May, who scored a try and chipped in with an assist in England’s 19-14 win at Twickenham on Saturday, is the only member of the team to keep his place for England’s trip to the Stade de France.
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Both players acquitted themselves well at Twickenham, Burgess proving destructive in defence and Slade bringing a spark of creativity, but the former now seems the more likely pick for England 2015.
“There is now an opportunity for those not involved or who didn’t get much opportunity from the bench to put a marker down and build on that performance”.
“If there are decisions which go down to the wire then training next week will probably decide it”.
It is hard to envisage Twelvetrees featuring among the final quartet having been entrusted with only two replacement appearances against France, but Burrell has been given orders to go out and secure his spot. “He was a big part of our Six Nations when he formed a very effective centre partnership Joseph“, Lancaster said.
“It’ll be competitive and bring the best out of these players if they really know they’ve got to produce”.
“There is no sign of being closer to solving the biggest puzzle of the lot, namely the finer details of England’s World Cup midfield blend”. What he did not bargain for is another injury to Alex Corbisiero, whose place as the fifth prop suddenly looks in grave danger if he does not recover quickly from sciatic pain down his right hip. Who can cover fly-half? Lancaster said: ‘The clock is ticking and we need to see him train, if not at the end of this week then by next week and he didn’t train today’. “That has really motivated me”, May said.
Joe Marler also plays his first match since a shoulder operation in April having had his recovery interrupted after slipping on his son’s toy snake and falling down the stairs at home, while fullback Mike Brown makes his comeback after concussion.
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By going with Billy Twelvetrees and Danny Cipriani on the bench rather than Burgess and Slade, however, Lancaster has remained faithful to his promise to give everyone a shot at the prize, fanciful or not. Directing operations at half-back are Ben Youngs and George Ford.
