Wales and England line up for Six Nations battle

By CHRIS HEWITT

LONDON - Just when you thought Clive Woodward was becoming more predictable than a Benny Hill joke and almost as defensive as a New Labour crisis management team, back he comes with a Six Nations selection straight out of left field.

England will travel to Cardiff this weekend with the most attacking formation of Woodward's 40-month tenure: Iain Balshaw at fullback, Dan Luger and Ben Cohen on the wings, Mike Catt and Will Greenwood at centre.

The heavy-duty tacklers, Matt Perry and Mike Tindall, are yesterday's men. It is a brave call, packed with potential but fraught with danger.

On the opposite bank of the Severn, the Welsh were also in remake, remodel mode yesterday. No sooner had England revealed four changes to the side that beat South Africa at Twickenham last December, than Graham Henry named a side showing seven alterations to the line-up that failed against the Boks in the last week of November.

Stephen Jones, the Llanelli outside-half, was confirmed as the Red Dragonhood's last line of defence, regardless of his utter ignorance of the full-back position.

If Woodward's selection was bold, Henry's was positively death-defying.

"Stephen may not have played 15 at this level, but his all-round skills will ensure that he will come to terms with the demands," said the New Zealander, who has watched last year's fullbacks, Rhys Williams of Cardiff and Matt Cardey of Llanelli, submerge themselves in a trough of despondency.

"If we had a Christian Cullen to call on, there wouldn't be a problem. But when the cupboard is a little bare, it's down to us to make a responsible decision."

Having witnessed the two biggest clubs in the Principality, Cardiff and Swansea, being taken to the Heineken Cup cleaners by English opposition last weekend, Henry was always likely to adopt a hard selectorial line for the first Wales-England game at the Millennium Stadium – indeed, the first on Welsh soil since 1997.

The touch players, Allan Bateman and Geraint Lewis, are dropped: Mark Taylor, impressively physical in his comeback match for Swansea on Sunday, rejoins Scott Gibbs in midfield, while the hard-nosed Martyn Williams gets a run in the back row.

There is a new combination in the front row, too, with Darren Morris and David Young propping Llanelli's Robbie McBryde.

By contrast, Woodward's tinkerings were not widely anticipated. There were obvious decisions to be made at tight-head prop and centre, but the manager and his advisers have gone far further than the situation demanded.

By shunning Perry, the outstanding defensive full-back in Europe, England have given Neil Jenkins an attacking avenue to explore, always assuming the Welsh pack provide their match-winner with some possession.

Balshaw is not exactly a rock under the high ball, so Jenkins will put snow on his initial kicks by way of examining the youngster's nerve.

Equally, the reshaped threequarter line is more fragile than it might be. Not so long ago, Woodward held up his hands in horror at the prospect of Catt and Greenwood linking in midfield: "We need a strong man, and Tindall is as strong as they come," the manager explained. So why the change of heart?

"Back in the autumn, I didn't think Will was playing well enough to merit selection at outside centre," Woodward said.

"I had no issues with him in the attacking sense, but there were questions over his defence. Those questions have been answered. Will is the form player in his position, and the same goes for Balshaw. In my view, there is nothing wrong with changing a winning team, provided you keep winning."

If England fulfil the bookmakers' expectations and win in Cardiff, their tight forwards, bolstered by the return of Martin Johnson as the second row kingpin and captain, will have a good deal to do with it.

There can be little argument with the 33-year-old Dorian West's promotion at hooker ahead of Mark Regan; West, the oldest man to make a first international start in the white shirt since the 35-year-old Gosforth prop Colin White went eyeball to eyeball with the All Blacks in 1983, has been in exceptional form for Leicester.

Something similar can be said for Phil Vickery, who has won the tight-head verdict over Julian White of Saracens.

Woodward has had the luxury of picking from strength, while Henry has been forced to make policy on the hoof. Luxury can breed contempt, though.

If England's all-singing, all-dancing plans go awry this weekend, they may find themselves in serious need of Messrs Perry and Tindall.

Teams:

England: I Balshaw (Bath); B Cohen (Northampton), W Greenwood (Harlequins), M Catt (Bath), D Luger (Saracens); J Wilkinson (Newcastle), M Dawson (Northampton); J Leonard (Harlequins), D West (Leicester), P Vickery (Gloucester), M Johnson (Leicester, capt), D Grewcock (Saracens), R Hill (Saracens), N Back (Leicester), L Dallaglio (Wasps). Replace-ments: M Regan (Bath), J White (Saracens), T Woodman (Gloucester), M Corry (Leicester), A Healey (Leicester), M Tindall (Bath), M Perry (Bath).

Wales: S Jones (Llanelli); G Thomas (Cardiff), M Taylor (Swansea), S Gibbs (Swansea), D James (Llanelli); N Jenkins (Cardiff), R Howley (Cardiff); D Morris (Swansea), R McBryde (Llanelli), D Young (Cardiff, capt), I Gough (Newport), C Wyatt (Llanelli), C Charvis (Swansea), M Williams (Cardiff), S Quinnell (Llanelli). Replace-ments: G Jenkins (Swansea), S John (Cardiff), A Moore (Swansea), G Lewis (Swansea), R Moon (Llanelli), A Bateman (Northampton), M Jones (Llanelli).

- HERALD CORRESPONDENT