Under-performing England lacking in pride of Lions

A lot can happen over the course of six months in rugby and many a reputation has been forged or ruined over the course of a Six Nations campaign.

But as England go into their final Autumn international against New Zealand tomorrow some players thoughts might just be looking ahead to this summer’s Lions tour to South Africa.

Judging by the side’s performances so far during this international series, most of those players will know they have a long way to go if they are going to be in the touring party.

Andrew Sheridan is perhaps the only shoe-in, fitness permitting, among Martin Johnson’s men and even his stock has taken a bit of a battering after he suffered at the hands of an Australian front row bent on revenge for their World Cup embarrassment.

Sheridan’s bulk and power will be essential against the South Africans though, and a steady Six Nations should see him handed a red jersey.

Danny Cipriani would easily make the trip if selection was based on talent and confidence alone but he is facing a crucial period in his young career after struggling to adapt to the pace and pressures of playing against the top Southern Hemisphere sides.

There are also plenty of other options at fly-half, with the ever-consistent Stephen Jones and Ronan O’Gara as well as the dashing James Hook all presenting strong cases for selection.

You would also be a fool if you expected a man as determined as Jonny Wilkinson to give up on the race for selection and the chance to absolve his 2005 nightmare without a fight.

In the back three Paul Sackey had seemingly established him as a top-class test winger but he has looked short on confidence recently and while, Delon Armitage has looked as comfortable as possible amid the chaos, Ireland have several promising young outside backs coming through and Wales’ Lee Byrne and Shane Williams are likely Lions starters.

Danny Care has showed potential at scrum-half but it is another highly competitive position and he is far from the finished article.

Matt Stevens may make the squad due to his ability to prop up both sides of the scrum but he is becoming in danger of being pigeonholed as an ‘impact sub’.

Against South Africa last Saturday James Haskell showed appetite and aggression to match the Springboks but is a case of ‘curb your enthusiasm’ for the Wasps flanker as he must work on his discipline to make sure he keeps his place in the England side, let alone earn a Lions call-up.

In other positions the side appears full of players who currently look distinctly average (I hate to single anyone out but Lee Mears at hooker is an obvious example) and are hardly putting forward a convincing case to be selected for the heightened test arena of a Lions series.

Wales and Ireland seem to have plenty of players putting their names forward and I haven’t seen enough of Frank Hadden’s improving Scotland to asses which players have Lions potential but Mike Blair’s selection in the short list for the IRB’s World Player of the Year suggests they can at least match England’s claim of one as-good-as-automatic selection.

Things look pretty bleak for England’s players if the squad was to be picked tomorrow but they have six months to prove themselves and what better way to start than with a strong showing against the world’s best side at Twickenham tomorrow.