Now England must pick overseas stars
CONGRATULATIONS to Australia for seeing sense and dropping the ridiculous policy of not selecting their best players if they are playing overseas. It leaves England looking old-fashioned and they need to react. Stuart Lancaster must be free to pick his best players, no matter where in the world they ply their trade. If Roy Hodgson’s star names moved to Bayern Munich or Barcelona, would the FA tell him not to pick them? Absolutely not. The same needs to apply to rugby. The game is changing and Australia have realised that. Matt Giteau and Drew Mitchell, for example, are top-class performers for Toulon and if England lose to Australia with those two playing out of their skins, you know exactly what the headlines will be. The World Cup is simply about the world’s best coming together and ridiculous rules like this demean it. Toulon’s Steffon Armitage came off the bench against Leinster on Sunday and turned the game on its head. His turnover work and ball-carrying are second to none and since he upped sticks to France his game has constantly improved. I don’t think Armitage would be playing this well if he was still at London Irish. He took a big risk and it paid off, he shouldn’t be penalised for it. If one or two England back-rowers wouldn’t want to see Armitage in the squad, then that confirms he should be! Nick Abendanon has also become better since he crossed the Channel. It’s simply wrong to say England are best served by players at English clubs. If someone is going to be happier, healthier and a better player overseas, he should be supported. Jonny Wilkinson moved to France and became even better than when he played for England, so that completes the argument for me. Would I have picked Jonny if he was playing in France? Of course I would. As England coach you will be judged on your World Cup performance, even more so as the home team. That’s where you have to deliver the results and selecting your best starting XV is the first thing you have to get right, without exception. When it comes to the big games, the other England players will want to have the best possible squad available. Every player, fan and Englishman wants England to win the World Cup and it starts with picking your best team. When it comes to a home World Cup, you don’t want to be left talking about ‘what ifs’. England players deserve to go on to the field knowing they have been given the best chance of winning. Do the squad truly believe this when such talented players are not considered? They shouldn’t be left to doubt they are playing only because of their home address. This isn’t about being disloyal to the clubs. They benefit from a winning England team, especially in a World Cup year. You simply can’t let the RFU or Premier Rugby tie your hands behind your back and dictate who you can or can’t pick. At Toulon, they’ve got Bryan Habana playing for South Africa and Leigh Halfpenny playing for Wales. They’re among the best players in the world. It’s just crazy and misguided not to make any Englishman available for selection. Well done, Australia.