Saxons vs Wolfhounds preview

The time just before the start of the Six Nations is always something of a washout in terms of rugby on the television, so thank gods for the continuation of A rugby in some corners of these isles. The A match between England Saxons and Ireland's Wolfhounds has always been an interesting guide to who the coaches might pick next year but are almost certainly going to ignore this year - which I hope isn't true of Anthony Watson.

The Bath youngster has dropped down from the main squad to cover injuries to the Saxons' initial selection of wingers in the best news that Chris Ashton has had since the double injury to Marland Yarde and Christian Wade last autumn. Watson will link up with Charlie Sharples, possibly the world's fastest bald man, and versatile Wasps man Elliot Daly. Not quite as deadly sounding as the originally mooted Varndell-Rokoduguni-Daly unit but still a worrying sight for oppositions anywhere. It does slightly beg the question of what Ashton is still doing in the senior squad when Charlie Sharples is about our ninth choice winger (Yarde, Wade, Nowell, May, Watson, Benjamin, Varndell, Rokoduguni and then Sharples) who is not Chris Ashton. Still, enough of that.

This Saxons team also contains a first taste of senior representative rugby for Exeter's Sam Hill, the powerful centre who has been a mainstay of England's U20s for the last two season, and probably the fastest possible English half-back pairing around in Joe Simpson and Freddie Burns. Also, Matt Hopper at 13. Up front, Tom Mercey reminds me that he exists and is a real person as he continues his pairing with fellow Northampton bencher Alex Waller, with Saracens' in form Jamie George sandwiched in between. Another Saracen, in the form of George Kruis, partners Charlie Matthews while the back row is made up of huge Exeter 8 Dave Ewers, lassie lookalike Luke Wallace, and Calum "Arm Bar" Clarke, arguably the most despised man in English rugby. Good blindside though.

The bench contains U20s prop Scott Wilson, promoted early for reasons that have absolutely nothing to do with him being eligible for Scotland, Dave Ward of Quins, and Bath loosehead Nathan Catt in the front row. Glaws tyro Elliot Stooke will celebrate a hugely successful 12 months with his first Saxons cap if he comes - watch out for him, anyone who looks good in the current Glaws pack is made of some stuff - while Northampton's Sam Dickinson covers the back row. Dave Lewis of Exeter returns to Kingsholm as scrum-half cover, former U20 fly-half Henry Slade will be looking to link up with Sam Hill off the bench, and Rob Miller makes up the numbers as back-three cover.

Ireland by contrast look a lot more battle hardened. Loosehead Dave Kilcoyne has international caps and will join Rob Herring, the impressive Ulster reserve hooker, and Martin Moore in the front row. Moore in particular has been good recently and looks halfway to usurping Mike Ross for Leinster. The Ulster combination in the engine room of Dan Tuohy and Iain Henderson can also boast a handy collection of international caps and a very impressive level of athleticism. The back-row of Rhys Ruddock, Tommy O'Donnell and Robin Copeland offers a good mix of skills and size and a metric shit ton of carrying. Experienced scrum-half Isaac Boss will be expected to shackle Simpson when not linking up with Leinster team mate Ian Madigan. Darren Cave forms the third part of an international 9-10-12 axis, although not in his usual position, with Robbie Henshaw preferred at outside centre. He too has international caps, as do the wingers Craig Gilroy and Fergus McFadden, an interesting mix of rapier and bludgeon. I can't remember if Felix Jones has any and if he does, he's not getting many more, but he should do his job nicely.

The bench isn't a great deal kinder. It's a delight to see Richardt Strauss return to competitive rugby after a heart condition forced him to spend most of this season out, but I can't help but wish he'd waited a week. Newly minted international prop Jack McGrath will be licking his lips at the thought of getting his shoulders into Scott Wilson while Stephen Archer looks like he might have stopped being the new Tony Buckley. There's no specialist replacement second row, with naturalised Saffa Robbie Diack and Leinster youngster Jordi Murphy on the bench, but Diack or Copeland could fill in there at a pinch. Behind the scrum they have Kieran Marmion, Ian Keatley and Simon Zebo waiting. Keatley is nothing special, Marmion may be and Zebo is - providing he's properly fit.

