KEY POINTS:
If you can't beat them, recruit them. Martin Johnson, in his first official role as England's team manager, managed to avoid the Red Roses' red-faced two-test debacle in New Zealand, monitoring events from Leicester rather than Lancaster Park.
"I don't think there's a tougher task than going to
play New Zealand away," said Johnson, who led his country to success there in 2003 prior to winning the World Cup in Australia. "What did we find out? Some of the players stood up and competed well, and I think we found out something about everyone who went on that tour."
Some the former England captain liked, many he didn't - for the 32-man elite squad he named yesterday did not contain the names of 13 players who visited New Zealand.
His verdict on the wretched mini-tour was "factored" into his selection. "We were beaten by a very good New Zealand team and we have to compete with them and become better."
Dan Carter aside, the All Blacks did not have to produce anything extraordinary to whitewash England. There will be fresh contracts, including a new code of conduct following allegations of sexual assault against the "Hilton Four".
Johnson has promoted four uncapped players to elite company, two of whom, Riki Flutey, the Wasps centre, and Dylan Hartley, the Northampton hooker, are New Zealanders.
Flutey qualifies for England in September on residency grounds. He played age-group rugby for New Zealand and represented New Zealand Maori before moving to England.
Aged 28, and operating at No 12 outside Danny Cipriani, he was one of the influential playmakers in the Premiership last season, helping Wasps to the championship, after which he was named the players' player of the year by the Professional Rugby Players' Association.
Cipriani was beginning to look like a younger northern hemisphere version of Carter until he fractured and dislocated his right ankle playing for Wasps in May.The stand-off is not expected to recover until the winter and will almost certainly be a spectator when the Pacific Islands, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa visit Twickenham for Tests in November.
Charlie Hodgson, who was England's number one No 10 on the tour is not in the squad.
That leaves Jonny Wilkinson, who is recovering from a shoulder operation, as the only specialist stand-off in the elite squad.
This is seen as the start of a new era for Johnson and England, not least because of an eight-year agreement between the RFU and the clubs dealing with increased access to the players for international duty.
- INDEPENDENT
