By Chris Chaplin
February 18 2003

On Saturday I watched England take on Les Bleus waiting to see how and if Woodward's "imaginative" selection paid off. This is how I think each of the players performed. Neil Back showed his detractors that tales of his demise are greatly exaggerated. He had the best of Betsen throughout the game and in every
department thereof, so much so that the Frenchman was substituted in the final quarter. A textbook performance. 9/10

Richard Hill looked uncomfortable throughout the first half being forced to play out of position but when the back row was reorganised early in the second half he was much more like his World Class self. 7/10

Lawrence Dallaglio came on early in the second half and his presence immediately made itself felt as he took the ball up to the French and was all bristling aggression, perhaps Woodward will start playing players in position for a change. 8/10

Lewis Moody struggled to get himself into the game and personally I have doubts as to whether he wasn t already carrying an injury when the game began, so subdued was he. Quite why the fabled England medical team let him start the second half when he was clearly in trouble is another mystery. 5/10

Andy Gomersall did little to advance his claim for the England #9 shirt from this lacklustre performance. He was terribly slow to the breakdown in the first half. His pass was ponderous and he was so predictable. Technically he d reverted to his pre Melville days and Galthie gave him a bit of a tutorial. 4/10

Ben Kay enjoyed a good day at the office and proved again, if proof were
needed, that his ability to steal opposition ball at the lineout at the
highest level together with being a handful in the loose is of the highest order. With a bit more practice with the backs coach he would have also scored a try. 8/10

Jonny Wilkinson picked up his customary MOTM however this was surely diue to his faultless kicking, which yet again saved England from ignominy. There was a distinct paucity of creative play from the young Falcon not, this time, due to his being muscled out of the game by Betsen (he was busy elsewhere) but from poor and slow service from Gomersall as well as, I think, a lack of confidence in his inside centre. His rating therefore arises largely from his kicking. 8/10
Julian White should count himself fortunate not to have been penalised by referee Honiss for repeatedly standing up when he could not go backwards under pressure from his opposite number who, with some justification asked
the ref how he was supposed to put White under pressure. Good question - came the answer none. I have doubts as to whether White is fully recovered from injury as I ve seen him play an awful lot better than this against class opposition. 4/10

Steve Thompson had a good game in my book; he scrummaged well, was nigh on faultless at the lineout and was at his dynamic best in the loose, spinning and pirouetting like a back. There s still more to come from this young Saint and he s confirmed his status as number one choice. 8/10

Jason Leonard did not wallow in the sentimentality of the occasion but as
usual got on with the hard work and it was a shame that an over extension of his knee while forming his customary robust bridge at a ruck saw his early departure. 100 up and more to come I hope. 6/10

Graham Rowntree came on the replace Leonard and had a sound game, his scrummaging was good and he also put himself around well in the loose. He should have started. 6/10

Martin Johnson was very much the boss in the lineout and missed very little as usual dependability personified. I thought his play in the loose was also particularly good against the much vaunted French. As usual kept the ship on
course when it suffered it s customary shudders. Back on top of his game.
8/10

Charlie Hodgeson at inside centre didn't work. Perhaps it was worth a try, personally I don't think so. I felt sorry for the lad who is a first class fly half but he was all at sea at 12. He had one good break but lacked the awareness to put Greenwood in unopposed and the charge down from Magne arose from his firstly making the wrong decision to kick, taking to long to make it in the first place and then executing it in slow motion. Oh and he was in totally the wrong position to start with. He, like us, was confused as to what he should have been doing and what position he was supposed to be in at any given moment. 4/10

Will Greenwood tried hard and ran some good lines without reward (qv: Charlie Hodgeson) his play leading up to the Robinson try was from the top drawer, but he really saw too little quality ball to enable him to shine, but what he did he did well. 7/10

Ben Cohen also saw too little ball but certainly went looking for work and he must have been frustrated at getting little chance to show his talent. Heavily marked by the French the dynamic Saint was (quiet rightly) called a donkey a few years ago but how, to his eternal credit, this young man has turned himself and his game around since his tragic personal loss. Some of his bursts were Lomuesque in quality with French defenders hanging off him like sheet anchors. 8/10

Dan Luger started brightly and looked to be back to his best or near to. However as with Cohen he saw too little ball and was mainly kept busy in a defensive role as the game wore on and I thought he seemed to fade in the final quarter. I expressed doubts in my preview as to whether after such a long period out of the game just a few first team club games would have prepared him for the intensity of a contest such as this. They hadn t. 6/10

Jason Robinson showed his full and impressive range of talents, albeit mainly from inside his own 22. He displayed his ability to run around and through the opposition, tackle, catch and kick and did nothing wrong as Full Back. His try was beautifully taken following some excellent approach work. What a waste at 15! 9/10

Team Performance
Well considering that Woodward played three players out of position (two of whom I believe are World Class in their rightful slots) with a further three players selected although only partially fit and he did so for what was always going to be the most intense game of the tournament I think they did pretty well. But it was not good, not good at all. Was my question as whether Woodward s imaginative selection would pay off answered? Well yes it was and the answer was no. But I ll take the win with gratitude. 6/10