A combination of good warm-up performances plus balanced squad selection may mean a semi-final place is not beyond Brian Ashton’s men.
‘They have played well enough to banish some of the memories of the horror show that was the pointless tour to South Africa’
With the selection of the England Rugby World Cup squad and less than a month to the start of the tournament, excitement and expectation are starting to build among fans.
After a poor Six Nations, it looked unlikely that England would be able to mount a credible defence of the title they won Down Under in 2003. However, things appear much more encouraging after the warm-up games against Wales and France.
England played well enough to banish some of the memories of the horror show that was the pointless tour to South Africa. It is dangerous to predict a tournament based on friendlies and squad selection - but there is no doubt the English have more to smile about than they have had recently. Some of the teams that would have caused former coach Andy Robinson’s side big problems look less intimidating for his successor Brian Ashton’s men.
While the 62-5 defeat of Wales was a brilliant, morale-boosting win - surpassing England's previous best margin against the Welsh of 50-10 during the 2002 Six Nations - it is hardly a fair reflection on either side. Both coaches, Gareth Jenkins in particular, chose very experimental sides and therefore it would be unwise to write off Wales or build up England in the way the score suggests you should.
But it was an impressive performance from England. They showed a pace and creativity that has been missing for some time. The defence, on the rare occasions it was tested, looked solid and the backs were speedy and incisive, never missing an opportunity to attack the weak Welsh forwards. The confidence this game would have given the likes of four-try hero Nick Easter as well as Dan Hipkiss and Matthew Tait – who doesn’t have a great record against Wales – must not be under-estimated.
Not only that, but English talisman Jonny Wilkinson looked sharp throughout and kicked his 17 points with ease. There is little doubt some of the combinations Ashton tried out in this game will make it into his final World Cup side.
The wheels came off slightly on Saturday as England lost 15-21 to the French, but it was a more encouraging performance than the score suggests. The first thing to note is that this match proved much more of a realistic test of England's World Cup prospects than the previous game, and they came out of it looking a much better side than might have been expected.
They blew three or four good opportunites in the second half that might have turned the result on its head. This fact was not lost on England captain Mike Catt, who said afterwards: ''We showed a lot of heart but our execution let us down. France closed us down well but we seemed to be a bit rusty as a team and we have got to iron out the mistakes."
But England competed well and there were several heartening performances, in particular that of Olly Barkley. The fly-half has come under a lot of criticism for his previous performances in the white shirt. He has been inconsistent and error prone, a million miles away from the player he is for Bath. However, he seemed to get over his nerves and played a fantastic game, particularly in the first half when he kicked all three penalties that came his way. His performance, along with that of Andy Gomarsall, Mark Regan and Paul Sackey, showed there was a strength in depth that was missing from the Six Nations.
The squad that Ashton has picked shows a good mix of youth and experience, with 12 survivors from the World Cup-winning side of 2003. Ashton seems to have gone for the more sensible approach of evolution rather than revolution. Old hands like Lawrence Dallaglio, Wilkinson and captain Phil Vickery are sure to help England cut down on silly mistakes and – combined with young talent like Hipkiss – it looks a capable squad.
There is no point getting carried away – it is pretty unlikely England will even get to the final. The Southern Hemisphere sides, in particular the All Blacks, are light years ahead, but I think we can look forward to a respectable defence, with a quarter-final place. Maybe a semi.
Ashton is doing a great job. He has turned a confused and poorly-organised team into one that looks capable on the world stage. We just have to hope our main players stay injury free and an enjoyable World Cup campaign lies ahead.
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