For the first time since the 1999 World Cup quarter-final, Jonny Wilkinson has been dropped by England. Danny Cipriani will make his first start wearing the No10 jersey against Ireland at Twickenham on Saturday. It's a brave decision by Brian Ashton. Although one which - with a little more luck and slightly better judgment - might have come in far less dramatic circumstances.

This has all become rather muddled. From a tactical point of view, replacing Wilkinson with Cipriani looks like a progressive, attacking move, geared towards getting England's back line moving forward and, hopefully, taking a few more risks. It's the kind of bold decision we expected from Ashton when he was first appointed. In which case, why has he waited until the most obviously make-or-break match of his tenure to make it? As a result, the pressure on both coach and new No10 has been ratcheted up even further.

Then there are the circumstances of Cipriani's omission from the Scotland game. With hindsight, Ashton has made a rod for his own back by taking such a tough stance - rightly or wrongly - against the player. Cipriani could have been blooded at full-back last weekend. Now he enters the fray as a debutant fly-half in place of the greatest points scorer in international history, under a disciplinary cloud, and is expected to play a major role in saving his coach's career. One thing seems certain. If Cipriani can succeed in replicating his club form under that level of pressure on three fronts, England will have quite a player on their hands.

Finally, it seems inexplicable that Wilkinson's is the only name absent from last week's team sheet. Inexplicable because so may other players - the inexperienced and obviously uncomfortable Lesley Vainikolo springs to mind - also performed very poorly. And inadvisable because in making just a single change Ashton throws the most unforgiving of spotlights on his boldest decision to date. Wilkinson will now be seen as the Ashton's scapegoat for Murrayfield; and, in turn, for England's entire dreadfully stuttering campaign. This isn't a resting, or a rotation. This is a very public ousting.

Which is a shame. Because - and here's the real point - it actually looks like a pretty good decision. Fair enough, Wilkinson, like any world class No10, will only play well when his forwards give him time and space. Against Scotland this didn't happen and he struggled, although not as badly as some would make out. But England have nothing to lose in giving Cipriani his head. You can worry too much about dropping players, particularly one of Wilkinson's stature. England's Six Nations campaign is effectively over. What can they take from it? A decent full debut from a talented 20-year-old fly-half would, at least, be a heartening endnote. Wilkinson is on the bench for Saturday and will probably play some part. Dropping him for a dead rubber match at the end of a disappointing campaign doesn't have to mean the end, or even the start of the end, of his England career. Ashton, intentionally or not, seems to be suggesting it might just be so.