England have turned to Jonny Wilkinson, the most experienced player at the Rugby World Cup, to steer their campaign.
After spending the bulk of the past couple of years unavailable through injury or as understudy to Toby Flood, Wilkinson, the man who kicked the extra-time drop goal to beat Australia in the 2003 World Cup final, is back as the first choice No.10 for England.
England coach Martin Johnson named Wilkinson on Thursday in England’s starting side to face Argentina in their World Cup opener in Dunedin on Saturday.
At his fourth World Cup, Wilkinson appears to have to overtaken Flood in the pecking order through his performances during the August warm-up program.
“Jonny’s been in great form and has just got his nose in front but that might change next week,” Johnson said.
“We don’t have a drop-off between players in positions and all 30 could start.”
Wilkinson started for England in their final World Cup warm-up against Ireland in Dublin last month and produced a vintage display in the 20-9 win.
The five-eighth landed all four of his goalkicks as England’s strong pack overpowered Ireland at the breakdown and created the platform for Wilkinson to call the shots.
Delon Armitage will start a Test on the wing for the first time against Argentina after Mark Cueto was ruled out through injury.
Armitage, normally a full-back, impressed while coming off the bench to score a try after replacing Cueto in Dublin.
Nick Easter returns at No.8 after missing the Ireland fixture with a calf strain while 2003 World Cup winning centre Mike Tindall captains the side in the absence of flanker Lewis Moody, sidelined with a longstanding knee injury.
James Haskell moves to openside flanker, in place of Hendre Fourie who played against Ireland but was not selected in the World Cup squad.
Samoa-born centre Manu Tuilagi, who has scored two tries in his two Tests so far, continues alongside Tindall in midfield.
The Pumas named an experienced team on Tuesday but England have won 11 of their 15 Tests against the South Americans.
Argentina are renowned for their forward power but Johnson said there was more to their game than a powerful pack.
“They do what they do very well but they’ve got more dimensions to them than is sometimes made out in the media.
“They are a dangerous running side, they come at you through forwards but put you under pressure with their kicks as well. It’s a full-on Test against a team that finished third in the world last time.”
England team: Ben Foden, Chris Ashton, Manu Tuilagi, Mike Tindall (capt), Delon Armitage, Jonny Wilkinson, Richard Wigglesworth, Nick Easter, James Haskell, Tom Croft, Courtney Lawes, Louis Deacon, Dan Cole, Steve Thompson, Andrew Sheridan. Res: Dylan Hartley, Matt Stevens, Tom Palmer, Tom Wood, Ben Youngs, Toby Flood, Matt Banahan
Viscount Crouchback
Guest
I wonder if Wilkinson will remain in the team when Youngs returns? It would seem strange to pair Youngs with Wilkinson given that they have never played together and given that he plays with Flood every week. I don't particularly rate Wilkinson either, but he kicks his goals - and I'm never convinced by Flood in front of goal even on his good days. I don't blame Johnno for playing the percentages, especially given the history of the RWC as a rather attritional affair. If the tournament turns out to be more expansive than expected, then he at least has the option of starting Flood later in the tournament.
Ben S
Roar Guru
What has changed? I don't really know. Flood's season trailled off domestically, as did Ben Youngs' season. Maybe the Dublin game haunted Johnson, and he thinks the WC is not the time to be investing your faith in young and inexperienced playmakers? I can't think what else, because a) Wilkinson still can't run a backline for sugar, b) his kicking is not that good, and c) he plays a very selfish brand of rugby in France. I hope this is only for the Argentina game. I think we have the capacity to reach another final. Our back play is better than anything the Springboks or France could offer, and our pack has improved since the Autumn internationals, but I genuinely believe with Wilkinson we won't beat Australia.
The Bush
Roar Guru
Back to the Future hey... Don't get me wrong Wilkinson is a great player and a true champion, but surely it's a little depressing to English Rugby Fans that eight (8) years after your triumph, the old warhorse - though he's "only" thirty-two (32) - is being sent out yet again? Most northern hemisphere posters on here have assured us recently that Flood was the man to guide England around the park. What has changed? I expect England to perform well again - but surely three (3) grand finals apperances in a row will be beyond this lot? Please Northerners, enlighten us!
wannabprop
Guest
Great idea. Thanks for the effort!
Derm
Roar Guru
For those wanting to know what conditions their team is likely to be facing in upcoming RWC matches, I've posted a list of stadia locations and weather forecasts for upcoming matches on the Roar Rugby World Cup page - it's beneath the fixture list. http://www.theroar.com.au/rugby-union/rugby-world-cup-fixtures/ I’ll update this on a regular basis to take into account matches coming up in next ten days within forecast range.