From World Cup glory to Six Nations disappointment

Even The most rabid England supporters may not have to take off their second glove to count the certainties for the Lions party from their team right now.

Based on last week's form, in a match made exciting mostly by the fact that Wales won, you'd say that the stone-cold certainties would be Jason Robinson and Josh Lewsey.

Ben Kay did his prospects no harm but he is far from certain to be part of the Lions' bountiful locking resources. In the second row Danny Grewcock impressed as a man with the hard, physical edge needed in New Zealand. However, he has a propensity for the lunatic - and he was lucky to stay on the field after his impersonation of a hurdler saw his boot connect with the Welsh halfback.

So tomorrow's (NZT) clash with the French is significant. Obviously there will be more England players than Robinson and Lewsey in the Lions come May but there will be mounting dread among Swing Low, Sweet Chariot singers. England's fall from grace as the World Cup winner of 2003 and the best all-round team on the planet has touched a new bottom.

But perhaps even more under the microscope is their coach, Andy Robinson. There are three elements to being an international coach - selecting, coaching and managing. Sir Clive Woodward was particularly adept at the first and third elements and left the coaching largely to his management team.

Robinson, thus far, has not looked particularly likely in any of these three areas. His selecting, always a difficult art, has so far been suspect.

His team has been hugely affected by injuries and retirements and the pressures of European club competition.

Last year's midfield selection of New Zealand-born Henry Paul went spectacularly awry against the wily Australians.

Robinson messed up his on-field management to the extent that England was left without a reliable goalkicker and ended up losing the test last November. Paul's replacement after 26 minutes and his long walk off the field, accompanied by a deafening silence, remains a memorable moment of the end-of-year international season.

Ironically, Paul is back on the bench for tonight's match against France. But another year, another midfielder. Enter Matthew Tait for last week's opening Six Nations match against Wales.

Nineteen years old and accompanied by 19 hectares of hype in the English media, Tait ran smack into Wales' muscular Gavin Henson - now there's a certainty for the Lions tour - and looked out of his depth.

Players like Mike Tindall and Will Greenwood are currently absent because of injury but Robinson's selections have the look of a man trying to make his special mark on his own team - not a hand-on from Sir Clive.

This weekend, he's moved Jamie Noon to centre and brought in Ollie Barkley - who replaced Tait last weekend - at second five-eighths. Barkley certainly provided more vision and distribution but he will be more interesting than frightening to the French centre pairing, the baby elephants of Brian Liebenberg (so badly exposed by the All Blacks) and Damien Traille.

The performance of the England pack must be the key concern. The back row were woeful against Wales. Only Joe Worsley survives, with previously injured Lewis Moody and Martin Corry back. Chris Jones, the speedy loose forward who has a question mark over his toughness, is dropped.

Maybe it was Julian White's neck injury but England seemed muted and unable to wrest control from the energetic Welsh in spite of the best efforts of Kay and the abrasive Grewcock. So the tight five have a lot to do this week - especially as the back row, even with Moody and Corry, has a solid rather than superior dimension.

Behind the scrum, England appeared to be back to their bad old ways of doing a wonderful impression of a team that cannot score a try.

One answer to the midfield uncertainty would be to play the granite-hard Lewsey there. He'd give the backline a lot more go-forward - and England has many more options at wing than they do at midfield right now.

Robinson has also opted to blood hot new halfback Harry Ellis in place of experienced Matt Dawson - another selection gambit.

However, the French have their own problems.

Their back row looked positively awkward in their lucky win against Scotland and the return of Serge Betsen will be more than welcome. Olivier Magne may be on the outer after a long career but, on the evidence of last week, Julian Bonnaire is not the answer.

France coach Bernard Laporte may have dropped his own selection clangers with the continued choice of Yann Delaigue at first five-eighths instead of Frederic Michalak.

The French backs looked ponderous last week and, while it is unfair to drop all of that on Delaigue's doorstep, Michalak appeals as a more likely match-winner with ball in hand and as goalkicker.

Laporte also has halfback hassles and has dropped a mystified Pierre Mignoni in favour of the out-of-favour Dimitri Yachvili.

- Herald on Sunday