Former England and Lions star Guscott is a BBC rugby union pundit

Former Bath, England and Lions centre Jeremy Guscott is back to answer your questions as the new domestic season begins to take shape.

Among the topics Jerry considers this week are:

- Who will wear the 10 shirt for England in November, in light of Jonny Wilkinson's bright start to the season

- The reasons for Leicester's sluggish start to the campaign

- Ulster's chances of mounting a Heineken Cup challenge

- Which five English players he expects to shine this season

- The need for Gloucester's players to have an honesty session if they are to start delivering

If you have any questions for Jerry, please use the postform on this page. He will answer as many as possible next week, but unfortunately not every question submitted can be used. This week's answers are below.

With two tries and 102 points already under his belt for Toulon this season, Jonny Wilkinson is looking in pretty good shape to retain the England number 10 shirt for the autumn internationals. Based on current performances, who do you think should be on the bench as second choice fly-half?
Bart Hulley, France

Wilkinson is the second highest scorer in the French top flight

Hi Bart, I really believe whoever sits on the bench should at least be playing regularly at fly-half for their club. Contenders would be the Northampton pair of Shane Geraghty and Stephen Myler, new Bath signing Sam Vesty, or maybe Saracens tyro Alex Goode. Northampton are currently the in-form team and praise must go to Geraghty as one of their big decision makers. I feel Geraghty would do better at fly-half than he did at 12 this time last year.

With Toby Flood out injured, who do you think at this moment is good enough for that England 10 position? My prediction is Vesty - he's flat and attacking and Bath are really moving. I'd like to know your thoughts.
Sam Turner, Wales

Sam, with Wilkinson doing a good job in France he will play 10 if Flood doesn't make it back from injury. I think Vesty and Geraghty will probably fight it out for the bench and I think England manager Martin Johnson (MJ) would probably lean towards Vesty, where I would go for Geraghty.

Jeremy, with the new interpretations of the laws, do you think MJ will have to change his tactics and some of his players? Certainly some of the Premiership teams have adapted well and with players like Saracens wing David Strettle and Northampton second row Courntey Lawes being added to the England mix we have the foundations of a team that can seriously start thinking about winning during the autumn internationals.
Jonathan Hedges, England

Hi Jonathan, MJ doesn't stray too far from his spreadsheet, although he will be encouraged by the recent performances of Lawes, Ben Foden, Chris Ashton and Ben Youngs, the new guys in his team. Judging England on their last performance, they appear to have finally clicked and my hope is they continue to deliver quick ball for their backs.

Hi Jeremy. It seems to have been a much more dynamic start to the season than last year, allowing talent to shine through. Who would be your 'top five players to watch' for the rest of the 2010-11 campaign.?
Adam, England

The Tigers should have finished off Wasps at the weekend but had one of those days that all teams have but Leicester supporters don't see very often

Hi Adam, Chris Lewis-Pratt at Leeds looks exciting, he has a good step and turn of speed. Strettle at Sarries looks incredibly sharp and is back scoring tries. Lawes is rampaging all over the park and almost forcing MJ to keep him in the England team. Youngs is continuing to improve and impress at Leicester, his all-round game is superb. Finally, watch out for Delon Armitage, his break in week two against Bath at the Rec was not far short of brilliant.

Hi Jeremy, as a life-long Gloucester supporter, it's always been a vocation rather than a joy to support the Cherry and Whites. However, it seems after the 2009-10 campaign and the first two weekends of this season, it's becoming more of a labour of love. What are your opinions as to why Gloucester, who are always defined as a 'giant' of English rugby, remain perennial underachievers and what can be done so that they can be serious challengers in Europe and the Premiership?
Many thanks, Alan Meyrick, England.

Hi Alan, Gloucester's players need to sort themselves out and have a real heart-to-heart to try and understand why they are underperforming. Gloucester's forwards are short of some of the real firepower they had in the old days and because of that the ball produced for their backs isn't of the quality you need. Quite simply Gloucester need to spend some money on recruiting some quality forwards.

