Nick Easter will captain England in Saturday's Test against Samoa after Martin Johnson made four changes from the team that beat Australia.
One of the hallmarks of Johnson’s regime thus far has been consistency of selection, something which certainly hasn’t always been the case in previous years. Barring one or two players, the same team has now been together for the last three games and it’s no surprise that the quality of play has improved as a result, as trust and combinations mature and develop. Johnson and the rest of his coaching staff therefore had to strike a balance this week when selecting the XV to face Samoa. Make too many changes and all momentum is lost, make too few and miss out on an opportunity to give other players a chance, and risk flogging tired bodies for four Test matches in a row.
Johnson and the other coaches seem to have struck a good balance, opting for four changes to the starting line-up, retaining the core of the team who recorded back-to-back wins against Australia and pushed New Zealand all the way, whilst bringing in players keen to show what they can do.
Johnson's biggest call this week was at outside centre. Armitage provided cover for the position in England's recent back-to-back victories over the Wallabies. But England's attack coach Brian Smith has long identified Bath’s Matt Banahan, already a lock-turned-wing, as a potential Test-class outside centre.
Matt Banahan in action against New Zealand
Although Johnson has given Tindall and Moody a rest, he has kept the changes to a minimum to help build familiarity in the key partnerships. Tom Palmer and Courtney Lawes will continue to build their blossoming second row relationship while Ben Foden, Chris Ashton and Mark Cueto continue in the back three. Leicester pair Ben Youngs and Toby Flood start in the half-backs while Banahan and Shontayne Hape have played together in the centres for Bath.
Squad depth is vital in a tournament like the World Cup and England will need to unearth genuine contenders and challengers for a number of shirts. Mike Tindall may be the current best option at outside centre, but beyond that, the cupboard seems bare, at least in terms of international experience.
Banahan brings not only a physical presence in the midfield and a good defence, but an under-rated offloading game and soft hands, the likes of which could put the speedsters in the backline away as England will look to keep the ball alive as much as possible.
"I am adding more strings to my bow, I'm enjoying it and this is a great chance. It's up to me to take it. I prefer centre," Banahan said. "I like to carry the ball a bit more and there is a lot more decision-making, but as long as I am on the pitch representing my country, I don't mind where I play. The game is changing massively and it doesn't matter what shape your body is. You can play anywhere on the pitch as long as your skills are up to the standard they need to be.”
With captain Lewis Moody’s body seemingly getting a severe battering every week, the decision to rest him this week seems like a sensible one and it’s a good chance to see what Leeds flanker Hendre Fourie, next in line for the openside shirt, can do. The 30-year-old Fourie, born in Burgersdorp in South Africa's Eastern Cape, qualifies for England on residency grounds.
Hendre Fourie gets his first start for England on Saturday
He spent two seasons at Rotherham from 2005-07 before switching to Leeds, who he helped return to the Premiership and then starred as they stayed in the top flight in their first season back.
Elsewhere, James Haskell replaces Tom Croft at blindside, after the Leicester flanker took a slight knock against Australia, and he’ll no doubt be keen to put in a big performance.
With Leicester tighthead Dan Cole playing the full eighty two weeks running, Johnson has given the starting shirt to David Wilson of Bath, who’s happy to be Mr Versatile when it comes to lining up on the loose or tighthead.
“As a replacement prop at international level you often get on, especially with there only being one prop on the bench, so you’ve got to be able to cover both loose and tighthead” Wilson said, “It’s not like club rugby where you can just stick to one role and concentrate on that. You’ve got to have a plan in place to play both sides. Most of us have been together since the summer so we’re starting to build a bit more of a club environment,” he said. “A lot of the more inexperienced guys are used to the squad now and it feels much more like a club environment which will benefit us.”
David Wilson starts at tighthead
Samoa have named an unchanged side to play England at Twickenham on Saturday following last weekend's 20-10 defeat by Ireland.
There are seven Premiership-based players including London Irish pair Seilala Mapasua and George Stowers and Leicester winger Alesana Tuilagi. Toulouse prop Census Johnston is named on the bench after missing the game in Dublin after the death of his sister. They will again be captained by the former Sale hooker Mahonri Schwalger.
Samoa put in a physical display as they pushed Ireland hard at the Aviva Stadium last Saturday, ending up on the losing side by a mere 10 points against an experienced Irish side.
"This autumn campaign in Europe is the first of four leading into the World Cup," said their manager, Matt Vaea. "This is assembly time for us – time to look at the core make-up of our squad, players who will then be tested during the Pacific Nations Cup, the Super 15 competition and the warm-up matches ahead of the big tournament. The World Cup is special to us. We have to win our first two matches, against Namibia and Wales. We have work to do, but that is our aim."
Vaea is more concerned with addressing the Samoans' traditional Achilles' heel – their set piece – ahead of what promises to be a bruising meeting with England. "We know we have to front up at the scrum and line-out," he said. "We're achieving reasonably well in those areas on this trip, although we're lacking a little control in the rucks. England have a very formidable forward pack, so we'll have to step it up if we're going to stay in the game. We're in a battle this weekend."
Manaia Salavea is tackled during last weekend's Ireland v Samoa match
After England’s impressive form so far this Autumn, the challenge now facing the men in white/anthracite is to keep going and to improve with every game. England do appear to be on the up in the last few matches, and provided combinations and team spirit are allowed to continue and develop, there’s no reason why they can’t finish with three wins out of four this autumn and put in a strong challenge for the Six Nations in a few months.
England may start as favourites on Saturday but they’ll have to bring the same level of intensity and focus this weekend, or Samoa will cause them huge problems. The mood in the camp, thankfully from an England perspective, seems to suggest the players’ won’t be taking anything for granted and will be giving their all.
England: 15 Ben Foden, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Matt Banahan, 12 Shontayne Hape, 11 Mark Cueto, 10 Toby Flood, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Nick Easter (C), 7 Hendre Fourie, 6 James Haskell, 5 Tom Palmer, 4 Courtney Lawes, 3 David Wilson, 2 Dylan Hartley,1 Andrew Sheridan.
Replacements: 16 Steve Thompson, 17 David Wilson, 18 Dave Attwood, 19 Tom Croft, 20 Danny Care, 21 Charlie Hodgson, 22 Delon Armitage
Samoa: 15 Paul Williams, 14 David Lemi, 13 George Pisi, 12 Seilala Mapasua, 11 Alesana Tuilagi, 10 Tasesa Lavea, 9 Kahn Fotualii, 8 George Stowers, 7 Manaia Salavea, 6 Ofisa Treviranus, 5 Filipo Levi, 4 Kane Thompson, 3 Anthony Perenise, 2 Mahonri Schwalger (capt), 1 Sakaria Taulafo.
Replacements: 16 Ti'i Paulo, 17 Census Johnston, 18 Joe Tekori, 19 Afa Aiono, 20 Junior Poluleuligaga, 21 Jamie Helleur, 22 Gavin Williams.
Date: Saturday, November 20
Venue: Twickenam, London
Kick-off: 14:30 (14:30 GMT)
Referee: Peter Fitzgibbon (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Alan Lewis (Ireland), Cobus Wessels (South Africa)
Television match official: Giulio De Santis (Italy)
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