On the principle of nothing ventured, nothing gained, England have rolled the dice boldly, making four changes for Saturday's international against South Africa at Twickenham. In come Matt Dawson, John Bentley, Neil Back and Danny Grewcock: out go Kyran Bracken, Adedayo Adebayo, Tony Diprose and Martin Johnson, who is suspended for punching.
Obviously not a man to feel hidebound by last week's decisions, the England coach Clive Woodward has reshuffled his elite squad with several audacious permutations in the wake of his team's 25-8 defeat by New Zealand at Old Trafford. If Phil de Glanville does not recover quickly from a twisted ankle received in training, there will be a fifth change with Nick Greenstock making his first Test appearance on home ground.
Woodward has also given a fresh vote of confidence to England's out-half Mike Catt, who received flak for missing three kickable penalties in the New Zealand match. The temptation to switch Catt to centre and pick Paul Grayson at out-half has been resisted: the Northampton man stays on the bench for the third Test running while Alex King, England's original first choice number ten, remains sidelined with a knee injury.
"Kicking is important but getting the players' mind-set on scoring tries is also very important," explained Woodward, in effect setting out his personal credo as national coach. It is surely no coincidence that Dawson, Bentley and Back are all try scorers in their own right as they demonstrated with unforgettable panache on last summer's Lions tour to South Africa.
Two of the players omitted, Bracken and Diprose, have shoulder injuries but Woodward hinted that he had changes in mind in any case, with Dawson, the Lions Test scrum-half, heading a queue of high-quality replacements. Indeed, the England coach suggested he might well have chosen another Lion, Tim Rodber (possibly replacing Richard Hill) had the Northampton number eight not been ruled out with concussion after leading an England XV in Tuesday's 18-11 defeat by the All Blacks in Bristol.
"We need to get our best back row forwards on the field together," declared Woodward, prompting one to wonder what he was doing in his earlier selections. "I thought Rodber had an outstanding midweek game but when I went into the dressing room afterwards, I learned he could not play again for three weeks. On Saturday, Lawrence Dallaglio will play at six, Hill at eight and Back at seven."
That was the same back-row combination that finished the Old Trafford Test in credit after Diprose had been replaced by Back at half-time. Unforeseeable then was the one-match ban on Johnson, whose place has gone to the fast-improving Saracens lock, Grewcock, another newcomer who was first capped by Jack Rowell in Argentina. Last year Grewcock was languishing in the second division with Coventry.
"My game has come on no end with Saracens because I have good players around me," admitted Grewcock. "Having Francois (Pienaar) as player-coach gives me and the rest of the lads a little bit more each time we play. He knows exactly what's going on and he keeps everyone working hard. I've never played at Twickenham before but I've been on a big learning curve since I came on to the England bench. We intend to get stuck in on Saturday."
Many critics felt Dawson deserved to be England's first choice scrum-half from the outset yet, ironically, he has been given a recall hard on the heels of two good performances by the injured Bracken. Perhaps mischievously, Woodward hinted that the Northampton player might also be called upon to kick goals, a task he has undertaken with some success for his club. Goal kicker or not, Dawson's Lions experience will stand him in good stead against the Springboks.
Without doubt the most provocative selection was that of Bentley, who will renew acquaintance with the controversial James Small, the most-capped player in the South African team. Though both men have been picked on the right wing, the potential for combustion cannot be ignored in view of Small's allegation that the Newcastle wing gouged his eyes when the Lions met Western Province in Cape Town last May.
Bentley, who hinted he may shortly part company with Newcastle, appeared to suggest yesterday that verbal provocation was a normal part of his repertoire - which may or may not please Woodward. Discipline, warned the England coach, would be essential if England hope to win. "Nobody can get away with any funny stuff nowadays with so many cameras around," he pointed out, as Johnson learned to his cost after punching Justin Marshall.
South Africa's World Cup winning hero of 1995, Chester Williams, has signed for an Italian club in a bid to regain his Springbok place.
The 27-year-old left wing has joined second division club Casale and will make his debut for them against Parma on Sunday.
Williams has played only a handful of games at any level since being a part of the victorious South African team in the 1995 competition.
He missed virtually all of the 1996 and 1997 seasons after sustaining separate knee injuries at the start of each season. He has signed a three-month contract with Casale to regain his form.
England: M Perry (Bath), J Bentley (Newcastle), P de Glanville (Bath) or N Greenstock (Wasps), W Greenwood (Leicester), D Rees (Sale), M Catt (Bath), M Dawson (Northampton), J Leonard (Harlequins), R Cockerill (Leicester), D Garforth (Leicester), G Archer (Newcastle), D Grewcock (Saracens), L Dallaglio (Wasps, capt), R Hill (Saracens), N Back (Leics). Replacements: P Grayson (Northampton), A Healey (Leics) or K Bracken (Saracens), G Rowntree (Leics), M Regan (Bath), C Sheasby (Wasps)
