A narrow 17-12 victory against Italy may not have been regarded as entirely satisfactory by many England supporters, but head coach Martin Johnson has stuck to his guns and named an unchanged line-up for Saturday’s Six Nations match against Ireland.
Jonny Wilkinson, who had come under criticism after the win against the Italians, does retain his place at fly-half despite Toby Flood putting in a commanding performance for Leicester Tigers last weekend.
The 24-year-old scored 18 points in Leicester’s 33-11 Guinness Premiership win to give Johnson a real selection headache at fly-half; but it’s the older and more experienced Wilkinson who has been given the nod.
There have been concerns over the Toulon No. 10’s recent form and fitness, but Johnson was quick to defend his former teammate and set the record straight that his side’s below-par performance against Italy was an issue for the whole team to rectify – not just Wilkinson.
It’s understandable that Johnson would take this stance. After all, Wilkinson is not only the top points scorer in this year’s Six Nations, but also the entire history of Test rugby union. Leaving a player of his calibre out of the starting XV would have been far less of a gamble against Italy; but they face their toughest test yet this weekend against the reigning Grand Slam champions.
Meanwhile, the Ireland head coach Declan Kidney has been forced to deal with an almost identical situation with his squad. Ronan O’Gara, who had started Ireland’s first two Six Nations matches, will have to make do with a place on the substitutes’ bench as exciting No. 10 Jonathan Sexton comes into the fold instead.
Like England’s Flood, Sexton is only 24, but universally regarded as one of the best players that Ireland have produced for years. Bigger and more physical than O’Gara, and just as good as the Munster legend with the ball at his feet, Sexton could have a significant bearing on whether Ireland can produce their best rugby at Twickenham this weekend.
Elsewhere in the England line-up, flanker Joe Worsley, hooker Lee Mears and full-back Ben Foden have all been named among the replacements; but Jamie Noon, who was called up after Dan Hipkiss picked up an ankle injury, doesn’t make the match-day 22.
The general consensus is that England must up their game this weekend if they’re to beat Ireland and keep their ambitious dream of Six Nations glory alive.
Certainly, if they need any added incentive or confidence boost, they should reminisce about last February when Ireland only just beat England by a single point.
Before the 2010 Six Nations has started, few would have given England any chance of winning the championships. But victory against Ireland in front of a vocal crowd at Twickenham would give them real hope of winning their first title since 2003.
First, though, both England and Ireland will be backing old rivals Wales to beat tournament favourites France at the Millennium Stadium on Friday evening.
Stranger things have occurred in this competition in years gone by; but one thing’s for sure: the potential winners of this year’s Six Nations will be much clearer come Saturday evening.
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