Rugby-Rowntree purring as England's pack settles down

By Mitch Phillips LONDON, Oct 23 (Reuters) - As England scramble to deal with a front-row injury crisis ahead of the November internationals, forwards coach Graham Rowntree is revelling in the settled nature and strength-in-depth of the rest of the pack There could be some fresh, if gnarled, faces lining up in the front row against New Zealand on Nov. 8, while the identity of the wings and centres remains anyone's guess. However, most fans could pencil in the five at the back of the scrum, who, injury-allowing, are likely to remain in situ right up to and through next year's World Cup. Joe Launchbury and Courtney Lawes have developed into a world class second-row partnership and though there are still plenty of people ready to criticise captain Chris Robshaw, it is very difficult to see anyone but the captain wearing the number seven shirt. Blindside flanker Tom Wood has become as integral to the team as Richard Hill was to the 2003 World Cup-winning team, while the number eight combination of Billy Vunipola usually giving way to Ben Morgan an hour into a match has served England well over the last year. "You'll have seen from the guys we picked consistently from the last two years what we like in terms of our balance," Rowntree told Reuters. "There are not many I would give the term warrior to but Tom Wood is a proven warrior against the big teams, he always turns up. "I have two eights who between them are having a great season. Ben Morgan has got himself a lot fitter and his game involvement has gone through the roof while I think Billy showed again at the weekend what class he is in top European competition." Rowntree, very much a member of the old school, retained his strongest praise, however, for Robshaw, who was under fire from all sides in the first weeks of the season after losing the Harlequins club captaincy and struggling for form. "Robbo's dealt with a lot of grief for the last seven weeks," said the former England and British and Irish Lions prop. "His game has steadily gone up and up and I'm delighted with where he is at the moment. "There's nothing flamboyant with Chris, nothing showy, that's why the lads respect him. "I like the way he's got on with his job. I spoke to him on a few occasions just to give him a bit of support really but I think Harlequins have been exceptional there. "He's good captain, he's not one for big speeches, it's all about what he does -- 'follow me lads, follow what I do' - and I like that." INCREDIBLE IMPACT A revitalised James Haskell is likely to feature strongly from the bench in November, while Calum Clarke is also back in the mix after his first title at an England career was stalled by a 32-week ban for breaking an opponent's arm. "James gives us incredible impact, his collision work and his collision stats are unbelievable," said Rowntree. "And I'm delighted for Calum. He was in the squad in 2012 and I'm glad he's back in - there aren't many back rows as effective as him." Clarke, who has also suffered injury setbacks in recent seasons, might look somewhat wistfully around the training ground at others who were drafted in during Start Lancaster's early days and who have gone on to establish themselves. Launchbury is one of them. He might still look like an over-grown teenager who has somehow stumbled into the senior squad's training, but once he takes the field nobody facing him would make that mistake. "He's still fresh faced, I remember his first press conference and I thought 'you can't do that to him, you can't put him up against the Springboks'," said Rowntree, whose battered face and hugely swollen cauliflower ears leave no room for doubt where he spent his rugby career. "We wanted to get the young lads in to train with us but he made such an impact that he played most of the games that season. "He does worry me though in so far as he won't believe in how much work he does. "You sit down and look at the cold stats and the tackles he's making and the rucks he's clearing. He does so much sometimes I wonder how I could take some of the work away from him and spread it out a bit more but it's hard because he's so good at so many things." (Editing by Alan Baldwin)