Six Nations: Jonny's Back - Wilkinson Starts for England

It has been so long since Jonny Wilkinson played rugby for England that the prospect of him facing Scotland on Saturday seems surreal. The career of Twickenham's favourite son has been stuck on pause almost from the second he landed the winning drop-goal in the 2003 World Cup final and some were concerned that he would never relocate the fast-forward button.

Instead, having spent three years in and out of rehab, the perennial English patient is suddenly back in his national team's starting line-up for the first time since that life-changing moment in Sydney. The presence of the former Great Britain rugby league captain Andy Farrell's name among a January blizzard of 13 changes, two of them positional, would normally have hogged the headlines but there was no contest yesterday.

No wonder. There have been as many confirmed sightings of the Loch Ness monster since April 2003 as Wilkinson playing Six Nations rugby. Given the fly-half's chequered medical history, there is also clearly an element of risk attached to the decision of the new head coach, Brian Ashton, to whisk him into the Calcutta Cup starting line-up after only 50 minutes of competitive rugby in the past 12 weeks. What is impossible to deny is the instant sense of exhilaration and suspense on both sides of Hadrian's Wall.

Ashton's rationale is simple enough. He watched Wilkinson train last week, was hugely impressed by what he saw and, after a lengthy discussion with the player, decided there was as much chance of the 27-year-old being hurt playing for Newcastle as for England.

Importantly, Wilkinson's former director of rugby Rob Andrew was also in favour. "He is in a fantastic frame of mind and he was flying in training," said Andrew. "That's what convinced Brian. After having a long chat with Jonny he was convinced it was the right thing to do. I am sure it will be a massive morale boost for everyone, not just in the team but around the country."

The statistics back up Andrew's optimism. England have enjoyed an 82% success rate in the 52 Tests Wilkinson has been involved in. In the 46 matches they have played without him since his debut in 1998, that figure drops to 50%. With 817 points, he is also England's record points-scorer.

Not even Ashton knows precisely what to expect, given that Farrell has played only seven first-team games of union as a centre. It could be said this England team is a mix of something old, something new, something borrowed from rugby league - Farrell and Jason Robinson - and, in the battered Wilkinson's case, something black and blue. There is barely any resemblance to his predecessor Andy Robinson's last side; the only two players to retain the positions they filled against South Africa in November are Martin Corry, albeit minus the captain's armband, and Joe Worsley. Phil Vickery and Josh Lewsey, who must also feel like survivors of a particularly bad shipwreck, have been deployed in slightly different roles.

The key to the reshuffle is experience. Ashton does not have time to muck about and a lifetime in rugby has taught him that tossing a heap of youngsters into the crucible of Test rugby at the same time is a recipe for disaster. Tindall, Corry and Vickery will all be winning their 50th caps but Ashton has also shown faith in one or two of the younger breed, not least Sale's Magnus Lund. For some strange reason Robinson never seemed to trust him and always preferred Lewis Moody on the open-side flank. The half-Norwegian Lund now has his chance, with Louis Deacon and Harry Ellis also profiting from their involvement in Leicester's Heineken Cup triumph over Munster in Limerick.

England's line-up for the Calcutta Cup


Iain Balshaw
Gloucester

Age 27 Caps 28 Position Full-back

Josh Lewsey Wasps

Age 30 Caps 43 Position Right-wing

Mike Tindall Gloucester

Age 28 Caps 49 Position Outside centre

Andy Farrell Saracens

Age 31 Caps 0 Position Inside centre

Jason Robinson Sale

Age 32 Caps 39 Position Left-wing

Jonny Wilkinson Newcastle

Age 27 Caps 52 Position Fly-half

Harry Ellis Leicester

Age 24 Caps 13 Position Scrum-half

Perry Freshwater Perpignan

Age 33 Caps 2 Position Prop

George Chuter Leicester

Age 30 Caps 6 Position Hooker

Phil Vickery Wasps (capt)

Age 30 Caps 49 Position Prop

Louis Deacon Leicester

Age 26 Caps 3 Position Lock

Danny Grewcock Bath

Age 34 Caps 66 Position Lock

Joe Worsley Wasps

Age 29 Caps 52 Position Blind-side

Magnus Lund Sale

Age 23 Caps 4 Position Open-side

Martin Corry Leicester

Age 33 Caps 49 Position No8

Replacements L Mears Bath J White Leicester T Palmer Wasps L Moody Leicester P Richards Gloucester T Flood Newcastle M Tait Newcastle