Martin Johnson has dropped full-back Delon Armitage from Saturday's game against France in Paris, while Ugo Monye and Coutney Lawes have also been released from the squad. The England manager may also have to install a new captain today if Steve Borthwick fails to recover from persistent knee trouble. With Johnson's squad under increasing scrutiny from press and public alike, the loss of his skipper and chief lineout presence would simply add injury to the insults currently pouring in from all directions.
Whether Borthwick makes it or not - he has "a long-term wear and tear issue" which required a scan yesterday and is clearly not improving - the increasingly loud criticism in the wake of the Scotland game will prompt a reshuffled starting XV against the grand-slam chasing French. Armitage, will definitely not be involved after being sent back to his club along with, among others, Ugo Monye, Courtney Lawes, Steffon Armitage and Shontayne Hape. Ben Foden and the uncapped Chris Ashton are both standing by to start, with Mike Tindall in line for another Test comeback and Simon Shaw and Jonny Wilkinson both available following shoulder and head knocks respectively.
Johnson will also be urging his players to rise above the critical reaction to the team's latest below-par performance at Murrayfield. "There's a lot of negativity around outside the group. Does that affect individuals? You'd be naive to think it didn't," said the former World Cup-winning captain, arguing that internet baiting and rolling news channels have made public life much more brutal than when he used to lead England. "I think the criticism goes too far but that's the world we live in. We have to deal with the effect. It's very easy to write a kid up as a superstar and write the same player off within 10 days. We have to pick up the pieces when they're getting slagged off." Johnson did not specify to whom he was referring but Armitage's reputation is one of many to have suffered a hit lately.
By releasing his brother Steffon, the Worcester prop Matt Mullan and Charlie Hodgson, Johnson and his fellow coaches have also signalled their reluctance to have a mass clear-out when the team to face France is confirmed today. "Young players have to understand that three decent games and a try in the Premiership doesn't give you a divine right to play for England," cautioned Johnson. "Chopping and changing on a whim doesn't do anyone any good." Even if Borthwick is ruled out, it will be the 36-year-old Shaw who starts with Lawes nowhere to be seen, possibly as a nod to Northampton who face Gloucester in the LV Cup final on Sunday.
For the first time in the tournament, either way, alternative views are starting to be heard from inside the dressing-room, with the Sale winger Mark Cueto delivering an admirably honest assessment yesterday. "You can't fault the commitment and effort but, for one reason or another, it's not quite clicking," Cueto said. "It's not fair on the fans ... at the moment, we're not giving them a huge amount to shout about. If we let France get a head of steam up we'll be in trouble."
Asked whether England might be suffering paralysis by analysis, Cueto was equally blunt. "Definitely. The game's gone so professional you spend so much time analysing what other teams are doing that you drift a little bit away from what you're doing yourself." It left Johnson in the uneasy position of having to sidestep the views of one of his own players. "I think the perception the team is shackled is wrong. It's not the ambition as much as the execution which is hurting us. You can't give the ball away cheaply at this level, it's too precious. The mood in the team is that we're better than we're showing on the field."
That fond theory is about to be put to the ultimate test against a French side playing at a different level to most opponents. Their coach Marc Lievremont has made just one change to the starting XV which flattened Italy, with Stade Francais's Mathieu Bastareaud returning at centre in place of David Marty. Given Bastareaud's previous efforts in this championship, it is another looming headache for his battered and bruised opponents.
France: Poitrenaud (Toulouse); Andreu (Castres), Bastareaud (Stade Francais), Jauzion (Toulouse), Palisson (Brive); Trinh-Duc (Montpellier), Parra (Clermont Auvergne); Domingo (Clermont Auvergne), Servat (Toulouse), Mas (Perpignan), Nallet (Racing Metro), Pierre (Clermont Auvergne), Dusautoir (Toulouse, captain), Bonnaire (Clermont Auvergne), Harinordoquy (Biarritz).
Replacements: Szarzewski (Stade Francais), Poux (Toulouse), Chabal (Racing Metro), Lapandry (Clermont Auvergne), Yachvili (Biarritz), Marty (Perpignan), Malzieu (Clermont Auvergne).
