Rugby Union: Healey vital to Woodward

Leicester's livewire emerges as the key to England while Wales seek to avoid the banana skins; Tim Glover finds a surprising choice as coach's crucial player

NO SOONER had Steven Redgrave, the outboard motor of rowing, briefed the England squad at Twickenham on training, fitness and the dedication required to become a world champion, than two key crew members had to be jettisoned. The announcement at such a late stage that the World Cup was over before it began for Kyran Bracken and David Rees has seriously undermined Clive Woodward's attacking strategy.

The England coach has replaced them with the uncapped Martyn Wood of Wasps and Leon Lloyd of Leicester, but to win a World Cup you need world- class players and Bracken and Rees were in that category. Bracken's back condition has failed to respond to treatment and the healing words of Eileen Drewery while Rees, scorer of one of Twickenham's great tries against the All Blacks a couple of seasons ago, was a victim of England's ill- fated ill-timed exercise in futility against the Premiership Allstars.

Woodward, who had already been deprived of the pace and power of Steve Hanley, is fortunate to have a player of the quality and durability of Matt Dawson, although the Northampton scrum-half limped off at Twickenham eight days ago with Austin Healey moving from the left wing to scrum-half and Mike Catt to the wing.

At least Catt, Healey and Nick Beal are Woodward's flexible friends, but with the Leicester scrum-half regarded by the coach as an out-and- out wing the burden on Dawson in the heavy-duty Group B will be considerable.

Nor can Woodward afford to let anything happen to Healey. "Outside of Jeff Wilson, I don't think there's a wing in the world who can play Austin's kind of game," Woodward said. "Were we to lose him, we'd have to radically change our approach."

This suggests that Jonny Wilkinson (who was given his chance after Woodward finally realised that Catt, whatever else he was, was not an international stand-off) cannot be entrusted as a playmaker, although he appears to have become indispensable as a goal-kicker.

England, though, have two things going for them: a gentle introduction to the tournament with the added home comforts of Twickenham, as they open their bid against Italy on Saturday, before meeting the All Blacks on 9 October and Tonga on 15 October (the tackling of the Tongans should carry a health warning).

The Italians should provide a sterner test than England encountered in the lopsided warm-up programme, although it is by no means certain. Italy, of course, have turned the Five Nations' Championship into Six and make an historic debut against Scotland in Rome in February. They were looking exceptionally good when they were unlucky to lose 23-15 to England in a World Cup qualifier in Huddersfield. However, since then, everything has gone horribly wrong.

In two summer Tests against South Africa they were beaten 74-3 and 101- 0 after which their French coach, Georges Coste, resigned, giving rise to eternal pity in the Eternal City. Coste has been replaced by the former national captain Massimo Mascioletti, who knows all about World Cup thumpings. He was in the side that lost 70-6 to the All Blacks in the opening match of the inaugural cup in Auckland in 1987. In previous World Cups, Italy have found themselves in the same pool as either England or New Zealand and this time they are swimming between both sets of jaws.

If England fail to win their group they face a quarter-final play-off at Twickenham with possibly a quarter-final proper against South Africa at Stade de France, a semi-final against Australia at Twickenham and a final against the All Blacks at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.

Whatever happens, England can ill-afford further casualties and nor can they contemplate going into this campaign without the army captain Tim Rodber, at present limping around with an ankle injury. Danny Grewcock will probably lock the scrum with Martin Johnson against Italy, but that only leaves Garath Archer, who has survived a difference of opinion with Woodward. Archer left the training camp at Leeds prematurely after failing to appreciate Woodward's high-tech form of communication.

At least England have negotiated the Lawrence Dallaglio imbroglio. Although the Wasps captain lost the England post to Johnson, you would never have guessed it from Dallaglio's vocal input recently. There is no question as to who is the most inspiring leader.

Without Dallaglio's contribution in thought and deed, Woodward, whose entire brief from the RFU from the outset has been to win the World Cup and put an end to the monopoly of the southern hemisphere, might have been tempted to return to part-time coaching with Henley and a sixth-team forward called Redgrave.