Ben Kay calls the tune in England's lineouts

By DAVID LEGGAT

Ben Kay occupies a special place in England's team: he can tell his captain what to do and not get Martin Johnson's celebrated hard stare.

The 27-year-old is Johnson's locking partner at test and club level, with Leicester, and he occupies the key role of calling the England lineouts.

At 1.98m, he obviously calls his own name - in that peculiar mix of numbers and names that form the lineout code - quite often.

But it would be only natural that just occasionally he might fancy telling his captain to get off the ground late in a tiring club match.

"Martin is a very receptive person and he generally responds positively to my ideas," he said.

Having made his debut against Canada in 2001, Kay was handed the leadership of the lineout in just his third test.

"It was the first game Andy Robinson [England's forward coach] was in charge," the amiable giant said. "He obviously recognised that I liked to look at the lineouts. Before then I'd look at my own lineouts and the opposition from a personal preparation point of view.

"He trusted me to do it and those first few went pretty well."

Carry on young Ben was the order. England have a formidable set piece with Johnson and Kay doing the donkey work and Richard Hill, who has been sorely missed in all but the opening game of the cup, the back-of-the-line target.

Kay has been known to plonk himself in front of his laptop and spend four hours in preparation for a test. "There is a lot to think about, the responsibility is a big one."

So what is the secret to a successful lineout operation?

In a nutshell, knowing your opponents' areas of strength, analysing what they like to do in certain areas of the pitch - 5m from their own line do they favour throwing to the front or back - making sure of winning your own throws and, Kay admitted, "quite a lot of luck".

"Five minutes from the end of a game you've usually got a good idea what your opposition have been doing to you, but you also have to concentrate quite hard.

"That's when somebody can throw something at you because nothing else has worked.

"There are certain lineouts you go to and you get a good feeling you might have a chance of pinching the ball. I can't put my finger on why, it's just a gut feeling that you can perhaps read what they're going to do."

It was Kay who stole the critical late lineout as the All Blacks were striving for a late, match-winning try at Twickenham last year. His star has risen steadily to the point where he is, probably after only Johnson and Jonny Wilkinson, the first name put down on the team list.

The son of one of England's highest judicial officers, Justice John Kay, and a gardening enthusiast, Kay spent a season with Queensland University, so when the barbs are flying towards "arrogant" England, Kay has a better sense of perspective on the issue than some of his team-mates. "I try not to read too much into it," he said with a smile. "We're used to it. I don't think we're ever going to change people's attitudes.

"The players try not to be arrogant. It's the old blazer brigade who give that impression. But we want to win things and if we're going to be really competitive you tend not to make friends all the time."

Back to Johnson and Kay, which even sounds like a law firm. There is a sitter of a good guy/bad guy routine here. One the strong, impressive straight guy, the other the sheriff of the pack, capable of dispensing whatever treatment is needed to keep his team on top.

Kay has seen at close hand the ruthless Johnson streak.

"We've got quite a good balance. We are different types of players, but it works well as a partnership," he added. That's for sure.

Indeed Kay has been on the receiving end of some Johnson justice. "In the test in Australia this year he stood on my foot. In the next game for England he smacked me in the face."

Of course he apologised afterwards ... "No. But he did promise it was an accident."

Inside Track

Name: Benedict James Kay

Born: Liverpool, December 14, 1975

Height: 1.98m. Weight: 112kg

Position: Lock

Test debut: v Canada, 2001

Test caps: 26

Age group: England under-18, under-19, under-21

Club: Leicester

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