Lawrence Dallaglio has warned England they risk getting "smashed" by Wales this weekend unless they undergo a fundamental shift in attitude and realise the full extent of their decline as a global power, whatever the exact make-up of the starting XV due to be unveiled by Martin Johnson at lunchtime tomorrow.
The former England captain could scarcely have been blunter last night at a sponsorship event, brushing aside the news that Mike Tindall has recovered from a back strain and is ready to resume his place in the centre. "We have this attitude at the moment where our players walk around thinking they are the bees' knees. There are a lot of guys who think they are there but they're not," said Dallaglio, as unimpressed as anyone by England's weekend performance against a poor Italy side.
In addition to believing that England are seriously short on quality, Dallaglio is also convinced they fall way short in terms of discipline and fitness. "You wouldn't be quaking in your boots playing England at the minute. If you picked your top five players in each position in world rugby, where would those England players slot in? There are not too many that would even make the top three or four. They need to set the targets higher. If we want to be the best team in the world some players have got to start giving a bit of hard work and sacrifice. "
"What I wanted to see after the Italy game was someone come out and say: 'We won and that has given us confidence but if we play like that next week we will get smashed.' If someone says that at least you have the feeling there is some realism there.
"They are not playing at a level anywhere near what it takes to win top- class international rugby matches. Ireland-France was just a different level of rugby."
As for discipline, England's recent flurry of six yellow cards in two games has also angered Dallaglio so much so that he believes repeat offenders should be axed. "Martin will be tearing his hair out about discipline. I wasn't shy of a yellow card but I only did it when I had to. At the moment we are just shooting ourselves massively in the foot. If you have to turn around to players and say, 'If you do that, I can't pick you because you are jeopardising the rest of the team,' then so be it."
The England management may well privately agree with Dallaglio's verdict but the timing is less than ideal. They need all the positive vibes they can muster ahead of Saturday's game and the availability of Tindall, as well as the Harlequins' winger, Ugo Monye, is clearly a boost. Danny Care, however, is destined to miss his second Six Nations game in succession after failing to shake off the ankle ligament injury he sustained slipping on icy steps last week. London Irish's Paul Hodgson has been summoned as cover, although his chances of featuring in the 22 at the Millennium Stadium would appear remote. The same applies to the Newcastle prop David Wilson and Leicester's Jordan Crane who both trained indoors with the senior squad in Reading yesterday in the absence of a number of players still suffering the physical after-effects of Saturday's uninspiring Italian job.
Closer analysis of the Italian game suggested England did not once keep possession through five phases against distinctly modest opposition, while their kicking out of hand was similarly off key. If Wales are given similar time and space in front of a raucous home crowd it could be carnage. Either way, England do at least have an extra day to recuperate compared with the Welsh and their sevens team have just won the Wellington leg of the IRB Sevens series. There is no cause to panic quite yet.
