Filed under: Rugby Union, Rugby World Cup, Internationals, England Rugby, Wales Rugby
There is nothing more England's players can do to convince manager Martin Johnson they are worthy of a place on the plane to the Rugby World Cup. Some may say they haven't done much to convince him in the first place, such was their showing in their loss to Wales.They failed to land a try on Saturday, for the first time in 14 Test matches, along with conceding a score and two penalties late on to watch the game slip from their grasp. And Johnson was understandably angry.
The phrase "plenty to ponder" has been trotted out by many since Saturday with regards to Johnson's selection headaches, many of which lie in who to choose for the spots from nine to 15. He must make his choices over who will make the cut for the 30-man squad by August 22.
Sure, there are also a couple of question marks over the strength in depth of the second and back rows of the scrum, but it is in the midfield where Johnson must think hardest.
Shontayne Hape and Mike Tindall, who were the centre partnership for the Six Nations so should be familiar with each other, did themselves no favours whatsoever, as England looked one-dimensional in attack. And Matt Banahan, a late replacement for Chris Ashton, showed he is no better as a winger than a centre.
Conversely Riki Flutey and last week's debutant Manu Tuilagi must be growing in confidence that they will be part of the 30-man party, if not in the starting line-up for the final warm-up game against Ireland on August 27.
Toby Flood is battling Jonny Wilkinson for the No.10 jersey and convinced few at the Millennium Stadium, as fans saw little of the clear-headed decision-making that was evident by the latter at Twickenham.
But to give Flood credit, he left nobody in any doubt over his feelings towards the 19-9 Wales defeat. And he is also of the belief that the problems against Wales lay in the men behind the pack.
He said: "I don't want to use the word embarrassing, but it is a little bit. It hurts, the fact we couldn't score a try. It is shameful. We can use harsh words because if you want to win a World Cup, tries are massive.
"That has left us in a position where we feel there's a huge amount of work to do in the next couple of weeks. If it was eight against eight, it would not have been close because we dominated up front."
England have a week off before the final squad announcement, while Johnson takes a holiday with his family. But it is safe to say that the time off for both the manager and his players will not be the most relaxing of short breaks.
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Source: http://www.fanhouse.co.uk/2011/08/15/wales-england-back-problems-toby-flood/
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