David Strettle seeks England recall after hat-trick against Wasps

http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2014/sep/07/david-strettle-saracens-wasps-stuart-lancaster-england

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The delay in the announcement of England’s elite squad has given Stuart Lancaster time to ponder his options. It will be a case in most positions of who to leave out, but on the wing, where the head coach has deployed full-backs in recent seasons, there are no clear starters.

Past, present and future met at the home of English rugby in the form of David Strettle, who scored three tries; Chris Ashton, who claimed the first of seven in an open encounter; and Christian Wade, who on his first Premiership appearance since he suffered a toe injury at the end of November helped Wasps recover from an 11-point deficit at half-time to lead by eight in the final quarter with two tries.

Strettle won the last of his 14 caps, six years after his first, against Argentina on tour last year, a game in which Wade made his debut before being called up by the Lions in Australia. Strettle was the leading English try scorer in last season’s Premiership with 11 but his form was not enough to dissuade Lancaster from preferring the full-back Ben Foden to him on the left wing.

“I definitely still have England ambitions,” Strettle said. “I am always asked this question by the media but you should approach Stuart or Andy Farrell. I think I played well enough last year to be in the squad but it did not happen and I will have to see what happens now; I have not given up. I was a firm believer until last year that if you take care of what you can do for your club, country will look after itself.

“I understand where Stuart is coming from because he has a World Cup to plan for and he wants to look at people – he has not said to me that he has written me off. If I keep performing well, maybe he will think that no one has taken the shirt and I will get another shot again.”

Wade scored 13 tries in the 2012-13 league campaign and was on five when injury ended his season 10 months ago. “It was good to get a couple of tries, but I felt a bit rusty and still have work to do,” he said. “It was difficult being out for such a long time, but it meant I had a good break and I am ready to go for a full season.

“I know the England squad has not been picked, but I can only think about cementing my place in the Wasps team. We have five or six wings and gone are the days at the club when there were automatic picks in the team. Any mistakes and you are out of the side so I have to keep playing and see where it takes me. There are places to be gained in the England squad and it will be about club form.”

The Wasps director of rugby, Dai Young, felt that two of Strettle’s tries should have been disallowed: the first, for a push on the full-back Rob Miller and the last, a minute from the end, because he felt the ball had not been grounded. The latter was a reversal from Saracens’ final against Northampton last May, when Alex Waller’s score was allowed by the television match official at the end of extra time.

Saracens complained about the TMO system on their previous appearance here, this time it worked to their benefit. “I knew it was a try at the end, but slow-motion makes things look different,” said Strettle. “My first try was a coming together with Miller and there was no push. Dissection takes away gut instinct but that instinct is usually right. If camera angles are not decisive, it should go back to the referee. Everyone is trying their hardest to get it right and it will take time.”

Saracens had only seven starters from the final and were uncharacteristically loose until Owen Farrell left the bench on the hour and sharpened their focus. They were below their best but achieved a bonus-point victory while Wasps again left a double-header wondering about what should have been.

Saracens Goode; Ashton, Taylor, Barritt, Strettle; Hodgson, Wigglesworth; Barrington, George, Longbottom; Kruis, Hargreaves (capt); Brown, Fraser, Vunipola.. Replacements: Streather for Ashton (72), Farrell for Hodgson (62), Spencer for Wigglesworth (53), Gill for Barrington (50), Du Plessis for Longbottom (50), Hamilton for Hargreaves (65), Wray for Brown (57). Sin-bin Brown (11). Tries Ashton, Strettle 3. Pens Hodgson 2 Cons Hodgson 2, Farrell 2

Wasps Miller; Wade, Daly, C. Bell, Tagicakibau; Goode, Simpson; Mullan, Festuccia, Cittadini; Launchbury, Gaskell; Johnson, Haskell (capt), Hughes. Replacements: Masi for Miller (56), R. Jackson for Goode (71), Lindsay for Mullan (66), Yapp for Festuccia (65), Swainston for Cittadini (56), Myall for Gaskell (56), Thompson for Hughes (71). Not Used: Davies. Tries Hughes, Wade 2. Pens Goode 3. Cons Goode 2

Attendance 61,424. Referee Andrew Small.

Big season for

Owen Farrell Ashley Johnson, Joe Launchbury and Nathan Hughes stood out in Wasps’ back five, all the wings were threatening and Jamie George was prominent for Saracens, but it was England’s No10 Farrell that proved the difference. He is now a fly-half for all seasons