Martin Corry picks his World Cup 30

Martin Corry believes versatility is the key for England's World Cup hopes. He gives Planet Rugby his ideal squad to go to New Zealand.

Planet Rugby guest columnist Martin Corry believes versatility is the key for England's World Cup hopes. He gives us his ideal squad for New Zealand.

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Many moons ago, in the England camp, I remember the perceived 'versatility of Austin Healy virtually costing him a World Cup place, as no-one was quite sure where to play him or what his best position was. Certainly the pocket rugby genius was very unlucky not to be part of the 2003 winning side, losing out to specialist winger Dan Luger, and Austin's lack of specialism appeared to cost him dearly in that instance.

However, fast forward to 2011 and it's that V word again that really is the key to selection of the final lucky 30. Versatility, no longer such a dirty word, is very much at the epicentre of the current England squad and I wanted to examine what I think will be the fortunate 30 to get on the plane come the end of August

At prop, Dan Cole and Sheridan are nailed on, and Matt Stevens will travel as he's able to play both 1 and 3 at international level. Corbisiero will also go, and he plays tighthead in emergency too. That leaves one propping berth from the traditional five, but I'm guessing England will gamble on taking only four, although if they take another, my pick for the last one would be Paul Doran-Jones, a grafting technician.

At hooker, I feel certain England will be compelled to take three, and as Chuter, Thompson and Hartley are all in the 45-man initial squad, I don't see any variance and all will go.

The back five of the pack balance is interesting. Certainly they'll take eight players, possibly nine if they only select four props. Rumour has it that only three locks will travel, with Croft and perhaps Easter covering the fourth lock role, and Lawes acting as an auxiliary back-rower if required. I think my old mate Simon Shaw has finally reached the end of a long and distinguished career and also, due to shoulder injuries, he's only able to pack down on one side these days, so rather sadly, he'll miss out. On that basis, Palmer, Lawes and the much-improved Deacon will travel, with Attwood, Botha and Shaw unlucky.

That leaves us with five or six back-row berths and I think five are pretty much already selected. It goes without saying that skipper Moody, Croft and Easter are very much first choice selections, with Tom Wood's performances this season giving him a strong claim.

Without another regular number eight in the squad the last berth therefore must go to the ever-improving Haskell, who can cover all three back-row positions and is physically very suited to eight, if a little inexperienced there. Should they take a ninth player, it will be a toss up between Hendre Fourie, who offers support running and great ruck work, or Thomas Waldrom with his huge carries but liable to get isolated and turned over. I don't personally believe either player offers much more than the ones already chosen so I reckon they may stick with just the five loose forwards.

Moving onto the half-backs, again versatility is the watchword. Danny Care and Ben Youngs are already on the aircraft for sure, and I've a sneaking suspicion that Ben Foden will be the emergency third scrum-half. Again, at 10, Jonny Wilkinson and Toby Flood (both of whom can play at 12) are shoo-ins, and I expect Flutey to come back in as the third 10 cover due to his ability to cover all of the midfiled positions, and the fact he offers something different in attack. I'd caveat that by saying that all three choices at 10 are rather physically fragile, but we'll talk about that in a moment.

If selected as above that would leave nine places for the 3/4's and outside backs. Tindall and Hape are certain to travel, as are Cueto, Ashton and I think Banahan (versatile again- 12, 13, 14). That leaves four – I'm betting Armitage's dark days are now behind him, and he'll offer value at both 13 and 15.

Manu Tuilagi has been fast tracked to the EPS and again, he's an X-factor player, offering the ability to really explode off the bench and dent big defences. I think he'll feature. There will be a battle between Moyne and Strettle for the spare wing slot, and, weighing it all up, Moyne's experience and stronger defence will come through.

According to my simple maths, that makes 29, leaving one spare place. I must admit to being concerned about Flood and Wilko as the primary half-backs as both are fragile when it comes to injury record. Charlie Hodgson would be the natural choice should they wish to augment that position and may yet make the cut, especially if he puts in good displays in the warm up tests. However, looking at the players selected and what we may need, I think I'll take a flyer and, despite my comments about eight back five players, I'll suggest Thomas Waldrom for the last slot as I believe he would add impact off the bench when required, but also has vast knowledge of the conditions available in New Zealand. So assuming they'll take the extra back-rower, Thomas the Tank makes up my 30-man squad, but equally, as noted, you could put forward arguments for Attwood, Fourie, Botha and Shaw in the forwards, Simpson and Hodgson in the half-backs, and Strettle in the backs.

Cozza's 'Versatile' 30

Props
Stevens, Cole, Corbisiero, Sheridan

Hookers
Hartley, Chuter, Thompson

Locks
Lawes, Palmer, Deacon

Back-row
Moody (capt), Easter, Croft, Haskell, Wood, Waldrom

Scrum-halves
Youngs, Care

Fly-halves
Wilkinson, Flood

Centres
Flutey, Hape, Tindall, Tuilagi

Wing/Full back
Cueto, Ashton, Foden, Moyne, Banahan, Armitage