England's head coach, Andy Robinson, kept faith with his captain, Martin Corry, yesterday and pleaded for patience from the Twickenham crowd as they attempt to avoid being labelled the worst rugby team ever to represent their country.
Defeat to South Africa on Saturday would represent England's eighth loss in a row, an unprecedented sequence in their 135-year history. Robinson, having declined resignation after Saturday's 25-18 embarrassment against Argentina and in effect with two games to save his job, is sticking by Corry in a selection which shows seven changes and three positional switches. Only 24 hours earlier the Rugby Football Union's elite rugby director, Rob Andrew, highlighted poor leadership as one of the factors in England's recent downturn and made it clear the 33-year-old Corry's position was under threat. There are not a vast range of alternatives, however, and Robinson has opted to give the Leicester captain one more chance.
"I thought it was right Martin stayed as captain," said Robinson, impressed by Corry's honesty following the Argentina defeat. "It takes a brave man to say it was the players' fault. It's important we have people who are prepared to stand up and take responsibility. To shoot him and say 'Thank you, Martin' would have been totally wrong. He led the side well against New Zealand, although he was disappointed with his performance against Argentina."
Corry has been moved to his preferred No8 position, Pat Sanderson switches to the openside and Joe Worsley, renowned for his tackling, has been recalled at No6. "The back row hasn't worked as well as we would have liked. Some of you might say I told you so," said Robinson, who has previously insisted on playing Sanderson at No8 and Corry on the blindside.
The pack has undergone two further changes, with Sale's Andrew Sheridan returning at loose-head prop for the injured Perry Freshwater, and Tom Palmer is chosen ahead of Danny Grewcock in the search for more mobility. Phil Vickery is a reassuring figure on the bench but the World Cup-winning prop has played the equivalent of only four games since recovering from his third neck operation. He has not featured in an England squad for 12 months and his friends and family can only hope he is not being rushed back too soon despite England's predicament. In contrast, Magnus Lund and Stuart Turner, fringe players aching for a chance, are nowhere to be seen.
There are also interesting calls behind the scrum, where Charlie Hodgson, hauled off against the Pumas after 52 minutes, has been retained at fly-half in a new half-back pairing with Gloucester's Peter Richards. The injured Paul Sackey is replaced by Mark Cueto and there is a recall for Mathew Tait, the Newcastle centre who has come to symbolise the often-muddled thinking of the Robinson regime.
Tait gained his first cap against Wales in February 2005 only to be dropped after one appearance. He is a more mature figure now and will be alongside his Falcons' team-mate Jamie Noon, who edges out Anthony Allen. While both men are natural outside-centres, Robinson is banking on Tait's pace unsettling the Springbok midfield following his recovery from knee surgery and a thigh problem.
The lock Ben Kay has been retained despite suggesting, along with Hodgson, that England's players were caught between two stools in terms of developing a more multi-dimensional game beyond their traditional forward-orientated horizons. Robinson says the Leicester man's comments were misconstrued but there is no question that his own future will be bleak if his players do not show a massive improvement this time.
"There are a lot of irrelevances going around but I've got to focus on the processes," said Robinson. "We're looking for an outstanding performance and I hope the crowd supports us. The boos were right on Saturday because we underperformed. But you've got to back this team. Things will come right." Maybe but many disenchanted fans will suspect Robinson, in terms of his own role, is rearranging deckchairs on the Titanic.
