Rating Stuart Lancaster's Six Nations England Selection Decisions

England coach Stuart Lancaster had some big selection decisions to make for the Six Nations just half a year before the 2015 Rugby World Cup commences on home soil.

Here Bleacher Report looks at calls that were not based on player injuries and examines whether he got them right. They will be judged on the basis of the logic behind the decisions and their outcomes in the championship. 

Whose selection was one of Stuart Lancaster’s best calls as England coach?

For each decision, the options are:

• Selection fully justified.
• Selection not justified.
• Initial selection may have been justified, but the decision to drop him was fully justified.
• Not a justified selection, but it was an understandable one.

Luther Burrell, who had a fine 2014 Six Nations and has played well for Northampton Saints this season, was a natural selection at inside centre. However, Burrell was one of England’s weakest performers during the 2015 edition of the tournament. Why?

In 2014, Burrell’s form was all the more eye-catching because he was playing out of position at 13. In 2015, Lancaster selected him in his favoured position. However, Burrell does not possess the instinctive creativity and all-round skills to prosper in an England back division run by George Ford at fly-half.

Playing with the more conservative Owen Farrell in 2014, the Northampton man was able to demonstrate his ball-carrying abilities, but with Ford at 10, England were playing a style of rugby that required its centres to beat defenders rather than run through them. As a result, Burrell was never the man for job.

Verdict: Lancaster’s selection not justified.

Jonathan Joseph, in contrast to Luther Burrell, excelled playing with Bath colleague George Ford for precisely the reasons Burrell did not. He is an instinctive centre and understands Ford’s style. He was able to take his club form into the international arena. In different ways, all of Joseph’s tries were special (see video above).

The question now relates to what England should do when their best player, Manu Tuilagi, is available. Tuilagi is unlikely to fare much better than Burrell at 12, so it may be a shootout between Joseph and Tuilagi for the 13 jersey.

Verdict: Lancaster’s selection fully justified.

Jonny May’s selection was justified at the start of the tournament because he had a good 2014 autumn series. However, given that Lancaster is favouring all-round wingers such as Anthony Watson, May was never going to fit that model. Therefore, his inclusion in the Six Nations was more out of loyalty than sound reasoning.

May paid the price for poor performances against Wales in Cardiff and Italy at Twickenham and was dropped ahead of the Ireland match in Dublin. His replacement, Jack Nowell, had a great championship.

Verdict: Initial selection may have been justified, but Lancaster’s decision to drop him was fully justified.

Jack Nowell had energy and talent but no brain in the 2014 Six Nations. The Nowell of 2015 will start for England at the World Cup.

This was not an easy call for Lancaster, and perhaps as a result it was one of his best as England coach. Nowell was in form for Exeter Chiefs but not always playing on the wing, let alone the left wing. That is where Lancaster picked him, and Nowell was one of England’s best players during the Six Nations.

Verdict: Lancaster’s selection was fully justified.

Dylan Hartley’s stock fell this Six Nations. Lancaster will be pleased there were no recurrences of his disciplinary issues, but his line-out throwing was sometimes wayward, his scrummaging was less effective than usual, and his involvement in the loose has been negligible for over a year now.

Hartley has rivals for the No. 2 shirt, namely Tom Youngs of Leicester Tigers and Bath’s Rob Webber, but Lancaster is remaining loyal to the Northampton man. Youngs excels in the loose, but his throwing is a liability. Webber, meanwhile, is the most rounded candidate, but his scrummaging and throwing are not at Hartley’s level.

Verdict: Not a justified selection from Lancaster, but it was an understandable one.