Wilkinson the Scapegoat As Cipriani Steps Up for England

Jonny Wilkinson has won a World Cup for his country and become the highest scorer in the history of international rugby union but his days as an automatic selection for England are over. The planet's most famous fly-half was dropped from the national team in favor of Wasps' Danny Cipriani yesterday and will start this weekend's concluding Six Nations game against Ireland on the replacements bench for the first time in almost nine years.

Wilkinson, perhaps surprisingly, is the only casualty in a starting line-up which stumbled to defeat in Scotland last Saturday. The 28-year-old has been made the scapegoat for his team's recent problems as his head coach Brian Ashton seeks to salvage something from the Murrayfield wreckage. Ashton, instead, has opted for the 20-year-old Cipriani, who was due to face the Scots as a full-back last weekend until his visit to a central London nightclub. "Jonny's had an inconsistent Six Nations and we were looking to give Danny a start at some stage," explained Ashton. "Jonny took the news very professionally ... for all we know he could still come on, have a blinder and win the game."

Wilkinson is back where he started a decade ago when, as an 18-year-old, he came off the bench against Ireland to become England's youngest-ever player. His form this season, however, has been mixed and his display against Scotland was among his worst in an England shirt. Last night he vowed to fight to regain his place. "I still desperately care about what I do. The fire is still there," he insisted.

There might even be an early reprieve for Wilkinson should his Newcastle team-mate Toby Flood fail to recover from a bruised shin. Luke Narraway is also standing by for a bench role in case the flanker James Haskell fails to recover from an ankle problem, while No8 Nick Easter also missed training in Bath yesterday. James Simpson-Daniel, who might have been preferred to Lesley Vainikolo on the wing, was not considered because of injury.

The stakes are increasingly high but the head coach brushed aside speculation about his future. "I cannot control what other people say. It's another international game. There's always pressure when you're England coach." Ireland will be captained by fly-half Ronan O'Gara in the absence of the injured Brian O'Driscoll.