If Smith was a bit more robust in defence I'd say a logical solution to get Hardaker in the squad would be to put Smith in to hooker. He's played there a bit in his career and apart from in defence I think he's quite well suited to the position. His distribution is good and he can still get his kicking game going from there.



As it stands though I think the only way in for Hardaker is at left centre. Tomkins needs to be more committed going for high balls for sure but other then that his game was very sound.

I said all along in the lead up to the samoa game i wanted to see Hardaker at full back and Tomkins and Widdop in the halves and i had big reservations on smith at this level.To give smith his due he was one of our better players and has justified his place this week.



Despite ST's shaky moments i do feel he has to play no matter what so its as you were for this weekend no doubt.

You only need to look at Saturday to see that Tomkins certainly doesn't bottle out of making tackles. He can't keep letting balls bounce in defence though.



I think the reality is Hardaker will miss out again but it's a waste of a guy who I believe is our best back outside of Tomkins and Hall.

I never advocated omitting Tomkins as he has an attacking threat that will be needed and cannot be ignored.



But Hardaker is definitely the best full-back available to England so it's Tomkins who needs to shift positions, possibly to half-back alongside Widdop.

agree with the point about westerman - he offers versatility on the bench as he can play as an extra prop, second row or loose forward. he would also be useful on the bench in case lockers breaks down mid game

Bringing Zachary Hardaker in for Michael Shenton is the way to go.



Elliot Whitehead must play off the bench.

I must have been watching a different Hardaker to everyone else. This bloke sounds like a combination of Greg Inglis and Billy Slater.



The one I’ve seen is alright but not really a creative ball handler. We need Tomkins to provide that injection of creativity in the backline that he’s done for the Warriors where he’s played a key part in lots of their tries. Sure, he’s shaky under the bomb but I’d be very reluctant to make a change that would affect the whole set up of the side just so we have someone who’s better in the bomb catching dept.



Hardaker in the centres sounds alright in theory but he was shifted from that position at Leeds because he wasn’t good enough there. Putting him in that position to mark Jennings or Walker would be insanity given his lack of gametime in that position.



No fullback has looked good under the bomb in the whole tournament so far. Including Inglis. Lockyer and Johns were commenting on how difficult it is to take a high kick as the modern balls move around in the air so much.



As a last line of defence I thought Tomkins cleared up kicks well and he did very well to half stop Pritchard in full flow.

I'd bring Sarginson in for Shenton, as he's more dangerous with the ball and makes a lot more yards helping the forwards out.



Whitehead for Ferres on the bench. Whitehead would add abit more punch. But I wouldn't want to start him due to the amount of missed tackles he makes.





Push Clarke to 9, O'Loughlin to start at 13 and then have Westerman on the bench for Utility value and O'Loughlin can give Clarke 10 mins breather at some point.



S Tomkins

Hall

Sarginson

Watkins

Charnley

Widdop

Smith

G Burgess

Clarke

Graham

Farrell

Tomkins

O'Loughlin



Hill

T Burgess

Whitehead

Westerman



*Forgot Smith!

Hardaker on the wing seems obvious to me. Hall and Hardaker are both very good under the bomb and can take some of the pressure off Tomkins and if necessary move to FB for the kick.



Gives us huge flexibility and pretty much covers the entire back line and I'm not sure we lose all that much compared to any of the specialist wingers we have. The Aussies and kiwis would be playing him without a shadow of a doubt if the were us.



If Hardaker ever did add a creative passing game he would be a match for any fullback in the world. He is a great broken field runner and in my opinion the best defensive FB in Rugby right now.

Tomkins at fullback is too good to shift

Hardacre looks good in broken running but lacks creativity



If you must play Hardacre out him on the wing but I'd say leave him off



As usual the issue is not who to pick from the squad but the squad picked

There's half a dozen better back rows in England than in the squad than Farrell and J Tomkins

Hardaker on the wing isn’t a bad shout. He could swap with Tomkins for the kicks like the Warriors wingers sometimes do.

I'd be interested to know whom those half a dozen are.