Filed under: Rugby Union, Rugby World Cup, Internationals, England Rugby
England have announced their World Cup squad for next month's New Zealand tournament - and fans of free-flowing rugby should look away now.Martin Johnson's England have tried to throw off the shackles of the type of cautious, safety-first rugby that so hampered the side after the 2003 World Cup but Johnson has reverted to type.
As a player he was interested in percentages, possession and grinding opposition sides down and Johnson's selection for the World Cup looks depressingly similar.
He has picked 17 forwards and just 13 backs with no room for the creative Rikki Flutey because he prefers to take a third scrum half in the form of Wasps' Joe Simpson after Danny Care's toe injury ruled him out last week.
Johnson said: "The composition of the squad is very important and we think we have the right mix in this group.
"There were some very tough phone calls made last week; everybody came into this camp and worked extremely hard and some players have just missed out.
"For us now though it is important to look forward - there is great sense of unity in this group and we are pleased with the depth across the squad."
Lewis Moody has been retained as England captain after an inconsistent and injury-ravaged 12 months due to a knee problem and Johnson believes he is still the right man to lead the side.
He added:"We have a number of leaders and experienced players and have named Lewis Moody as squad captain, we are confident he will play a pivotal role for us in New Zealand.
"Ultimately our aim this week is to prepare well for Ireland and to continue improving as a team. We are all looking forward to the tournament and know that selecting the 30 man squad is just the beginning."
Former World Cup winning coach Clive Woodward recently spoke about Johnson's mentality and underlined that his former captain is only concern with winning rather than the style of play.
Woodward told the Guardian: "You would rather win ugly than lose pretty every day of the week.
"When you get into World Cup games it is all about winning. Sometimes people lose sight of that."
Five props, four second-rows and five back-rows underlines that England will be big and bruising at the World Cup and that subtlety has gone out of the window.
Johnson said: "It's not always picking who is best, it is picking what we want. When they are consistent, which good players are, you know you will get a performance out of them. Players with a big range of performance levels will kill you at this level. You need to know what you are going to get from them."
Matt Banahan, Toby Flood and Mike Tindall provide Johnson with options at inside-centre now that Flutey has been omitted and that means Jonny Wilkinson is likely to fit in at fly-half with Flood just outside him.
Those two are highly experienced international operators and could offer a brief glimmer of flair for England but do not expect too many fireworks.
Johnson said: "We felt 12 was somewhere we could cover a little more easily. If we do get front-row injuries, we are going to look like geniuses.
"If we get injuries at 12, we are not. Would I like to have Riki on the plane? Of course I would but we had to make a call. It was tough. He took it well which did not make it easier for me."
England's Rugby World Cup squad
Backs: Full-backs: Delon Armitage (London Irish), Ben Foden (Northampton Saints). Wings: Chris Ashton (Northampton Saints), Mark Cueto (Sale Sharks), Matt Banahan (Bath). Centres: Shontayne Hape (London Irish), Mike Tindall (Gloucester), Manusamoa Tuilagi (Leicester Tigers). Fly-halves: Toby Flood (Leicester Tigers), Jonny Wilkinson (Toulon). Scrum-halves: Joe Simpson (London Wasps), Richard Wigglesworth (Saracens), Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers).
Forwards: Props: Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers), Alex Corbisiero (London Irish), Andrew Sheridan (Sale Sharks), Matt Stevens (Saracens), David Wilson (Bath). Hookers: Dylan Hartley (Northampton Saints), Lee Mears (Bath), Steve Thompson (London Wasps). Locks: Louis Deacon (Leicester Tigers), Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints), Tom Palmer (Stade Francais), Simon Shaw (London Wasps). Back row: Tom Croft (Leicester Tigers), Nick Easter (Harlequins), James Haskell (Ricoh Black Rams), Lewis Moody (Bath), Tom Wood (Northampton Saints).
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Source: http://www.fanhouse.co.uk/2011/08/22/martin-johnson-reverts-to-type-in-england-world-cup-squad/
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