Paul lost in the fog of Woodward's white smoke

Few things are quite what they seems in the Byzantine world of English Test rugby. Clive Woodward, the national manager, announced two squads yesterday: an elite 33-man party, many of whom will feature in the forthcoming internationals with the three superpowers of the southern hemisphere, and a 13-man academy group with longer-term red rose aspirations.

Nice and simple? Not exactly. What should have been a straightforward piece of selectorial business was complicated by the fact that three of the 33 are unavailable for the autumn series, while at least three of the academy have realistic chances of making the cut next month.

Woodward named two injured wings, Dan Luger and Iain Balshaw, and a suspended prop, Julian White, in his senior list, which confused everyone until he explained that the squad was not specific to the November Tests against Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, but was geared towards the Six Nations as well. However, there was something undeniably bizarre about Henry Paul's inclusion in the academy. Paul, a 28-year-old rugby league hall-of-famer who came to union on very big money indeed, is now mixing with inexperienced rookies with an average age of 21. Perhaps he has been made head prefect.

While Woodward has kept faith with the vast majority of his tried-and-tested performers, there are some casualties. Three players who made their Test debuts in Argentina last summer – the Harlequins lock Alex Codling and the London Irish backs Michael Horak and Geoff Appleford – are out of the equation altogether, and there is no place for Josh Lewsey of Wasps or Martin Corry of Leicester. Similarly, Garath Archer, one of the form locks in the country, can continue to devote himself to the Bristol cause. The pugilistic Geordie has been beaten to the punch, so to speak, by the more conciliatory Simon Shaw.

The sharpest disappointments will be felt by the new generation, however. The baker's dozen in the academy, all of whom will receive invaluable one-on-one coaching from the supremely-imaginative Brian Ashton as well as a free pass to full England squad sessions, are on the fast-track to fame and fortune: indeed, several of them – from Marcel Garvey and James Simpson-Daniel among the threequarters to David Flatman and James Forrester up front – will push hard for a World Cup place a year from now. It is those who have missed out who will be asking the hard questions, both of themselves and of the Woodward regime. Olly Barkley, Mark Cueto, Nick Duncombe, Steve Borthwick and Declan Danaher are among those wondering where they have gone wrong.

These latest puffs of white smoke from Twickenham added to the fog surrounding Woodward's plans for the sell-out Test with New Zealand on 9 November. The big winners in the senior squad – Tim Stimpson of Leicester, Ben Johnston of Saracens, Mike Catt of Bath and Trevor Woodman of Gloucester – are in the frame, but no more. Woodman has an important three weeks ahead of him, for the loose-head prop issue is far from settled, but it is looking increasingly likely that the All Blacks will recognise most, if not all, their opponents when they arrive for their first Test in London since the 1999 World Cup.