England boss Martin Johnson has announced his squad for The 2011 Rugby World Cup. Lewis Moody will captain the side and his experience will be a vital role in Johnson’s intentions of winning in New Zealand.
The squad, has a mix of experience and youth ranging from fly half Jonny Wilkinson (RC Toulon) to London Wasps scrum half Joe Simpson, who is the only uncapped player. Simon Shaw, at 37, is the oldest player, while Leicester Tigers centre Manu Tuilagi, at 20, is the youngest.
Ten players will remain on call should they be needed to cover injuries and they are Charlie Hodgson (Saracens), Charlie Sharples (Gloucester Rugby), Chris Robshaw (Harlequins), Danny Care (Harlequins), Hendre Fourie (Sale Sharks), Mouritz Botha (Saracens), Paul Doran Jones (Northampton Saints), Riki Flutey (London Wasps), Tim Payne (London Wasps) and Ugo Monye (Harlequins).
On naming his squad Martin 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”
The England squad;
Forwards; Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers), Alex Corbisiero (London Irish), Tom Croft (Leicester Tigers), Louis Deacon (Leicester Tigers), Nick Easter (Harlequins), Dylan Hartley (Northampton Saints), James Haskell (Ricoh Black Rams), Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints), Lee Mears (Bath Rugby), Lewis Moody (Bath Rugby), Tom Palmer (Stade Francais), Simon Shaw (London Wasps), Andrew Sheridan (Sale Sharks), Matt Stevens (Saracens), Steve Thompson (London Wasps), David Wilson (Bath Rugby), Tom Wood (Northampton Saints)
Backs; Delon Armitage (London Irish), Chris Ashton (Northampton Saints), Matt Banahan (Bath Rugby), Mark Cueto (Sale Sharks), Toby Flood (Leicester Tigers), Ben Foden ( Northampton Saints), Shontayne Hape (Bath Rugby), Joe Simpson (London Wasps), Mike Tindall (Gloucester Rugby), Manusamoa Tuiliagi (Leicester Tigers), Richard Wrigglesworth (Saracens), Jonny Wilkinson (RC Toulon), Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers).
In the next part of my look at the upcoming Rugby World Cup I will go through some of the players to look out for in the competition.
Do you think England can win? Or who do you think will win this year’s World Cup?