England squad

Backs:

M Brown (Harlequins) - It's between him and Tait for full back. Go Mike!

P Sackey (Wasps) - Will start, fine by me.

D Strettle (Harlequins) - Should start. I'd have preferred JSD on form and fitness until yesterday.

T Ojo (London Irish) - Bolter. I would have put him in the Saxons and taken Varndell

M Tait (Newcastle) - Full back, I reckon.

M Tindall (Gloucester) - Rather him than Noon

J Noon (Newcastle) - What has this man done to get in the England team? He is playing for a club side that is shipping points by the half century and only looks good for England against teams that are playing teribly themselves (e.g. Ireland)

T Flood (Newcastle) - Prejudice points me to pick him over Barkley. But I'd still rather have seen Geraghty there.

O Barkley (Bath) - Boooo!!!! Like his forwards equivalent, Worsley, he'll get to 60 caps and we'll still be wondering if he can bring his club form to the international game.

D Cipriani (Wasps) - Will start

C Hodgson (Sale Sharks) - An interesting vote of confidence.

R Wigglesworth (Sale Sharks) - Man in possession.

P Richards (London Irish) - Don't rate him.

D Care (Harlequins) - Yay!

Forwards:

A Sheridan (Sale Sharks) - Starter. Just keep the punches under control!

T Payne (Wasps - Backup.

M Stevens (Bath) - Should start

J Hobson (Bristol) - Backup

L Mears (Bath) - Should Start

D Hartley (Northampton) - I'd take him for the experience and get him a good chunk of a GP season under his belt before he's picked

D Paice (London Irish) - Backup

S Borthwick (Bath, capt) - Fair enough

B Kay (Leicester) - If he starts over Kennedy it will be a triumph of past form (i.e. 2002) over what he's shown since then

N Kennedy (London Irish) - Should start

T Palmer (Wasps) - Backup

T Croft (Leicester) - I wouldn't start him but I would have him on the bench

J Haskell (Wasps) - Starter at 6

J Worsley (Wasps) - What the hell is he doing there? It can only be for the experience his haul of mediocrity brings because he isn't there for anything else he's doing

M Lipman (Bath) - Should start at 7

T Rees (Wasps) - Backup to Lipman if we need to change the style

N Easter (Harlequins) - Should start at 8 if his knee holds up

L Narraway (Gloucester) - Can vary things if Easter breaks down or isn't working.

All in all, a decent squad, albeit with a few players I think are very much past their sell by date - Worsley and Kay being the notables. Also a bit concerned that the wingers other than Sackey are either not fully match or have no experience of internationals - to go from an end of season high note (Ojo) to facing the All Blacks is a big leap. I also find Varndell's exclusion a bit odd given his performance over the season rather than in the last month.

I think I know why Johnson's gone for Mike Brown - place kicking aside, he's very much like Jonno's old Leicester (and sometime England) teammate Tim Stimpson. Brawny, cuts great lines from full back, tackles well, has a huge boot and a nose for the try line. Although given Squeaky's coaching this, I expect to see Tait at 15 (no bad thing in itself).

Very pleased that we've also got our entire back row (less Hala'ufia who, unsurprisingly isn't avaiable for selection and Volley, who's retiring) in either the full or "A" squad.