Catt gets another England life
15 May 2006
Ben Kay is the only member of the successful England World Cup starting XV that will play Australia in a two-test series next month.
England coach Andy Robinson has rested most of his familiar faces for the end of season tour, but age has not been a factor in his selections. He has included South African-born utility back Mike Catt, 34, on the basis of his form for London Irish this season.
Catt’s last England appearance was in the 51-15 defeat against the Wallabies in Brisbane in 2004.
England’s front row wobbles – Phil Vickery, Matt Stevens and Andrew Sheridan are all injured – means a recall for veteran Graham Rowntree.
“The squad for Australia is a mix of experience and youth,” said Robinson. “I’ve deliberately decided to rest some players to ensure they’re in the best shape they could possibly be in ahead of the Rugby World Cup in 2007. I think a lot of people in the game have recognised the importance of players needing adequate rest periods once the season has finished and if necessary during the season itself.
“It’s essential that the players not going on the tour have the opportunity to refresh themselves and come back to the game ready to prepare for a very challenging season for club and country.
“For those players who are having operations I’d like to wish them a speedy recovery and the England medical team will be working with the club medics to ensure that they return to playing when the time is right for them.
“The tour does however give a number of players the opportunity to stake their own claims for a place in the RWC 30-man squad and a tour to Australia will present them with one of the toughest challenges any side will face.
“I’ve also selected some players who have a lot of international experience like Mike Catt, Ben Kay, Graham Rowntree and Joe Worsley to provide a good blend with the younger players. These are players the newcomers to the squad can learn from and they will benefit from doing so.
“I’m excited about working with players like Tom Varndell and Mathew Tait, who makes a welcome return to the squad after performing so well for the England Sevens side this season and for Newcastle Falcons.
“The side to play the Barbarians on Sunday May 28 in the Gartmore Challenge at Twickenham will be drawn from the squad to tour Australia and the game will provide the squad with valuable international match time ahead of the Test matches.”
England squad:
Backs: Stuart Abbott (London Wasps), Iain Balshaw (Leeds Tykes), Olly Barkley (Bath), Scott Bemand (Leicester Tigers), Mike Catt (London Irish), Andy Goode (Leicester Tigers), Jamie Noon (Newcastle Falcons), Peter Richards (Gloucester), James Simpson-Daniel (Gloucester), Mathew Tait (Newcastle Falcons), Mark Van Gisbergen (London Wasps), Tom Varndell (Leicester Tigers), Tom Voyce London (Wasps), Nick Walshe (Bath).
Forwards: Duncan Bell (Bath) , Alex Brown (Gloucester), George Chuter (Leicester Tigers), Louis Deacon (Leicester Tigers), Chris Jones (Sale Sharks), Ben Kay (Leicester Tigers), Michael Lipman (Bath), Magnus Lund (Sale Sharks), Lee Mears (Bath), Lewis Moody (Leicester Tigers), Tim Payne (London Wasps), Graham Rowntree (Leicester Tigers), Pat Sanderson (Worcester Warriors, captain), Andy Titterrell (Sale Sharks), Julian White (Leicester Tigers), Joe Worsley (London Wasps).
36 Comments
15 May 2006, 13:14 pm
Catt is a dragon
15 May 2006, 13:18 pm
england will get an education in backline play
15 May 2006, 13:22 pm
agree with brumby
15 May 2006, 13:24 pm
Catt also had a disastrous game this weekend for london irish including a chargedown by the oppo 8th man, martin corrie.
15 May 2006, 13:26 pm
there is no defence in that backline. gone are the days of the tindall, wilkinson and greenwood midfield wall
15 May 2006, 13:30 pm
Lambs to the slaughter.
Have they no pride in the name of English rugby.
A test match is a test match.
Show no mercy OZ.
15 May 2006, 13:32 pm
wilkinson and tindall a wall?
15 May 2006, 13:33 pm
English writers are currently falling over themselves with hyperbole of the most extreme sort, praising the recent trend in the premiership of attempting to run the ball. Some journalists are even saying that it is the most entertaining in the world. When you are as hated as the poms, I suppose you need to blow your own trumpet or nobody else will, but nothing is happening on the pitch in the Premiership to really be concerned about.
Pitiful really. They can run against each other and look good, but you[the poms] cannot just reproduce that style when it counts against the best. You need to be fit and have the right skill levels.
The Aussies are going to show them how it is done, and send the British game back to the dark ages where it is comfortable and belongs.
15 May 2006, 13:36 pm
vinnie yep another reason why they won the world cup was their defence.
15 May 2006, 13:40 pm
The end of the England’s world cup possesion is in sight, they are loosers!
15 May 2006, 13:41 pm
brumby, very much so, they played to their strength, england did what the boks have been doing for years, just had a better pack. abominable.
15 May 2006, 13:59 pm
england also had a proper captain and flyhalf. something the boks haven’t had
15 May 2006, 14:02 pm
the english are gonna get klapped in aus
15 May 2006, 14:13 pm
They will probably get klapped now but I think the Boks need to be very aware of the English. No matter what pack they put out at Twickernam they will push our “wrong studded” pack around the park and then they are going to have a new backline that may be frail defensively but are going to be very difficult to stop in attack. BEFORE you start screaming at me let me finish….. Abbot Tait and Varndel have the potential to run around the best defences around. Tait and Varndell are chewing every one up in 7′s and it is only a matter of time before they reproduce that at the 15′s. The only worry for England is fly half – they still miss Johnny W!
