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December 12, 2011

Posted on 12/12/2011

Beware new lamps for old in England pantomime

Writing in The Observer, Eddie Butler previews the task facing England's interim head coach Stuart Lancaster.

"The rebuilding has begun. The first blocks were laid on Thursday, under the cover of the Varsity Match, and England now have a coaching team for the Six Nations: Stuart Lancaster, Graham Rowntree and Andy Farrell. They wore white at their unveiling, confessed to inexperience, but promised passion and energy. It was as if a shaft of light had penetrated the bunker.

"The new team have time to plan the selection of their squad for the Six Nations. Or at least they can enjoy their Christmas before revealing just how radical they are prepared to be as caretakers. With no promise of work beyond March, they could play safe and stick with an experienced England squad, a group so full of remorse and guilt after their failings at the World Cup that they would seize their chance at redemption. Wouldn't they?

"This line may be tempting given the sticky twist to the fixture list. England are on the road in the first two rounds of the Six Nations, at Murrayfield and in Rome, neither a good place to go with experimentation on your mind. Any revolution must have self‑belief at its core and that only comes with winning."

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