Johnson right behind England Saxons
Tue, 13 May 2008 16:46
England manager Martin Johnson backed Steve Bates in his quest for a second successive Churchill Cup crown with England Saxons.
The England supremo today branded Bates' England Saxons squad "a very talented bunch" according to a Rugby Football Union (RFU) media release.
"Certainly when we pick the two 32-man Elite Player Squads (EPS) on July 1, it will be very, very competitive," Johnson added.
The new England manager will not travel to North America or New Zealand but will follow the progress of England's top two squads thanks to Sky Sports' live coverage of all England's matches.
Bates believes that new deal between club and country will give the Saxons players all the motivation they need.
"Under the new agreement the pathway to the seniors is pretty well mapped out. Because we can only make limited changes to the squads, there will be more continuity between the squads. If someone at the top drops out, the next player down will step up.
"And I'll be telling the players that their opportunities to progress will be hugely improved if we win the tournament."
And according to Bates, Premiership experience could be the vital ingredient in the Saxons' recipe for success.
"The squad is full of bright young prospects and we're going with high expectations of repeating last year's success.
"We'll be trying to impose the advantages of the Premiership on the tournament by playing hard, fast rugby. Not many other teams will have that kind of experience but I'm confident we have the resources to do it."
But Bates and fellow coaches Toby Booth and Simon Hardy will have to contend with limited preparations for their first game against the USA.
"Our biggest challenge will be getting the players on the same wavelength in such a short space of time." The squad meets up on Sunday 1 June, before flying to Ottawa the following day.
They will have just five days to prepare for the opening match the following Saturday.
After pool matches against the USA (Ottawa, June 7) and Ireland A (Toronto, June 14), the Saxons will be hoping to secure a place in Chicago's Final the following Saturday, where they will face either Scotland A, Argentina XV or Canada.
Given his young side, Bates will be relying on a handful of experienced heads, especially the likes of England hooker George Chuter and, although he has no caps to his name, Harlequins flanker and captain Will Skinner.
"I felt we needed someone with experience as captain and Will's been doing a great job with Quins and he knows the Saxons set up.
"He's a very positive guy and is very well respected within the squad, so he seemed like the obvious choice to lead the squad."
But Bates admitted that selection was not all so straight forward. "Selection was really difficult, not in terms of quality or talent, but because of the depth we have to pick from in so many positions.
"There was some involvement from the senior coaches who know who they want to have a look at, then there was large groups of players who have performed so well for us in the Six Nations or for their clubs throughout the season.
"There are a number of players who might feel they have been overlooked and discussions in certain areas were very tight. There's still a lot of rugby to be played with the semifinals and Final of the Guinness Premiership and the game against the Barbarians the day before we leave, which may feature some of our players.
"We might well see some changes yet," said Bates.
England Saxons squad:
Forwards:
Steffon Armitage (London Irish), Richard Blaze (Leicester Tigers), Alex Brown (Gloucester Rugby)*, George Chuter (Leicester Tigers)*, Alex Clarke (Bristol Rugby), Jordan Crane (Leicester Tigers), Jack Forster (Gloucester
Rugby), Tom Guest (Harlequins), Chris Jones (Sale Sharks)*, Nick Lloyd (Saracens), Chris Robshaw (Harlequins), Will Skinner (Harlequins, captain), George Skivington (London Wasps), Andy Titterrell (Gloucester Rugby)*, Rob Webber (London Wasps), Dave Wilson (Newcastle Falcons).
Backs:
Nick Abendanon (Bath Rugby)*, Anthony Allen (Gloucester Rugby)*, Matt Banahan (Bath Rugby), Lee Dickson (Newcastle Falcons), Ben Foden (Sale Sharks), Paul Hodgson (London Irish)*, Adrian Jarvis (Harlequins), Ryan Lamb (Gloucester Rugby), Ugo Monye (Harlequins), Ollie Smith (Leicester Tigers)*, Tom Varndell (Leicester Tigers)*, Dominic Waldouck (London Wasps).
* Denotes capped player