Hi Jeremy, I'm an eternally optimistic Bedford Blues fan. Do you think Exeter's strong start to the season shows that the gap between the Premiership and Championship isn't as big as everyone thinks, thus putting to rest the annual debate about abolishing promotion and relegation? Or is this merely a flash in the pan?
Alex Hamilton-McLeod, UK

Exeter have won two of their first three games in the Premiership

Hi Alex, I'm all for promotion, I hope the Premiership is never ringfenced, but there is still a huge gap between the overall quality in the Premiership compared to the Championship. Having said that Exeter have proved they can compete - yes, it is early days, but the signs are very good indeed.

Dear Jeremy, do you think Ulster can keep up their impressive start to the season and will South Africa international Ruan Pienaar give them the edge they need to challenge for trophies?
Sandy M, Scotland

With Ulster looking impressive so far, do you think they have a realistic chance of winning the title. And how far do you think they can get in the Heineken Cup?Jack, Northern Ireland

Hi Sandy and Jack, I have no doubt Pienaar will give Ulster a good boost when he starts playing. His experience of playing big games will help no end when it comes to competitions like the Heineken Cup. For Ulster it will be about winning all their home games, scoring lots of tries against Aironi and sneaking an away win at Bath or Biarritz. Mind you, that's exactly what the other teams in the group will be wanting to do as well.

Hi Jerry, with the new law interpretations, who do you think will cope best with the changes for Wales - Martyn Williams or Sam Warburton?
Jonathan, Wales

Hi Jonathan, Martyn Williams can adapt to any rules, he's a fantastic footballer and will love these new interpretations. Warburton looked good last season and I was looking forward to him taking on Richie McCaw in the summer but injury prevented that. I really do like the way both players play and I believe it will be a close call as to who gets selected now Warburton is back playing after his jaw injury.

Hi Jeremy. What do you think has happened to the famous Wasps defence? They look shaky this season, not least in conceding four tries at home against Leicester. It seems that the once effective "blitz" has been figured out by most teams.
Bill Hart, England

Hi Bill, with a hard, fast defence like Wasps you all have to be as one in a flat line, any little dogleg in the defence will be harshly exposed, and that is what has happened. A further factor is that Wasps have simply missed one-on-one tackles, which in today's game is completely unacceptable. Coach Shaun Edwards has his work cut out getting it right. In days gone by you had experienced guys like Fraser Walters, Alex King and Josh Lewsey to hold it all together but their replacements haven't managed the job yet.

Hi Jeremy, after poor performances against Northampton, Exeter and Wasps, where do you think it is going wrong for Leicester this season? Is it the loss of the experience possessed by Ben Kay and Lewis Moody?
John, England

Before the season I would have said Leicester were definitely going to be in the play-offs. I'm not as confident now, especially as they will lose quite a few players to autumn internationals. Do you think they are still favourites to reach the play-offs and why have they started the season so badly!?
Cain Bradley, England

Hi John and Cain, I didn't think losing the experience and knowledge of Kay and Moody would effect the team so much as it has done. When things don't go right for you, you tend to look at your senior pros for help and guidance to get you out of a mess, and two of their best are missing. It is very early in the season though. Saints deserved to win but Exeter played their best against the best, which always happens. The Tigers should have finished off Wasps at the weekend but had one of those days that all teams have but Leicester supporters don't see very often. Don't write them off just yet.

Jerry, what's your take on the International Rugby Board's (IRB) advice on responding to the Haka? Surely if you (in this case New Zealand) want to lay down a challenge, you have to be able take one?
David Graham, UK

Hi David, I believe the Wallaroos were wrong to encroach on the Black Ferns' Haka in the Women's World Cup but the IRB overreacted with the fine they subsequently gave the Aussies. The Haka gets the respect it deserves 99.9% of the time and rightly so in my opinion. You get the odd one, such as when Richard Cockerill and Norm Hewitt got a bit carried away, but that's what could happen in the old days - you've got to stay behind your own 10m line now.

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