It has not been the greatest of weeks for England's twin sporting icons. David Beckham and Jonny Wilkinson would insist the health of their teams matters more than their own bruised feelings but it still feels awfully like the end of an era. Becks on crutches, Jonny on the bench? If there is a moral to this week's headlines it is that Old Father Time catches up with everyone in the end.

As Martin Johnson made clear yesterday, England's management do not yet view this as a case of Wilko and out on a permanent basis. "If I thought Jonny was on the decline, I wouldn't have picked him for our last seven internationals," said Johnson, having installed Toby Flood at fly-half as one of six changes to the side that drew 15-15 with Scotland in Edinburgh last weekend. "I'm sure Jonny will be disappointed he's not starting but he's a team player. The bench is so important in the last 25-30 minutes."

The public perception will be different. This is only the third time a fit Wilkinson has been dropped by England. He was omitted by Clive Woodward in favour of Paul Grayson on the eve of the 1999 World Cup quarter-final, and usurped by Danny Cipriani for the final game of the 2008 Six Nations. Arguably the biggest shock this time is that Johnson did not drop his old team-mate earlier.

Maybe that was the problem: having seen all those match-winning goals and extraordinary tackles at first hand, Johnson could not bring himself to accept the reality. It has hardly been Wilkinson's fault in isolation that England have played like drains for so much of this year's Six Nations but international fly‑halves who lose the ability to shape Test matches cannot be picked on reputation indefinitely.

Keeping a goal-kicker of Wilkinson's calibre in reserve will clearly be attractive at next year's World Cup in New Zealand, where he will presumably be as valued a squad member as Beckham was scheduled to be in South Africa this summer. The brutal truth, though, is that the golden boots of yesteryear are no longer the irreplaceable cargo they once were.

Had Cipriani not broken his ankle two years ago, Wilkinson might already be reduced to footman status and it could be that Flood's promotion acts as a similar catalyst for England's under-performing back line. Wilkinson, who will be 31 in May, still has the capacity to be good but it has been a while since he shone in the areas of the game – tactical kicking, gain-line awareness, creating space for those outside him – that have become so crucial in modern rugby.

There is also the little matter of the fusillade of blows he took against the Scots, the last of them courtesy of his own captain, Steve Borthwick. Even if he is deemed clear-headed enough to be a replacement, sending out a punch-drunk playmaker is never clever. The mind's eye will always associate Wilkinson with Paris – winning the 2000 game almost on his own; being ruthlessly hunted down by Serge Betsen in 2002; hoisting England into a World Cup final in 2007, against the odds – but his legendary commitment has almost become part of the problem.

"If he redoubled his efforts … well, I don't know how he could do that," said Flood. All work and no play, sadly, has not always made Jonny a visionary playmaker, particularly since the tactically sharp likes of Will Greenwood, Mike Catt and Matt Dawson retired.

Even for someone as instinctively loyal as Johnson, the time has come to try something different, for the sake of everybody's sanity. With Ugo Monye and Delon Armitage discarded on fitness and form grounds respectively, the promotions of Northampton's Ben Foden and Chris Ashton at full-back and on the wing have been overdue for a while.

Ashton, with 71 tries in 71 games for the Saints since arriving from rugby league, is a poacher par excellence and has built up an excellent understanding at club level with the 24-year-old Foden. The full-back also knows Mark Cueto well from his Sale days. Aimless "kick tennis" is set to be given the boot in favour of something more daring.

With the experienced Mike Tindall rushed back into the starting XV in place of Mathew Tait after just three games for Gloucester since returning from injury – "If he was a five-cap player you'd probably think differently," said Johnson – and Simon Shaw fit to resume in the second-row in place of Louis Deacon, the only other change is in the back row, where Lewis Moody returns at No7 and Joe Worsley switches across to the blindside in place of James Haskell. Should Borthwick's knee problem fail to improve – he has seen two specialists so far and received conflicting diagnoses – the Stade Français lock Tom Palmer will be drafted in and a replacement captain named. Johnson says he knows who it is – the favourites would appear to be Lewis Moody and Nick Easter – but he is saying nothing more pending further tests on Borthwick today.

Whether the captain makes it or not, England will have to produce an awful lot more than they have managed so far this season if they are to deny France the most authoritative of grand slams. Asked how he intended to unsettle Les Bleus, Johnson opted initially for black humour – "We've just got to execute better and put them under pressure that way … that might surprise them" – but also stressed that it was not Tindall's job alone to stop the rumbling Mathieu Bastareaud, France's hugely powerful centre.

While the English fret about Wilkinson's diminishing powers, the French have their eyes on the prize and sound ominously confident.

"It will be a special game and it will be even more special because the last game will be against England," said their No8, Imanol Harinordoquy. "I don't like them saying 'good game' when they beat us. I hold a grudge against them because they stopped me from doing great things like playing in two World Cup finals. A game against England is always a rendezvous because you know your opposite number will not be out to do you any favours. Saturday's game will be a real contest, a real fight, a brawl."

If England's forwards start slowly, Johnson's fly-half selection will be irrelevant.