Nick Abendanon for me is probably the prime example of a player who Lancaster should have picked years ago but failed to do so. I know a lot of you out there won't agree purely because he plays in France now, but that's another debate for another day. At the moment it appears Abendanon will not play for England again - he may only be 28, but there are limited chances to play for your country and Lancaster is clearly interested in other players. When you look at how he played against Saints on Saturday, where he absolutely demolished them along with the rest of his team, I find it unimaginable that we haven't seen him in a white shirt more frequently. His kind of talent just should not have gone to waste, yet Lancaster has let this happen. Sure, Brown has cemented himself as the England full-back, and rightfully so, but I cannot think of many full-backs who would be better than Abendanon as a replacement, at least in the last few years. He is an incredible player with so much presence on the field, and he'd be a real asset for England.
Next I move onto Joe Simpson, who has arguably been the best scrum-half in the Premiership this season, yet Lancaster has shown absolutely no interest in selecting him. Ben Youngs was, I'll admit, exceptionally good at times over the course of the Six Nations, but for me he's still too slow at recycling the ball and his kicking skills aren't quite up to scratch. Care and Dickson themselves have always fallen behind this season, with Lee in particular just not playing well enough to don the white shirt. Simpson would have been a perfect bench replacement for Youngs over the 6N, as he can bring pace and a good kicking game. But Lancaster wasted his talents and instead went for Richard Wigglesworth who, despite having a fairly good kicking game, is also too slow with the ball. Luckily for Simpson he still has time to play himself into England's world cup squad, but we all know what Lancaster is like with his favourites and so I find this to be an unlikely possibility.
This is where it gets interesting, because my next player is Calum Clark. Regardless of everyone's feelings towards him personally, you cannot deny how brilliantly he has played over the last two seasons, and this year in particular. For me, he is second to none at the breakdown and that was one area where England did seem to struggle at times during the Six Nations. You need someone who is excellent not only at protecting the ball but also at winning you turnovers, and this is where Cal absolutely excels. I know people may make the argument that he has been called up into the training squad and so his talents have not been completely wasted by Lancaster, however he has been released back to the Saints every time. There is easily room for him on the bench behind Haskell, but it could also be argued that he could get into the starting line-up if Lancaster picked purely on form. Many have been calling for his inclusion for some time, and I hope those in charge of England finally decide to actually utilise, rather than waste, his talents as he could be a real asset in the World Cup in a defensive capacity.
We then move on to another French resident in Steffon Armitage, who for me stands at the top of the list as the biggest waste of substantial talent under Lancaster's reign. To not use a player who has been named European Player of the Year and who is yet again on the shortlist for the same award is mind-boggling. The truth of it for me is that he should have been in the England squad a long time ago, but I can't see Armitage playing for England any time soon, if ever. If he moves back to England in time for next season, there is a slim chance but I feel the move would be too late for him to be selected in the World Cup squad as by then Lancaster would have predominantly chosen his squad. I understand there is the exceptional circumstances rule in force, but surely the World Cup in itself would satisfy the test for picking overseas players? If it does not, then I'd be hard-pressed to think of any reason the exceptional circumstances rule will ever be invoked bar serious injuries to multiple players.
My final player on the list is a bit different to the others in that he is very young and will definitely be in the England squad in the future, however I believe his talents were wasted over the course of the Six Nations where his selection was more than warranted yet did not come - Henry Slade. Our current choices (not including injured players) for inside centre are Luther Burrell and Billy Twelvetrees. Whilst Burrell did not have the best Six Nations, I can't see Slade replacing him or anyone else who may get in there injury permitting, such as Barritt or even Tuilagi. Twelvetrees however, is another matter. There is absolutely no way Slade should be second to Billy for the bench spot. He's brimming with talent and really should have been selected in the 23-man squad for England, even if it was only against Italy so we could see what he was capable of. Plenty of people have questioned his physicality in big matches, but he seems to have put any doubt surrounding this issue to bed. He is certainly a match winner when he plays and has shone for Exeter - I'm really hoping Lancaster decides to use him and soon because I think it will end up being more than worth it.
So there you have it - just a little consideration of some players who have had their talents wasted when it comes to the international stage. I'm sure there have been many players over the years that have been largely ignored by those in charge of England, and there's no way for us to know if anything could have been different had they been selected. In the day and age where young talent is what everyone is looking for, it seems this situation may only get worse. There are some very experienced players out there who deserve to have more caps to their name, and it's a shame they have been overlooked for whatever reason.
Thanks for reading ruckers,
Jess.
Twitter: @JessKebbell @RuckMeGently
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