England Rugby Union Player Pool

Martin Johnson's reign as England's Rugby Union manager has only just begun with plenty of positives and negatives to take from victory over the Pacific Islands, and defeat against Australia. But what should give him heart is the phenomenal number of player options at his disposal.

#1 Loose Head Prop
ANDREW SHERIDAN (SALE SHARKS)

Although Sheridan is reputed to be a fearsome scrummager, for such a big guy, surely he needs to be more of a battering ram around the park?

The alternatives:
Tim Payne (London Wasps)
Nick Wood (Gloucester Rugby)
David Barnes (Bath Rugby)
David Wilson (Newcastle Falcons)
Nick Lloyd (Saracens)
Alex Corbisiero (London Irish)
Matt Mullan (Worcester Warriors)
Alex Clarke (Bristol Rugby)
Jon Golding (Newcastle Rugby)
David Flatman (Bath Rugby)
John Brooks (Harlequins)
Perry Freshwater (Perpignan, France)
Kevin Yates (Nice, France)
Billy Moss (Bath Rugby)

#2 Hooker
LEE MEARS (BATH RUGBY)

Mears looks to be more mobile and interested in carrying the ball than other recent hookers. But who is the best at getting the lineout moving effectively? That's what I call a rhetorical question!

The alternatives:
Dylan Hartley (Northampton Saints)
George Shuter (Leicester Tigers)
Andy Titterell (Gloucester Rugby)
David Paice (London Irish)
Andy Long (Newcastle Falcons)
Rob Webber (London Wasps)
Mark Regan (Bristol Rugby)
Matt Cairns (Saracens)
Joe Ward (London Wasps)
Chris Brooker (Harlequins)
Matt Thompson (Newcastle Falcons)
Steve Thompson (Brive, France)
James Buckland (London Irish)
Scott Freer (Leeds Carnegie)
Joe Gray (Northampton Saints)
Ross McMillan (Gloucester Rugby)

#3 Tight Head Prop
MATT STEVENS (BATH RUGBY)

I'd pick a prop that can run with the ball and knock over a few tacklers as opposed to a "more assured" scrummager any day. The so-called specialists in the scrum tend to be the same old-school thugs who end up giving away stupid penalties that cost England three points at the feet of the opposition's deadly kicker!

The alternatives:
Phil Vickery (London Wasps)
Jason Hobson (Bristol Rugby)
Jack Forster (Gloucester Rugby)
Stuart Turner (Sale Sharks)
Julian White (Leicester Tigers)
Tom French (London Wasps)
Micky Ward (Newcastle Falcons)
Darren Crompton (Bristol Rugby)
Tom Mercey (Saracens)
Duncan Bell (Bath Rugby)
Daniel Cole (Leicester Tigers)
Robbie Morris (Connacht, Ireland)
Nathan Catt (Bath Rugby)
Charlie Beech (London Welsh - on loan from Wasps)

#4 and #5 - Second Rows
STEVE BORTHWICK (SARACENS) - CAPTAIN
TOM PALMER (LONDON WASPS)

Watching Steve Borthwick play live is a far different experience to watching him in a televised game. Sitting on your couch at home you could sometimes be forgiven for thinking he goes missing during a game. But rugby is a game of tactical positioning, and Borthwick is like a chess grand master pushing his pawns into position, and making sure his castles are protecting the flanks. I saw him play for his former club Bath at the Leicester Tigers, and decided to focus on him rather than the ball for a few minutes. While his team was attacking, at the possibility of a Leicester kick to touch, a good 60 seconds before it happened, Borthwick retreated down his own sideline in anticipation of being able to prevent the ball going to touch and feeding his back line. He's not captain for nothing you know!

The alternatives:
Nick Kennedy (London Irish)
Simon Shaw (London Wasps)
Ben Kay (Leicester Tigers)
Chris Jones (Sale Sharks)
Richard Blaze (Leicester Tigers)
Alex Brown (Gloucester Rugby)
Peter Short (Bath Rugby)
James Hudson (London Irish)
Dean Schofield (Sale Sharks)
Louis Deacon (Leicester Tigers)
Danny Grewcock (Bath Rugby)
George Skivington (London Wasps)
Roy Winters (Bristol Rugby)
Jim Evans (Harlequins)
David Attwood (Bristol Rugby)
Graham Kitchener (Worcester Warriors)
James Cannon (Northampton Saints)
Andrew Springgay (Bayonne, France)
Scott Hobson (Bath Rugby)
Gregor Gillanders (Bedford)
Ben Thomas (London Welsh)
Phil Hoy (Northampton Saints)

#6, #7, #8 - Flankers & No. 8 (Back Row)
TOM CROFT (LEICESTER TIGERS)
TOM REES (LONDON WASPS)
NICK EASTER (HARLEQUINS)

I really like this trio at the back of the scrum, but they all seem like quiet characters on the pitch. There's no galvanising Dallaglio-type, wild-man Micky Skinner, or kamikaze Lewis Moody. They seem like effective rather than flashy players. Perhaps it's the job of the replacement back row crew to come on to the field and stir things up while the opposition has tired legs?

