Some coaches, not least in New Zealand, are already selecting teams with a view to next year's World Cup, but Andy Robinson is refusing to look beyond Saturday night. Anyone looking for a personal hunch or a grand gesture in Robinson's England team to face Wales was always likely to be disappointed; all the head coach wants is the dragon's head on a platter by the most reliable means.
Given what happened last year it is easy to see why. Then, as now, England's first game was against Wales, and their narrow defeat set the tone for the disappointing campaign which followed. Robinson's rationale this time is that surmounting the initial hump in the no-nonsense equivalent of a 4x4 off-roader will make the rest of the journey a lot easier.
If that feels like short-term thinking when their rivals are studying the bigger picture, Robinson pleads guilty. "We all know what happened last year when we lost in the last five minutes of a poor game in Cardiff. One side went on to win a grand slam and we stuttered a bit," he said yesterday in the oak-panelled surroundings of Pennyhill Park, the England base in Bagshot where the ghosts of the 2003 World Cup-winning side lurk in every corner. "The important thing for me is that England beat Wales at the weekend and we develop from there."
That simple philosophy explains everything about Robinson's chosen XV. The midfield of Jamie Noon and Mike Tindall have had to endure some stick but, with Olly Barkley injured, they are again back in harness. Harry Ellis for Matt Dawson at scrumhalf and Matt Stevens at tighthead might surprise some, but both have started regularly under Robinson. Woe betide anyone, though, who accuses Robinson of being a conservative coach.
"People say we are conservative," he snorted, sounding suspiciously like a man intent on getting his retribution in first. "In the first minute of the New Zealand game in the autumn we were awarded a penalty, kicked to touch and scored from a driving lineout. If that's conservative, well . . . I don't know."
As a tactical option it hardly qualifies as devil-may-care, but Robinson believes such things are relative in a Test match environment.
There is also no doubting his satisfaction at being able to pick a bench which, should Wales pose initial problems, packs a heavyweight punch. Julian White and Simon Shaw are not the sort of replacements an opponent wants to see rumbling in their direction, and the same clearly applies to Lawrence Dallaglio.
It may be for that reason alone that Dallaglio has been chosen ahead of Sale's Chris Jones and Magnus Lund, both part of a heavy-duty Sharks backrow but not yet household names in the home counties. Dallaglio's club form for Wasps has not been as compelling as he would have liked, but, to his credit, the former England captain knows it.
"I have to be very realistic, the team has been playing well and one has to work one's way back," he admitted yesterday, reflecting on his bench status. "You have to prove you deserve to be there. Martin Corry's been doing a good job as captain, Joe Worsley's a very good number six and I don't play number seven, so we shall have to see. But the championship involves five tough games in a very short space of time and that will test the resolve of the squad in every position.
"It's a question of being in the right shape to take the chance when it comes. I will work incredibly hard and it's not something that's going to happen overnight. I broke my leg six months ago, so the position I'm in now is not a bad one. But there's a long way to go and I'm honest enough to admit that."
Dallaglio's ultimate goal is the World Cup in France in 2007, but he shares Robinson's view on the importance of an England win this weekend. "Every first Six Nations game is make or break. Beating England in Cardiff last year gave Wales the belief and the momentum to go on and capture the grand slam. It's a double-edged sword. If England win, it gets the tournament off to a good start and they can then build positively. If you lose you're immediately under huge pressure.
"It's a massive game for both sides. England at Twickenham are very strong and their record against Wales is very impressive. I think 1988 was the last time Wales won there. The flip side of that is Wales are the grand slam champions and you have to respect them for that."
Even though Wales will be without nearly half the side which claimed a first grand slam in 27 years last March for Saturday's visit to Twickenham, a ground where they last tasted victory back in 1988, their Lions scrumhalf Dwayne Peel believes they have nothing to fear from England.
Wales will field six players who did not start a match in last year's Six Nations Championship, although the experienced Colin Charvis is among them, and with Tom Shanklin injured, Gavin Henson suspended and Sonny Parker recently retired, they have gone for an untried pair of Hal Luscombe, who appeared on the wing last season, and Matthew Watkins in the centre.
"England may have a good record at Twickenham, but they are not unbeatable there," said Peel, who returns after missing the four November internationals with ankle trouble. "A number of sides have won there in recent years; we do not look on it as a bogey ground. We have talked a lot this week about not being afraid of performing. Everyone is confident."
Guardian Service
