Dallaglio slams Carling criticism

LAWRENCE DALLAGLIO has rejected the suggestion by former captain Will Carling his presence in England’s World Cup squad might affect team spirit.

“I’m just not a divisive person,” said the 35-year-old former captain.

“I’ve been brought in for the things I can do, and that includes bringing people together rather than splitting them apart. I’m not too worried about what Will thinks. His comment was almost so irrelevant as not to be worth reading.”

Carling told BBC Radio 5live earlier this week: “Sometimes the nature of someone like Lawrence can be a problem in a squad if he’s not a captain and there are not very strong guys to keep him in check.

“They are obviously not going to make him captain at the World Cup. And if you take him, does he end up being divisive if he’s not in the team?”

Dallaglio, who captained England from 1997 to 1999 and also in 2004, responded: “I always thought Will was a decent bloke. I’m not sure now. It’s hard to know where he has got that kind of assessment from, given that he is standing a long, long way away from the squad.”

Andy Farrell was another controversial selection at centre, after the 32-year-old former Great Britain rugby league captain endured two years of injuries before making his union debut last September.

He said: “The World Cup was hard to think of some times, but I never gave up hope. Once I was fit and able, it was always a goal of mine to try and achieve.

“Yes, there were times I would think it was getting out of my hands, but thankfully I am now fit and things are moving in the right direction.

“The good thing for me is that I am back playing again and enjoying myself, and I am excited about that.”

England play France on Saturday in their final warm-up match before the World Cup begins on September 7.

And Jonny Wilkinson insists they will not be over-reliant on forward power when they defend the title they won in Australia in 2003, although he admits the balance between forward and back play still needs to be fine-tuned.

“Rugby nowadays, there’s no way of winning without the whole game in place,” Wilkinson said.

“There’s no way any team can go with a single-minded, one-dimensional game plan and try to win.

“Teams are too able and adept at changing tactics, spotting weaknesses and spotting predictability and snuffing it out and almost attacking that predictability. When you haven’t got a Plan B you’re in trouble.”

Meanwhile scrum half Nicolas Vergallo insists Argentina will receive a stern test of their World Cup credentials at the Millennium Stadium tomorrow despite Wales suffering a 62-5 defeat by England in their last outing. England ran in nine tries at Twickenham at the start of August, while Dafydd James ran in Wales’ only points.

But Vergallo is well aware Gareth Jenkins’ side will look to bounce back ahead of their World Cup opener against Canada on September 9 in Nantes.

“Saturday’s opposition are a team who lost their last game and will look to clinch a victory on Saturday,” said the Jockey Club Rosario centre. “Considering how they have been playing, we’ll have to run a lot.

“Wales are as tough as an opponent as the ones we’ll face in the World Cup.

“I don’t know if their style is the same as France or Ireland, but they play a very important tournament every year, the Six Nations, so they will be a difficult team to beat.”

Argentina have been drawn in Group D of the World Cup alongside hosts France, Ireland and rugby minnows Georgia and Namibia.

Centre Martin Gaitan believes tomorrow’s game will give Argentina ideal preparation for their World Cup opener against France at the Stade de France on September 7.

“Wales a very good team and they will benefit from their home advantage,” he said.

“I think it will be quite similar to what we’ll face against France in the first game of the World Cup.”