FRANCE: England's prospects against South Africa in world rugby getting worse

England rugby coach Brian Ashton faces supreme test as he is forced to make several changes ahead of crucial South Africa game. England captain Phil Vickery will miss the key World Cup Pool A match against South Africa on Friday (September 14) after he was suspended for two matches on Tuesday (September 11) for kicking an opponent. Vickery, who will also miss the clash with Samoa, was banned after he was cited for kicking Paul Emerick during the world champions' 28-10 win over the United States on Saturday. England said they would consider lodging an appeal. Matt Stevens will take Vickery's place against South Africa with Perry Freshwater joining the replacements bench. England rugby coach Brian Ashton faces the supreme test of his career this week as he is forced to wade through the chaos of his disintegrating squad to prepare a team for the toughest game of his tenure. Facing South Africa in the key Pool A game on Friday was going to be tough enough in any circumstances. Now, one week into the tournament, Ashton is losing players in every direction. Apart from losing Vickery, the coach had already made several changes from the team who performed so poorly against the United States, with former captain Lawrence Dallaglio, Joe Worsley and Mark Cueto left out and Jason Robinson switching to fullback. Winger Paul Sackey and back rowers Martin Corry and Nick Easter have been named in the starting XV. Flyhalf Jonny Wilkinson, who missed the opening 28-10 victory over the United States with ankle ligament damage, remains a long shot and was not named on Tuesday in the team to face the Springboks at the Stade de France. Olly Barkley, one of the few players to impress in Lens, was set to continue in Wilkinson's place but another training injury, this time a damaged hip flexor, means he will undergo a scan later on Tuesday. To complete Ashton's woes, backs Mathew Tait and Danny Hipkiss, among the few truly creative talents in the squad, have both been in isolation with illness since the weekend and are both struggling to make the bench place Ashton has left open. If neither Wilkinson nor Barkley makes it, Ashton has got real problems, not least in the goalkicking department Centre Mike Catt could move inside, with replacement Andy Farrell another option, though neither are regular kickers. There is also the option to fly out a replacement, who must come 48 hours before kickoff with one player going home. Toby Flood, unlucky to be left out of the original squad, or Charlie Hodgson, who has been out for months with knee ligament damage, would be the frontrunners. Ashton said he had recalled former captain Corry to boost the lineout while he expects Easter, who scored four close-range tries in the warm-up win over Wales last month, to introduce some threat from the base of the scrum. Ashton told a news conference after training at Versailles on Tuesday before Vickery's ban: "As you all know, Phil Vickery is attending a citing hearing this afternoon and obviously, dependent on the outcome of that, will depend whether he starts or not on Friday night and if he doesn't, you have presumably worked out yourselves what the alternatives are: Matt Stevens will come in and Perry Freshwater onto the bench." Referring to the flyhalf position, Ashton commented: "If Olly (Barkley) is not fit and Jonny (Wilkinson) becomes fit, then problem solved. But we just don't know. I mean, we're talking complete speculation now because we don't know the nature of Olly Barkley's injury. I don't know, I'm not entirely certain where Jonny Wilkinson's up (to) until he comes back in terms of his rehab(ilitation)."

ITN Source | September 12, 2007

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