British coach Martin Johnson will start his team's journey to the 2011 rugby world cup in Auckland by giving New Zealand back Riki Flutey his England debut, the Guardian newspaper reports.
Flutey, 28, featured at all age grades for New Zealand but qualified for England on residency grounds
and is poised to make his England test debut against the Pacific Islands on November 8.
The Guardian reported that when Johnson sent Olly Barkley and Dan Hipkiss back to their clubs this week, it signalled that England were preparing to give Flutey his test debut outside first five-eigth Danny Cipriani.
The pairing is logical considering their Wasps partnership and the way England's attack coach, Brian Smith, has said he intends the team to play.
"I have absolutely no doubt that Riki can make the step up," wrote Guardian columnist, Shaun Edwards, a former Great Britain rugby league halfback.
"He's the perfect professional in his preparation, a leader who is thoughtful in analysis of the opposition - often found poring over his laptop and coming up with ideas about where and how to attack - and vocal on the field when tactics have to be changed.
"Put Danny Care, the form scrum-half, inside them and you get a trio of all-court decision-makers who kick and distribute but who are all prepared to run the ball and thus command the constant attention of opposition back rows and midfields."
On successive Saturdays, starting next week, the English side will play the Pacific Islands, Australia, South Africa and finally New Zealand in matches that will dictate England's place in the world standings and consequently their World Cup seeding.
"Two wins is probably par for the course, three would be good," Edwards said.
- NZPA
