6 NATIONS TEST RUGBY: A New Look England

04.02.2012
England v Scotland at Murrayfield (6 Nations)

Referee: George Clancy (Ireland)

Preview
How things have changed. The interim England coach, Stuart Lancaster, has swept the cupboard out and has named eight new players to test rugby, and thrown in a one-test player as the new captain. Risky stuff? Certainly, but I like the idea of a breath of fresh air in England rugby. It was much needed. All that remains is is there enough there to play a decent game of test rugby?

Scotland has presented much of the same old. Very little has changed since Scotland’s demise at the 2011 Rugby World Cup. Same coach, same team, same results. Is there not such a depth of player talent in Scotland? Frankly I’m baffled.

It certainly will be a most interesting test match.

Last Five Encounters
01.10.2011 England 16-12 in Auckland (World Cup, Pool B)
13.02.2011 England 22-16 at Twickenham (6 Nations; Calcutta Cup)
13.03.2010 Drawn 15-15 at Murrayfield (6 Nations; Calcutta Cup)
21.03.2009 England 26-12 at Twickenham (6 Nations; Calcutta Cup)
08.03.2008 Scotland 15-9 at Murrayfield (6 Nations; Calcutta Cup)

England last won at Murrayfield in 2004, winning 35-13.

GWC Rugby Rankings
World Table-England 8th, Scotland 9th
Europe Table-England 2nd, Scotland 3rd

Prediction: England by a couple of points

Teams

ENGLAND

15		Benjamin Foden	Northampton Saints
14		Christopher Ashton	Northampton Saints
13		Bradley Barritt	Saracens
12		Owen Farrell	Saracens
11		David Strettle	Saracens
10		Charles Hodgson	Saracens
9		Benjamin Youngs	Leicester Tigers
8		Phillip Dowson	Northampton Saints
7		Christopher Robshaw (Capt.)	Harlequins
6		Thomas Croft	Leicester Tigers
5		Thomas Palmer	Stade Francais, France
4		Mouritz Botha	Saracens
3		Daniel Cole	Leicester Tigers
2		Dylan Hartley	Northampton Saints
1		Alexander Corbisiero	London Irish
16		Robert Webber	London Wasps
17		Matthew Stevens	Saracens
18		Geoffrey Parling	Leicester Tigers
19		Benjamin Morgan	Llanelly Scarlets, Wales
20		Lee Dickson	Northampton Saints
21		Jordan Turner-Hall	Harlequins
22		Michael Brown	Harlequins
		COACH: S.Lancaster

SCOTLAND

15		Rory Lamont	Glasgow Warriors
14		Lee Jones	Edinburgh Rugby
13		Nicholas De Luca	Edinburgh Rugby
12		Shuan Lamont	Llanelly Scarlets, Wales
11		Max Evans	Castres, France
10		Daniel Parks	Cardiff Blues, Wales
9		Christopher Cusiter	Glasgow Warriors
8		David Denton	Edinburgh Rugby
7		Ross Rennie	Edinburgh Rugby
6		Alasdair Strokosch	Gloucester, England
5		James Hamilton	Gloucester, England
4		Richard Gray	Glasgow Warriors
3		Euan Murray	Newcastle Falcons, England
2		Ross Ford (Capt)	Edinburgh Rugby
1		Allan Jacobson	Edinburgh Rugby
16		Scott Lawson	Gloucester, England
17		Geoffrey Cross	Edinburgh Rugby
18		Alastair Kellock	Glasgow Warriors
19		John Barclay	Glasgow Warriors
20		Michael Blair	Edinburgh Rugby
21		Greig Laidlaw	Edinburgh Rugby
22		Graeme Morrison	Glasgow Warriors
		COACH: Andy Robinson