Candid Woodward admits England are 'a little off the pace'

If England are to break the southern hemisphere's monopoly on World Cup glory over the next three weeks or so, Clive Woodward and Lawrence Dallaglio will have an awful lot to do with it. Yesterday, both men decided to stop pretending and get real. No, England were not playing anywhere near as well as they had during the spring and early summer; yes, they were deeply concerned about refereeing interpretations in this tournament; no, there had not been an outbreak of panic in the camp, but yes, it was patently true that several key figures were out of form.

This came as a relief to those who feared England were in danger of disappearing into the dark vortex of their own spin. Woodward was even up front about the injury situation - an added bonus, given the resurrection of the pantomime season before the match with South Africa in Perth 12 days ago. Asked why Richard Hill, one of the two or three most influential players of this red-rose vintage, had not been picked in the back row for Sunday's meeting with Uruguay, the coach replied: "He's not fit." No excuses, no flannel, no ifs or buts. Bliss.

Hill has been out of commission with a torn hamstring since the 51st minute of the opening pool game with Georgia 18 days ago, and he is being missed more with each failed fitness test. In his absence this weekend, Joe Worsley and Lewis Moody will play on the flanks, with Dallaglio at No 8. Neither Worsley nor Moody are serious contenders for a starting position in any full-strength combination - Worsley was worryingly anonymous against Samoa on Sunday, Moody was guilty of too many errors against South Africa the previous weekend - but Dallaglio is regarded as a stone-cold certainty for the main events. It is, therefore, a reflection of his own poor form that he has been listed for a fourth consecutive appearance.

Woodward made no bones about it. Dallaglio, he said, had delivered a couple of "quiet" performances and was in need of another outing. "I would have been quite happy for Lawrence to have captained the side this weekend, but I want him to look after himself, concentrate on his own game and get involved," the coach explained. "Actually, I think a lot of players have had quiet games, which is why some first-choice people are in against Uruguay. We're a little off the pace, and our penalty count is way too high. But I passionately believe we will play better against the bigger teams. It will take a good side to beat us."

The Gloucester prop Phil Vickery, himself one of Woodward's first-choicers, will lead the side for the second time. As his last match in charge was against Argentina in Buenos Aires, it may be a peculiarity of his contract that he only shoulders the captaincy burden against hard-scrummaging bands of South Americans. Other front-line players include Trevor Woodman and Josh Lewsey, neither of whom have caught the eye as they would have wished.

Unsurprisingly, Dallaglio was distinctly underwhelmed at receiving the Woodward equivalent of both barrels; the celebrated No 8 was happy to admit to his own failings, but thought it just a little unfair to be saddled with the blame. "I don't believe too many of us have brought our A games to the tournament as yet," he said. "We're a long way from where we were in Wellington and Melbourne during the summer and we're not where we need to be in terms of the knock-out phase of this competition. Martin Johnson has expressed this. I know it. We all know it.

"We're getting penalised where we're not used to being penalised and this is clearly a concern, because we'll soon be meeting goal-kickers who don't miss too often. We're putting ourselves under pressure by coughing up possession, by not keeping hold of the ball. Yes, our defence is good. But the reason we looked so strong defensively against South Africa was that we were making so many tackles and missing so few. It would be a whole lot better if we retained possession. Of all the forms of defence, that one is the best."

Danny Grewcock, the Bath lock who played three Lions Tests here in 2001, will make his first appearance of the tournament after recovering from the broken toe he suffered while warming up for the Georgia match. Mike Catt, his club-mate, makes his first start at centre in almost two years; Paul Grayson, of Northampton, takes over from the rested Jonny Wilkinson at outside-half and is rewarded for his patience with the vice-captaincy; and Andy Gomarsall, perhaps the form scrum-half in the party, will finally have an opportunity to prove that theory after playing just 43 minutes off the bench. As expected, Martin Corry will return from fathership duties at home in the Midlands to accompany Grewcock in the engine-room.

England do not expect a serious challenge from Uruguay, despite the South Americans' can-do mood following their fine victory over Georgia in Sydney. "They don't worry us anywhere near as much as Samoa," said Phil Larder, the defensive coach, bluntly. "The Samoans are one of the outstanding attacking teams in world rugby, and I'm glad we're not playing them again. Uruguay show no indication of reaching those kinds of levels."

True enough. But for certain players - the Woodmans and Gomarsalls and Lewseys - this weekend is crunch weekend. Uruguay may be one of the half-dozen weakest sides in the tournament, but the England dressing-room will not be an anxiety-free zone.

ENGLAND (v Uruguay, Brisbane, Sunday): J Lewsey (Wasps); I Balshaw (Bath), S Abbott (Wasps), M Catt (Bath), D Luger (Perpignan); P Grayson (Northampton), A Gomarsall (Gloucester); T Woodman (Gloucester), D West (Leicester), P Vickery (Gloucester, capt), M Corry (Leicester), D Grewcock (Bath), J Worsley (Wasps), L Moody (Leicester), L Dallaglio (Wasps). Replacements: S Thompson (Northampton), J White (Leicester), M Johnson (Leicester), N Back (Leicester), K Bracken (Saracens), W Greenwood (Harlequins), B Cohen (Northampton).