15 May 2006, 14:21 pm
I dunno about that BMM – Hodgson did well in the 6N and has been playing good club rugby.
15 May 2006, 14:26 pm
Considering how average the ‘first-choice’ players were in the 6 Nations (and over the past two years), i am not sure England would have faired any better if they had all the names available. May lack a bit of grunt up front, but Lund and Lipman are very good loose forwards and they have some exciting players in the backs. It is incrediable that it took his retirement to get Dawson oyut the English team – he has been rubbish the whole season – for club and country.
15 May 2006, 14:27 pm
BMM, its the “pack” part that i am concerned with. Hopefully Os and CJ/BJ are selected and some bruising flankers.
15 May 2006, 14:53 pm
keo ,
when was the last time the boks beat england at twickenham ? are both tests at the end of the year going to be played there ?
15 May 2006, 14:57 pm
Grey – 1997
15 May 2006, 14:57 pm
Even Jake’s out of form Boks should be able to beat these plonkers…
15 May 2006, 15:00 pm
Thank you .
15 May 2006, 15:08 pm
Swapo,
I wouldnt count on that – there are still some quality players at the moment. And dont forget we got smashed by france last year by about the same amount as england got smashed by them this year!
15 May 2006, 15:13 pm
Vinnie
I agree that Hodgson is their best bet and when he fires he is damn hot. I was at Twickers when he destroyed the Boks during the “Grand Slam” tour. But he does go off the boil a bit and there does not seem to be any other flyhalf snapping at his heels – Good is a tub of lard that is more suited to Tenpin Bowling and Wilkensons body is damaged beyond repair!
Cab
For some reason we (and everyone else) seem to talk up our HUGE pack and I have yet to see them overpower any top grade international pack. AND we always seem to give a tighthead away at a crucial time. I have no idea what it is but it must be a nebtal thing – big heads or losing concentration.
15 May 2006, 15:27 pm
BMM,
If Nz’s pack couldnt overpower a weakened English pack last year at twickers we have absolutely no chance of doing it.
That freak of a man Sherdian, geez he’s huge.
15 May 2006, 15:28 pm
Yes Vinnie…I’m hoping…nothing better than to beat the English and if we can manage to do that in their own backyard it would be great…I will resign as a rugby supporter if we don’t manage to beat them this year.
15 May 2006, 15:32 pm
BMM, yeah, still to see the much-vanted bok pack, i think we have the players to do it, but the bunch currently being picked: sephaka, andrews, van niekerk – will result in our bums being handed to us again.
15 May 2006, 15:46 pm
CAB i agree
we have the players to do the job against the Poms, but due to what ever reasons winning is not as important in South African rugby as is choosing the right team based on some DOOS;S agenda.
15 May 2006, 17:02 pm
It looks a pretty reasonable reserve team for me. I like Sanderson but would not have selected him as captain. I would like to see Lund given a run at open side and Sanderson to me isnt a blind side.
If England reserves win in Australia how funny would that be?
To harp on about SA forward strength is equivalent to claiming the Boks are a preeminant rugby nation. There has been no evidence of either in the professional era. When did an SA pack last ever get even parity with an English forward pack?
15 May 2006, 17:04 pm
I bet he picks a backrow of Moody, Worsely and Sanderson. Yawn. Why not Forrester (where is he?), Jones and Lund/Rees?
15 May 2006, 17:05 pm
That is a very weak England team. The Aussies are lucky that they can start their Connolly era recovery against such weakness.
15 May 2006, 17:06 pm
Ah there you are StMich, back from the 6 Nations slaughter.
English forward power with that lot? You’ll struggle to overpower the Aussie forwards with that bunch.
The England pack isn’t the benchmark, the Kiwi pack is.
15 May 2006, 17:06 pm
DN, the Roses are there for the picking.
15 May 2006, 17:10 pm
Who cares…
15 May 2006, 18:16 pm
i agree… who cares…
15 May 2006, 18:36 pm
St Mich, You have been terribly quiet recently, and although it pains me to say that the Boks have not beaten England at Twickenham since 1997, It appears as though almost every other team bar the pathetic Welsh have slapped your lot around in recent months.
I fear Australia are going to strangle the notion England have of playing athletic, exiting and dynamic rugby at birth. After being slapped around and totaly outplayed, the English will revert to the same old same old, and continue in the broken spirited manner we have seen from them over the last 2 years and most of the time before the last world cup.
The Johnson/Wilkinson inspired aberation at the last world cup is gone, and will drift into the mythical past that 1966 has been swallowed in.
You are simply not a nation that produces sporting athletic people. I would concentrate on develop female dominated sports like netball.
16 May 2006, 10:39 am
That’s a bit harsh rednik
A large lump of the English male population do compete in worthy competitions.
I know for sure the rest of the world have long given up even trying to compete with the Poms in growing award winning turnips, carrots and radishes.
Have your say
You must be logged in to post a comment.