Old, bold and going for gold - thirtysomethings do battle for England

14 April 2012

England will send the oldest squad in World Cup history off to France next month, prompting the most-capped All Black to warn the rest that they mean business.

Sean Fitzpatrick, New Zealand's hooker in their only winning final 20 years ago and captain in their last one eight years later, has changed his view of the holders from a team of 'too many fatties' to a streamlined unit capable of going as far as the semi-finals, if not further.

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By then, Mike Catt will be into his 37th year, Lawrence Dallaglio and Mark Regan are already into their 36th, Perry Freshwater and Simon Shaw into their 35th.

Martin Corry will reach 34 before the end of the tournament and a host of others are not far behind him. They may be more than a bit long in the tooth but Fitzpatrick, whose 92 caps puts him at the top of the all-time All Blacks' list, makes a telling observation: 'Do not be fooled by their age.'

His verdict will be of particular interest in Australia, where Martin Johnson's pack was derided as 'Dad's Army' until they beat the Wallabies in the final.

The squad pitching camp at Versailles in three weeks for their title defence will be marginally older than the one responsible for winning it four years ago - an average age of almost 30 compared to 291/2 the last time.

Fitzpatrick said: 'I don't see age as a problem. From where England were six months ago, this is a pretty good-looking team to me. Last year some players seemed to be turning up and taking their positions for granted. They weren't up to the challenge. I'm not mentioning names but since then some have been left out or they have retired.

'A lot of criticism was heaped on Andy Robinson as coach when I felt some players should have been saying: "We're not fit. We're not doing what we are supposed to be doing". The game moves on very rapidly and that has since been taken on board.

Included: Lawrence Dallaglio, in action here against France, is in England's World Cup squad

'What I like is that the older guys like Catt, Dallaglio and Shaw are the ones who will be setting the standard. Admittedly, Wales weren't much of a yardstick at Twickenham the other week but that's the best I've seen of Dallaglio in ages.

'What they have to decide is where he is better - coming off the bench or starting. Keven Mealamu is the All Blacks' best hooker but they use him off the bench because he is a better impact player than Anton Oliver. If it was down to me, I'd have Dallaglio in the team from the start because he has such influence.

'Mark Regan is a good choice with George Chuter coming off the bench. Andrew Sheridan is coming up to the mark, Shaw and Ben Kay look good and Phil Vickery is in good shape. The nice thing for England is that they've been written off. They won't have the pressure of expectation and you won't find me writing them off.

'I believe they can get to the semifinals and once you get that far, anything can happen. Maybe since 2003 they enjoyed talking about being world champions for too long and went backwards as a consequence but now they've been working hard to climb back up the ladder, I don't think they are going to be a flop.

'I think Brian Ashton has got a gameplan which suits the players he's picked. He's worked very hard on a defence to shut down the opposition, he has a forward pack to get him into position to kick goals and an expert in Jonny Wilkinson to put them over.

'The two best defensive teams in the world, New Zealand and Australia in the Tri-Nations last month, almost came down to who had the better goalkicker. And that will happen again in the World Cup because usually the best defensive team wins the tournament. I hope it doesn't happen again this time but I won't be surprised if it does.'

The need to reinforce his defence explains why Ashton has chosen Jamie Noon at outside centre and decided that the World Cup is no place for a novice full back, no matter how gifted. Nick Abendanon, the 20-year-old from Bath, and the teenage Wasp Danny Cipriani rejoined their clubs yesterday knowing their time will come and that they will be all the better for finishing their apprenticeship.

Saracens prop Kevin Yates missed the last place in the front row, a case of one 34-year-old losing out to another, Perry Freshwater. That Yates took his fight to the very last bell is a tribute to his durability, likewise James Haskell, the Wasps' flanker who went within a whisker of making the trip as the youngest forward.

Charlie Hodgson's rejection without being given a run confirms that Ashton had written him out of the script a while back - at the time when he wrote Olly Barkley into it. Toby Flood's release leaves England thin on the goalkicking front with only two specialists, Wilkinson and Barkley.

Since kicking more than a thousand goals in rugby league, Andy Farrell has worked on lengthening his range at Saracens but was called upon only to kick two goals at Leicester on New Year's Day and one more at Worcester in April.

Mike Tindall's elimination, virtually inevitable since the day he broke his leg last Easter, means England are down to six members of their World Cup final XV - Jason Robinson, Josh Lewsey, Wilkinson, Vickery, Kay and Dallaglio.

Having made some tough decisions and tougher phone calls, Ashton will today name his strongest team for Saturday's return against France in Marseilles, England's last pre-tournament Test.

KEY DATES Aug 18: v France (Marseille). Sep 3: Depart for World Cup. Sep 8: v USA (Lens). Sep 14: v South Africa (Stade de France). Sep 22: v Samoa (Nantes). Sep 28: v Tonga (Parc des Princes). Oct 6 or 7: possible quarter-final (Marseille).

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