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With or without Wilkinson, England squad gunning for victory in Italy
Rome, Feb 13: The England team arrived in Rome for their opening Six Nations clash with Italy.
Rome, Feb 13: The England team arrived in Rome for their opening Six Nations clash with Italy.
The England rugby Union team arrived in Rome late on Thursday night (February 12) ahead of their first competitive match since winning the Rugby World Cup in Australia in November 2003. Head coach Clive Woodward has already put the November triumph behind him and his team for the fixture against Italy in Rome on Sunday shows five changes plus a positional switch from the XV who started the World Cup final. With Martin Johnson retired, Jonny Wilkinson missing as he attempts to fix his troublesome shoulder and several other World Cup-winning squad members absent through injury, Woodward had a ready-made opportunity to introduce some new faces.
But his decision to drop 35-year-old Neil Back, an integral part of his World Cup back row, is the only real sign of a changing of the guard and he has not made any radical changes for the game against a team England have averaged almost 60 points a game against in their last five meetings.
Despite those huge scorelines Woodward respects the Italians, who had his team on the back foot for half an hour last season, and has picked a team purely to win this match.
The tested Paul Grayson is preferred to Olly Barkley in place of Wilkinson while Danny Grewcock should slot in seamlessly alongside Ben Kay in place of Johnson.
"Wilkinson is the number one player in the world in his position, so its big shoes to fill, but I am confident England will win whether Jonny is there or not, its still a team game and we are missing one key player, he is a big loss but also we are very lucky having Paul Grayson stepping in. Paul Grayson was his (Jonny Wilkinson) understudy in the World Cup, we got through the World Cup with him in one piece, so unfortunately Wilkinson cant play the whole of the Six Nations, but we still expect to win whether Jonny is there or not," Woodward said.
Current form has earned Andy Gomarsall the starting berth at scrumhalf while Iain Balshaw gets a chance from fullback.
The only real experimentation comes at centre where Woodward has inserted winger/fullback Jason Robinson in the number 12 shirt in place of the injured Mike Tindall.
Woodward can afford to tinker with his runners, especially when it means he can still field a back three of Balshaw, Josh Lewsey and Ben Cohen.
The pack has a more familiar look though and even Joe Worsley, brought in for Back, has 30 caps and two World Cups under his belt.
Lawrence Dallaglio returns to the captaincy role he filled in the first 18 months of Woodward's tenure so there should also be a smooth transition in that area.
Sale lock Chris Jones is the only uncapped member of the 22 for the Italy game, while rugby league convert Henry Paul, also on the bench, has just one.
The new boys are likely to get their chance at some stage during the tournament but they will have to earn it and whatever team Woodward puts out should be strong enough for most of the opposition over the next seven weeks.
Italy coach John Kirwan has delayed naming his team for Sunday's game until Friday because of injury doubts.
Scrum-half and Italian captain Alessandro Troncon is out, with flanker Andrea De Rossi taking over the vacant captain's arm band. Full-back Gonzalo Canale, flankers Mauro Bergamasco and Andrea Benatti, and fly-half Francesco Mazzariol are also missing.
Bureau Report
The England rugby Union team arrived in Rome late on Thursday night (February 12) ahead of their first competitive match since winning the Rugby World Cup in Australia in November 2003. Head coach Clive Woodward has already put the November triumph behind him and his team for the fixture against Italy in Rome on Sunday shows five changes plus a positional switch from the XV who started the World Cup final. With Martin Johnson retired, Jonny Wilkinson missing as he attempts to fix his troublesome shoulder and several other World Cup-winning squad members absent through injury, Woodward had a ready-made opportunity to introduce some new faces.
But his decision to drop 35-year-old Neil Back, an integral part of his World Cup back row, is the only real sign of a changing of the guard and he has not made any radical changes for the game against a team England have averaged almost 60 points a game against in their last five meetings.
Despite those huge scorelines Woodward respects the Italians, who had his team on the back foot for half an hour last season, and has picked a team purely to win this match.
The tested Paul Grayson is preferred to Olly Barkley in place of Wilkinson while Danny Grewcock should slot in seamlessly alongside Ben Kay in place of Johnson.
"Wilkinson is the number one player in the world in his position, so its big shoes to fill, but I am confident England will win whether Jonny is there or not, its still a team game and we are missing one key player, he is a big loss but also we are very lucky having Paul Grayson stepping in. Paul Grayson was his (Jonny Wilkinson) understudy in the World Cup, we got through the World Cup with him in one piece, so unfortunately Wilkinson cant play the whole of the Six Nations, but we still expect to win whether Jonny is there or not," Woodward said.
Current form has earned Andy Gomarsall the starting berth at scrumhalf while Iain Balshaw gets a chance from fullback.
The only real experimentation comes at centre where Woodward has inserted winger/fullback Jason Robinson in the number 12 shirt in place of the injured Mike Tindall.
Woodward can afford to tinker with his runners, especially when it means he can still field a back three of Balshaw, Josh Lewsey and Ben Cohen.
The pack has a more familiar look though and even Joe Worsley, brought in for Back, has 30 caps and two World Cups under his belt.
Lawrence Dallaglio returns to the captaincy role he filled in the first 18 months of Woodward's tenure so there should also be a smooth transition in that area.
Sale lock Chris Jones is the only uncapped member of the 22 for the Italy game, while rugby league convert Henry Paul, also on the bench, has just one.
The new boys are likely to get their chance at some stage during the tournament but they will have to earn it and whatever team Woodward puts out should be strong enough for most of the opposition over the next seven weeks.
Italy coach John Kirwan has delayed naming his team for Sunday's game until Friday because of injury doubts.
Scrum-half and Italian captain Alessandro Troncon is out, with flanker Andrea De Rossi taking over the vacant captain's arm band. Full-back Gonzalo Canale, flankers Mauro Bergamasco and Andrea Benatti, and fly-half Francesco Mazzariol are also missing.
Bureau Report