Toulon’s
Tom May will make his full England debut on Saturday
after being named in Martin Johnson’s starting XV to face
Argentina at Old Trafford.
May has
been handed the inside centre berth after Brive’s Jamie
Noon was ruled with a calf injury. There are also debuts
fro Matt Banahan and David Wilson, while Stade Francais’
James Haskell has won himself a recall to the starting
line-up.
Brive
fly-half Andy Goode, who will start at 10, has down
the impact of the current exodus of English players to Top
14.
“It’s
not 50 players as the amount of attention seems to say it
is,” said Goode. “There’s a few in the England squad going
over but I’ve got nothing but good things to say about my
experiences at Brive. Brive have released me to play for
England and train with England when they didn’t have to
under IRB regulations. As a lifestyle it’s second to none,”
he added.
Goode
admitted that many of those who have agreed to move this
summer had contacted the former Leicester Tigers player to
seek his advice. “Quite a few of the lads talked to me,” he
said. “James Haskell asked me a lot of questions about life
in France, although I didn’t know too much about Stade
Francais. I can talk very positively about the way Brive
have treated me and looked after me, but at other clubs it
be a different scenario. As a life experience it has been
fantastic.”
Top 14 Table
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Top 14 Transfers - The story so far...
Fellow
Briviste Steve Thompson is hoping that to earn his 48th
England cap after being named on the subs’ bench for the
Saturday clash with the Pumas.
The
World Cup winning hooker has not represented England in a
full international since the 2006 Six Nations, although he
did play in last weekend’s non-cap friendly against the
Barbarians – which England lost 33-26.
A severe
neck injury temporarily forced the 30-year-old into
retirement in 2007 but he has since rediscovered his best
form after returning to action with Brive.
“It’s
been a long road and I’ve taken a step closer to getting my
England shirt back,’ Thompson said this week. “I was told I
was only on trial against the Barbarians and I’ll have to
find out how that went. I want to win another cap and this
whole second career feels like a bonus,” he said.
If
Johnson’s recent comments are anything to go by then it
seems Thompson could yet add considerably more caps to his
current 47.
“Steve’s
only 30 – he could yet peak as a front-row forward. The
injury and time of the game has done him the world of good
mentally,” said Johnson. “He seems refreshed and keen. He’s
also shown a leadership aspect. He’s a good ball carrier, a
big powerful guy and his set-piece work has been pretty
accurate.”
Argentina have included a plethora of France-based stars
– including Juan Martin Hernandez - after Stade
Francais and Stade Toulousain both crashed out of the Top 14
play-offs at the weekend. They will be captained by
Toulon-bound Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe.
Italy
coach Nick Mallett is lining up Bayonne’s Craig Gower
to play fly-half in their forthcoming summer internationals
against Australia and New Zealand.
Gower, a
former Australian international rugby league star, was
recently given his first call up to the Italian national
side after impressing for Bayonne during the Top 14 season.
“Craig
is a very physical player, weighing 92 kilograms and is an
excellent tackler,” said Mallett. “He loves to run the ball,
attack the line and get the team playing. I’ve no doubt
about the fact that with his playmaking he can get the
backline moving.”
Over in
Australia Sonny Bill Williams has been named in the
Barbarians’ starting XV to take on the Wallabies in
Sydney on Saturday.
The Toulon star is making his first
competitive appearance back in Australia since walking out
on his rugby league contract with the Bulldogs at the
beginning of the season.
His
return has created a media frenzy Down Under, and now he is
set to line up opposite Australian Stirling Mortlock for the
weekend clash. Barbarians coach Dai Young said he had
complete faith in Williams, despite the 23-year-old’s
relative inexperience in rugby union after just one season
with Toulon.
“He’s
been a top performer in the past, he’s played in big games
in the past, I don’t think he’ll be too fazed about it,”
said Young.
The
Barbarians will be captained by Australian Phil Waugh, and
features a star-studded line-up, including Biarritz signing
Iain Balshaw, who scored twice in last week’s 33-26 win over
England.
Barbarians XV:
Geordan Murphy, Iain Balshaw, Sonny Bill Williams, Seilala
Mapusua, Josh Lewsey, Luke McAlister, Chris Whitaker, Rocky
Elsom, Phil Waugh (capt), Jerry Collins, Paul Tito, Chris
Jack, BJ Botha, Sebastien Bruno, Clarke Dermody. Subs:
Schalk Brits, Greg Somerville, Martin Corry, Serge Betsen,
Justin Marshall, Glen Jackson, Ben Blair.
