The decision on whether or not to drop Jonny Wilkinson for England's showdown with Wales this weekend has been taken out Brian Ashton's hands by news that the fly-half has not recovered from the hamstring problem that caused him to miss Sunday's win over France.
Hailed as a hero after his triumphant return to international duty against Scotland on the first weekend of the Six Nations, Wilkinson was widely panned for his ineffectual display during England's record defeat to Ireland in Croke Park. He got injured in the build-up to the French match and was deputised by his Newcastle club colleague Toby Flood, who eclipsed Wilkinson with a performance of encouraging verve and penetration, allied to flawless kicking. When a dead leg forced Flood off the pitch in the second half of that game, 20-year-old Shane Geraghty stepped into the breach and arguably made an even more impressive impact, setting up the second try with a wonderfully opportunist dash through the French defence.
Geraghty's adventure and his understanding with new England captain Mike Catt, a team-mate at London Irish, mean many observers tip him to be picked to start in Cardiff. But Flood has also won many admirers and, should he recover in time, would also be a popular choice.
Writing off Wilkinson may be as premature as hyping up the newcomers, but the fact is that the young guns have blazed such an exciting trail that - and this is the encouraging paradox for England - the national team management may, at least temporarily, be thankful that the man still considered by many to be the best fly-half in the world is injured; otherwise they may have had to put Wilkinson to the sword.
Stephen Jones, meanwhile, has been passed fit to lead an unchanged Wales team into Saturday's game, despite taking a punch to the face during last weekend's defeat to Italy. Head coach Gareth Jenkins is confident Jones will be ready to start against England as Wales look to end a run of four straight Championship defeats. Team physio Mark Davies has also cleared prop Chris Horsman (ankle) and hooker Matthew Rees (calf), allowing Jenkins to name an unchanged 22-man squad.
Wales let a seven-point lead slip against the Azzurri last weekend, which leaves them facing a potential wooden spoon. But Jenkins has kept faith with his men and challenged them to repay that belief with a victory. "The message is not that we got everything right last week, but that we believe this group of players is capable of getting it right - and capable of beating England," said Jenkins. "They have a second chance as a group to prove what they can do and we are all backing them to do it. We haven't won a game in this Championship and that hurts the whole squad and management team - but we said we had been able to select our strongest side against Italy and we still believe that to be true and have endorsed that selection this weekend."
Wales team: K Morgan (Newport Gwent Dragons); M Jones (Llanelli Scarlets), T Shanklin (Cardiff Blues), J Hook (Ospreys), S Williams (Ospreys); S Jones (Llanelli Scarlets, capt), D Peel (Llanelli Scarlets); G Jenkins (Cardiff Blues), M Rees (Llanelli Scarlets), C Horsman (Worcester), I Gough (Newport Gwent Dragons), A-W Jones (Ospreys), A Popham (Llanelli Scarlets), M Williams (Cardiff Blues), R Jones (Ospreys). Replacements: TR Thomas (Cardiff Blues), D Jones (Ospreys), A Jones (Ospreys), B Cockbain (Ospreys), J Thomas (Ospreys), M Phillips (Cardiff Blues), G Thomas (Toulouse).
