Congratulations to Australia for seeing sense and dropping the ridiculous policy of not selecting their best players if they are playing overseas . It leaves England looking old-fashioned and they need to react . Stuart Lancaster must be free to pick his best players , no matter where in the world they ply their trade . If Roy Hodgson ’ s star names moved to Bayern Munich or Barcelona , would the FA tell him not to pick them ? Absolutely not . The same needs to apply to rugby . Matt Giteau 's stellar displays for Toulon have put him back on the Wallabies radar ahead of the World Cup . The game is changing and Australia have realised that . Matt Giteau and Drew Mitchell , for example , are top-class performers for Toulon and if England lose to Australia with those two playing out of their skins , you know exactly what the headlines will be . The World Cup is simply about the world ’ s best coming together and ridiculous rules like this demean it . Toulon ’ s Steffon Armitage came off the bench against Leinster on Sunday and turned the game on its head . His turnover work and ball-carrying are second to none and since he upped sticks to France his game has constantly improved . Toulon 's Steffon Armitage takes on the Leinster defence during the Champions Cup semi-final in Marseille . I don ’ t think Armitage would be playing this well if he was still at London Irish . He took a big risk and it paid off , he shouldn ’ t be penalised for it . If one or two England back-rowers wouldn ’ t want to see Armitage in the squad , then that confirms he should be ! Nick Abendanon has also become better since he crossed the Channel . It ’ s simply wrong to say England are best served by players at English clubs . If someone is going to be happier , healthier and a better player overseas , he should be supported . Jonny Wilkinson moved to France and became even better than when he played for England , so that completes the argument for me . Would I have picked Jonny if he was playing in France ? Of course I would . Nick Abendanon 's game has drastically improved since the former Bath full back made the move to France . As England coach you will be judged on your World Cup performance , even more so as the home team . That ’ s where you have to deliver the results and selecting your best starting XV is the first thing you have to get right , without exception . When it comes to the big games , the other England players will want to have the best possible squad available . Every player , fan and Englishman wants England to win the World Cup and it starts with picking your best team . When it comes to a home World Cup , you don ’ t want to be left talking about ‘ what ifs ’ . England head coach Stuart Lancaster has remained steadfast in his policy not to select overseas players . England players deserve to go on to the field knowing they have been given the best chance of winning . Do the squad truly believe this when such talented players are not considered ? They shouldn ’ t be left to doubt they are playing only because of their home address . This isn ’ t about being disloyal to the clubs . They benefit from a winning England team , especially in a World Cup year . You simply can ’ t let the RFU or Premier Rugby tie your hands behind your back and dictate who you can or can ’ t pick . At Toulon , they ’ ve got Bryan Habana playing for South Africa and Leigh Halfpenny playing for Wales . They ’ re among the best players in the world . It ’ s just crazy and misguided not to make any Englishman available for selection . Well done , Australia . Bryan Habana plays for Toulon but the Springboks have continued to select the winger for Test matches .
Australia have seen sense by revamping their overseas selection policy . It leaves England looking old-fashioned and they need to react . Matt Giteau and Nick Abendanon are top-class performers for Toulon . Steffon Armitage and Drew Mitchell should come into the selection mix . England need the best squad possible for the forthcoming World Cup .