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| | Saturday, 12 October, 2002, 13:43 GMT 14:43 UK Woodward: No more experiments  Steve Thompson is one of England's rising stars Clive Woodward says the time for experimenting with his England line-up is over as the countdown begins to next year's World Cup. The England coach says he will pick his strongest side when the All Blacks visit Twickenham on 9 November, kicking off England's series of autumn internationals. "Test match rugby is not about experimenting," he told BBC Radio Five Live.
"I'll be going into that first game against the All Blacks with my strongest team and we will go from there. "We've been developing the team well over the past few years. A lot of new faces have come in. "This time a year ago, the likes of Steve Thompson and Ben Kay weren't even in the starting line up and they're regulars now. "There is a lot of competition for places. I would never pick a player for England just to experiment. "I would only put them in if I genuinely believed they were as good as the guy who currently held the shirt." Woodward said the prospect of meeting the All Blacks - the only major southern hemisphere team England have not beaten during the past year - was an exciting prospect. "Whatever team (New Zealand coach) John Mitchell brings over will be very strong," he said.
"I think it adds an edge because they deservedly won the Tri-Nations and I think John's doing a good job there. "They're an outstanding team and England versus the All Blacks is a mouthwatering event." Woodward said he was delighted with how the England team had progressed - but said he would not allow any complacency in the camp. "I'm looking forward to the next 12 months, I am genuinely excited about it. I'm pleased the way the team and the coaching team have developed," he said. "But I don't think England are anywhere near where we need to be in 12 month's time." | |
See also:  03 Oct 02 | International 26 Sep 02 | International 20 Sep 02 | International 13 Sep 02 | International Internet links: The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites Top International stories now: Links to more International stories are at the foot of the page. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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