Wilson joins attack on England 'cheats'

Former All Black Stu Wilson joined an ever lengthening list of England critics today as he labelled No8 Lawrence Dallaglio a "professional cheat".


Following attacks from Australian captain George Gregan and South Africa coach Rudi Straeuli about their performance against the Springboks last Saturday, Wilson said in the Sydney Morning Herald: "Lawrence Dallaglio is the most professional cheat I've seen and a few more in the pack aren't far behind as they were trying to bend the rules to breaking point.

"The talk of England's pack being a 'Dad's Army' looks on the money as they were really showing their age against South Africa. As players slow down, they're more inclined to give away silly penalties as they try to cut corners and England repeatedly looked like stunned mullets in Perth as Peter Marshall, the referee, told them to stop cheating and let the ball go."

Wilson also suggested that match winner Jonny Wilkinson, who scored 20 points against the Springboks, "showed that when the pressure is on he is far from the perfect player around the field".

But he did admit that England were "my favourites for the tournament because of their brutal defence".

Straeuli also slammed England and said: "They are clever and slowed the ball down when they had to - that's experience. When they see they are on the rack and we were looking likely to score, they go offside. It's part of the game - if you get away with it."

The only shock for England came when Eddie Jones, the Australia coach, changed from their biggest critic to the chairman of their fan club, insisting he had seen nothing wrong with their play against South Africa.

But head coach Clive Woodward is not concerned by the criticism and in fact "thanked" people for their continued sniping in the build-up to Sunday's clash with Samoa. He said today: "I want to thank all these coaches and players for their feedback.

It is excellent. We read it all and take it on board. That's why we want to say thanks for all the comments we are getting."

Woodward is focusing on Samoa and his main dilemma is whether to play fly-half Wilkinson against the physical Islanders.

"We've seen the Samoans play, they are top of the group and if we turn over ball as we did to South Africa, we'll be punished," he said. "It's going to be a pretty tense week. We are going to make one or two changes and I promise there'll be no complacency."

Stuart Abbot, the London Wasps centre, is set to fill the gap left by Will Greenwood, who is back in London to be with his wife, while Julian White and Martin Corry are expected to start their first World Cup match. Richard Hill and Matt Dawson also need game time after missing the South Africa match with injuries.

Away from the criticism, the England camp did receive a boost with the news that Greenwood's wife Caro has been released from intensive care following a scare over her pregnancy. However, she will remain in hospital until the baby is born.

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