Wilkinson vows to tackle Boks head on

JONNY WILKINSON will throw everything into England’sSouth Africa tour finale today, claiming: “We plan to go out there andstand up to it.”

England suffered a physical battering against the Springboks in Bloemfontein last Saturday, finding themselves on the receiving end of a record 58-10 defeat.

Wilkinson, promoted to captain for only the second time in his Test career,must somehow inspire England to avoid a repeat result, or worse.

The Newcastle fly-half has taken over leadership duties from Jason Robinson, whose knee injury has not healed in time, and he will skipper a side showing six changes from last Saturday.

On paper, it is little more than a damage-limitation exercise for England, who are striving to avoid an eighth successive away defeat and seventh in a row on southern hemisphere soil since being crowned 2003 world champions.

Wilkinson said: “It is a massive privilege and honour for me, but it doesn’t change my approach to things.

“ A lot of players have had to step up to the mark, and everyone knows what is required of them tomorrow.

“There is a genuine belief we are going somewhere, and the feeling is a hugely positive one. This game is a big one to put into practice what we have been doing on the training field and then take it with us into our World Cup training camp.

“We plan to go out there and stand up to it.”

England head coach Brian Ashton decided not to name his starting line-up until 24 hours before kick-off, given that resources were stretched due to injuries and a stomach virus that has plagued England almost since their arrival in South Africa just over a fortnight ago.

Ashton though, at last received some good news on the illness front whenHarlequins’ fullback Mike Brown came through a fitness test and training session just two days after England’s medical staff ruled him out of contention.

Brown keeps his place for the second Test at Loftus Versfeld, while Ashton has switched Nick Easter from number eight to blindside flanker, which allowsSaracens’ Ben Skirving an England debut in a reshuffled back-row alongside Easter and Magnus Lund.

Other changes see starts for Newcastle centre Jamie Noon on the right wing, while Saracens’ back Dan Scarborough wears the number 11 shirt for his first Test start in almost four years.

Up front, there are chances for South Africa-born Bath prop Matt Stevens, who has overcome two shoulder operations during the past year and Bristol lock RoyWinters, with Bath fullback Nick Abendanon named on the bench for a possible debut just 24 hours after arriving in South Africa as squad cover.

Johannesburg-born Abendanon has been in sparkling form for his club thisseason, and is viewed by many pundits as England’s possible World Cup fullback.

Assessing Wilkinson’s appointment and the challenge that lies ahead tomorrow, Ashton said: “It was always going to be Jonny to replace Jason Robinson as captain.

“He has led the side before, and he plays in a position where a lot of thegame depends on him, so it seemed a logical choice.