England name 2011 Six Nations squad

England have named an expanded 33-man squad in preparation for their 2011 Six Nations campaign, kicking off with a match against Wales in Cardiff on February 4.

Two changes and a player addition have been made by coach Martin Johnson to his Elite Player Squad (EPS), with Gloucester lock Dave Attwood and Wasps back Dominic Waldouck both unavailable due to a ban and injury respectively.

Attwood was banned for nine weeks after his citing for stamping on La Rochelle prop Petrisor Toderasc, and will miss matches against Wales and Italy.

Leicester loose forward Tom Croft and Northampton lock Courtney Lawes - both incumbent players for the Red Rose - have been included in the squad despite being sidelined with shoulder and knee injuries.

The three players added to the EPS are Leicester lock Louis Deacon, Wasps scrum-half Joe Simpson - who is uncapped - and new Saracens signing Charlie Hodgson.

"Louis Deacon has been in great form and with his experience it was an easy decision to bring him back in," Johnson explained to RFU.com

"Dom Waldouck has unfortunately just run out of a bit of time to get back playing after his injury, he just needs to get back to Wasps and show the form which got him in the squad.

"For the Investec Internationals in the autumn we took a calculated gamble with only having two No.9s in the squad so it is good to get Joe Simpson in as a third 9. He’s played very well this season and has got great potential, he can come in and see what we’re doing so we can get him ready in case of an injury.

"Likewise with Charlie Hodgson it’s important to have three No.10s there, especially in a Rugby World Cup year we need to have people ready to go if there are any injuries."

ENGLAND ELITE PLAYER SQUAD

FORWARDS

George Chuter (Leicester Tigers) , Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers) , Tom Croft (Leicester Tigers) , Louis Deacon (Leicester Tigers) , Paul Doran-Jones (Gloucester Rugby) , Nick Easter (Harlequins) , Hendre Fourie (Leeds Carnegie) , Dylan Hartley (Northampton Saints) , James Haskell (Stade Francais) , Courtney Lawes(Northampton Saints) , Lewis Moody (Bath Rugby) , Tom Palmer (Stade Francais) , Tim Payne (London Wasps) , Simon Shaw (London Wasps) , Andrew Sheridan (Sale Sharks) , Steve Thompson (Leeds Carnegie) , David Wilson (Bath Rugby) , Joe Worsley (London Wasps)

BACKS

Delon Armitage (London Irish) , Chris Ashton (Northampton Saints) , Matt Banahan (Bath Rugby) , Danny Care (Harlequins) , Mark Cueto (Sale Sharks) , Toby Flood (Leicester Tigers) , Riki Flutey (London Wasps) , Ben Foden (Northampton Saints) , Shontayne Hape (Bath Rugby) , Charlie Hodgson (Sale Sharks) , Joe Simpson (London Wasps) , David Strettle (Saracens) , Mike Tindall (Gloucester Rugby) , Jonny Wilkinson (Toulon) , Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers)

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Andrew sidelined in England shake-up

Ex-England flyhalf Rob Andrew was the major casualty of a shake-up of English rugby's management structure announced on Thursday.

Andrew's position as Director of Elite Rugby is being abolished in a move that could, perhaps, see former England coach Sir Clive Woodward return in a new role with the governing Rugby Football Union (RFU).

England team manager Martin Johnson, captain of the side that won the 2003 Rugby World Cup under Woodward, remains in charge but he is set to have a new boss with the likes of Australia's Eddie Jones and South Africa's Jake White also in the running for the new post of Performance Director.

However, the RFU said it had invited Andrew to apply for the new post of Rugby Operations Director.

It added that Andrew, previously the coach of Premiership club Newcastle, would stay in his current job for the "six to nine months" it would take to complete the revamp of the RFU.

Under the new set-up, a single rugby department has been created, divided into areas of performance, operations and development.

The changes were made following a review conducted by new RFU Chief Executive John Steele, who wants to ensure the team and the governing body are both best-placed to take advantage of England staging the 2015 World Cup.

"We have invited Rob to apply for the Rugby Operations Director role which is a game wide role responsible for creating the rugby infrastructure required to make rugby work across England," said Steele on Thursday.

"However, it is important to note that the development of this new structure will take six to nine months to put in place and in the interim those applying for roles will stay in their current position while the recruitment process happens and the transitions take place.

"This means that Rob Andrew will continue with his current responsibilities until the process is complete."

Steele added: "Today's announcement is all about looking forward not back and ensuring that we have the best people in place to serve and lead rugby in England as we prepare for a home World Cup in 2015.

"In view of this we are placing huge emphasis on developing the leadership and vision for the new rugby department. The three senior appointments in the rugby area are hugely important to the future of the game."

Andrew, 47, joined the RFU in 2006, seeing off competition from former coach Woodward - not everyone's favourite at the RFU and currently the British Olympic Association's Elite Performance Director.

But Andrew's time with the RFU has been marked by a largely unsuccessful period for the England team, an appearance in the 2007 World Cup Final apart.

Andrew, in a statement from the RFU on Thursday, said: "I am very excited about the future of the game in England, and the re-structuring that will place rugby at the heart of everything the RFU does.

"Change is never easy but there are some exciting opportunities and challenges ahead," he added.

"I will be considering the role of Rugby Operations Director in the coming weeks and in the meantime will continue with my responsibilities as Elite Rugby Director."

AFP

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