EPS, RBS and ERC

For the uninitiated, that's Elite Playing Squad, the sponsor of the 6 Nations and the European Cup.

So England have their first squad of the new (or temporary, who knows?) era. Stuart Lancaster and his team have perused the options on offer in the Premiership (primarily at the top end, but that is to be expected). The vast majority of the squad was as expected, though there was still the odd surprise, some welcome, some slightly less so if the Twittter traffic yesterday was anything to go by. I managed, when you take into account the 4 injury replacements for the 6 Nations, to get 26 names right, which is a fair stab, and in some cases, you could have given me 4 guesses and I wouldn't have plumped for the name selected.

Forwards
Corbisiero, Marler, Cole, Stevens, Wilson, Hartley, Mears, Webber, Lawes (Parling), Palmer, Deacon (Attwood), Botha, Wood, Croft, Robshaw, Morgan, Dowson, Clark

Without going into too much detail, the surprises are Mears and WIlson in the front row, Palmer, Deacon and Botha in the 2nd row and Dowson and Clark in the back row. In a squad which is full of youth and positive vibes for the future, Mears seems a strange selection. He has struggled with injury recently, resulting in major hooker headaches for Sir Ian McGeechan at Bath, and with younger talent around, such as Paice, Gray and George, such a stop-gap selection surprises me enormously.

Wilson is a solid option, but I fear that the 5 props selected mean more moving left and right for Matt Stevens, which will ultimately be to the detriment of both him and the squad.

The second row is full of surprises for me. Deacon I thought would have, and maybe should have, been jettisoned with the other older members of the squad. He is also injured. George Robson of Quins must be very disappointed to miss out, and I can't help feeling that Deacon has had his day. Palmer is a more than welcome surprise. The only reason I didn't select him was his current residence in France, which I believed meant he was not selectable. His line-out work is exemplary, and for that alone I am glad to see him selected. Parling and Attwood replace Deacon and Lawes for the 6 Nations while they recuperate from their injuries. A big chance for these two to prove they are the long-term answer that Deacon so clearly isn't.

The back row isn't without surprises either, as Dowson and Clark are 2 names that were not really considered ahead of the squad announcement, either by the tv experts or the various bloggers online. Both are solid options, but I can't help feel that Thomas Waldrom is a little hard done by. Already shamefully overlooked for the World Cup, and with many going so far as to say that Graham Henry maybe missed a trick by letting him slip through the net.

Backs
Youngs, Simpson, K. Dickson, Flood, Farrell, Hodgson, Tuilagi, Turner-Hall, Barritt, Ashton, Sharples, Strettle, Foden, Brown, (Trinder), (Goode)

The backs have a strange look to them, with only three centres and only three wingers. That said, Farrell, who seems to be the one the press are fixated with, has been playing centre all season and Trinder is added for the 6 Nations. Flood's injury may well force England to play Farrell at 10, but with Hodgson in the squad, it would be a shame not to use him. The inexperience of the back line would be eased by an older head at 10 while Flood recovers (if indeed he is out). It doesn't proffer much in terms of attacking rugby though, as Saracens, effective though they are, are not exactly purveyors of the beautiful game, and a line of Hodgson, Farrell and Barritt (in Tuilagi's absence) would suggest a dose of realism over expansive game.

The wings offer different things, Ashton with his finishing prowess, Strettle with his all-round game and Sharples with his electric pace. Brown will give continued pressure to Foden, who has never had it easy in terms of his place, as Armitage pushed hard while he was around. Foden is the incumbent, but Brown has impressed and will be ready to step in at the slightest sign of weakness.

Dickson has forced his way into the reckoning in recent weeks with some sterling performances, but I think Youngs holds the aces at scrum half still. Simpson can be considered lucky, as he hasn't performed well in recent weeks, and Danny Care's indiscretions have possibly given him one last go.

Finally, Trinder and Goode step up as cover for Flood and Tuilagi. Strange one that; Trinder for Tuilagi I get, but why Flood should be replaced by Goode (the one similarity is their rhyming names) I don't know. Full back for fly half...?

So now, the pontificating can move on a level. For ten days or so, the game has been to pick 32 from a list of 200 or so. Now, we have to pick 15 (or 22) from 32. This should be a lot easier, given positional limitations, but there are those (Farrell being the obvious candidate) who can function effectively in more than one position. I'm sure this will provoke much more animated discussion as the lead up to the first weekend of the tournament continues.

A brief thought of that first weekend now: when the fixtures were established, little could people have known that the first round would involve three big grudge matches (so to speak) with very recent (2011) history. Scotland vs England sees a repeat of the match which sealed Scotland's World Cup fate back in late September. On home territory, and with a much more settled squad, they will be confident of going one better. Wales and Ireland go head to head on the same weekend. A repeat of a World Cup Quarter Final which, beforehand, most people had Ireland winning. Ireland though were clearly reading their own press and over-confidence saw them failing to reach their first World Cup semi final. 4 months later and they have a chance to right that wrong, to a certain extent.

Finally, France welcome Italy in what is traditionally a relatively innocuous game in Paris. France won't be troubled, but given the defeat in Rome last year, Italy will be brimming with confidence in Paris for the first time. That said, that Rome defeat being so fresh in many memories will ensure that complacency will not be an issue. Given that it will also be the first game in charge for new coach Philippe Saint-Andre, I think you can safely say the French will be ready.

A more detailed preview will follow later of course...

Finally to Europe and Round 5 this weekend of the two trophies. The English sides showed sides of improvement last time round and Leicester will need to continue that progress in Ulster if they are to progress. Clermont should romp home against Aironi to put themselves within a Home win against Ulster of the Quarter Finals. Much could be decided this weekend, but traditionally, Round 5 sets the experts going and the graphic designers of Sky Sports will be creating "What if?" slides from Monday onwards. Another weekend of non-stop action awaits though, and as ever, you can read all about it, and the various qualifying permutations, here on either Sunday night or Monday morning.

I will hopefully have some more news to divulge to you then too. (That's called a teaser) ;-)