Chris Hewett is still struggling to come to terms with England's selection policy in The Independent.
"Eleven Test matches, give or take the odd meaningless warm-up fixture; three Elite Player Squad announcements; one summer tour; one autumn series; one Six Nations Championship. Like shopping days to Christmas, the countdown to a World Cup starts early. Unfortunately for England, the back-room staff have a well-earned reputation for reacting far too late.
"When the manager, Martin Johnson, and his immediate boss, Rob Andrew, sit down tomorrow for a public discussion of the red-rose performance in the Six Nations, they will no doubt trot out their favourite p-word. Progress: as in advancement, betterment, furtherance, headway.
"They will wax lyrical on the subject of Ben Foden, the tap-dancing fullback from Northampton, and his club colleague Chris Ashton, who made his international debut on the wrong wing in Paris last weekend. They will celebrate the emergence of Dan Cole at tight-head prop, predict great things for the brilliant Leicester scrum-half Ben Youngs and present yet another Midlander, the highly athletic Courtney Lawes, as their second-row forward for the modern age."
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