England head coach Brian Ashton said dropping Jonny Wilkinson was "just another selection decision" and denied that the fly-half has been made a scapegoat for last weekend's Six Nations defeat to Scotland.
The World Cup winner's place has been taken by 20-year-old Danny Cipriani for the final match of the tournament against Ireland, but Ashton insisted that Wilkinson was still very much part of his plans.
"Jonny has not been as consistent during this tournament as he was in the latter stages of the World Cup. Performances have gone up and down, and I just felt Danny Cipriani has been playing exceptionally well at No10 [for Wasps]. Everyone is equal. From within the squad it's just another selection decision that needed to be made."
Ashton said Wilkinson had accepted his fate with customary grace. "He was very professional in his approach to it. Here is a guy that has scored more points than anyone else and he is still going to be a valuable member of the squad going forward.
"International rugby these days is more or less a 22-man game and he's part of the squad."
On Cipriani, Ashton added: "He's got a vast range of skills and I am hoping he will bring good authority on decision-making. Part of his job is playing without the ball - he needs to defend as well as attack."
Wilkinson's omission was the only change from the side that lost so poorly at Murrayfield, and Ashton said he was wary of a inflicting mass cull. "I've never been one for knee-jerk reaction, and whilst some players will admit they didn't play at Murrayfield, the guys I have selected, including Jonny, deserve another chance."
Defence coach Mike Ford described Wilkinson has the world's best defensive fly-half but backed Cipriani to ably fill his boots in that department on Saturday.
"Team-wise, we've trained very well today with Danny in there. He knows at the weekend he's going to have to front up. Danny's got the ability to do that," Ford said, adding of the ousted Wilkinson: "He's probably the world's best defender at No10."
Wilkinson is on the bench as cover for Cipriani and inside centre Toby Flood, who did not train today. But Ashton was confident Flood would be fit to resume tomorrow, saying: "There's no real doubt about him."