Out with the old and in with the new

Next week, England will select the backbone of a side to take them through to the 2015 RWC.

Next week, England will cast aside the last vestiges of the Martin Johnson era and select the backbone of a side to take them through to the 2015 Rugby World Cup.

There's truly a frisson of excitement building amongst the press corps at caretaker coach Stuart Lancaster's attitude to rugby – no nonsense, back to basics, value the shirts etc.

In some areas, the selection will be pretty easy – the front row picks itself; the halfbacks also (when all are fit). But elsewhere, the back row, inside centre and second row will all inspire huge debate.

However, paradoxically, Lancaster's coaching team are sending out messages of a different nature, saying that they will go to the open market – and overseas if required – to find qualified players of the necessary standard, with England forwards coach Graham Rowntree actively admitting to wanting to 'poach' a specialist openside flank in the absence of a compelling candidate.

Lancaster has gone on record as saying he wants to play an expansive game. All very good to say that, but sadly, that style relies upon a linking number seven as Rowntree has admitted, and that's the one area England's resources are very thin.

For someone of a certain age, brought up on a series of absolutely world class opensides (Hill, Back, Winterbottom etc), it's unthinkable that the Red Rose have no-one to challenge the best of the world – the likes of Dusautoir, McCaw, Pocock, Brussouw and Warburton.

Is this aligned to Lancaster's pride in the shirt? Is it sending out the right messages, when the England management are effectively promoting the recruitment of a rugby mercenary to fill a selectorial gap?

Rowntree no doubt would argue that necessity is the mother of inventive poaching, but others may purport that England should be seeking to nurture some of its younger talent, like Andy Saull at Saracens and Under-20's tearaway Matt Kvesic at Worcester – thus maintaining consistency in their selectorial messages.

With no obvious solution on the openside flank, and with the poaching undercooked thus far, it's believed he'll go with a starting line-up of Tom Wood, Tom Croft and will then choose one from Ben Morgan and Chris Robshaw.

It's a mix and match situation – play Morgan and you go in with an inexperienced number eight and no specialist openside. Play Robshaw and you have two six-and-a-halves and no regular eight.

Croft can count himself lucky that his line-out is an integral part of England's set-piece, as his work around the park in recent games has been lacking in physicality. It's makeshift to say the least, but England will profit from the workrate of Quins' skipper Robshaw and the robust work around the fringes of Wood.

Elsewhere, with Manu Tuilagi injured, it's a shoo-in that the Saracens club unit of Charlie Hodgson, Owen Farrell and Brad Barritt will form the spine of the midfield, although some may question if Hodgson's style will be suited to a cold day in soggy Edinburgh. Henry Trinder – a temporary replacement in the EPS squad for the injured Toby Flood and Tuilagi – will bench and add pace to the outside channels when he comes on.

At lock, it's a case of pick the best available. Tom Palmer, surely one of the most under-rated locks in world rugby, should partner one of Courtney Lawes or Dave Attwood in the enforcers role, although big South African Mauritz Botha will also press his claims.

In the back three, it's a case of Charlie Sharples or Mike Brown, which will inform if Foden (also a candidate for the outside centre berth) starts on the wing or at full-back. Chris Ashton will of course resume his splashdowns on the other wing.

Looking at the above, England's season will be defined not by results, but by ambition and the content within those results. The fans have an appetite to watch an attractive team; if a few eggs are broken making a delicious omelette of pacey, expressive rugby, so be it.

However, Murrayfield in February is a daunting prospect and one hopes, in the desperation to play expansively when conditions perhaps dictate otherwise, Lancaster doesn't end up with some of those eggs on his face.

By James While