Breaking News Northampton Saints star Dowson’s England place under threat
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Ben Morgan is posing a big threat to Saints star Phil Dowson’s England place for Saturday’s Six Nations clash with Italy.
Morgan was impressive coming off the bench against Scotland after Dowson had a few nervous lapses on his England debut.
England interim head coach Stuart Lancaster has introduced a competitive edge to training that he claims is instrumental in shaping team selection.
Lancaster insists the make-up of his starting XV will be determined as much by what happens on the practice field as how a player performs on the pitch.
A committed 13-6 RBS 6 Nations victory over Scotland on Saturday launched what has been billed as an exciting new era for English rugby on a triumphant note, but it was an unconvincing performance.
It means Morgan and other fringe players hoping to force themselves into the starting XV for Saturday’s trip to Rome will be given the chance to stake their claim during a full-blooded session to be staged on today.
And Lancaster hinted that Morgan could be one of the players who is under consideration for a starting place.
‘’Part of the selection discussion over the two weeks has been about the back row,’’ he said.
‘’I was pleased with its balance on Saturday and I thought Tom Croft, Chris Robshaw and Phil all contributed in different areas.
‘’We were pleased with Ben Morgan’s impact from the bench. He has taken a huge step to go from no representative rugby straight into the England side.
‘’For him to come here and be involved as he has been, he is clearly finding his feet quickly.
‘’We are pleased with the impact he made but we also bear in mind the steps he has taken.
‘’It is part of the selection dynamic for this weekend.’’
England will train at the football academy by the O2 Arena on today if the pitch at their Pennyhill Park base fails to defrostand whatever the weather Lancaster is expecting a heated training session with Saints’Calum Clark keen to prove he should be in the matchday 22 after being left out at Murryafield and leading Northampton to an emphatic 57-10 win over Wasps instead.
‘’You make training competitive and that’s one of the things I’ve tried to do, certainly over the last two weeks,’’ said Lancaster. ‘’For example when we do 15 v 15 tomorrow, I’ll try to make it so that the players who are on the fringes or are on the bench get a genuine opportunity to play.
‘’The session will be competitive, allowing the players to show their skills rather than just give them a bib and tell them to be a defender.
‘’It’s when you get that competition and desire for the shirt that you really start to get high performances.
‘’Everyone has to train well. I place as much importance on how players conduct themselves in training during the week as on what they do at the weekend.
‘’I want to create a mindset where people are thinking about being excellent every day because that’s what it takes to keep or gain the shirt.’’
Toby Flood made a second-half appearance for Leicester against Newcastle on Saturday in his first appearance since damaging knee ligaments on New Year’s Day.
However, Lancaster stated Flood’s lack of game time all but rules him out of contention against Italy on Saturday.
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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