Wilkinson axed: Has the penny dropped for Martin Johnson?
Posted by Sport.co.uk on: 19 March 2010 - 09:38
Author: David Bavin
England head coach Martin Johnson named a much changed side to face France in this Saturday’s Grand Slam decider, and the most notable absence from the team sheet was Jonny Wilkinson. The talismanic fly half, so often England’s saviour with the boot, has been dropped form the starting XV for only the third time in his 12 year career. Whilst many of Johnson’s critics have been calling for big changes to a miss-firing England line up, few predicted that Wilkinson, who was passed fit to play on Saturday, would get the boot.
In light of such a raft of changes, and with the high profile binning of Wilkinson, are we beginning to see Johnson opt for form instead of the tried and trusted old-guard he has wheeled out time after time? After two years of conservative selection, is it now too late for Johnson to begin to bring through fresh talent before next year’s Rugby World Cup?
Experimental Johnson?
The England team to play France sees six changes from the side that drew with Scotland last week, with Lewis Moody and Simon Shaw coming back into the pack, and Mike Tindall making his return to international rugby in the centre. Wilkinson makes way for Toby Flood, so long his understudy at Newcastle, and the younger man now gets his chance to stamp his authority on the number 10 shirt.
It is also the inclusion of the Northampton duo of Ben Foden and Chris Ashton that is causing a stir in the rugby world. Whilst Foden has not yet started an England game, his cameos off the bench have been impressive, particularly against Scotland, where he attacked with the ball, rather than continuing the aimless kicking that blighted the game. Chris Ashton, the in-form Guinness Premiership winger, is handed his first cap this weekend, and for many it is long overdue.
Ashton’s 19 tries in the domestic campaign has placed him on the England radar, however he has yet to feature even as a replacement. Critics have used Ashton as the perfect example of Johnson’s conservatism in selection and a lack of trust in the new breed of England player.
Whilst Ashton and Foden’s involvement shows a willing change, the call up of Mike Tindall again shows Johnson’s conservatism. Tindall has played one game for Gloucester since returning from injury, and is brought in to deal with the devastating Mathieu Bastareaud. Why does Johnson not offer the chance to Shontayne Hape, who has been playing well all season for Bath and has been involved with the England set-up since the beginning of the Championship? Hape is, like Tindall, a big strong runner, and as a league convert is strong in defence. That Johnson has opted for his old mate Tindall, despite his lack of game time, still shows his reluctance to trust in fresh blood.
Wilko out
It is no secret that Jonny Wilkinson has had one of the unluckiest careers in international rugby, and the fact that he is still plying his trade after countless injuries is a testament to the player and the man. However the 2010 Six Nations campaign has seen Wilkinson struggle to find form and too often put boot to ball when the running option was on. He has been criticized for standing too deep in the pocket, so much so that defences have an age to react and kicking becomes the only viable option. This became glaringly obvious when Toby Flood replaced an injured Wilkinson against Scotland. Flood’s first attempt to attack the gain line resulted in him being turned over because his support players were not used to an attacking run, and were therefore 15 yards back with their hands on their hips!
Whilst Wilko’s trusted left boot has shown signs of wobbling- against Wales in the opening round he missed his first kick in a Championship start- he is still keeping the score board ticking over. As this is the only way England have looked like scoring points this Championship, has Martin Johnson cut off his nose to spite his face? As a points machine Wilkinson is one of the best, and consigning him to the bench could very well be the difference between a third and fourth place if the Championship comes down to points difference.
Floodgates open
The last Six Nations game that Toby Flood started at fly-half was against France in 2009. England won the game 34-10 and had scored five tries by the 42nd minute. Flood edged out a conservative Andy Goode last year to help England to second in the Championship, and that they finished with the highest try tally is an indication of his attacking style of play.
Johnson will well remember that afternoon at Twickenham; add to that the fact that Flood has steered Leicester to the top of Guinness Premiership and it is no wonder he again finds himself lining up against the French. There was a marked difference in England’s style after Flood took the pitch on Saturday, as they ran the ball from deep, and attacked with a passion that has been lacking for some time. Much of this was down to the mercurial Ben Foden, and the prospect of Flood, Foden and Ashton taking it to the French on Saturday should brighten even the gloomiest England fan’s horizon.
Where Flood does fall short to Wilkinson however is his place kicking. Memories of last season’s Six Nations defeat to Wales, where Flood missed a crucial penalty are still easily invoked. And Flood twice had the opportunity to steal the game away from Scotland with his boot on Saturday, with his long penalty falling just short and his dropped goal charged down. It would be a shrewd punter who would have bet against Wilkinson slotting either of those chances.
Answering the critics?
With little to lose against a heavily favoured French side, a cynical critic would argue that Johnson’s experimental selection is designed as little more than an answer to the critics that have hounded him since he took up the post in 2008. With the axe falling on Wilkinson, Johnson seems to be taking positive action, however as the most high profile squad member, is Wilkinson being made scapegoat by the England management?
If England continue to produce slow ball through ineffectual rucking then it may matter little who is first receiver, the opposition defence will have so long to read the play and organize accordingly that Flood will have little option but to kick.
Whilst it is true that Wilkinson stands too deep in attack and kicks to readily, more often than not this is down to the agonizingly slow ball being produced by the forwards. So a more effective change in the England camp would be that of tactics in the forwards, with the emphasis on producing quick ball. Therefore the removal of Wilkinson could be seen as Johnson appearing to act, instead of facing the much larger problem of England’s lack of attacking strategy in the forwards.
Too little too late
With the rugby World Cup a little over a year away, and a tough summer and autumn series ahead, Johnson has run out of time for squad development. If he has any designs on the Webb Ellis trophy then he must begin to trust in the new blood in the squad, because it is clear that the current set up is not working.
It is a good sign that Flood has replaced Wilkinson, not because he will do a much better job against an excellent French back line, but because it shows that Johnson is at last willing to make the difficult changes. Why not let flood have a crack when Wilko is struggling? Ben Foden should have replaced a poor Delon Armitage after the Italy game and Chris Ashton should’ve been in the starting 22 from the beginning. And whilst these changes are very welcome to England fans who want to see the team play with the ball in hand, unless there is a tactical change in the forwards, sadly we will see more of the same boring rugby.
Johnson has said that this is not the end of Wilkinson’s England career, and that he is very much still in the frame for the World Cup. However if England are to succeed in New Zealand, then Wilkinson, along with every other member of the squad, must be picked on good form rather than past reputations. If England can band together this Saturday and produce a heroic display of rugby to overturn France then there will be much back-slapping and congratulations. However it is imperative that English rugby fans don’t let the England coaching staff rest on their laurels, but continue to hold them to account, as this dire run of form cannot be allowed to continue.