England Declare Their Intent

Stuart Lancaster revealed the England team he believes can win at Murrayfield for the first time since 2004.  His selection has thrown up 8 debutants in the 22, 3 of whom are starting.  The backs heavily rely on Saracens players and the back row looks as dangerous as it has for a long while for England.  So here's the full team:

Ben Foden; Chris Ashton; Brad Barritt, Owen Farrell, David Strettle; Charlie Hodgson; Ben Youngs; Alex Corbisiero, Dylan Hartley, Dan Cole; Mouritz Botha, Tom Palmer; Tom Croft, Chris Robshaw (captain), Phil Dowson.

Reps: Rob Webber, Matt Stevens, Geoff Parling, Ben Morgan, Lee Dickson, Jordan Turner-Hall, Mike Brown.

The most notable combination in the line-up is the centre pairing of Saracens duo Owen Farrell and Brad Barritt, both of whom are earning their test debuts.  It's a risky strategy from Lancaster to field two international novices, but one where he is relying on the success of the partnership at club level to transpire in the test arena. 

Brad Barritt makes his debut alongside

Saracens teammate Owen Farrell

With 4 of the 7 backs plying their trade at Saracens (the others being David Strettle and Charlie Hodgson who have both endured long spells out of the English set-up), it would be easy to assume that the style of rugby Lancaster is looking for would be similar to that employed by the club, but Lancaster suggests otherwise, stating at today's press conference that "[Hodgson, Farrell and Barritt] are used to playing together, but we will use them slightly differently to how Saracens do."

In the forwards, the fifth Saracens player, lock Mouritz Botha, earns only his second cap whilst the back row includes a mix of experience and otherwise with Phil Dowson earning his debut, new captain Chris Robshaw and seasoned campaigner Tom Croft.  All three are good ball carriers and handy at the lineout, no doubt a specific tactic to confuse the likes of Hamilton and Gray.

The bench sees Lancaster continue to pick on form, with no evidence that he will be relying on experience if things start to go pear-shaped on Saturday. Harelquins duo Jordan Turner-Hall and Mike Brown are joined by Geoff Parling, Ben Morgan, Lee Dickson with Matt Stevens and Rob Webber completing the line-up.

Lancaster has hailed his selection as "...a team for now, and a team for the future – we’re trying to achieve both."  Certainly, the first part of that statement is true as he has picked a team very much based on current form.  As for the second part of that statement being true?  Well I guess we'll find out over the coming weeks.  There are certainly a lot of players that will be looking to cement a place in the England team for years to come.