Time for England to step up

POOL B England v Romania:Venue: Dunedin Kick-off: Sat. 7.0am OnTV: ITV, Setanta

AT SOME stage a vibrant, soaring England will replace the underperforming, frustrated bunch on show at this World Cup so far. In a couple of years, perhaps sooner, there is every chance English rugby will be in a happier place than now, for all sorts of reasons.

Whether that transformation can occur in the next fortnight is less certain. If it does, Martin Johnson may have to suspend temporarily his distrust of anyone clutching a camera or a notebook and thank the critics for helping to rescue England’s tournament.

The thicket of lenses awaiting the unfortunate Zara Phillips at Dunedin airport on Thursday has stiffened Team England’s desire to alter people’s perceptions of them.

It is already clear Johnson’s players have had enough of being lampooned. “We’re fed up with people having a go when we’ve got a lot of talent,” said James Haskell, among the squad members most obviously determined not to return home full of regret. “We want people to be proud of us, we want people to look up to this team.”

If England could have a single wish granted it would not be to wind back the clock but to start playing as they believe they can.

It is for that reason that Johnson has named a starting XV that he probably considers, barring the suspended Courtney Lawes and the injured Nick Easter and Matt Stevens, to be his strongest available combination.

The state of Easter’s sore back will be reassessed on Sunday, while Stevens has not quite recovered from his strained ankle. Had England been in better form, players such as David Wilson, Lee Mears and Joe Simpson might have been given a run but they now seem fated not to start a game whereas Haskell, Dan Cole, Chris Ashton, Manu Tuilagi and Ben Foden will have started all three.

The choice of Wilkinson at outhalf ahead of Toby Flood would also suggest the former will be preferred against Scotland next week, although Johnson’s reply on the subject – “I hope that doesn’t answer your question,” he told his interrogator – was not much of a clue.

Guardian Service