England will miss Steffon Armitage and Nick Abendanon in the World Cup

http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/may/16/england-miss-steffon-armitage-nick-abendanon-world-cup

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World Cup years work in mysterious ways. Just when it seemed that Stuart Lancaster had nothing on his mind more controversial than the matter of whether or not to include the French exiles, Steffon Armitage and Nick Abendanon, in his England squad – to be announced on Wednesday – than up popped Manu Tuilagi’s conviction for assaulting two female police officers and a taxi driver in Leicester.

The consignment of Tuilagi to the internal wilderness is mitigated by his groin, to which a protracted injury had obliged Lancaster to work on other combinations this year. Brad Barritt may miss his old playing partner in the centre – memories of their performance together against New Zealand in November 2012 must still stir his soul – but Jonathan Joseph and Luther Burrell may take the view that life has moved on without him and very much with them. Tuilagi is news now for his misdemeanour more than for what he might have brought to the World Cup party.

Lancaster could take the law‑abiding option again on Wednesday when he announces his initial World Cup squad. Armitage and Abendanon, those pesky exiles of Toulon and Clermont Auvergne respectively, will not be included, a victory for home values – no foreign‑based players, coming over here and taking our jobs. It could be a little dab of glue on Ukip’s fragmentation.

The exclusion of the As can be seen as a declaration of strength. The European Players of the Year for the past two seasons are not required. England must be formidable. It’s slightly awkward that the European Player of the Year before them, a certain Jonny Wilkinson in 2013, was playing for Toulon when Martin Johnson, now a firm proponent of strict border controls – but in 2011 coach/manager of England – picked him for the World Cup in New Zealand. It just goes to show that principles are better made of willow than cast iron. Sometimes they have to bend a bit.

It is true that England are going to be strong. It’s their World Cup and Lancaster could pick a squad of 100, safe in the knowledge that they are all good enough to carry their mother country to the last four of the tournament. But does he have 15 that can win it? The reason the issue of the A-listers of France hasn’t gone away is this nagging doubt that England need somebody – perhaps two or three people – a little different.

Tuilagi was sometimes that person, even if he was never exactly a model of subtlety. Abendanon makes mistakes at full-back but he also scores tries out of nothing. Armitage is so singularly unusual in style that he could wear a shirt with no number. There’s a bit of Mathieu Bastareaud about his girth and his directness, but a whole lot of Matt Giteau about his skills on the ball, too. He is a wonderfully unconventional player.

It seems that voices from within the current England (and England-based) squad have, however, been heard. Their concerns have been given a good airing. Now is not the time to jeopardise the tightness of the group. Said the group. In another time and place, such a sensitivity to change might be construed as Luddite if not downright mutinous. Does a coach whose very first task after the debacle of the last World Cup was to reprint in bold type the importance of the humility that went with the honour of playing for England, really wish to have his selection policy influenced by his changing room?

There is a bigger picture – if anything can be bigger than preparing for a World Cup four months away – in that England are vying with France for commercial pre-eminence. The scrapping of the salary cap, the BT money, the ring-fencing of an expanded Premiership – these are all elements in a surge from within England to wrest control of a profitable European rugby environment from France. There are forces at work. Abendanon and Armitage are making their fortune in France but it may be their misfortune to be on the other side of the Channel at this particular point in their career and in professional rugby’s evolution.

This may leave Sam Burgess as the only “outsider” in Lancaster’s squad. Through a series of strange interactions and rethinks by the Bath coach, Mike Ford, it seems to have turned out that Burgess is more at home at 6 than in the centre. Or that he has done so well in both positions that he has value as a sort of, well, Armitage. A player without a number.

The rise of Exeter – and not just this season – has pushed several of their players into contention: the hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie, for example; the utility back Henry Slade; Dave Ewers (should Ben Morgan not recover from mangling the bones and ligaments in his left leg in January). Squeezing in a couple of players from a consistently in-form club might help Lancaster make the point that no existing player’s place is sacrosanct.

And might he include a youngster whose case is irresistible, even if his minutes on the field are still limited? Maro Itoje of Saracens, injury permitting, is going to have a long international career. He has the lot and could probably – and quite possibly at the same time – play centre and back-row as well as Burgess and Armitage. But does that illustrious career start now?

How many feathers might be ruffled in the changing room by the inclusion of a 20-year-old rookie? World Cups nowadays seem to be exercises as much in managing (or failing to manage) mutiny – New Zealand in 2003, Wales in 2007, France and England in 2011 – as about running a successful campaign. Every country, even the host nation, with serious ambitions is going to feel as much heat as love in the months ahead. Wednesday should reveal the firmness of the hand on the England tiller.