England opt for power against All Blacks

Reuters

POWER PLAN: England coach Martin Johnson has gone for power in his team's selection to play the All Blacks at Twickenham.

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England have handed Ayoola Erinle his first test start and recalled Simon Shaw and Joe Worsley as manager Martin Johnson opted for power over finesse when they meet the All Blacks.

Former Wasps and Leicester centre Erinle, now plying his trade for Biarritz, played the last 13 minutes off the bench against Australia and replaces Shane Geraghty, who drops to the bench from where he can also cover the flyhalf position.

The Wasps duo of lock Shaw and flanker Worsley, who add considerable beef and tackling power, replace Louis Deacon and Tom Croft in the team named this morning (NZ time).

Croft drops to the bench two days after being shortlisted for the International Rugby Board player of the year award.

Ugo Monye, who had a day to forget as a stand-in fullback in last week's 16-9 victory over Argentina, switches back to the wing, with Mark Cueto moving to number 15.

CONSERVATIVE SELECTION

Duncan Bell retains his place in an injury-ravaged front row, while David Wilson has recovered enough from a neck injury to sit on the bench.

Gifted utility back Mathew Tait, who was not involved in the first two November tests, has to settle for a place on the bench to complete a conservative-looking selection by Johnson.

After defeat by Australia and last week's turgid performance against Argentina, England will have to show a massive improvement to avoid a repeat of last year's 32-6 thrashing at the hands of the All Blacks.

Johnson said he was confident that would happen and said the coaching staff took much of the blame for last week, when his team were booed off at halftime.

"It was my call...we were a bit too conservative in the first half, we probably got that wrong and it went on a bit too long," Johnson told reporters.

"It was driven by the conditions rather than a fear of losing. We didn't want to give them anything -- Argentina are a dangerous team - but we turned it round and won a game we could easily have lost."

NOT DEFENSIVE

Johnson denied his changes were defensive, stressing that Erinle, Worsley and Shaw are powerful ball carriers as well as formidable defenders, but hinted anyone expecting a feast of running rugby on Saturday had better look elsewhere.

"People have said this isn't a vintage All Black team but even a bad one, and this one isn't, will be ranked first or second in the world," he said.

"To beat them we have to be in it in the last 10 minutes and so you take it in small chunks.

"We have to start well. We didn't change quickly enough last week. Experienced teams do that so it's a good team who can change what they are doing during the match.

"The All Blacks will get a break, will get round you and get points, but you have to have the confidence that you can come back from that.

"The guys have had their frustrations but their mood is good and they want to go out and play."

ENGLAND: 15-Mark Cueto, 14-Matt Banahan, 13-Dan Hipkiss 12-Ayoola Erinle, 11-Ugo Monye, 10-Jonny Wilkinson, 9-Paul Hodgson; 8-James Haskell, 7-Lewis Moody, 6-Joe Worsley, 5-Steve Borthwick (captain), 4-Simon Shaw, 3-Duncan Bell, 2-Dylan Hartley, 1-Tim Payne.

Replacements: 16-Steve Thompson, 17-David Wilson, 18-Louis Deacon, 19-Tom Croft, 20-Danny Care, 21-Shane Geraghty, 22-Mathew Tait.

- Reuters