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Wilkinson could get the boot
09/03/2008 18:20 - (SA)
Edinburgh - England's dire Six Nations
performance against Scotland makes it all the more remarkable
that they reached the World Cup final five months ago and have
beaten France in their last two meetings in Paris.
Such was the paucity of England ideas in Saturday's 15-9
defeat at Murrayfield on Saturday that British Sunday paper
reports were calling for the head of flyhalf Jonny Wilkinson,
whose drop goal won the World Cup in Australia in 2003.
Wilkinson, on the day he set an international points record
by taking his tally to 1 099, had his worst game for England,
poor in decision making and kicking out of hand. His only
redeeming factor was his always reliable place kicking.
The clamour for a quick reinstatement of Danny Cipriani must
be ringing in Brian Ashton's ears although the England coach
told reporters he had no regrets about dropping the 20-year-old
for "inappropriate behaviour".
Cipriani had been selected at fullback to make his first
start for England but was dropped after he was photographed
leaving a night club during the week.
It is possible that Ashton feared a slating by the British
media he if he did not punish the youngster in some way for
flouting team rules.
Instead, Ashton has been criticised for an over-reaction
that left England bereft of the sort of talent who could have
given them the spark for a victory at Murrayfield which would
have kept them in the title hunt.
Instead, a couple of days after he punished an act of
off-field indiscipline, Ashton found himself saying of his
team's on-field actions: "The single area we targeted this week
was the area we let ourselves down in...Indiscipline cost us the
game."
No guile
Ashton's England have performed like a yoyo in the
tournament, turning victory into defeat against Wales in their
opening match, yet beating France in Paris two weeks ago to
repeat their shock semi-final win in the World Cup.
In the absence of guile, England might have been expected to
bludgeon their way past the Scots but Jonah Lomu lookalike
Lesley Vainikolo never got going on a tearing run while on the
other wing Paul Sackey, a good runner if rather one-dimensional,
seldom got the ball.
Ashton was lost for an explanation for his team's woeful
game but the Scots were full of answers of their own with coach
Frank Hadden pointing out they had adapted better to the foul
weather while their lighter pack dominated England's vaunted
forwards.
Chris Paterson, whose four penalties took his tally of
consecutive goal successes to a remarkable 30, said Scotland,
after three defeats, had at last got in a performance they had
looked capable of after reaching the World Cup quarter-finals.
"This time we did the right things at the right time. We
forced turnovers, sat off them and made they play. That was
clever because while we gave them a few yards we were that much
harder to break down," Paterson told reporters.
Ashton, a vastly experienced coach now lost for answers, was
left to ponder: "I don't believe in miracles but given what we
were doing out there, if we'd won I might have started."
England close their campaign against Ireland, whose
performances have also been erratic and who lost at home to
Triple Crown winners Wales on Saturday, in a mid-table clash at
Twickenham next weekend.
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