Six Nations Comment
England a country for old men
Tom Hamilton at Twickenham
January 21, 2015
Nick Easter has not featured for England since 2011 © Getty Images
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The attention has switched from long-term planning to short-term gain. Nick Easter's inclusion signals an intent from England coach Stuart Lancaster to prioritise immediate reward from their Six Nations campaign rather than looking to give players of promise a chance to get accustomed to his credo and expectations.

For Easter it was a case of unfinished business. Ever since Lancaster left the Harlequins No.8 out of his original Elite Player Squad back in 2012, Easter has been tapping on the door. When Ben Morgan collapsed into the sodden Kingsholm turf with a fractured ankle a fortnight ago, the tapping turned into a sharp rap of the knuckles, bone on wood.

The door has now been opened for Easter but making the 34-man training squad is the easy part, to paraphrase Jim Telfer's famous war cry on the 1997 British & Irish Lions tour. Now Easter must show he is built in the Lancaster blueprint despite having not featured on the England radar until now.

 
"There is no definitive decision on who starts and who goes on the bench yet because we've got that two-week period to prepare for the Wales game"
 

Previously Lancaster has displayed a preference for blooding youth. In the past November Tests Saracens' George Kruis was picked ahead of more seasoned campaigners. It was a case of flight or fight; you only find out if players are Test match animals when they are dumped head first into the deep end. Kruis acquitted himself well, proved his credentials as a Test second-row and deservedly keeps his place in the squad.

At No.8 the options are less plentiful. Alongside Easter's claims there was an increasing clamour from Steffon Armitage across the Channel to force his way back into the England squad. The latter is still expected to be included in the summer's World Cup training squad but he will have to wait a while longer with Lancaster admirably sticking to his guns over the 'exceptional circumstance' clause.

Behind Easter there were few other options. Thomas Waldrom was the next No.8 cab off the rank in the autumn but he will have to be content with a spot in the Saxons squad and instead it is the 36-year-old from Harlequins who is given the chance to usurp Billy Vunipola.

To get into the matchday squad, Easter will also have to vie with James Haskell's versatility and remarkable form while Tom Wood may yet be an option to step in to facilitate a shift for Haskell to blindside but the Saints back-rower will not want to be reminded of the last time he played at No.8 for England. It was their infamous 30-3 defeat at the Millennium Stadium. It was a result that ended the first phase of the Lancaster project.

England's Danny Cipriani poses during the team media access session, George Hotel, Christchurch, on June 16, 2014
© Getty Images
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Easter will have it all to do if he is to be running out in Cardiff on February 6 and the same goes for Danny Cipriani. He was a notable inclusion in the training squad as Lancaster upped his preference for three fly-halves to four.

On Tuesday Warren Gatland spoke of the various qualities each of his three No.10s possess. Dan Biggar, Rhys Priestland and Gareth Anscombe each offer something different - the latter will bring a more maverick streak to their game plan with the other two a sturdy hand on the till. But in the day and age of tactical kicking used as the best form of both attack and defence and with Gatland having seen the effectiveness of the All Blacks' strategy in that regard, Biggar is the incumbent. Anscombe could be the wildcard option from the bench.

Lancaster now has to weigh up Cipriani, Owen Farrell, Stephen Myler and George Ford's different claims for the jersey. For Cipriani, read Anscombe, but at present you feel Lancaster will find it hard to change the winning formula at half-back that saw England finish their autumn Test campaign on a high. Like Easter, Cipriani also will have to go some in training if he is to be in that Cardiff matchday squad.

Cipriani deserves call-up: Lancaster

"We base a lot of our decisions on the training," was Lancaster's assessment. "There is no definitive decision on who starts and who goes on the bench yet because we've got that two-week period to prepare for the Wales game."

Eight games now stand between England and the World Cup. The sole Saxons game, which is likely to see Henry Slade starting at fly-half, means the No.10s, like Easter, only have limited opportunities to impress.

Lancaster's original goal of having a starting XV of 600 or so caps for their World Cup campaign is now a near impossibility - unless Jason Leonard and Martin Johnson complete the most Lazarus of playing comebacks - but with this preference for immediate results over long-term gain, selection has shifted ever so slightly to experience rather than a leap into the unknown.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd
Tom Hamilton is the Associate Editor of ESPNscrum.

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