Excuse me while I try to make head or tail of England thinking.

Next month a 26-strong squad will head to Canada for the Churchill Cup. The England coach Andy Robinson will not be with them and nor will half the quartet of coaches who look after England. In charge will be Joe Lydon, who spent a lifetime in rugby league before joining the England elite set-up in May after working with the Sevens squad.

I have already argued the rights or wrongs of Robinson being with the Lions when he has plenty to do in his nine-to-five job with England this summer but I can (just about) understand his thinking if the plan was to send a development squad for the two games in Edmonton.

After all, we haven't uncovered too much new international talent since the World Cup in 2003 and who worries about faraway games against Canada and probably Argentina when the cream of England's players are in New Zealand. The Churchill Cup is not a coveted piece of silverware or one that sits well alongside the Webb Ellis trophy, the Six Nations Championship or even the Calcutta Cup for that matter.

But just take a look at the squad. While Chris Bell, James Forrester, Andy Goode, Stuart Hooper, Ugo Monye, Tom Palmer, Mathew Tait and Tom Voyce might learn something by just being with England, what is the point of taking Olly Barkley, Andy Gomarsall, Andy Hazell, James Simpson-Daniel, Mike Tindall, Phil Vickery and Jonny Wilkinson?

My guess is that Wilkinson will be re-routed to New Zealand long before the Lions fly out and that the others are only in Canada because they will be a tad closer to Auckland and more immediately on hand should Sir Clive Woodward suddenly need emergency cover, although with the equivalent of two squads already at hand that would seem like over-egging the stand-by omelette.

But can English rugby can afford such a luxury? If we are looking to spend the next two years developing a side which has any chance of defending the World Cup, far better that five of those six be left at home to recover from a season that has been shaped, more than any other I can remember, by injuries at international and club level.

Barkley has been rightly vociferous about burn-out, Tindall missed most of the end of his season with Bath due to a foot injury and, along with Vickery and Simpson-Daniel, is in dire need of quality work in the gym.

Lydon has the youngsters - Scott Bemand of Leicester, Richard Birkett and Ayoola Erinle of Wasps, Andy Hig gins and Lee Mears of Bath and Micky Ward of Newcastle - waiting on stand-by. Far better to confirm their bookings, because I sense that Erinle and Mears at least could return from Canada as England prospects. And we need them.

Team England have not moved on one iota since November 22, 2003. We left Australia with a team of world beaters and the core of a side that should have seen us through to France 2007. However, of the 15 that started that Sydney night, only Josh Lewsey and Jason Robinson of the backs and Steve Thompson and Ben Kay of the forwards have come close to staying the course.

Meanwhile New Zealand have become arguably the best side in the world, Australia continue to evolve as they always do, South Africa are better than the tired team who toured the northern hemisphere in the autumn, Wales are on fire and France have uncovered a rich seam of talent.

While France tour South Africa and Australia, Fabien Pelous and Co will rest up for the two-year haul to 2007, whereas England seem intent on running senior internationals into the ground. If Robinson has a grand plan, then so far it is cunningly hidden.