RUGBY:MIKE TINDALL is prepared to postpone his honeymoon so he can make his comeback from an ankle operation in England's World Cup warm-up match against Wales on August 6th.
The Gloucester centre is set be sidelined for the rest of the season after undergoing surgery to repair ligament damage suffered during England’s Six Nations title campaign.
Tindall is due to marry Zara Phillips in Edinburgh on July 30th but he has told England manager Martin Johnson he will be available to face Wales the following weekend if called upon.
“He spoke to me and said he is getting married at the end of July. I said it is a week before the first game and he said ‘right, I’m available’,” Johnson said. “We will have further conversations. There is a lot to play out between now and then.”
England play three times in August – twice against Wales and once against Ireland – as preparation for their World Cup campaign, which kicks off against Argentina on September 10th.
Johnson will bring a training squad of up to 50 players together for an extended camp on June 20th, with the final 30-man World Cup squad to be confirmed by August 22nd.
The England coach is not concerned Tindall’s enforced lay-off will affect his chances of competing at the tournament. “Not a guy of his experience, no,” Johnson said.
Johnson has given the strongest indication yet he would like to continue in the “addictive” job of England manager beyond the end of this year’s World Cup. Johnson’s current contract – and that of England attack coach Brian Smith – expires at the end of December.
The Rugby Football Union do not see any need to instigate talks about a renewal until after the tournament in New Zealand, a position Johnson says he is happy with. But Johnson relished his involvement in England’s Six Nations title success and yesterday pointed for the first time towards a longer-term future at the helm.
Asked if he would still like to be England manager this time next year, Johnson said: “Yes. It is a very addictive job in that way, even the stress and disappointment. Yesterday is always the worst day of the year in a way because you have been in a long tournament and then you are sitting there with no players to deal with. It is a very good group to be around. When you get that time together and that continuity and the success, that is what you do it for.”
Meanwhile, Tom Prydie’s hopes of challenging for a place in the Wales World Cup squad appear to be over. The Ospreys wing will undergo knee reconstruction surgery later this week after being injured during a Magners League game against Glasgow. And he is expected to be sidelined for six to eight months. Prydie became the youngest Wales international of all-time last season, making his Test debut at the age of 18 years and 25 days against Six Nations opponents Italy.
Prydie, now 19, then went on to score a try against world champions South Africa in Cardiff before touring New Zealand during the summer and featuring in both appointments with the All Blacks. But he has now been overtaken in the Wales pecking order behind Shane Williams by wings like Leigh Halfpenny, George North and Morgan Stoddart, suggesting World Cup selection would have been an uphill battle.
