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Injuries expose Johnson's lack of front row options
By Chris Hewett
Tuesday, 13 May 2008
When Willie John McBride, a British and Irish Lions captain of some repute, was asked to account for the ground-breaking victory over New Zealand in 1971, he replied: "We stopped believing in fairytale rugby." Thirty-seven years on, England are taking the "Alice in Wonderland" approach to union business. Last month, they went out of their way to get rid of Brian Ashton, the best attack coach in the country by a distance. This month, they are publicly advertising for – you guessed it, an attack coach. Brilliant.
If things go badly on the orthopaedic front, they may also find themselves advertising for a full-back, a hooker, and a tight-head prop. Martin Johnson, the new manager of the national team, spent yesterday with a pen in one hand and a stethoscope in the other, attempting to compile a list of 32 fit players for the forthcoming two-Test jaunt to All Black country. He will reveal his thinking at Twickenham today, uncomfortable in the knowledge that there are still three weekends of hard club rugby to be played.
Two important front-row forwards from Bath, the hooker Lee Mears and the prop Matt Stevens, were invalided out of last weekend's Premiership derby at Gloucester, and while the prognosis on Stevens is positive, there is considerable concern about his colleague, who rolled off the Kingsholm pitch clutching his collar-bone. Neither man can be spared, for these positions, once an English strength, are now exposed.
There are other issues for Johnson: the midfielders Jonny Wilkinson and Toby Flood are about to go under the knife; the wing Paul Sackey is on crutches; the versatile back James Simpson-Daniel needs surgery to correct a long-standing shoulder condition and feels trapped between the devil and the deep blue sea; Mike Tindall, a captaincy candidate in many eyes, had a scan yesterday on a damaged ankle and is waiting to hear the worst.
All things considered, Johnson cannot be too depressed at the thought of missing the matches in Auckland and Christchurch as a result of his wife's pregnancy. Rob Andrew, the director of elite rugby at Twickenham, has the job of heading up the tour, which many believe serves him right, following his ruthless disposal of Ashton. There again, he might relish the thought of three weeks out of the country, away from the stench.
Not that this will be seen as anything other than Johnson's squad. He has an enviable range of options in some areas, not least on the wing, where the recent form of Leicester's Tom Varndell, London Irish's Topsy Ojo and Saracens' Richard Haughton reduces the panic surrounding the likes of Sackey and Simpson-Daniel. The scrum-half position is also competitive, thanks to the return to fitness of Harry Ellis and the blossoming brilliance of Danny Care.
Yet no one has nailed the full-back berth, and there is an alarming lack of depth in Johnson's old position of lock. Steve Borthwick of Bath will surely be first pick, and if there is any justice in the world, he will be asked to build on his outstanding captain's knock against Italy in February, when he stepped in at short notice for the stricken Phil Vickery. He is likely to be accompanied by Simon Shaw and Ben Kay, although both are well into their 30s and subject to the law of diminishing returns. And the fourth second-rower? Er, um.
Some say the All Blacks will be there for the taking. They will have only one run-out, against Ireland in Wellington, before their first meeting with the red-rose army; several front-liner World Cup players have absconded to Europe; and thanks to the International Rugby Board, those remaining in New Zealand have spent the first few weeks of the season playing under daft experimental laws that will not be in force at Test level.
The point is well made, but Halley's Comet comes round quicker than an All Black defeat on home soil. If Johnson gets his first selection wrong, the consequences will be severe.
* The Worcester-bound full-back Chris Latham has played his last match for Queensland after injuring his shoulder in the Reds' Super 14 defeat by the Crusaders on Saturday.
Was the wait worth it - Ya betta baby 
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