Moody's view on England squad

Planet Rugby caught up with retired England skipper Lewis Moody for his thoughts on Stuart Lancaster's selections for the tour of SA.

On Thursday, England Coach Stuart Lancaster unveiled his squad to face the rigours of an extended South African tour during June. Combine the physical nature of the South African game with the extreme playing conditions and you'll realise that test series against the Republic are one of the strongest measures of any international player or side.

Planet Rugby's James While caught up with retired England skipper Lewis Moody for his thoughts on England's selection, their progression and who he sees as the emerging stars of Lancaster's squad.

James While: Lewis, looking back at your career, you've obviously played a lot of Test rugby against and in South Africa- set the scene for us, what should England expect and what do you think would be 'success' in terms of the tour?

Lewis Moody: This is a test. In every respect. It's a test of mind, body, tactics and selection. When you tour South Africa, you know what to expect – colour, noise, the most physical side in world rugby in front of a partisan crowd at altitude (most of the time!) and on rock hard pitches. Stuart Lancaster is going to find it a lot about his troops and it comes just at the right time. I also like the fact there's two midweek games and a lot of new faces, so opportunity abounds and it'll be interesting to see who seizes it.

I said a few months back on Planet Rugby that I believed Stuart was the right man for the job and he continues to impress me. He has been entirely consistent, he has been up front and honest, and he's kept things simple and effective. Players relish that sort of environment and this tour comes at precisely the right time in his coaching evolution to turn the heat up on both the team and the coaches. They need to be tested, and that's exactly what South Africa will do! I'm also pleased for my old mate Mike Catt who was an absolutely world-class player. He's also not afraid to challenge the norm and he'll add great counterpoint to Stuart's pragmatism and Chris Robshaw's impressive and honest leadership.

JW: Looking at the squad, it's apparent that there's only half of the World Cup squad travelling. What are your thoughts on the selection process and are you happy with the continuity?

LM: I think the first thing that strikes me is there's a balance of young faces around a nucleus of established internationals. Stuart has been really true to his word about keeping continuity in the squad, but, paradoxically, he's not been afraid to bring in players on form; players that have forced their way into the squad. If you look, while the majority of the Six Nations squad is there (subject to fitness), but also four of the squad players were in the U20's last season, and others have come up from the Saxons too. In other words, he's not afraid to take the RIGHT risks. That's a really progressive selection attitude and it's clearly the correct way forward. Best of all, I'd say every player selected should be available for 2015 and pretty much at their peak.

We've got a four-year plan here and there is no need to rush it. Bring in the people playing on form, give them their chance and see if they're up to it. We have to give people opportunity and Stuart has done that.

JW: Amongst the new faces, there's also a couple of older stagers that have been recalled, in particular Care, Haskell, Ugo Moyne and Anthony Allen. What is your view on their return?

LM: With the two Tom's – Croft and Wood – both on the long-term injury list, I think it was inevitable that James Haskell would return to add his power and experience, and, importantly, his versatility. With regards to Danny Care, obviously his personal problems are exactly that, but have still had a negative impact on his availability. He's clearly spent time out to redress those issues, and, knowing Danny well, he'll listen to his own words and promises, and put them into the right sort of performances. He's a world-class nine, and it's an area where we don't have deep experience, so his contributions could be huge. Ugo and Anthony are both guys I've played a lot of rugby with and I know each brings a little X Factor to the back division.

JW: What's you view on some of the young guns that have forced their way in?

LM: There's some real exciting talent there, and where is there a tougher rugby examination than the Highveld? It'll be great for them. Carl Fearns is a big brawny flanker who has a real physical edge. He can play across the back row and put in the hard yards. Tom Youngs is solid prospect; don't forget three seasons ago he was playing with me at Leicester as a centre! He went down to learn the hooking trade at Notttingham and has really come on in leaps and bounds; he probably needs to work on his darts (line-out throwing) but shows a lot of promise and it's the right time to see if he can swim or sink. Christian Wade and Jonathan Joseph too are thrilling prospects in the three quarter line, both with pace to burn, and I'm glad Exeter's outstanding season has been rewarded with the recall of Tom Johnson, although I feel they are unlucky not to have a couple more of their players there.

JW: Finally, what in terms of the tour would be 'success'?

LM: That's a tough question and I'll be watching avidly to see how the answer unravel! It's not only down to results. It's finding out who is able to step up and who maybe is an inch short of the standard required for Test rugby. It's also important that we play the right brand of rugby, one that suits the personnel and the conditions, but also counters the opposition. It'll be a very interesting series, but I were if pushed, three from five would be a great return, and anything better would be tremendous. Here's to a real test series!