England go for flair to leave Wilkinson sidelined

The World Cup winning hero was yesterday axed for England's final Six Nations match against France, prompting more questions about Wilkinson's standing in the game.

It was only the third time the much-vaunted fly-half had been dropped in his 12-year international career and, given his limited impact in the tournament so far, it is understandable why many believe his powers are waning irretrievably; this could be the beginning of the end for the one-time golden boy of English rugby union.

Now aged 30, Wilkinson took a blow to his head which forced him off in the second half against Scotland last week but that was not the reason for his omission this time around as he is fit enough to take a place on the bench in Paris.

Much of England's lame attacking intent in the dull 15-15 draw stemmed from their No 10's plodding, conservative approach and lack of flair, something which improved – albeit only slightly – with the introduction of Toby Flood off the bench.

Flood gets the starting berth as England aim to dash France's Grand Slam hopes on Saturday evening but Johnson insists the man who strode beside him on that halcyon Sydney night seven years ago is still influential at the top.

"Jonny is still a world-class player," he said.

"If I thought Jonny was on the decline, I wouldn't have picked him for our last seven internationals.

"There's not many players in world rugby who could have dropped that goal against Ireland in the last 10 minutes.

"I'm sure Jonny will be disappointed he's not starting but he's a team player. The guys on the bench will be playing in the last quarter and that's the most important quarter of the game."

It remains to be seen whether England will still be in touching distance of the silky Frenchmen come the hour mark but Johnson has made six changes – four behind the scrum to re-ignite his backline – in a bid to ensure they are not vanquished like the Italians last week.

While Wilkinson is ditched, another hero from the 2003 final is heading the other way, Yorkshireman Mike Tindall returning to the side at outside centre in place of Mathew Tait.

The Otley-born player, recently recovered after a four month lay-off with hamstring trouble, will bring much-needed power to the midfield to combat the potent threat of marauding French centre Mathieu Bastareaud, while exciting Northampton full-back Ben Foden replaces the misfiring Delon Armitage and Saints colleague Chris Ashton – the former rugby league winger – earns his debut given the neck injury suffered by Ugo Monye against Scotland.

Up front, Lewis Moody has returned at openside flanker with Joe Worsley switching to blindside and James Haskell moving to the bench.

Simon Shaw has recovered from a shoulder injury which kept him out of the Scotland game and starts in the second row, but there remain doubts over the fitness of captain Steve Borthwick who missed training yesterday with a knee injury.

Wilkinson, meanwhile, had only been dropped by England twice before – for Paul Grayson at the 1999 World Cup and for Danny Cipriani in the 2008 Six Nations – but Johnson believes the Toulon player will still figure in the 2011 World Cup even if Flood does take the lead.

"We need at least two players in every position and we would have been happy to pick Toby in every game so far," he said.

"Toby has been an on-field general for us in the past two years. He is graduating into the leadership camp for us as he gets more experience.

"Ahead of a World Cup, he needs to play in that position over the next 18 months as well as Jonny."

Flood revealed his former Newcastle team-mate typically reacted positively to the news.

"We've all been dropped," he said. "Obviously Jonny's been dropped less than others, but it's about how you act in the dark times that makes you the person you are.

"He came up and said, 'If there's anything you need, let me know'. He's shown a huge amount of character.

"Getting picked ahead of a guy who is ultimately world class and has been the leader of the team in that position for a long, long time is great and it's a huge honour for me to play No 10.

"By no means does that mean he is finished though because we all know how hard he bites when he gets batted down."

England team to play France in the RBS 6 Nations Championship at the Stade de France on Saturday, March 20 (kick-off 7.45pm): B Foden (Northampton); M Cueto (Sale Sharks), M Tindall (Gloucester), R Flutey (Brive), C Ashton (Northampton); T Flood (Leicester), D Care (Harlequins); T Payne (Wasps), D Hartley (Northampton), D Cole (Leicester), S Shaw (Wasps), S Borthwick (Saracens, capt), J Worsley (Wasps), L Moody (Leicester), N Easter (Harlequins). Replacements: S Thompson (Brive), D Wilson (Bath), L Deacon (Leicester), J Haskell (Stade Francais), B Youngs (Leicester), J Wilkinson (Toulon), M Tait (Sale Sharks).