England preparations:England, who learned yesterday they will be without the hooker Steve Thompson at this year's World Cup, were forced more immediately to fast-track the Harlequins wing David Strettle into their squad to face Ireland on Saturday after Jason Robinson, their leading Six Nations try-scorer, sustained a neck injury in training.
The head coach, Brian Ashton, remains hopeful Robinson will be fit and available to fly to Dublin with the team today amid unofficial medical reports the Sale captain had suffered a nerve injury which would ease overnight.
If the problem persists, however, Ashton will not hesitate to pick the untapped Strettle, currently the hottest finisher in the Premiership.
The 23-year-old has been in electric form for both Quins and England A in recent weeks and, with Mark Cueto just back from injury, is the next turbo-charged cab off the rank as far as the England management are concerned.
It would complete a rapid rise for a player who was still playing for Rotherham's Earth Titans last season.
But, for now, Robinson remains the man in possession and England will not want to lose a proven try sniffer who has already scored three tries in two Six Nations games this year.
The England outhalf Jonny Wilkinson, meanwhile, says he is "feeling good" despite missing Newcastle's game last weekend because of physical and mental fatigue.
Thompson, in contrast, is a long-term absentee after confirmation the 28-year-old will undergo surgery next week to correct a disc problem in his neck which creates a loss of feeling down one arm. His club, Northampton, say he will miss the rest of this season as well as the 2007 tournament in France, which starts in early September.
Yesterday, England were preoccupied with nullifying the midfield partnership of Brian O'Driscoll and Gordon D'Arcy.
In one significant respect England hold a trump card. Their defence coach, Mike Ford, was in the Irish set-up between 2002 and 2004 and would like to think he still knows Eddie O'Sullivan's defensive system pretty well.
"We've been working pretty specifically on what Ireland are going to do this weekend," said Ford. "Their defensive system hasn't changed much.
"Me and Brian have talked about where the weakest part of their defence is and what certain people are like under pressure. There's a lot of pressure on them to win a big game at Croke Park."
There is also enormous expectation on the shoulders of Andy Farrell, who has yet to encounter opposing centres of the calibre of the Leinster duo.
"He is going to get two guys with terrific footwork coming at him. They can hold the ball in either hand and have the ability to offload," said Ford.
"O'Driscoll's the top try-scorer in Irish history but, as a defensive coach, it's D'Arcy who worries you the most. He's got great acceleration, can step off both feet and is the catalyst for Ireland going forward.
"We've got to defend tight. If they do get on the outside of Andy the next defender can't drift wide and leave a gap as happened against Scotland in the build-up to their second try."
Ford, though, believes Ireland should be equally wary of Farrell when England get the ball. "He'll also offer a massive threat to D'Arcy and O'Driscoll. Although D'Arcy's a great player, he's not one of the biggest centres. To have a 16-stone, six-foot-four-inch guy running at you is pretty daunting."
Meanwhile, the International Rugby Board (IRB) will take a hard line on players and coaches criticising officials during the World Cup later this year, the governing body's referees chief said yesterday.
Paddy O'Brien said fines and suspensions would be imposed if individuals openly criticised officials outside the proper channels.
The New Zealander confirmed written complaints, backed by video evidence, would be given due consideration by the IRB in France, but public post-match comments would be punished.
