One golden boy for another as Cipriani starts

NO SELECTION was going to flag England's strategy against Ireland more than that of Brian Ashton's choice at outhalf. In the event, it is the only change from the team which lost limply to Scotland last Saturday, as the much trumpeted 20-year-old star of the future, Danny Cipriani, replaces the most celebrated English rugby player of modern times, one Jonny Wilkinson.

Ashton was either guilty of extraordinary naivety or wishful thinking - assuredly the latter - when he dismissed this as "just another selection decision".

Yeah, right.

Ashton clearly fears Cipriani might follow the golden boy of English rugby and world record points scorer in the Test environment into the fame game and with potentially greater consequences. Hence, Cipriani's much publicised departure from a nightclub after midnight prevented him from making his starting debut at fullback against the Scots. Admittedly, it was a good one to miss.

At the moment, he is everything Wilkinson is not: young, quick, oozing confidence, in-form, daring, a running threat and a badly needed torchbearer for English rugby.

"Jonny has not been as consistent during this tournament as he was in latter stages of the World Cup, performances have gone up and down, and I just felt Danny Cipriani has been playing exceptionally well at 10 (for Wasps)," said Ashton.

"Everyone is equal," he added. "From within the squad it's just another selection decision that needed to be made."

Ashton confirmed Wilkinson had accepted his fate with customary grace. "Here's a guy that's scored more points than anyone else and he is still going to be a valuable member of the squad going forward. International rugby these days is more or less a 22-man game and he's part of the squad."

As regards Cipriani, Ashton commented: "He's got a vast range of skills and I am hoping he will bring good authority on decision-making. Part of his job is playing without the ball - he needs to defend as well as attack."

Even during the World Cup, when Wilkinson's penalties and drop goals under pressure in tight games seemed almost to have messianic powers on team-mates, opponents and crowds alike, he had begun to look a pale shadow of the player of 2003 after four injury-ravaged years.

Deeply self-analytical, his confidence appeared to drain visibly in the Murrayfield swamp when, although in part a victim of England's limited strategy and the lack of options open to him, his punting became embarrassingly short and aimless.

Under as much pressure as his counterpart, even so, the wonder is that Ashton did not go further, remaining truer to his principles of a creative, heads-up running game.

Maintaining his liking for Iain Balshaw and rugby league converts in the considerable shape of the limited Lesley Vainikolo, the only other changes are on the bench, where fit-again flanker James Haskell takes over from Luke Narraway and Wilkinson features instead of Charlie Hodgson.