England will field their fifth different half-back combination in six Tests on Saturday after putting the unfortunate Charlie Hodgson out of his misery today. Hodgson and his Sale colleague Richard Wigglesworth have both been jettisoned from the team to face the All Blacks, with Toby Flood and Danny Care assuming the key roles in a much-changed back division.
Partly as a consequence of England's defensive fragility in their 37-20 defeat in Auckland there is also no place for Olly Barkley in the starting XV, with Jamie Noon and Mike Tindall paired together for the first time in more than two years. It is a clear attempt to plug the holes exploited by the powerful Ma'a Nonu and does little to address the creativity problems in the visitors' midfield. "Does variety in attack come before defence? Probably not," admitted England's defence coach Mike Ford.
If the omission of Hodgson and Wigglesworth was sadly inevitable, there is also a shot at redemption for the Leicester wing Tom Varndell, not sighted in an England jersey since his ill-fated tour to Australia under Andy Robinson two years ago. The leading try-scorer in the Guinness Premiership last season has a chance to impress in place of David Strettle, having rebuilt his confidence since being sent to Bedford on loan in the autumn of 2006. "Getting loaned out to a division one side was pretty embarrassing," acknowledged Varndell, who was first capped as a teenager. "A lot of hot air was blown up my arse and I think it went to my head. I've learned a lot, adapted my game and I think I've come out a better player."
With Mathew Tait starting at full-back in place of Mike Brown, it leaves Topsy Ojo and Tindall as the only survivors from the three-quarter line at Eden Park. England's new manager Martin Johnson is due to unveil his first 32-strong elite player squad on July 1 and will have to make half a dozen extremely tight calls. Varndell, in particular, has a perfect opportunity to stake a claim, possibly at the expense of Ojo and Strettle, if he can reproduce his best form opposite the prolific Sitiveni Sivivatu, who has registered 23 tries in 23 Tests.
Flood can also advance his reputation, although he has not started as England's fly-half for 15 months. He and Care played together for England Under-21s a couple of years ago and both are attacking players by nature. On this occasion they need to demonstrate their resilience in the wake of Hodgson's brutal reality check. The management insist, however, that the latter is not resigned to a permanent Test exile. "He realises he needs to improve and is going to work very hard to do so," said Ford.
New Zealand, meanwhile, have called up two debutants in a starting XV showing four changes from Auckland. Richard Kahui, a 23-year-old centre from Waikato, and Rudi Wulf, the North Harbour wing, are both set to win their first caps, with Graham Henry opting to rest the in-form Conrad Smith. Wulf's selection completes a remarkable personal comeback by the 24-year-old, who broke his neck in a swimming pool accident in 2005.
Henry also dismissed complaints by England's caretaker manager Rob Andrew that the All Black captain Richie McCaw is permanently offside at the breakdown. "It happens every time we play European sides ... he's the best in the world at that skill and people find it hard to handle." He was equally bemused by Andrew's concern about referees staying in the same hotel as the host squad in Test match weeks. "I didn't even know Nigel Owens was in our hotel," shrugged Henry. "Jonathan Kaplan [Saturday's referee] is welcome in any hotel he wants to stay in."
Teams for Saturday's second Test
New Zealand: MacDonald (Canterbury); Sivivatu (Waikato), Kahui (Waikato), Nonu (Wellington), Wulf (North Harbour); Carter (Canterbury), Ellis (Canterbury); Tialata (Wellington), Hore (Taranaki), Somerville (Canterbury), Thorn (Tasman), Williams (Tasman), Thomson (Otago), McCaw (Canterbury, capt), So'oialo (Wellington).
Replacements: Mealamu (Auckland), Woodcock (North Harbour), Boric (North Harbour), Lauaki (Waikato), Cowan (Southland), Donald (Canterbury), Muliaina (Waikato).
England: Tait (Newcastle); Ojo (London Irish), Tindall (Gloucester), Noon (Newcastle), Varndell (Leicester); Flood (Newcastle), Care (Harlequins); Payne (Wasps), Mears (Bath), Stevens (Bath), Palmer (London Wasps), Borthwick (Bath, capt), Haskell (London Wasps), Rees (London (Wasps), Luke Narraway (Gloucester).
Replacements: Paice (London Irish), Hobson (Bristol), Kay (Leicester), Worsley (London Wasps), Richards (London Irish), Barkley (Bath), Strettle (Harlequins).
