Martin Johnson's snub to Nick Kennedy baffles Exiles boss Toby Booth

Chris Jones
27 Oct 2009

Nick Kennedy, a key member of the England pack last autumn, is coming to terms with a dramatic fall from grace that has reduced him to the seventh best lock in the country.

Despite Kennedy's excellent form, England team manager Martin Johnson has ignored the London Irish forward for next month's Tests and instead called up the uncapped Richard Blaze as he attempts to deal with 12 injuries to his original 32-strong Elite Player Squad. Harlequins No8 Nick Easter has a calf injury and is replaced by Courtney Lawes, who has been operating at lock for Northampton - which pushes Kennedy further down the rankings.

Johnson's squad now has three locks from his old club Leicester - Blaze, Ben Kay and Louis Deacon - plus captain Steve Borthwick and Lawes for the Tests against Australia, Argentina and New Zealand. When you add the injured Simon Shaw to that list, Kennedy's position becomes clear.

The decision to ignore Kennedy, who won the first of his seven caps against the Pacific Islanders a year ago, has dumfounded Dick Best.

The former England coach summed up the feelings of many in the game by stating: "I rate Kennedy as one of the best line-out forwards in the world and it is very difficult to believe he has been left out of a squad that is hard hit by injuries.

"He will be around for a long time and will see off many of those new guys who have been preferred. I don't see what Blaze and Lawes bring to the party that Kennedy cannot supply and he has the added asset of having played Test rugby."

Johnson has spoken with Irish director of rugby Toby Booth this season about what England want from Kennedy. The player has been asked to hit more rucks to add a physical presence to his undoubted line-out excellence. Taking restarts to secure vital possession is another area that needs work, according to his critics.

Booth, however, believes Kennedy deserves to be in the England set-up and will do all he can to ensure the 28-year-old's confidence is not damaged by his omission.

The Exiles chief said: "I am surprised he has been left out of the squad but we can't control that kind of thing. All we can do as a club is put Nick in a position to stake his claim for a Test place and maybe England want him to perform in a particular way to suit their style. He has played very well for us but England, obviously, feel there are some deficiencies. They see Nick as a work in progress and this is quite a fall from grace."

While Kennedy must bide his time with the second-string Saxons, there are recalls for 2003 World Cup winners Jonny Wilkinson and Steve Thompson, who are now playing in France, while Stade Francais-based James Haskell is also brought back into the fold after his move across the Channel.

Thompson joined Brive as a forwards coach having been forced to give up the game due to a neck injury. However, he was allowed to return to the game and is now pressing for another Twickenham appearance, although he faces stiff competition from Northampton captain Dylan Hartley and Leicester's George Chuter.

Bath tight-head prop Duncan Bell is back on the Test scene after a four-year absence and benefits from the injuries that have ruled out Phil Vickery and Julian White.

With the front particularly badly hit by injuries, Bath prop David Barnes is one of the three uncapped players, along with lock Blaze and Lawes, who find themselves elevated to the senior squad for the games, the first of which is against Australia on 7 November.

Johnson said: "We have strength in depth and each of the players coming in has the chance to push themselves into contention for the first match."

England will today inform the club which players will be released to play in this weekend's Premiership matches.