Robert Kitson on the man who proves there is life after Wilkinson

The high road or the low road? By tonight we should all have a better idea where Andy Robinson's new England are headed and, perhaps, a keener appreciation of the man who is effectively their satellite navigation system. Once it was Jonny Wilkinson who called the shots from number ten. These days the player whom England's coaching staff most dread losing just before kick-off is Charlie Hodgson.

Most sides nowadays have multiple leaders. Apart from the captain Martin Corry, Lewis Moody and Mike Tindall have key defensive responsibilities and Steve Borthwick is the lineout coordinator. The players who comprise the spine of a team - 2, 8, 9, 10, 15 - also have fundamental roles but the key decision-maker remains the outhalf. "At the end of the day your flyhalf dictates how you play," insists Andy Goode, Hodgson's deputy. "Charlie's making every call in attack." In other words, for all the input of his colleagues, Hodgson is England's new heartbeat.

This will be the Sale player's 17th successive Test start, during which time he has matured into a player of sure-footed international class, with 228 points in 24 games. If there is anyone out there still squinting at the team sheet and yearning for Jonny, they have not been paying attention. When you scratch the surface and discover more about how England operate, Hodgson's worth becomes still more apparent. England have scored 10 tries in winning their first two games and Hodgson's calm influence and shrewd game management have been a major factor.

The 25-year-old is not just the team's best distributor, line-kicker and goal-kicker. At his best he has the most creative pair of hands of any outhalf in the world, impressive speed off the mark and enviable vision. The thinking man's midfield orchestrator, Will Greenwood, once came in from an England training session during Hodgson's early days with England to proclaim that for the first time in a lengthy career he had finally encountered someone fully on his wavelength.

Gone, too, is the uncertainty of last season when missed goal-kicks contributed to a home defeat against the French and, by his own admission, the pressure got to him. Twelve months on he is infinitely more assured, at the hub of England's tactical development. Not every England fan may be aware, for example, that their team have stolen an idea from American football to help their "quarterback" - ie Hodgson - make the correct calls. Goode's wife is American and his favourite NFL team is the Tampa Bay Buccaneers; from Florida, therefore, has come the "buddy" system whereby a team-mate in the stand helps the key decision-maker. Keep an eye out today for Goode, down on the touchline, in discussion with England's attack coach Joe Lydon. They will not merely be discussing the weather.

The advice that arrives during water breaks is also more succinct than during the Woodward era. "You don't get so many crackpot suggestions these days," says one unnamed senior player. Hodgson and Corry say they prefer the drip-drip of information and touchline tic-tac gestures to a blizzard of interval stats. "Up in the stand the coaches can see the bigger picture," Corry concedes. "Sometimes it is of huge benefit to get a message which reinforces what you've done in training."

The trick is not to overload your outhalf with advice. "We don't want Charlie looking around thinking: 'I wonder what Joe Lydon is thinking?'," admits Robinson. The gifted 10s of yesteryear like Barry John and Mark Ella will be shaking their heads and recalling the age-old truth: that great players react instinctively to what is in front of them. But Hodgson reckons the game has changed so much he would be crazy not to seek touchline help. "As the game gets faster and more physical, it's cutting down the time you get to make decisions. You rely a lot on people feeding you information."

Yet he has no desire to enter the prescriptive world of gridiron. "I'd find it hard having somebody in my ear the whole time. You play the game because you want to make your own decisions and judgments."

Guardian Service