Wales v England - Lancaster's squad gives England a good chance under the Friday night lights

It's been a tense wait for Stuart Lancaster's team announcement, particularly with the knowledge of the long list of injuries to English players and with Warren Gatland announcing his own 23-man squad two days early, but we finally know the two teams that will battle it out in the first match of the 2015 Six Nations. Here they are:

Wales: 
Leigh Halfpenny (15), Alex Cuthbert (14), Jonathan Davies (13), Jamie Roberts (12), George North (11), Dan Biggar (10), Rhys Webb (9); Gethin Jenkins (1), Richard Hibbard (2), Samson Lee (3), Jake Ball (4), Alun Wyn Jones (5), Dan Lydiate (6), Sam Warburton - capt. (7), Taulupe Faletau (8). Replacements: Scott Baldwin (16), Paul James (17), Aaron Jarvis (18), Luke Charteris (19), Justin Tipuric (20), Mike Phillips (21), Rhys Priestland (22), Liam Williams (23).

England:
Mike Brown (15), Anthony Watson (14), Jonathan Joseph (13), Luther Burrell (12), Jonny May (11), George Ford (10), Ben Youngs (9); Joe Marler (1), Dylan Hartley (2), Dan Cole (3), Dave Attwood (4), George Kruis (5), James Haskell (6), Chris Robshaw - capt. (7), Billy Vunipola (8). Replacements: Tom Youngs (16), Mako Vunipola (17), Kieran Brookes (18), Nick Easter (19), Tom Croft (20), Richard Wigglesworth (21), Danny Cipriani (22), Billy Twelvetrees (23).

On the whole these are two very strong teams, with Gatland's squad probably having the edge going in to Friday's match in Cardiff. Despite this, I predict the match will be a closely fought contest, with only small margins determining the winner. So, what so we all think about the England squad? I personally would have picked the exact same starting 15, with maybe a few differences in terms of the bench selections. Let me know what you think about the selection in the comments box below, but first I'll provide an analysis on my own thoughts and opinions.

Starting with the 25-man squad that Lancaster named on Tuesday, there was some initial confusion as to the release of Saints loose-head prop Alex Corbisiero. I find myself inclining to agree with the decision to leave him out - he has not had enough game time to warrant selection after coming back from injury, and it would be too big a risk to throw him into the kind of physical battle we are all expecting on Friday. The same can be said for Dan Cole, who has been named in the starting 15 for Friday. He too has very recently returned to the rugby pitch after injury, and I do not agree with him starting against Wales. Instead I would have liked to see Kieran Brookes given the chance, however I do understand that he does not have experience on his side in terms of international matches. Time will tell whether Cole is ready to take to the field for an international match.

Lancaster also released Stephen Myler back to his club, which I do not think anyone is surprised by. My issue with this is not that he should have been picked (because arguably George Ford and Danny Cipriani are the better prospects for England), but that Lancaster has not treated him fairly. Countless times now Myler has been called in to train with the England practice squad, and then released back to his club at the first available opportunity. This can knock a player's confidence sideways, and it is not right. If Lancaster does not plan on using him, surely it would be much better for him to just pull Myler aside and be honest with him rather than giving Stephen false hope? Reports have emerged today that Myler has sustained a calf injury, and that may be the reason that he was not selected. Nevertheless, I doubt that this injury changed anything in the head coach's mind, it just made it easier to release him - Lancaster was unlikely to ever choose him.

But I think the biggest shock for everyone came when it was announced that Danny Care had been released back to Harlequins. I cannot fathom how this came to occur - yes he may have had a slight dip in form, but he is always excellent for England and his form is in no way bad enough to push out of the team completely. If he was put on the bench I would understand, as he has not been playing his absolute best, but to remove him completely? I think that is madness on Lancaster's part. Ben Youngs and Richard Wigglesworth are more than capable of doing a good job, but they do not bring quite as good a game as Care, who had an abundance of imagination and flair that we see every time he takes to the pitch to play. We'll just have to see what happens on Friday, and whether this will lead to Danny being re-called to the squad and selected in future Six Nations games this year.

