the two, I would go for Eastmond; he has a dangerous amount of pace and his
agility gives him space to exploit that would not be available to other
players. Eastmond’s guile and nimbleness should be seen as the perfect complement
to Tuilagi’s power and physicality: both players are capable of creating and
exploiting space, but in entirely different ways. It is this contrast that will
create holes in New Zealand’s defensive line.
The Half-Backs
With Owen Farrell injured and out of contention on Saturday,
there is another opportunity for aspirational England fly-halves to stake their
claim to the number ten shirt. Danny Cipriani and Stephen Myler both impressed
in the match against the Crusaders, whilst Freddie Burns silenced many of his
critics in the first test in Auckland. All three will feel that their recent
form makes them deserving of the chance.
As much as Cipriani has the potential to set a game alight,
Burns will probably start, as he did in the first test, with the Sale ten taking
the bench spot. If Eastmond and Tuilagi link up in midfield, the backline could
be almost identical to that of two weeks ago. This is no bad thing, although no
tries were scored by England, the backs certainly created plenty of chances; if
they can take them on Saturday, then they will be half way towards securing a
prized test win on New Zealand soil.
Scrum-half is another open area, with Lancaster claiming
that Danny Care is 50/50 for the final test, suffering with a recurrence of the
shoulder injury that kept him out of the Auckland clash. Whilst Lee Dickson did
his cause a lot of good against the Crusaders, he will probably find himself on
the bench should Care be declared unfit, with Ben Youngs pulling on the number
nine shirt.
The Pack
England’s pack have every right to claim to be one of the
best in international rugby, even with the absent Alex Corbosiero, Tom Youngs,
and Dan Cole. Third choice hooker Rob Webber did enough to keep incumbent Dylan
Hartley on the bench last week, and should do the same for Saturday; if I were
Lancaster I would tell each player to give their all for forty minutes, with
the substitution occurring at half time. Come autumn, with Tom Youngs back in
the picture, I would like to see Rob Webber continue to be picked ahead of him;
his reliability at the set piece has been a vital part of England’s success on
this tour, an area that Youngs has struggled with in the past.
The second row is another area where competition is rife for
places, with Geoff Parling returning to deny Courtney Lawes his starting spot.
Parling’s lineout work has been of immense value to England, and it is likely
he will start alongside Launchbury for the third time on this tour, with Lawes
being left to make a sizeable impact off the bench.
In the back row, Ben Morgan should keep his place alongside
Tom Wood and Chris Robshaw, but it would be good to see James Haskell on the
bench in place of Billy Vunipola.
Our Squad
So, with the above in mind, here is the team we would like to see walk out on Saturday. Check back once the squad is announced to see how accurate we were in our predictions!
1 Joe Marler
2 Rob Webber
3 David Wilson
4 Joe Launchbury
5 Geoff Parling
6 Chris Robshaw
7 Tom Wood
8 Ben Morgan
9 Ben Youngs
10 Freddie Burns
11 Marland Yarde
12 Kyle Eastmond
13 Manu Tuilagi
14 Chris Ashton
15 Ben Foden
16 Matt Mullan
17 Dylan Hartley
18 Henry Thomas
19 Courtney Lawes
20 James Haskell
21 Danny Care (if fit)
22 Danny Cipriani
23 Mike Brown
