England keeping Pennell on radar

The Worcester Warriors full-back was yesterday named as part of the 24-man Saxons squad to face the Irish Wolfhounds next week.

Pennell’s inclusion is a welcome return to the England fold after earning his first, and so far only, cap at senior level against New Zealand last May.

After injury ruled him out of the Autumn internationals, coupled with Warriors’ relegation to the Championship, it would have been easy for him to have been overlooked.

But that does not appear to have been the case.

While the likes of Mike Brown and Alex Goode are ahead of him in the pecking order, Pennell is evidently still highly thought of by England head coach Stuart Lancaster.

If Brown or Goode were to get injured ahead of the Six Nations, who knows? Pennell could find himself catapulted into the main squad.

Yet, it seems his selection in the second string is born out of reputation rather than his current circumstances.

Pennell is the only Championship player to get the nod for the Saxons. Had he never been capped before, it is pretty much inconceivable that he would have been included.

For, whether we like it or not, Lancaster wants players who operate at the highest level and compete against top quality opposition every week.

In the past fortnight, Warriors have tonked Cornish Pirates 62-26 and Moseley 50-10 in two complete mismatches in the second tier.

Pennell played in both and while he would have given his all, you can only beat the opposition in front of you. Which, in this case, was vastly inferior to Warriors and even more so the Premiership.

For a coach, it must be hard to judge a player’s ability when they are not being pushed to their limits.

It is to Pennell’s credit that he chose to stick by his home-town club and he has not wavered in his efforts to help Dean Ryan’s side return to the top-flight at the first attempt.

Even if he was told relegation would not harm his international chances, how long will that goodwill last if Warriors don’t go up in May?