SIX NATIONS CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM NEWS:AS EXPECTED, and was flagged by Toby Flood not being released to his club last weekend, the Leicester outhalf has been promoted from the bench to England's starting line-up by the Leicester legend Martin Johnson at the expense of former Leinster outhalf Andy Goode.
It is the only change from the team that lost to Wales 23-15 two weekends ago, and while not quite in the realm of Marc Lievremont’s constant wielding of the guillotine in announcing an eighth half-back combination in 12 matches, this does mean that England have changed their outhalf for the seventh time in 10 matches.
At this point last year, Jonny Wilkinson was the man in possession of the England number 10 jersey, but since then it has been passed between Flood, Goode, Danny Cipriani and Charlie Hodgson. Flood has started at outhalf twice since the end of last year’s championship – against New Zealand in Christchurch on the summer tour and at Twickenham in November.
Goode created England’s first try against Wales with a lofted chip which Paul Sackey chased down, but he did not return to the action after being sinbinned early in the second half, with Flood sent on in his place to give them a little more of a running threat.
Flood described himself as pretty pleased after recounting his conversation with Johnson when being informed of his promotion.
Flood’s selection perhaps signals a slightly more ambitious approach by England, for he undoubtedly gave England something of a spark at the Millennium Stadium when, as he said himself, they were obliged to chase the game and throw the ball around.
“Hopefully we can continue that this weekend,” he said yesterday. “Whether we can we’ll see, but definitely I enjoyed coming off the bench and playing.”
On his direct counterpart this Saturday, Flood said: “O’Gara is a fantastic player. We know what to expect. We’re going to be up against a good kicking game from someone who manages the game very well. His game management is up there with the best in the world; he is massively experienced, as you would expect from someone winning his 90th cap.”
Flood was on the bench two years ago and despite not seeing any game time said: “It is my favourite Six Nations game because of the whole atmosphere. Despite the result, it was a fantastic occasion. But we must win this time. I don’t think any professional sportsperson can say they are happy to lose. They would rather win playing badly than lose playing well.”
Arguably, it would have signalled an altogether bolder approach this Saturday if England had opted for the more unpredictable but dynamic Cipriani, recalling how he masterminded England’s 33-10 win over Ireland at Twickenham last year on his belated debut, if even as an option off the bench.
Johnson maintained that England are blessed with options at number 10, but said of Flood: “He’s been playing pretty well all season, and he’s looked good in practice. He obviously had a bit of an injury at the start of the Six Nations which put him behind a little bit but he’s rebounded and played well when he’s got on the field and we thought it was a good time to start him at Croke Park.”
Unsurprisingly, such was the tactical success of Johnson’s move to recall Joe Worsley in helping to nullify the midfield threat of Welsh centre Jamie Roberts and number eight Andy Powell, the rest of the team remains unaltered.
Ireland are in the unique position of encountering their last two defensive coaches in their next two outings and Mike Ford will assuredly seek to apply the same kind of defensive screen at Croke Park on Saturday.
Worsley, who will win his 70th cap against Ireland, said: “Ireland are a hard team to read; they ask some difficult questions and move the ball around. O’Driscoll has got a tidy sidestep which I have experienced a few times but he is also very strong and has good leg strength so he can break out of tackles.”
The one other change to the 22 sees Danny Care recalled to the bench as back-up scrumhalf in place of Paul Hodgson after recovering from an ankle ligament strain. Acknowledging the toughness of the task facing England at Croke Park, Johnson said: “We have to be very, very competitive, keep on the right side of the referee and execute when we get chances.”
Maintaining their commitment while reducing the penalty count was also addressed by James Haskell, yellow-carded needlessly in the opening round against Italy. “I think we need to rein it a little bit. You can’t be mindless, and some of the penalties we gave away were mindless and just foolish.”
ITALY:A Marcato (Treviso); Mirco Bergamasco (Stade Francais), G Canale (Clermont Auvergne), G Garcia (Calvisano), M Pratichetti (Calvisano); L McLean (Calvisano), P Griffen (Calvisano); S Perugini (Toulouse), L Ghiraldini (Calvisano), M Castrogiovanni (Leicester), S Dellape (Toulon), M Bortolami (Gloucester), A Zanni (Calvisano), Mauro Bergamasco (Stade Francais), S Parisse (Stade Francais) capt. Replacements: F Ongaro (Saracens), C Nieto (Gloucester), C Del Fava (Ulster), J Sole (Viadana), P Canavosio (Viadana), A Bacchetti (Rovigo), G Rubini (Overmach Parma).
IRELAND UNDER-20 (v England):D Kearney (Lansdowne); R O'Mahony (Garryowen), I McKinley (UCD), E Sheridan (Lansdowne), M Keating (Clontarf); I Madigan (Blackrock College), M Healy (Lansdowne); P McAllister (Ballynahinch), T Sexton (Old Belvedere), J McGrath (St Mary's College), C Ruddock (Neath), J Sandford (Queen's University), R Ruddock (Millfield School), D Ryan (Lansdowne), P O'Mahony (Cork Constitution). Replacements: D McGregor (Ballynahinch), J O'Connell (Lansdowne), M Flanagan (UCD), M Noone (Seapoint), C Murray (Garryowen), S Gahan (Lansdowne), G Foley (Blackrock College).
