Rugby: England to Try to Withstand History-Seeking Wallabies

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Martin Johnson’s wounded side waits for what is allegedly a Wallabies team in crisis. But England could truly cause problems if their patched-up misfits derail Australia’s Grand Slam quest before it begins.

While injuries are part and parcel of a rugby team, the casualty ward for England would probably be close to some sort of record. When the Elite Player squad and England Saxon groups were created, they were formed to give Johnson two deep and legitimate pools of talent to work with.

He is now essentially missing a full, 32-man squad.

There are scatterings of talent in his chosen 22-man group to face the Wallabies. There are three World Cup winners in the team, and none will be more important than the world record points scorer, Jonny Wilkinson.

But while he has been invigorated and in form with his new side, Toulon, he will control one of the less experienced backlines England has ever fielded.

In the pack, there is some talent with a solid back row and Steve Thompson making a remarkable return to test rugby. However, one feels that the forwards, if not the entire team, has a soft underbelly.

England, still in a genesis period after the absolute heaven-based highs of 2003, need to start making discernable progress. While Johnson has in theory a free license to lose due to his absentees, the World Cup-winning captain is not one for excuses.

And for him, the only real progress in winning.

The Wallabies, in theory, arrive with no form to speak of, losing six of their last seven matches. Robbie Deans, who was hailed as the tonic that Australian rugby needed, has been the proverbial pebble in a river so far.

All the important numbers in Australian rugby are down, with less and less people caring about a team that has in its pomp won two World Cups. However, the country has a crowded and aggressive sporting market, one that often forgets to put things into simple perspective.

The Wallabies are the only team except the British and Irish Lions to have defeated the Springboks this year. And of their six losses, they have all come at the hands of the two best rugby teams in the world (according to the IRB rankings, at least!).

They have had a shakeup, with Rocky Elsom the new captain and more and more new faces permeating the squad. Clearly, Deans feels he still has plenty of time on his hands to develop.

There has been progress, with the Wallabies' scrum looking as strong as it has ever been. 

But there has also been marked regress. 

Their lineout, once the finest aerial technicians in the world, struggles abominably at times.

The sparkling Australian backline attack that dazzled their opponents at the turn of the century has lost its thrust. 

Even the vaunted Wallabies' golden wall that was unmatched with its hybrid system of league and union defense is too often caught completely off guard.

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