Nick Cain: Be brave and blood more kids against Pumas

Posted on by in Nick Cain

Should England go to Argentina with purely a development side, or should they go with enough experience and firepower to ensure that they win the two test series? The answer usually lies somewhere between the two, because in international rugby it is always dangerous to squander the chance of maintaining, or gaining, momentum.

However, the nature of England’s damaging Six Nations defeat in Cardiff has changed the landscape. Despite it being their first loss in the six match run that started with victory over New Zealand last autumn, it has put Stuart Lancaster, England’s head coach, somewhere between a rock and a hard place.

The reality is that a 2013 autumn series featuring tests against Australia, the Pumas (again) and New Zealand will look ominous if England suffer a reverse in Argentina this summer. What England do in South America could therefore be crucial in dictating whether the Welsh battering becomes a heavy fall from which Lancaster’s side picks itself up, takes a whiff of the smelling salts, and get back on its feet – or, alternatively, rolls over and and fails to make the count.

As examined elsewhere in this column, there is every chance that the fall-out from England’s Grand Slam slump will result in their Lions contingent being much reduced. That, in turn, could present Lancaster with the dilemma of which of his red rose Six Nations contingent to rest, and which to take with him.

Given that Argentina will pick none of the European-based front rank Pumas earmarked for the southern hemisphere Championship for the England tests in Salta and Buenos Aires, my view is that Lancaster should take a risk on an overwhelmingly experimental squad – and that means leaving virtually all of his regulars who are surplus to the Lions requirements at home.

The rationale? Simply that the magnitude and manner of the reverse at the Millennium Stadium makes it imperative that the England coach puts as many players as he can through the test mill to see if anyone can make an unanswerable case for promotion to the elite squad with a little over two years to go until the 2015 World Cup.

Clive Woodward was better set than Lancaster is now when he took a second string side to Argentina in 2002, but there are some parallels to be drawn. The tour proved to be a success with an England side led by Phil Vickery winning 26-18 against a full strength Argentina in Buenos Aires. It provided Woodward with eight players who eventually made the cut for the 2003 world champion squad, with Vickery joined by Steve Thompson, Trevor Woodman, Ben Kay, Lewis Moody, Joe Worsley, Andy Gomersall and Mark Regan.

If Lancaster was to find eight true contenders for the 2015 World Cup in Argentina this summer the tour will have been worth its weight in gold, because without great improvements, especially up front, the hosts do not stand even an outside chance of winning it.

Top of the agenda is unearthing some heavy duty forwards to bolster an underpowered front five – and, although stocks look ominously low, there are options which are worth a long, hard look in Argentina.

My first pick at loosehead is Carl Rimmer, who joined Exeter from the Cornish Pirates this season. Rimmer, 27, is a seasoned operator, and he has the priceless ability to play on either side of the scrum. He is solid in the tight and strong and mobile in the loose, and England would be remiss not to take him — especially to assess his credentials at tighthead, where they are struggling for depth. Fraser Balmain, the young Tigers player of the year whose strength and nous as a 21-year-old is reminiscent of Jason Leonard at a similar age, is another loosehead to watch, and Wasps-bound prop Matt Mullan is also worth another look.

One of the biggest, most physical hookers in the Premiership is Tom Lindsay of Wasps, and he would be my backup to Leicester’s Rob Hawkins, a rugged, experienced all-rounder. At tighthead I would take Bath’s David Wilson as an experienced hand, with Sale’s Henry Thomas also getting the chance to make the same impression as his former England U20 front row partner, Mako Vunipola.

At lock the abrasiveness and mobility of Leicester’s Ed Slater would be welcome at the front of the lineout, and although Dave Attwood has had another average season following his big-money move to Bath, he has the physical size and power that England need desperately. The only way that Lancaster will find out if he’s hungry enough to respond to the call is by giving him a seat on the plane.

The search for a lineout leader and middle jumper is another challenge, with the role up for grabs with Graham Kitchener (Leicester), Christian Day (Northampton), and Exeter’s under-rated James Hanks as the main contenders.

In the back row there are no shortage of blindsides, with Gloucester’s up-and-coming Tom Savage, the impressive young Saracen George Kruis, and Northampton’s Calum Clark – all of whom can also play lock – in the mix. At No.8 there is also plenty of choice with Billy Vunipola, Jordan Crane, Jackson Wray, Tom Guest and, possibly, Ben Morgan, ready to rumble.

The tour also presents the England coach with a gift-wrapped opportunity to find a scavenging, linking openside, with Will Fraser, Luke Wallace and Matt Kvesic all likey to be available.

The backline provides the England coaches with a similar number of new options and combinations to sift. At scrum-half the Wasps flyer Joe Simpson can battle it out with Lee Dickson, while Freddie Burns and George Ford can put their fly-half general credentials on the table.

In the centre there are big strong-running 12s like Billy Twelvetrees and Luther Burrell to choose from, while another big unit, Joel Tomkins, has earned the right to challenge Jonathan Joseph and Henry Trinder for the 13 shirt. On the wing Leicester’s Adam Thompstone also brings size and physicality as well as speed, while the quicksilver finishing is covered by Christian Wade, Jonny May and Charlie Sharples.

There are also some elusive movers at full-back in Wasps’ Elliot Daly, Sale’s Rob Miller and Ross Chisholm of Quins, while the slimmed down Luke Arscott of Exeter has also made a strong case.

The Argentina tour gives Lancaster the opportunity to find out whether the gulf in standard between England’s Six Nations squad and the supporting cast is narrow or wide. Whichever it is, if England are unable to fashion a win over a second string Argentina from the resources listed here, then regaining the World Cup in 2015 will be a pipe dream.

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Tagged England, Nick Cain, Stuart Lancaster