On the last three tours, including the first one made exclusively to Australia in 1989, they have been shaped and guided by Ian McGeechan. Now, since McGeechan turned down the offer of a fourth tour, they have a new coach, Graham Henry. Henry approaches the job from a different perspective. He is the New Zealander facing the problem of mixing Irish, Welsh and Scottish players into the English hard core. There has been much debate about this racial cocktail, as if we were suddenly as distinct as the polar Inuits from the desert Bedouins.
Splits only occur and cliques only form when things go wrong on the field.
All the players come from clubs or districts or provinces that are cosmopolitan in composition. Integration is not an issue. If England provide the majority of the cast it is because they are the best players on the field and have pushed back the boundaries of the European game to such an extent that the chances of beating Australia in their backyard have improved considerably. Here we come to the cons. Of the world, for starters.