Revitalised Tindall set for one last hurrah on world stage

Injured enough times to send most players into retirement, the gnarled Otley-born centre just keeps coming back for more.

In Thompson, Wilkinson and Moody he has allies from that famous night in Sydney eight years ago who also return for one last shot at glory.

Thompson has already retired once due to a neck injury, only to return his insurance payout and climb back into the England reckoning via sterling performances for Brive and Leeds Carnegie.

Wilkinson has been written off as often as David Beckham, sporting superstars whose exploits off the field are scrutinised as greatly as their actions on it.

Moody is Martin Johnson’s on-course commander who throws himself into the breakdown so ferociously that if he emerges without injury it is a surprise.

Yet all four of England’s warriors are back for more.

And all four have forced their way into starting shirts.

Thompson has ousted Dylan Hartley and Lee Mears to be No1 hooker.

Moody has come in from the wilderness to re-energise a side stuttering under Steve Borthwick.

Wilkinson – dependable, brilliant – has capitalised on indifferent form and injury by Toby Flood to seize back the No 10 shirt.

How often will we see him kick for goal in the coming weeks in New Zealand?

Who would bet against Wilkinson being the man in the pocket in the dying seconds of the World Cup final, waiting for the scrum-half’s off-load to push his boot through the ball and between the posts for victory?

And would anyone be surprised if Tindall were in the pile of bodies forcing opponents back to create the space?

Tindall’s route to his second World Cup has been a lot smoother than that of Thompson, Wilkinson and Moody.

Having missed out on the 2007 World Cup squad due to injury, he has been an almost ever-present over the past year, playing outside Shontayne Hape in a defensively strong, if offensively limited, midfield.

Tindall is the man who does the dirty work.

It was not always like that. Growing up in Yorkshire, playing on the pitch at Otley after his father Phil had played for the town’s team, and learning the game at Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Wakefield; Tindall tried every position on the pitch, from fearsome prop to graceful scrum-half.

But playing in the midfield, with Bath, Gloucester and England, was always his destiny.

This past year he has been one of two ‘sleeves rolled-up’ centres, who have bore the brunt of the criticism from outside England’s cocoon.

Even when the team were putting eight tries past Italy and winning the Six Nations in the Spring, Tindall and Hape still did not get favourable reviews.

But after returning from honeymoon following his marriage into royalty, Zara Phillips’s husband has been given a fresh lease of life on the pitch.

That has come in the shape of Manu Tuliagi, the ace up Johnson’s World Cup sleeve.

With tries on his debut against Wales at the start of August and again against Ireland in Dublin nine days ago, Tuilagi has demonstrated that though he is only a raw 20-year-old, he has the energy, determination, hunger and ability to punch holes in international defences.

It has also taken the heat off Tindall, who showed his versatility by moving inside into the No 12 shirt, the shirt he wore in Sydney as England won the World Cup, when it was Will Greenwood outside him.

“It’s great playing next to him,” said Tindall of Tuilagi. “If you’re in any doubt just give him the ball. He’s a physical specimen who can create anything from nothing.

“I’d trained with Manu but never played with him, and you never know how that’s going to develop.

“You saw the raw power that Manu’s got and the raw talent, and every time he takes the field in that shirt I think he’s going to grow and get better and better.”

A month ago it looked like Tuilagi would take Tindall’s place. Now they look like they will play together.

And the cherry on top of the cake for Tindall is that he could captain the side for their Pool B opener against Argentina in Dunedin on Saturday.

With Moody still a doubt as he nurses his injured knee to full fitness – the Bath flanker has played only five matches all year – 32-year-old Tindall is in line to wear the armband.

He did so with distinction and pride in the Six Nations, leading England to victories against Wales, Italy, France and then against Scotland until injury cut his championship short at half-time.

Set England up with a victory in their first game against the doughty Pumas and there might not be a route back to the captaincy, let alone the first team, for Moody. And who knows with the calibre of players he has alongside him, the unpredictability of a World Cup tournament, and England’s pedigree from the last two global contests, Tindall may well be the man who gets the chance to hoist the Webb Ellis Trophy aloft in the Auckland night sky on Sunday, October 23.

Now that wouldn’t be bad for the former QEGS pupil would it?

“It doesn’t feel any different,” he has said about wearing the armband, leading his country.

“We’ve got a lot of leaders on the field and you just get into the habit of talking when you need to. I don’t feel any added pressure, I just feel excitement. It’s a great honour to go out there and lead your team.

“The main goal is to go out there and enjoy it, and it’s always enjoyable when you’re winning.”

Tindall’s ethos is one echoed by his fellow ’03 veterans, Wilkinson, Thompson and Moody.

Together they have been through and seen enough to not take anything for granted.

As Thompson says: “As much as it is serious, and I love playing for England and am totally passionate about it, there are other things to life.

“Hopefully, that has brought me the balance and I will try to show that other balance to people as well.

“I am really happy with what happened in my career. I have been blessed.”

They all have. Will they be once more?

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