The alternatives:
James Haskell (London Wasps)
Michael Lipman (Bath Rugby)
Jordan Crane (Leicester Tigers)
Luke Narraway (Gloucester Rugby)
Joe Worsley (London Wasps)
Steffon Armitage (London Irish)
Lewis Moody (Leicester Tigers)
Magnus Lund (Biarritz, France)
Tom Guest (Harlequins)
Dan Ward-Smith (Bristol Rugby)
Chris Robshaw (Harlequins)
James Scaysbrook (Bath Rugby)
Phil Dowson (Newcastle Falcons)
Ben Skirving (Saracens)
Will Skinner (Harlequins)
Stuart Hooper (Bath Rugby)
Andy Hazell (Gloucester Rugby)
Dave Seymour (Saracens)
Ben Woods (Leicester Tigers)
Pat Sanderson (Worcester Warriors)
Kieran Roche (London Irish)
Adam Balding (Newcastle Falcons)
Hugh Vyvyan (Saracens)
Andy Beattie (Bath Rugby)
Chevvy Pennycook (Bristol Rugby)
Hugo Ellis (London Welsh - on loan from Wasps)
Matt Cox (Worcester Warriors)
Calum Clark (Leeds Carnegie)
Jon Fisher (London Irish)
Andy Saull (Saracens)
Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints)
Brett Deacon (Leicester Tigers)
Isoa Damudamu (Newbury Rugby)
Tom Sargeant (Harlequins)
David Tait (Sale Sharks)
Peter Buxton (Gloucester Rugby)
Chris Cracknell (Cornish Pirates)
Tony Roques (Cornish All Blacks)
James Rodwell (Moseley)
Alex Shaw (Sale Sharks)

#9 Scrum Half
DANNY CARE (HARLEQUINS)

Care looks like an exciting runner, so he could hold on to the number 9 shirt for some time to come. Being a Leicester fan I'd have to root for Harry Ellis to get another shot though! Ellis and Toby Flood in combination fills me with greater confidence than the Care / Cipriani half back pairing.

The alternatives:
Harry Ellis (Leicester Tigers)
Peter Richards (London Irish)
Richard Wigglesworth (Sale Sharks)
Paul Hodgson (London Irish)
Lee Dickson (Northampton Saints)
Andy Gomarsall (Harlequins)
James Grindal (Newcastle Falcons)
Shaun Perry (Bristol Rugby)
Nick Walshe (Bedford)
Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers)
Scott Bemand (Bath Rugby)
Johnny Arr (Worcester Warriors)
Joe Simpson (London Wasps)
Kevin Barrett (Exeter Chiefs)
Mickey Young (Newcastle Falcons)
John Brake (Northampton Saints)
Simon Amor (London Scottish)

#10 Fly Half
DANNY CIPRIANI (LONDON WASPS)

Ok, I'll admit that Cipriani has his moments but already I have this feeling that in the black shirt of Wasps he is dynamic and exciting while in the white of England he will often fail to impress, rather like Steven Gerrard of Liverpool in the national football team. I know Jonny Wilkinson was quite "boring" with his kick-friendly game, metronomic penalty strikes at goal, and shoulder-dislocating (usually his own!) tackles on his opposite number. If we could get 80 minutes of Cipriani looking like a world beater, then fine, let him have the shirt for a decade. Alas I feel we'll get one or two major gaffes each game that undo a lot of other hard work around the pitch. I'd select a certain Toby the Tiger!

The alternatives:
Toby Flood (Leicester Tigers)
Shane Geraghty (London Irish)
Jonny Wilkinson (Newcastle Falcons)
Ryan Lamb (Gloucester Rugby)
Adrian Jarvis (Bristol Rugby)
Andy Goode (Brive, France)
Charlie Hodgson (Sale Sharks)
Alex Goode (Saracens)
Ben Gollings (Sunnybank, Australia)
Adam Greendale (Leeds Carnegie)
Rob Miller (Newcastle Falcons)
Seb Jewell (Harlequins)
James Brooks (Leeds Carnegie)

#12 and #13 Centres
JAMIE NOON (NEWCASTLE FALCONS)
RIKI FLUTEY (LONDON WASPS)

It seems to be the conventional wisdom now in the modern game that your centre partnership needs to include one dazzling attacker and one defensive tackling machine (a "run and gun" combo, if you will). Current incumbents are the exciting Flutey with the "hard as nails" Noon to lead the line. But how is it that the southern hemisphere seems to have centres the size of second rows with Olympic speed? If only we could get Andy Farrell to wear rocket-propelled boots!