So what's going to happen? While the Saxons have home advantage, the Wolfhounds have the advantage in terms of experience. They also arguably have the advantage in form with all but three of the players coming from HEC quarter-finalists. A quick count shows only two players from Saracens and Leicester - not helped by a huge injury list that contains Will Fraser, Graham Kitchener, Jamie Gibson, Miles Benjamin and Matthew Tait. The only caps in the England side are Joe Simpson, Freddie Burns and Charlie Sharples. A lot could rest on the half-back pairing, both to guide this team through, and as attacking weapons in their own right. If the Irish fringe defence is weak, they will shred it like pulled pork. It's not a settled defence, with Cave out of position, Henshaw raw, and none of the three used to each other. Henshaw's positioning in particular will be targeted I think and he'd be well advised to keep an eye on Elliot Daly. The second row is arguably not the best for the set piece, although it was that second row that propelled the Ulster front row near clear out of the back of Leicester's set piece the other day.

However there appear to be more weaknesses in the Saxons. The prospect of Wilson vs McGrath is a worrying one. Matt Hopper is given to the odd stupid decision in defence and Burns is no bastion of strength either. Daly's mastery of the full-back position is about to be given a thorough going over by the Irish love of the garryowen. In the pack, we are arguably a little short of carriers, with a huge amount expected from Dave Ewers. Expect the Irish to line him up (maybe a job for Tuohy and Ruddock). Good luck picking an Irishman to line up; they could all make dents. It could be a long day if our inexperience is exploited in a crucial way.

I am not expecting that, although I am worried about it. The breakdown will be crucial with both sides having a few decent jackals - the clash between Wallace and O'Donnell in particular looks a highlight. Whichever side gets clean ball, they have the attacking players to make the most of it, with Madigan and Burns both alike emerging from the Carlos Spencer Appreciation Society school of fly-half. The English back three packs a potent punch (an unusual sight for us) and if we get the ball up front, victory should be ours. But then isn't that true? I look forwards to finding out.

Saturday 25th 17:00, Kingsholm.

England Saxons15 Elliot Daly (London Wasps) 14 Anthony Watson (Bath Rugby) 13 Matt Hopper (Harlequins)12 Sam Hill (Exeter Chiefs) 11 Charlie Sharples (Gloucester Rugby) 10 Freddie Burns (Gloucester Rugby) 9 Joe Simpson (London Wasps) 1 Alex Waller (Northampton Saints) 2 Jamie George (Saracens) 3 Tom Mercey (Northampton Saints) 4 Charlie Matthews (Harlequins) 5 George Kruis (Saracens) 6 Calum Clark (Northampton Saints, captain) 7 Luke Wallace (Harlequins) 8 Dave Ewers (Exeter Chiefs)

Replacements
16 Dave Ward (Harlequins) 17 Nathan Catt (Bath Rugby) 18 Scott Wilson (Newcastle Falcons) 19 Elliott Stooke (Gloucester Rugby) 20 Sam Dickinson (Northampton Saints) 21 Dave Lewis (Exeter Chiefs) 22 Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs) 23 Rob Miller (Sale Sharks)

Ireland Wolfhounds

15. Felix Jones (Shannon/Munster) 14. Fergus McFadden (Old Belvedere/Leinster) 13. Robbie Henshaw (Buccaneers/Connacht) 12. Darren Cave (Belfast Harlequins/Ulster) 11. Craig Gilroy (Dungannon/Ulster) 10. Ian Madigan (Blackrock College/Leinster) 9. Isaac Boss (Terenure College/Leinster) 1. David Kilcoyne (UL Bohemians/Munster) 2. Rob Herring (Ballynahinch/Ulster) 3. Martin Moore (Lansdowne/Leinster) 4. Iain Henderson (Ballynahinch/Ulster) 5. Dan Tuohy (Ballymena/Ulster) 6. Rhys Ruddock (St. Mary's College/Leinster) (capt) 7. Tommy O'Donnell (UL Bohemians/Munster) 8. Robin Copeland (Cardiff Blues)

Replacements:

16. Richardt Strauss (Old Wesley/Leinster) 17. Jack McGrath (St. Mary's College/Leinster) 18. Stephen Archer (Cork Constitution/Munster) 19. Robbie Diack (Malone/Ulster) 20. Jordi Murphy (Lansdowne/Leinster) 21. Kieran Marmion (Corinthians/Connacht) 22. Ian Keatley (Young Munster/Munster) 23. Simon Zebo (Cork Constitution/Munster)