One person that has, for some strange reason, kept his place in the squad is Billy Twelvetrees. Whilst he has not been given a starting position, he will be taking a place on the bench and people are starting to find it increasingly more difficult to justify this decision by Lancaster. Many people made the argument that the last time we played Wales we won with him in the squad. But the whole point of international matches is to pick your most on-form players, and that is not and has not been for some time Billy Twelvetrees. He does show some sparks of excellent rugby from time to time and he has so much promise, but he has never managed to capitalise on this and instead we see him makings a lot of basic errors as well as silly tactical decisions whilst he is playing. This could have potentially disastrous consequences for England. Luckily he is not in the first 15 and so any damage he could cause would be minimal one would hope. Either way, if he does do anything wrong on Friday the arguments that he should not in the squad will become loud enough that even Lancaster could not ignore them - at least that is what I would like to think. 

The most exciting selection for me is the pairing of Luther Burrell and Jonathan Joseph in the centre. A lot of people have their doubts about how well the two of them will play together, predominantly because it is a new partnership and, in comparison to Jamie Roberts and Jonathan Davies, they have been portrayed as 'soft'. However this is not the case, and I do not think for one second that the Wales management or team will see it this way either. Burrell is a huge force to be reckoned with on the pitch and can force his through any number of tackles before being brought down, as well as creating superb lines to set up many a player to crash over the try line. Joseph is exceptionally quick on his feet, with his amazing attacking prowess allowing him to break through the toughest of defences, and once that happens no one can catch him. They are not to be underestimated, and were Wales to do so it could be catastrophic for them. Selecting the two of them was absolutely the right decision as their form has been phenomenal so far this season, and that is how you should be choosing your players for your international squads. 

Cipriani is another exciting inclusion in the squad, and he has had serious backing for quite some time now. He was always going to play second fiddle to George Ford, and so his being put on the bench is no surprise. All I can say is that Lancaster absolutely made the right decision and has rewarded his potential and talent with a spot in the team. There have though been some doubts recently about how out starting fly-half, Ford, will be able to handle the pressure. There is no doubt that he is a very talented young man, but occasionally when he has been put in a tough situation whilst playing for Bath he has seemed to completely lose his form and, let's be honest, the plot. This has then led to multiple missed kicks and other errors. The hope is that he will be able to keep his nerves in check against Wales because, if he doesn't, it is something that can easily be exploited.

Dave Attwood and George Kruis are two good selection choices for the lock positions, particularly with the injuries to Launchbury and Lawes. Attwood has more than proved over the past couple of seasons that he is perfectly capable of putting in a solid, reliable performance for England. It should not be underestimated how important it is to have someone reliable - Attwood will show up and do what he does best, and that means that Lancaster can put his faith in him to go out and not screw up any chance England have of winning the match. Kruis is still fairly new to the international game, but he has been on excellent form and Lancaster was right to include him. It will be interesting to see how the both of them hold up under the Friday night lights.

I'll put it out there - I am not 'expecting' England to win this match. Now, before any of you start jumping down my throat, that does not mean I am unpatriotic or that I don't think we can win. Of course we can. With the team we have, England have a damn good chance of coming away with a win if we play the game right, more so than the bookies have given us. But when you take into account the squad that Gatland has put out, as well as the fact that it is taking place at the Millennium Stadium, then you have to admit if we go in expecting England to win we could be disappointed. Instead, we need to want them to win. That way, we can actually get behind the team and really spur them on rather than putting more pressure on them by making them feel that if they do not win they will be a disappointment. Us fans will also be able to enjoy the game more if we come to the realisation that it may not go our way, because there will be some great rugby played by both teams and it would be a shame for this to be overshadowed by people's anger at England not winning, if that is indeed the outcome of the match. It will be hard, very hard, but I have every confidence that England will put in a performance we can be proud of and, if they do not come away with the win, it really is not the end of the world. Just remember - you cannot win them all. Saying that, let's all get behind them as much as we can and let them know that we believe in them! That way, they have the best chance of winning. The fans are the 16th man after all! Swing low, sweet chariot!

Carry them home,
Jess.