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<BR><BR>15 Josh Lewsey. If rumour is to be believed - there is rarely smoke without fire - Lewsey has been the biggest critic of the England coaching set-up. On the basis of his tournament performance, it is easy to see that something is frustrating him - most likely the lack of decent ball from his centres. Axed for the final game, but should have been in the centres long before then. Nothing to be seen of the scorching pace and handling that made him such a cert for England before this tournament.
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<BR>14 Mark Cueto. Never got the ball to show what he could do, but was also unable to create something out of nothing. England's tactics nullified Cueto's undoubted talents, but he looked lost in the tight situations.
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<BR>13 Mike Tindall. Nobody knows why Andy Robinson stuck with Tindall and Noon for so long. One of them should have gone long before Tindall made way for Stuart Abbott in the final match. But the big Gloucester man no longer has the oomph when running forward, nor the handling skills to make the forward charges count.
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<BR>12 Ludovic Valbon. Dropped ball after ball in his only full match against the Scots, and never made even the merest ripple of an impact when on as substitute in the other matches. Bernard Laporte has better and younger options than Brive's utility back.
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<BR>11 Ben Cohen. Was supposed to have bounced back from his mental fatigue in November, but showed all the signs of having it again. Cohen's mood appears to mirror the team's performance - when the team is firing, Cohen is. But if the team is not firing, Cohen gets depressed, and his game goes to pieces - see the sitter he missed against Scotland.
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<BR>10 Gavin Henson. Poor Gavin was helpless as circumstances conspired to give the Irish the cruellest revenge on Gavin for slagging off their captain. Brought on at fly-half in a pressure-cooker situation having only played one match over the previous eight weeks in a low-key game at full-back. What else could he do?! Described himself as 'suicidal' afterwards. It was that bad.
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<BR>9 Harry Ellis. A huge disappointment in the number nine shirt. Distribution was not snappy despite frequent forward dominance, and there was none of the initiative or impudence that he shows at club level. Ellis needs to make the step up still.
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<BR>8 Michael Owen. Badly exposed - without the other runners - as being incapable of gathering the forward momentum Wales so desperately missed. If Wales were not going forward, Owen's handling could never come into play, and he became quickly anonymous.
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<BR>7 Remy Martin. Another who shines for his club, but has not yet fully stepped up to the higher level. Could not make up for the lack of experience with extra pace or industry, and paid the price after two matches.
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<BR>6 Colin Charvis. Looked just plain tired, and no longer providing the turnovers at the frequency he used to. either a victim of England's punishing season, or could be a fading force...
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<BR>5 Simon Shaw. Another who looks to be on his way out. Shaw provided so much good loose play for the Lions down under, but like Charvis, he looked tired and sluggish around the pitch on Saturday against Ireland.
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<BR>4 Ian Gough. Wales have a dearth of genuine kings of the line-out, and Gough is the best available, but he is not a true international class second row.
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<BR>3 Julian White. Strong enough in the scrum, without ever being dominant, and offered nothing in the loose in an age where props are expected to muck in with the back-row.
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<BR>2 Any Scottish hooker. The frequency with which they were rotated gave away just how concerned Frank Hadden is about the number two shirt. Scotland were dogged by line-out problems all the way through the tournament, and many of them stemmed form the throwing.
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<BR>1 Andy Sheridan. Still not living up to the monster reputation that his Premiership performances are building up, and still not lasting the full eighty minutes every time. Pure strength will only take you so far...
<BR>qui inglesi e gallesi non mancano...
![:-]](./images/smilies/icon_mrgreen.gif "Mr. Green"){kind=icon}