Nick Cain’s column: Stuart Lancaster’s bubbling cauldron is troubling

There are times when the England selection alchemy seems stacked against players who bring something different to the squad. We had a jarring reminder when Stuart Lancaster announced on Thursday night that Ed Slater, Maro Itoje and Elliot Daly were being axed before the Denver altitude training, with Nick Easter and Steven Myler – both of whom have injury issues – also not required for the trip to the USA.
The rationale behind Slater, Itoje and Daly being cut at this stage is questionable at best.
Slater has leadership qualities which have been recognised already by Leicester and England, who have both given him the captain's armband. He also has a hard, uncompromising attitude which makes him stand out from the crowd.
My first sight of Slater's cussedness was when the England Saxons were thrashed 35-0 by Scotland A in Galashiels three years ago. The Saxons pack that day was lamentable, bearing the haunted look of men who would rather have been anywhere than on a mist-shrouded Borders pitch on a cold February night. The only exception was Slater, who played with a steely combativeness throughout – and without his contribution the Saxons would have been beaten by a cricket score.
Fast forward to last summer's tour of New Zealand, when, as highlighted in last week's interview in The Rugby Paper, Slater led the England midweek side to an impressive victory over the
Crusaders despite being badly injured. Add to that Slater's footballing ability, and versatility as a lock or blindside, as well as credentials as one of the most effective mauling forwards in the English game, and you have a compelling case for his inclusion in England's World Cup squad.
Geoff Parling has strong advocates within the England coaching hierarchy, and he is a good all-rounder, but Slater has a physicality that none of England's locks, bar Dave Attwood, can match.
Maro Itoje was, in my book, the outstanding English forward over the last few months of the season. He brought power and dynamism beyond his years to the Saracens back five, whether carrying, tackling or scavenging at the breakdown.
Itoje looked in his element in some of the biggest club matches of the season, and if you compare his battling performance against Clermont in the European Champions Cup semi-final in Saint Etienne with those of Tom Wood or Calum Clark in Northampton's quarter-final trip to the French club, it was no contest. Both Wood and Clark were peripheral as the Saints were overwhelmed at the Stade Marcel Michelin, and they also came second to Itoje when Saracens beat Saints in the Premiership semi-final at Franklin's Gardens.
Elliot Daly is the closest like for like outside-centre to Jonathan Joseph in the Premiership, and was another in-form player over the course of the season. In terms of pace and elusive footwork the Wasps man covers bases that Luther Burrell – more a 12 than a 13 – does not. This begs the question, why is Billy Twelvetrees still in the mix if Burrell, Kyle Eastmond and Henry Slade are covering Brad Barritt at inside-centre?
The Gloucester 12 had a much less impressive season than Daly, who also offers England a weapon that no other player in the squad possesses. The Wasps centre is a prodigiously powerful goal-kicker, who has regularly kicked penalties from 60 metres out for his club. That makes his range at least 10 metres further than Owen Farrell or George Ford, and provides the sort of match-
winning extra that could be crucial in knife-edge World Cup contests.
Perhaps Lancaster sees Slater (26), Itoje (20) and Daly (22) as having time on their hands and being strong candidates for the 2019 World Cup in Japan. They might be. However, no-one knows what is round the corner in professional sport in terms of injury, illness, or form, career-threatening or otherwise. We have all seen too many players cut off in their prime to know that nothing can be taken for granted. That is why 2015 is their time as much as it is for any other player in the England reckoning, and no professional coach or sportsman can afford to look at it any other way.
Trimming squads is always a subjective and emotive business, and it's a pity that Lancaster's bland explanations for dropping Slater, Itoje and Daly did not contain any detail. It adds to the concern with Lancaster's World Cup preparations that players who are capable of bringing something extra to England's sometimes overly-regimented ranks are being overlooked.
There are a number of form players who did not even make the long squad. The Exeter backrowers Thomas Waldrom and Dave Ewers were the most notable forward absentees, while in the backs the match-winning flair of Christian Wade, Chris Pennell and Joe Simpson was also overlooked.
How the electric Simpson has not had a look-in while Lee Dickson, who has been out of sorts and spent half of last season sharing Saints scrum-half duties with Kahn Fotuali'i, seems to be a permanent fixture is a mystery. So is the way in which places are held forever for some injured players, while for others it is a corridor that leads to the England squad exit.
Lancaster puts a premium on consistency, transparency and honesty within the squad, and that should hold good for selection as much as anywhere else.