It was hardly a shock when England’s starting XV for their Calcutta Cup match against Scotland this weekend was named on Tuesday afternoon.
Martin Johnson’s side may well have put in yet another uninspiring performance at Twickenham against Ireland; but it clearly wasn’t enough to prompt the England head coach to take a gamble and put in a few surprise names.
And the one surprise change which Johnson has decided to implement will raise more eyebrows than spirits. The decision to drop Lewis Moody for Joe Worsley at open-side flanker is a strange one in the sense that Moody would be ideally suited to this type of match; while 13 of the team which lost 20-16 to Ireland keep their places for this Saturday’s must-win Six Nations match at Murrayfield.
The only other change is Leicester lock Louis Deacon, who only starts against Scotland because Simon Shaw is injured.
Stability and consistency are important elements of team management, but when things aren’t going quite to plan on the field of play on a regular basis then something has to give.
Northampton Saints wing, Chris Ashton, for example, is surely ready for a call-up into the England starting line-up. Full of confidence after a brilliant season at Franklin’s Gardens - both domestically and in Europe – the free-scoring 22-year-old would relish the opportunity to shine on his Six Nations debut. And after the season he’s had, who would bet against him doing just that?
As a head coach there’s a thin line between being loyal to your starting XV – sticking by them even after poor performances – and simply being too reluctant to change the side in a bid to justify initial team choices.
Like Ashton, teammate Courtney Lawes, must also be feeling that Johnson is failing to properly utilise the talent at his disposal.
Opting for Ugo Monye and Deacon over the Northampton duo is understandable in the sense that he won’t attract criticism for selecting youngsters if England lose this weekend. However, the best coaches know when to roll the dice and when to spring a surprise by allowing inexperienced players to shine.
Selecting Leicester scrum-half Ben Youngs over Paul Hodgson for the replacements bench is a step in the right direction; but whether or not he’ll actually be given any minutes against Scotland is another matter.
And then there’s the fly-half conundrum. Jonny Wilkinson retains his place at No. 10 for the fourth consecutive Six Nations match, while the youthful and more vibrant Toby Flood must wait even longer for his chance to demonstrate what he’s capable of.
With the World Cup just one year away, Johnson doesn’t have long left to experiment with his squad before the big kick off.
And although this weekend’s match against Scotland is far from a foregone conclusion – after all, England have lost on their last two visits to Murrayfield – it would provide the ideal platform for Johnson to make a few changes here and there, let the fringe players showcase their abilities and get a clearer idea about who will be able to make the step up for the World Cup.
At the moment it seems that loyalty is preventing Johnson from getting the best out of this current England side. But this was always going to be the problem: letting a former teammate of the likes of Wilkinson, Moody, Borthwick and co. take charge of the side.
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