England vs. Ireland 18/3/06 - RBS Six Nations Match Preview

by Ed Budge

Well, blow me down. Stuart Abbott! The South African born Wasp will this weekend become the first inside centre of considerable calibre and even moderate suitability to don the 12 shirt for England since this time last year, and it's about time, too. Abbott's vision and devastating sidestep (one matched only by a Mr J Robinson of Sale) will be a refreshing break from the fare served up by England's midfield, but if we've covered that once, we've covered it a thousand times. It's only the fact that Abbott has remained absent from every last one of the match day 22s named during Mr A Robinson's tenure that makes this decision a surprise. The great pity is that it's taken a Parisian humiliation of considerable grandeur to provoke this unclogging.

Abbott's inclusion is one of 6 unforced changes for this Saturday, when the curtain will fall on this year's VI Nations at Twickenham. One could argue that, along with Andy Goode standing in at stand-off for the injured Charlie Hodgson, every last alteration is entirely necessary. In the pack, Danny Grewcock, Steve Thompson and Julian White are carrying the can for the pack's failure to front up in Paris, and are replaced by Simon Shaw, Lee Mears and Andrew Sheridan. The back row remains exasperatingly untouched, and although every change in the tight five is a cap doffed to increased mobility and ball-handling, England's loose trio (described as one-paced or no-paced, depending on the individual's level of vitriol) will be the same one that failed to produce any quick ball in two consecutive away matches.

Josh Lewsey, long considered one of the few 'untouchables' who can claim the moniker on merit, has been axed for his Wasps teammate Tom Voyce and, unlike the squad's other casualties, does not even make the bench. One can only assume that an injury in the back three will see David Walder of Newcastle at full-back for his VI Nations debut. Ben Cohen retains his place on the left wing; his solitary try and negligible contributions in his last 6 games deemed adequate buffers to the claims of James Simpson-Daniel, Tom Varndell and, of course, Lewsey. Jamie Noon and Mark Cueto are also left exactly where they were despite a raft of exciting alternatives, but with Harry Ellis replacing Matt Dawson, it may have been wise to keep at least a couple of England's backs in place.

In stark contrast, Eddie O'Sullivan has named an unchanged side from that which pinned Scotland into a small corner of Landsdowne Road for 80 minutes last Saturday. And why not? What better way to round off St Patrick's weekend than by securing the VI Nations title, or at worst, a share of it with England's Gallic conquerors. The only areas of controversy have either been addressed or are devoid of replacements. A stuttering backline loaded with individual talent is slowly knitting itself together, and Peter Stringer and Ronan O'Gara are dictating matters with the authority of a Victorian schoolmarm.

The Irish scrum is not looking too hot, however. Almost 40 stones of front row bulk will collide when John Hayes locks horns with Andrew Sheridan for the third time this season, and the tournament's two best line-outs will do their level best to dismantle each other. Despite the home side's musical chairs and the model of Irish consistency to which we are being treated, this should once again be England's best chance of dominating the contest.

Ireland's best chance comes behind the front five. David Wallace and Simon Easterby have been providing as much quick ball as anyone else in the competition, and while Denis Leamy may not be everybody's idea of a typical number 8, his impression of a bull elephant on speed is certainly making his flankers' jobs a lot simpler. Should anything happen to one of them, they are covered on the bench by Jonny O'Connor, who displaces Mick O'Driscoll after recovering from a groin injury. As we could all have assumed, Ireland will try to attack through their centers, and frankly so would everyone if those centers were Brian O'Driscoll and Gordon D'Arcy. While the pair are not quite at 2004 standards yet, they are getting close. If this doesn't present an adequate test of Abbott's international credentials, I don't know what will.

But the most intriguing test of the weekend will be, as usual, placed on the desk of Andy Robinson. What has been described as an axe-wielding selection has essentially seen the bench replacing the starters, with the exception of Abbott who has been picked by the media as much as anything. It gives me a very uneasy feeling. Has Robinson recognised a problem, or have we just witnessed another knee-jerk reaction? Robinson said, at the press conference on Tuesday, "Had we beaten France, we'd have kept the same team." Really, Andy? Even if we'd won by a point, played terribly, and only scraped home while France were down to 12 men?

The inconsistency of the changes is unsettling, but we will only see on Saturday if the England head coach is writing down the same answers with a different set of pencils. Rest assured, if they kick down the middle of the field to Geordan Murphy, fail to contest the breakdown, bludgeon the inside channels all evening and defend too deep, they will lose. Even should this happen, Robinson's job is safe until after 2007, but with Martyn Thomas' talk of a backroom shake-up was any more than an idle threat, defeat should see the back of Phil Larder and Joe Lydon faster than you can down a pint of Guinness (in this writer's case, not all that quickly).

France have now beaten England three years running, and the Irish may find that emulating their rivals is easier than they might have expected. Ireland won't be intimidated by the Twickenham factor - whatever that is these days - having won on their last visit, and I wouldn't be at all surprised to see them do it again.

England: T Voyce; M Cueto, J Noon, S Abbott, B Cohen; A Goode, H Ellis; A Sheridan, L Mears, M Stevens; S Borthwick, S Shaw; J Worsley, L Moody, M Corry (Captain) Replacements: S Thompson, J White, D Grewcock, L Dallaglio; M Dawson, D Walder, M Tindall.

Ireland: G Murphy; S Horgan, B O'Driscoll (Captain), G D'Arcy, A Trimble; R O'Gara, P Stringer; M Horan, J Flannery, J Hayes; M O'Kelly, P O'Connell; S Easterby, D Wallace, D Leamy. Replacements: R Best, S Best, D O'Callaghan, J O'Connor; E Reddan, D Humphreys, G Dempsey.

Bookmark or share this story with:

• Digg
• Delicious
• Facebook
• Reddit
• Stumbleupon

SPORTNETWORK SPECIALS

• Think you know your sport? Click here to try the Sportnetwork Prize Quizzes