15. Mike Brown (Harlequins, 60 caps), 14. Nathan Earle (Saracens, uncapped), 13. Sam James (Sale Sharks, uncapped), 12. Alex Lozowski (Saracens, uncapped), 11. Jonny May (Gloucester Rugby, 25 caps), 10. George Ford (Bath Rugby, 35 caps), 9. Danny Care (Harlequins, 71 caps)
1. Ellis Genge (Leicester Tigers, 1 cap), 2. Jack Singleton (Worcester Warriors, uncapped), 3. Will Collier (Harlequins, uncapped), 4. Charlie Ewels (Bath Rugby, 3 caps), 5. Nick Isiekwe (Saracens, uncapped), 6. Chris Robshaw (Harlequins, 55 caps), 7. Sam Underhill (Bath Rugby, uncapped), 8. Josh Beaumont (Sale Sharks, uncapped)
Subs:
16. George McGuigan (Leicester Tigers, uncapped), 17. Ross Harrison (Sale Sharks, uncapped), 18. Jamal Ford-Robinson (Bristol Rugby, uncapped), 19. Will Spencer (Bath Rugby, uncapped) 20. Tom Curry (Sale Sharks, uncapped), 21. Mark Wilson (Newcastle Falcons, uncapped), 22. Richard Wigglesworth (Saracens, 27 caps), 23. Mike Haley (Sale Sharks, uncapped)
Barbarians:
15 Alex Goode (Saracens & England) 21 caps, 14 Timoci Nagusa (Montpellier & Fiji) 24, 13 Yann David (Toulouse & France) 4, 12 Frans Steyn (Montpellier & South Africa) 53, 11 Adam Ashley-Cooper (Bordeaux-Begles & Australia) 116, 10 Ian Madigan (Bordeaux-Begles & Ireland) 30, 9 Kahn Fotuali’i (Bath Rugby & Samoa) 31
1 Mikheil Nariashvili (Montpellier & Georgia) 41, 2 Richard Hibbard (Gloucester & Wales) 41, 3 Census Johnston (Toulouse & Samoa) 59, 4 Patricio Albacete (Toulouse & Argentina) 57, 5 Jeremy Thrush (Gloucester & New Zealand)12, 6 Thierry Dusautoir (Toulouse & France, captain) 80, 7 Steffon Armitage (Pau & England) 5, 8 Facundo Isa (Lyon & Argentina) 25
Replacements
16 Schalk Brits (Saracens & South Africa) 10, 17 Ben Franks (London Irish & New Zealand) 47, 18 WP Nel (Edinburgh & Scotland) 15, 19 Joe Tekori (Toulouse & Samoa) 34, 20 Gillian Galan (Toulouse), 21 Ruan Pienaar (Ulster & South Africa) 88, 22 Robbie Fruean (Bath Rugby), 23 Horacio Agulla (Castres & Argentina) 63
It is traditional for England to concede the edge when it comes to experience in this fixture but I cannot think of any game recently where the disparity has been so vast. It is most obvious of all in the last place you would desire it too; the tight five. Ignore England's four caps (mostly from the bench) for a moment. Will Collier is the experienced man there, with 26 years of age and over a hundred games for Quins. His comrades are 22, 21, 21 and 19 respectively. Jack Singleton doesn't even have a Wikipedia page yet.
Ellis Genge is the only starter in the unit who isn't at least 10 years younger than his opposite man; he's merely 5 years younger than Nariashvili. That bodes well if the ball is zipping around a lot but you have to think, even with this being the Baabaas, England might not have too much ball to zip with given the corresponding set-pieces. It is to be devoutly hoped for that the team in black and white turn up with hangovers and asking what each other's names are, because elsewise this looks a bit of a mismatch.
That's true all over the pitch. This Baabaas team isn't the strongest that could have been named from the initial squad but its still pretty gnarly. That three quarter line is a pretty interesting mix of skill and speed, all ordered in a large size, and you can be sure Alex Goode will be drifting in to offer an extra playmaking option. Militantly against Goode's further participation for England as I am, there's no denying he is a quality player and this is exactly the sort of game which might let his skillset shine to the fullest. He's also probably going to be the single most motivated player on the pitch too.
The back row is my favourite part of the team though - fantastic all round unit that is capable of taking over a match vs anyone in Europe on paper - along with Pienaar on the bench. I might get around to writing the piece of vitriol I have deep in me over Pienaar being let go by Ulster; suffice to say he's a better scrum-half than either of England's and will offer a side of nous to the helping of blunt force waiting to come on.
