Unsung Tindall rams home the central point

Autumn Internationals: England's hard centre relies on head as much as heart in Woodward's best-laid plans

Mike Tindall's mum is not happy. She is fed up with the critics who would like her boy out of the outside-centre position in the England team, perhaps to move James Simpson-Daniel there, or maybe Jason Robinson, or even Will Greenwood, with Jonny Wilkinson taking the No 12 jersey and Charlie Hodgson at 10. "We are winning and we feel we are playing all right," says Tindall.

"It gets on my mum's nerves – she could kick the ass of some rugby reporters. But that's what mums are for, I suppose." Mrs Tindall appears to have a point. England have just beaten New Zealand, Australia and South Africa and completed 18 wins on the spin at Twickenham, a world record Test sequence. So what's the problem?

It is as if Clive Woodward is motoring down the motorway in a Maserati, yet with a persistent rattle coming from the boot. A bottle of screenwash come loose from its moorings? Or is England's big end really about to blow up in the coach's face, either when the equally in-form French come calling in February, or on tour down under next June, or in the World Cup itself?

Woodward gave a wrap-up speech at HQ last Monday, during which he described Tindall as "massively under-rated". For his part, the 24-year-old Yorkshireman speaks with the candour that is his birthright. He enjoyed his autumn, and indeed his year, in which he started eight of England's nine Tests, but accepts the hair-splitting that comes with the territory.

World Cups, Tindall admits, are won on fine margins. "People are trying to pick apart anything they can from a team that's winning," he said. "It just fuels me really, puts that feistiness in you, that anger to prove people wrong."

Tindall's head-down charge into two Australian forwards set up Ben Cohen's winning try in the second of the November victories. It is tough to imagine any of the rivals for his position doing that. England, he patiently explains, want his physical presence outside Wilkinson and Greenwood, and if that means he gets to run with the ball less than his natural inclination would like, so be it. The strapping around Tindall's left wrist bears the legend: "Get involved". He smiles and says: "I always seem to be the one phase before people score." His mum has probably noticed that, too.

If England do have a problem – and time will undoubtedly tell during a brutally intense programme in 2003 – it is that they still find it difficult to impose their game plan on the very best. Take the issue of decoy runners. "I've got nothing against them," Tindall said, "but we get pinged for it every time in the Premiership. Against New Zealand we just weren't ready for it, from a defensive point of view, and it caused us all sorts of problems.

"We addressed it all the way through the week before the Australia game and it didn't really bother us again. But one Test match could be crucial. Next year in the World Cup we could lose it because we hadn't prepared properly, because we weren't expecting people to be able to do that."

This is honest, but also faintly disturbing. Woodward said last week that he would have liked three Tests against the All Blacks. His colleague, Andy Robinson, made the same reference after England were beaten in France last March. But the World Cup is not played on a best-of-three basis. One strike and you're out, on the big silver bird back home.

Woodward has taken charge of England's backs since Brian Ashton moved to running the National Academy at the end of last season. Phil Larder, the famously thorough defensive coach, is available at all times. But has something been lost with the going of Ashton? "No one really thinks like Brian does," said Tindall. "He had this ability of thinking up random things no one else would. The Academy boys will benefit from that now. Mainly, all the backs together come up with what we want to do. Everyone gets their chance to argue or agree. Wilko, Will and Austin [Healey] will come up with ideas and we tinker around with them."

Martin Johnson, Tindall adds, is the best captain he has played under. "He stood us under the posts, when we were 12 points down against Australia, and was inspirational. He's calm, and cool, and pinpoints simple things with no panic involved."

England's next step will be to call 50 players together during the Six Nations' Championship, with Woodward, for the first time, selecting teams both for the main event and the shadow A matches. Ged Glynn and John Wells, last season's A coaches, are out. But an additional coach may be added to the staff.

The other question dogging them is whether Jason Robinson's staccato style of running, for all its thrill-a-minute value, is holding Wilkinson and the threequarters back. Given what Tindall has said about attacking through the wide full-back channel, might not either of his Bath club-mates, Iain Balshaw and Matt Perry – both currently injured – be better suited?

"Against Scotland in 2001," says Tindall, "when Mike Catt threw those wide balls, Balshaw created havoc. Robbo looks more to get the ball flat, fixing the opposing No 13 and going round him. They're both very effective. I don't know how people get round to knocking Robbo. You look at what he's done in his 14 caps, he's caused havoc to all defences, and just now because people are starting to mark him, he's suddenly not a great player. Things like that are frustrating to fellow members of the team.

That's rugby for you. But the Sun carried a eulogy to Woodward on its editorial pages after the defeat of Australia. The ever-present baseball cap fits in a way Sven Goran Eriksson or Duncan Fletcher can only dream of. Three worshipful companies of 75,000 have just thronged Twickenham, showering laurels on the wearers of the red rose. And there are a lot worse role models around than Mike Tindall and friends. No wonder their mums love 'em.