- Title: UK: RUGBY UNION: England name uncapped trio for Six Nations opener.
- Date: 2nd February 2012
- Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (English) ENGLAND CARETAKER COACH STUART LANCASTER SAYING: "We've got an inner confidence, a quiet confidence that has been born out of a really, really good week in Leeds which was a lot to do with about building a culture and getting England back on track, so to speak. You know that desire to play for each other; the desire to play for your parents and friend
- Embargoed: 17th February 2012 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: United Kingdom
- Country: United Kingdom
- Topics: Sports
- Reuters ID: LVADH0E4GHI31QR6REB0D1OEDUA
- Story Text: Defending champions England have revealed a fresh-faced looking starting 22 for their opening match of the Six Nations rugby championship against Scotland.
England will face Scotland with one of their most inexperienced line-ups for years as three uncapped starters and a further five uncapped replacements were included in the squad named by caretaker coach Stuart Lancaster on Thursday (February 2).
Only six players who started the World Cup quarter-final defeat to France last October survive for Saturday's (February 5) Six Nations game at Murrayfield, as centre duo Owen Farrell and Brad Barritt and number eight Phil Dowson make their debuts, while lock Mouritz Botha makes his first start.
There are five more uncapped players on the bench, where only prop Matt Stevens (39 appearances) has any substantial experience, while the team is captained by flanker Chris Robshaw in just his second international.
The match marks a new era for England under caretaker coach Lancaster, who took over when Martin Johnson resigned in the wake of a World Cup campaign marred by ill-discipline and poor performance on and off the pitch.
Lancaster has only had nine days with his new squad, but he told reporters at England's Surrey training base he was pleased with the progress that had been made since the team came together.
"We've got an inner confidence, a quiet confidence that has been born out of a really, really good week in Leeds which was a lot to do with about building a culture and getting England back on track, so to speak. You know that desire to play for each other; the desire to play for your parents and friends and your family; and also the desire to play for the shirt, you know, play for England. And that's been led on with, as I said, a lot more technical and tactical stuff this week and so we'll see what Saturday brings, but we'll certainly give it our best shot," said Lancaster.
Owen Farrell's elevation to the starting 15 was expected after the 20-year-old son of England assistant coach Andy Farrell put in some impressive performances for his club, Saracens, in the English Premiership.
Fullback Ben Foden told Reuters the young Farrell was raw, but had the potential to play for England for a long time.
"To think that Owen's you know he's only just turned 20 and you know his skills and his ball handling and his you know his knowledge of the game is second to none and you know he talks like he's a 30-year-old veteran, rather than a 20-year-old kid just out of school. So, you know, it's good and it's exciting to play outside guys like this. You know he's got a lot ahead of him if he stays where he and keeps improving, hopefully we'll see him in a white shirt for many years to come," said Foden.
The fullback was part of the disastrous World Cup campaign, but was clearly enjoying the new environment and the possibilities it could present him.
"You know Stuart's (Lancaster) been very expressive in the way he wants us to play and take the field; that sort of 'no fear attitude' and play this wide, expansive game that people want to see and we've been working on it hard throughout the week. Obviously we've been looking at Scotland and how they're going to defend against us and attack and hopefully we've picked out a few weaknesses and we can exploit those at the weekend," said Foden.
The English are Six Nations defending champions and beat the Scots in their decisive World Cup Pool game in Auckland, New Zealand last year.
However, England have lost two and drawn one of their past three games at Murrayfield.
"It's a great stadium to play in; it's going to be a fantastic occasion. You know the Scots -- having been there myself -- I mean, a very, very proud nation and you know we've not won their since 2004, so we recognise that it's going to be a huge, huge challenge. They've got a lot of consistency in their team and consistent with their coaches, so we won't be underestimating them, I can assure you. But, you know, we're looking forward to the challenge," said Lancaster.
Foden believes the match will be an opportunity for England to prove they are not the side that performed so poorly both on and off the field in New Zealand.
"I've been hungry to get on the white shirt and run out for England just to sort of start to repair some of the damage that was caused at the World Cup. And obviously we need to move on from that but for me that memory, the last memory I have in a white shirt is not a pleasant one, so hopefully, you know, I can eradicate that with a big performance this weekend. And the guys who are coming in, you know getting their first caps and getting their first taste for it, you know they've got a lot to prove as well and you know Stuart Lancaster has shown a lot of belief in these guys, picked them on form because they've been playing well week-in, week-out for their club and giving them this massive opportunity. And these guys need to step up to the mark and take it and hopefully we'll see that this weekend," said Foden.
England starting 15 to face Scotland: 15-Ben Foden, 14-Chris Ashton, 13-Brad Barritt, 12-Owen Farrell, 11-David Strettle, 10-Charlie Hodgson, 9-Ben Youngs; 8-Phil Dowson, 7-Chris Robshaw (captain), 6-Tom Croft, 5-Tom Palmer, 4-Mouritz Botha, 3-Dan Cole, 2-Dylan Hartley, 1-Alex Corbisiero.
Replacements: 16-Rob Webber, 17-Matt Stevens, 18-Geoff Parling, 19-Ben Morgan, 20-Lee Dickson, 21-Jordan Turner-Hall. 22-Mike Brown. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2012. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None