Wilkinson faces chop from Ashton

JONNY WILKINSON and Lesley Vainikolo could be the high-profile casualties from England’s Murrayfield horror show.

Fly-half superstar Wilkinsonhas never been dropped by his country but so poor was his general play against Scotland that England head coach Brian Ashton needs to assess the exciting alternative of Danny Cipriani — while Charlie Hodgson, a replacement against Scotland, will also be in the selection mix.

Originally picked at full-back for Murrayfield, Cipriani lost his place when he was pictured leaving a London night-spot just after midnight last Thursday.

Ashton has already confirmed the 20-year-old Wasps prospect will report back for England duty in Bath this evening for next Saturday’s Six Nations finale against Ireland at Twickenham.

Wing Vainikolo, who looks out of his depth as a rugby union Test player, offers little in comparison with players such as his Gloucester colleague James Simpson-Daniel or Sale Sharks’ Mark Cueto.

Ashton will also hope that Wasps flanker James Haskell can shake off an ankle injury time in time to face the Irish. England sorely missed his straight, direct approach at Murrayfield.

What he does — or does not — do with Cipriani, though, will spark most debate.

Ashton, noted as a conservative selector, simply has to take the plunge on such a thrilling talent.

Should England lose to Ireland, they will be left reeling from three Six Nations defeats this term.

Said Ashton: “I would imagine I have a lot of reflection to do. It is a combination of things.

“I think there will be a massive determination to put it back on the road against Ireland next week. We certainly won’t be looking at it as an experimental side, that’s for sure.

Ashton is also under pressure, with England having failed to build on reaching a second successive World Cup final just five months ago.

There appears to be no obvious game plan or clear tactical direction, and the vultures could soon be circling.

But Ashton insisted: “It doesn’t shake belief in myself. If it did, I wouldn’t be here, I would have said ‘thank you very much, goodnight.’

“It is certainly very frustrating. After the French game (England won 24-13) and the performance there, I thought we made some strides forward in certain areas.

“But we just made it very difficult for ourselves because of our lack of discipline in a number of areas,” he added.