England's team announcement for Saturday's first Test has confused more than a few Australians. On this side of the globe the absence of Jonny Wilkinson from the starting XV is as unthinkable as Trafalgar Square without Nelson's Column, while the selection of the former New Zealand rugby league international Shontayne Hape to win his first union cap alongside Toby Flood is almost as disorientating. The Poms will be taking regular baths next.
Time, though, waits for no man, as Martin Johnson bluntly reminded those locals still harking back to 2003: "It's a long time ago for us, you probably need to get over it." Arguably of greater relevance today, ahead of a significant contest for Johnson and his coaches, was the composition of Robbie Deans's Wallaby team, notably their front-row selection.
When England sat down to plan for this tour it is safe to say the names Ben Daley, Saia Faingaa and Salesi Ma'afu did not feature prominently on the radar. At least one member of a cobbled-together Wallaby front row is not even the best-known sportsman in his own home – Daley's father Phil was a bit of a league legend – and they barely boast 80 minutes of Test exposure between them. Not since Australia's cricket selectors picked the little‑known Peter Taylor – aka Peter Who? – has the same shrugged reply – "Dunno, mate" – been heard so often.
This is a matter of keen interest to England's pack, well aware that even the most fleet-footed Wallaby magicians can be neutered if their forwards are back‑pedalling in the general direction of the Indian Ocean. Memories of the 2007 World Cup quarter-final, when Andrew Sheridan shoved the Wallaby pack out of the tournament in Marseille, are still just fresh enough to cultivate some quiet red‑rose optimism.
Johnson, though, is wary of sleep-walking into the trap of assuming that Leicester's Dan Cole, among others, will abruptly ruin the 21-year-old Daley's proud day as the 842nd player to represent his country at Test level. As England discovered at Twickenham two years ago, Australian scrummaging has tightened up since their first chastening encounter with Sheridan in 2005 and rugby is not a game in which paper advantage automatically yields a return. "We're not sitting here expecting to get anything," Johnson said. "We're going to have to work hard and not just expect to get an edge."
Closer inspection also reveals the new loose-head Daley started all 12 games for which he was available during the Queensland Reds' Super 14 campaign, while his tight-head partner Ma'afu is plenty solid enough to cause Tim Payne problems, even in the injury absence of the first‑choice home props, Benn Robinson and Ben Alexander. The equally little-known James Slipper, awaiting his first cap off the bench, can play both sides of the scrum and neither of the two named hookers is a shrinking violet. With Nathan Sharpe back on form and the outstanding Rocky Elsom and David Pocock ready to get stuck into any complacent Poms, England would be foolish to expect a night of one‑way traffic.
Things get potentially even trickier behind the scrum where James O'Connor, still only 19, has earned the nod at full-back following his quickfire midweek hat-trick of tries. Will Genia, the outstanding scrum‑half, is fit enough to sit on the bench and the attacking axis of Quade Cooper and Matt Giteau would concern an 80-cap veteran, never mind Hape who, as predicted, makes his England Test debut after playing 14 times for New Zealand's rugby league team in a previous sporting life.
Hape, whose mother lives in Sydney, is not a habitual kicker – "I'll be the first to say my main strength would be my running" – but Johnson hopes he can offer England more a little more midfield incision. "I have been very impressed with him," the manager said. "He's a very smart carrier with the ball in hand and he's one of those guys who seems to have a bit more time than most."
Given that England's offloading game has often been conspicuous by its absence, the hope is that Hape and Flood, who has deservedly retained the No10 jersey, can cause their own problems around the gainline, with support runners such as Chris Ashton and Mark Cueto swooping off their wings in search of action. The return of Tom Croft, who missed the Six Nations with knee trouble, injects further pace into the broken-field mix should England choose to do anything beyond scrummaging.
Whether they do or not will reveal plenty about the squad's confidence levels. Johnson, who has warned the Gloucester lock Dave Attwood to mind his step following allegations of stamping against the Barbarians, and the attack coach Brian Smith, are both adamant England will not jettison the positive mindset which made France think twice in Paris in March.
"We don't just want to be a team that rides off the back of the pack," Smith, a former Wallaby, said. "We want the backline to be producers for the team as well." There remains a gap between what England say they are going to do and how they actually play under pressure. This weekend would be an ideal time to bridge it.
England team to play Australia
B Foden (Northampton); M Cueto (Sale Sharks), M Tindall (Gloucester), S Hape (Bath), C Ashton (Northampton); T Flood (Leicester), D Care (Harlequins); T Payne (Wasps), S Thompson (Brive), D Cole (Leicester), S Shaw (Wasps), T Palmer (Stade Français), T Croft (Leicester), L Moody (Leicester, capt), N Easter (Harlequins).
Replacements: G Chuter (Leicester), D Wilson (Bath), C Lawes (Northampton), J Haskell (Stade Français), B Youngs (Leicester), J Wilkinson (Toulon), M Tait (Sale Sharks).
