• Toby Flood and Shontayne Hape preferred • Wilkinson on the bench at stadium where he won World Cup It is so long since England won the 2003 World Cup at Stadium Australia that Jonny Wilkinson says he has forgotten at which end he kicked his life-changing drop-goal. If that sounds bizarre to an Australian audience, his exclusion from Saturday’s England starting XV at the same location has similarly baffled the locals. There was an obvious horses-for-courses case for fielding Wilkinson at either 10 or 12 but it has been pointedly ignored in favour of a line-up featuring only two changes from the team unable to capitalise on their scrum superiority in Perth. This is a game England dare not lose tamely and the temptation to include Wilkinson for his goal-kicking alone must have been significant. Robbie Deans, the Wallabies coach, was convinced England would play the Wilko card. Instead Martin Johnson has opted to retain Shontayne Hape at inside-centre and Toby Flood at fly-half, a decision which indicates Wilkinson is no longer seen as a must-have item for England’s biggest games. “We like what we’ve got with Toby starting and Jonny on the bench,” Johnson said. Courtney Lawes and Ben Youngs getting first Test starts is also a sign of the times. Johnson has finally confronted the reality that Simon Shaw is unlikely to make next year’s World Cup and that Danny Care has not nailed down the No9 jersey, although he phrased it rather more diplomatically. If they respond well, Lawes and Youngs can now expect a decent run in the side. This will be an auspicious day for them and England. While Lawes’s athleticism is considerable he must prove he can perform a mountain of unglamorous physical work for 80 minutes at the highest level. Youngs, having endured a stellar season for Leicester, will find himself required to subdue Will Genia, such a pivotal figure that Deans has omitted Luke Burgess despite the latter’s fine first Test efforts. This time last year the two Premiership tyros were featuring in the World Under-20 final in Japan and have been regarded as the rising sons of English rugby ever since. “Some players don’t really want to put their heads where it’s going to hurt but I’m not too fussed,” the 21-year-old Lawes said, shrugging. “I’ll put my body on the line for my team.” Youngs, only 20, has the vision and the sharpness around the fringes to profit if England’s scrum does start rumbling forward again. “It’s the opportunity of a lifetime and hopefully one I’ll take,” he said. England’s forwards coach, John Wells, is also among those hoping for a more physical effort up front, not least from Tom Palmer and his new second-row partner Lawes. “They’re both big, heavy lads. They need to use some of their pace and weight and start knocking some players back a bit.” Shaw remains on the bench – “I’ve said to Simon: ‘If you want to compete until 2011 we’ll let you do that, we’re not writing you off,” insisted Johnson – alongside Delon Armitage, who has ousted Mathew Tait as the utility back. Given Armitage can barely muster a thimble-full of self-belief at the moment, it has to be interpreted as a shot across the bows of both Tait and Ben Foden as this tour enters its final, defining days. With Matt Giteau also back in the Wallabies’ midfield, Johnson has reiterated the need for England to display more alacrity across the park from the first whistle. Some of the tour squad spent their free time this week diving with sharks and climbing the Harbour Bridge but Johnson, who has summoned Saracens’s Brad Barritt from the Churchill Cup as cover for the injured Dominic Waldouck, has not travelled this far to be a tourist. “I don’t like losing games. Do I worry about my personal record? I just want us to get better. Of course I worry about losing but being under pressure is what playing for England is all about. That’s the whole game. If you don’t want pressure, you might as well sit there with a notepad.” England, though, have to demonstrate they have the makings of a genuinely competitive World Cup squad rather than build foundations on shaky ground. “If you paper over the cracks too many times, ultimately you set yourself up for a big fall,” Wilkinson said, stressing the importance of not looking too far ahead. Given he can remember so little about his 2003 kick – “It’s lost in a bit of a blur” – that should not be a major problem. Australia: O’Connor (Western Force); Ioane (Reds), Horne (Waratahs), Giteau (Brumbies), Mitchell (Waratahs); Cooper (Reds), Genia (Reds); Daley (Reds), Faingaa (Reds), Ma’afu (Brumbies), Mumm (Waratahs), Sharpe (Western Force), Elsom (Brumbies, capt), Pocock (Western Force), Brown (Western Force). Replacements: Edmonds (Brumbies), Slipper (Reds), Chisholm (Brumbies), Hodgson (Western Force), Burgess (Waratahs), Barnes (Waratahs), Ashley-Cooper (Brumbies). England: Foden (Northampton); Cueto (Sale), Tindall (Gloucester), Hape (Bath), Ashton (Northampton); Flood (Leicester), Youngs (Leicester); Payne (Wasps), Thompson (Brive), Cole (Leicester), Lawes (Northampton), Palmer (Stade Français), Croft (Leicester), Moody (Leicester, capt), Easter (Harlequins). Replacements: Chuter (Leicester), Wilson (Bath), Shaw (Wasps), Haskell (Stade Français), Care (Harlequins), Wilkinson (Toulon), D Armitage (London Irish). England rugby union team Jonny Wilkinson Martin Johnson Rugby union Robert Kitson guardian.co.uk
Original post:
England leave out Jonny Wilkinson for second Test in Australia
