No rest for Jonny
By Mally (11/03/03)
March 11 2003
It was half expected that Jonny Wilkinson would start on the bench last Sunday & the England no. 10 shirt go to Charlie Hodgeson. However with Wilkinson's elevation to England Captain this obviously was not going to happen. However giving Jonny a weekend off was in Clive Woodward's plans...
The weekend in question was meant to be March 22nd/23rd when England take on Scotland, Woodward commented yesterday:
"Potentially I was going to start Charlie for Scotland and give Jonny Wilkinson a weekend off."
Charlie Hodgeson is to undergo a scan to assess the damage to his left knee, as he is the latest player to have suspected ligament damage. Dan Luger and Lawrence Dallaglio, were out for months with knee injuries.
The potential loss of Charlie Hodgeson could seriously upset England's World Cup planning, Wooodward describing it as a "huge, huge loss".
From an England point of view, the injury to Hodgeson puts more pressure on Wilkinson. Healey is injured, Greenwood quite rightly belongs in the centre not at fly-half, and although Paul Grayson and Alex King have featured in the recent England A games neither has ever really figured much in Woodward's England plans. Woodward has always regarded Jonny Wilkinson as his first choice, Charlie Hodgeson has become his number two, with younger players like Ollie Barclay being given experience on tour.
What England (and Newcastle Falcons) need now is a fit Dave Walder. Walder has suffered from being Jonny Wilkinson's understudy, but it should not be forgotten that he a world class fly-half, as he proved when England took on the Barbarians last May.
Would Falcons' be bottom of the Premiership if Walder was fit? Unlikely, the gaping hole left by Wilkinson's abscence for the England internationals (and then through injury) would not have been as noticeable. The Italy game demonstrated that with the World Cup coming up it's not only Newcastle Falcons' who need to have a back-up for Wilkinson.
Wilkinson to Captain England