The back row is my favourite part of the England team too, and not a bad mirror of its opposition. Robshaw plays the duracel bunny type of blindside nearly as well as Dusautoir, Beaumont is a rangy 8 who can really make an impact when on form and while Underhill lacks Steflon's groundhogging, he's still a very physical option for an openside. Its a really well balanced, dangerous looking back row. Just not quite as good at peak performance as what they face. Which is the tale of the team.
One position where that isn't true is at 10. Madigan has all the skills but little of the brain. If George Ford can hit his top game, his ability to pin teams back into their own territory and make the most out of scant ball will be gigantic and probably England's best chance of winning. He'll need to bring his goal kicking boots too (I have no idea of his recent form there and am too lazy to look it up) but he can be a difference. For all their talent, you would expect the Baabaas to leave a few tries behind due to unfamiliarity. England probably can't afford that.
Of course, it is questionable just how much more familiar with each other England will be, particularly with centres Lozowski and James. Individually they're wonderful talents with a bit of everything (its probably the best distributing partnership England have played in a long time), but if they've played together, I am not aware of it. Its not like either is a veteran of the England way of doing things either. Hopefully their natural intelligence will let them gel quickly.
Nathan Earle is the only new face in the back three and a most interesting one he is too. At U20 level he promised to be a more powerful version of Watson but has yet to deliver on that for Saracens. There's some great highlights of his time at Canterbury that show why he's getting the chance but at 22, he's reaching the age where people will stop wanting to give him chances and start wanting performances. It feels ridiculous to say this but, looking back, we might think this was Nathan Earle's make or break summer. There's always another chance but this might be the best one.
And ultimately this is what the game is about. Nobody really gives a crap about the score tomorrow. They want to see who's ready to kick on and play real international rugby. Although even then, you've got to wonder how much Jones values this game vs the time he's had in training with them. Eighty minutes max in a scratch side vs how they react to his instructions, how they carry themselves, how they push themselves day in day out? The latter seems at least as valuable. Certainly the next two games against Argentina will carry more weight. For now though, this is the game we've got.
Of course, even then, a gap to advance into is more important than performance today. No matter how well Singleton plays, he's got four players very solidly ahead of him for the hooker shirt. Isiekwe and Ewels will have to turn in unbelievable performances to get a sniff of an England squad with everyone healthy. Ditto for Ellis Genge. But some guys have wide open routes to the squad ahead of them.
One of the clearest is that of Mike Haley on the bench as there is no clear understudy to Brown right now. But its fellow sub Tom Curry - and his injured twin Ben - and Underhill who have the most obvious route. England are well served for beasts of burden in the back row but have no one who can offer much subtlety. Jones has talked about wanting five ball carriers and three ball handlers in his pack. Today would be a great chance to advance that cause.
But lighter skillful forwards tend to live and die with the tight five's platform. If England's young tyros stand to their task there, we could have an interesting match on their hands.
Nathan Earle is the only new face in the back three and a most interesting one he is too. At U20 level he promised to be a more powerful version of Watson but has yet to deliver on that for Saracens. There's some great highlights of his time at Canterbury that show why he's getting the chance but at 22, he's reaching the age where people will stop wanting to give him chances and start wanting performances. It feels ridiculous to say this but, looking back, we might think this was Nathan Earle's make or break summer. There's always another chance but this might be the best one.
And ultimately this is what the game is about. Nobody really gives a crap about the score tomorrow. They want to see who's ready to kick on and play real international rugby. Although even then, you've got to wonder how much Jones values this game vs the time he's had in training with them. Eighty minutes max in a scratch side vs how they react to his instructions, how they carry themselves, how they push themselves day in day out? The latter seems at least as valuable. Certainly the next two games against Argentina will carry more weight. For now though, this is the game we've got.
Of course, even then, a gap to advance into is more important than performance today. No matter how well Singleton plays, he's got four players very solidly ahead of him for the hooker shirt. Isiekwe and Ewels will have to turn in unbelievable performances to get a sniff of an England squad with everyone healthy. Ditto for Ellis Genge. But some guys have wide open routes to the squad ahead of them.
One of the clearest is that of Mike Haley on the bench as there is no clear understudy to Brown right now. But its fellow sub Tom Curry - and his injured twin Ben - and Underhill who have the most obvious route. England are well served for beasts of burden in the back row but have no one who can offer much subtlety. Jones has talked about wanting five ball carriers and three ball handlers in his pack. Today would be a great chance to advance that cause.
But lighter skillful forwards tend to live and die with the tight five's platform. If England's young tyros stand to their task there, we could have an interesting match on their hands.