The alternatives:
Dan Hipkiss (Leicester Tigers)
Olly Barkley (Gloucester Rugby)
Mike Tindall (Gloucester Rugby)
Andy Farrell (Saracens)
Anthony Allen (Gloucester Rugby)
Dominic Waldouck (London Wasps)
Adam Powell (Saracens)
Jordan Turner-Hall (Harlequins)
Ayoola Erinle (Leicester Tigers)
Jon Clarke (Northampton Saints)
Henry Paul (Leeds Carnegie)
Alex Crockett (Bath Rugby)
Ollie Smith (Montpelier, France)
Jack Adams (Gloucester Rugby)
Ben Johnston (Brive, France)
Kevin Sorrell (Saracens)
Chris Mayor (Northampton Saints)
Chris Bell (Sale Sharks)
Luke Eves (Bristol Rugby)
Mike Catt (London Irish)
Tom Youngs (Leicester Tigers)
Andy Vilk (Treviso, Italy)
Nils Mordt (Northampton Saints)
Andrew Higgins (Bath Rugby)
Greg King (Worcester Warriors)
Andrew Thompstone (London Irish)
Sam Vesty (Leicester Tigers)
Greg Barden (Bristol Rugby)
Rob Vickerman (Leeds Carnegie)
Ben Russell (Coventry)
Liam Gibson (Plymouth Albion)

#11, #14, #15 Wingers and Full Back
UGO MONYE (HARLEQUINS)
PAUL SACKEY (LONDON WASPS)
DELON ARMITAGE (LONDON IRISH)

Johnson could have immediately struck gold by adding Monye and Armitage to the impressive presence of Paul Sackey. All three could turn into try-scoring machines in the coming months. So far against the Pacific Islands and Australia, Delon Armitage has looked like a composed veteran of fifty caps rather than a newcomer! But there are plenty of other flyers in the Guinness Premiership .....

The alternatives:
Mathew Tait (Sale Sharks)
Matt Banahan (Bath Rugby)
Josh Lewsey (London Wasps)
Dave Strettle (Harlequins)
Nick Abendanon (Bath Rugby)
Lesley Vainikolo (Gloucester Rugby)
Topsy Ojo (London Irish)
Tom Voyce (London Wasps)
Mike Brown (Harlequins)
Tom Biggs (Leeds Carnegie)
Ben Foden (Northampton Saints)
Tom Varndell (Leicester Tigers)
Mark Cueto (Sale Sharks)
James Simpson-Daniel (Gloucester Rugby)
Iain Balshaw (Gloucester Rugby)
Richard Haughton (Saracens)
John Rudd (Newcastle Falcons)
Chris Ashton (Northampton Saints)
David Doherty (Sale Sharks)
Tom Arscott (Bristol Rugby)
Olly Morgan (Gloucester Rugby)
Mark Van Gisbergen (London Wasps)
Alex Tait (Newcastle Falcons)
Noah Cato (Saracens)
Ben Cohen (Brive, France)
Miles Benjamin (Worcester Warriors)
Charlie Sharples (Gloucester Rugby)
Paul Diggin (Northampton Saints)
Dominic Shabbo (London Irish)
Mark Odejobi (London Welsh - on loan from Wasps)
Dan Norton (Gloucester Rugby)
Seb Stegmann (Harlequins)
Michael Horak (Treviso, Italy)
Ollie Phillips (Newcastle Falcons)
Anthony Elliott (Bristol Rugby)
Charlie Amesbury (Harlequins)
Greig Tonks (Leicester Tigers)
Tom Williams (Harlequins)
Selorm Kuadey (Sale Sharks)
Phil Christophers (Castres, France)
James Collins (Worcester Warriors)
Dan Scarbrough (Saracens)
Michael Stephenson (Bath Rugby)
Uche Oduoza (Suntory, Japan)
Oliver Dodge (Bedford)
Simon Hunt (Birmingham & Solihull)

So Mr. Johnson, sir ...... ok I'll call you "Johnno" ..... what about this for a line-up?:

1 ANDREW SHERIDAN
2 DYLAN HARTLEY
3 MATT STEVENS
4 STEVE BORTHWICK
5 NICK KENNEDY
6 TOM CROFT
7 MICHAEL LIPMAN
8 JAMES HASKELL
9 HARRY ELLIS
10 TOBY FLOOD
11 MATT BANAHAN
12 JAMIE NOON
13 DAN HIPKISS
14 PAUL SACKEY
15 DELON ARMITAGE

16 Jason Hobson
17 Lee Mears
18 Tom Palmer
19 Tom Rees
20 Danny Care
21 Olly Barkley
22 Mathew Tait

Come on England!

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