ENGLAND v ITALY Today, 3pm Twickenham Live on RTÉ 2 BBC 1:NOTHING HAS run smoothly for England over the past month and their litany of problems has been further extended by Mike Tindall, who has suffered a back strain on the eve of today's opening batch of Six Nations matches. Newcastle's Jamie Noon returns to the English midfield, although Martin Johnson felt unable to confirm Tindall's withdrawal until late yesterday evening.
Tindall (30), picked up the injury in the gym to complete a grim few days for Johnson, already forced to make an emergency change at scrumhalf after Danny Care slipped on icy steps and damaged ankle ligaments.
It took the England camp about 48 hours to acknowledge the Care-less whispers were true and Tindall’s latest misfortune, an open secret within the squad, is another example of ponderous communication. If England are as slow around the pitch today as they are in keeping their fans informed, it could be a long afternoon.
In Johnson’s defence, it has been an unenviable few days. England were unable to have their traditional captain’s run at Twickenham because of the wintry conditions yesterday and are now lacking at least half a dozen players the management were hoping to field.
Lewis Moody, Tom Rees, Michael Lipman, Toby Flood, Ugo Monye, Dan Hipkiss, Care and Tindall are all hors de combat and Matt Stevens will not be back in contention any time soon following his positive drug test.
The personable Noon will never let any team down but Tindall’s absence is a significant setback, not least in terms of the leadership qualities he can offer.
It also raises fresh queries about Mathew Tait’s place in the pecking order, the Sale player having become the third bench replacement to be overlooked for promotion to the starting line-up.
It should be clear by now that England are battening down the hatches, intent on weathering the early Azzurri storm and building pressure through no-nonsense methods alone.
The importance of patience and discipline has also been stressed.
“I don’t think we’ve got a disciplinary problem but, if that’s a perception, we have to end it right now,” warned Johnson. “We don’t want to give them cheap yards.”
Tucked away at the back of English minds, though, is the unthinkable prospect of defeat against opponents who have never beaten them. It should not happen, but the Italian scrum is as good as any and Mauro Bergamasco’s presence at scrumhalf supplies them with a third flanker at the breakdown.
A classic is distinctly unlikely, but Italy will be hopeful of causing their hosts maximum anxiety, particularly if they score early and do not get up the nose of the South African referee, Mark Lawrence, who is more sympathetic to attacking sides at the breakdown.
On their last trip to Twickenham two years ago the Italians lost by 13 points and there was a mere four-point margin in Rome last year.
REPLACEMENTS
ENGLAND: 16 Dylan Hartley (Northampton), 17 Julian White (Leicester), 18 Tom Croft (Leicester), 19 Joe Worsley (Wasps), 20 Ben Foden (Northampton), 21 Shane Geraghty (London Irish), 22 Mathew Tait (Sale Sharks).
ITALY: 16 Carlo Festuccia (Racing Metro Paris), 17 Carlos Nieto (Gloucester), 18 Tommaso Reato (Rovigo), 19 Jean-Francois Montauriol (Venezia), 20 Giulio Toniolatti (Capitolina), 21 Luke McLean (Calvisano), 22 Matteo Pratichetti (Calvisano).
Referee: Mark Lawrence (South Africa).
Assistant referees: Joel Jutge (France), Peter Allan (Scotland).
