Tindall will
play in front of his wife, Zara Phillips, who is due arrive in Dunedin on
Friday – the first time she will have seen him since his drunken encounter with
a blonde woman at a dwarf-racing bar.
Phillips,
who married Tindall six weeks ago, flew to Australia on Tuesday having brought
forward her travel plans and is due to arrive in New Zealand the day before
England play.
A spokesman
for Tindall has said the girl in the bar was an old friend now living in
Australia, and claimed she had attended his wedding to Phillips in August.
The return
of Tindall is one of seven changes Johnson plans to make to the team which beat
Georgia 41-10 in the Rugby World Cup last
weekend with a performance which drew withering criticism from the England manager.
Johnson
seems likely to name what he is thought to perceive as his strongest line-up
against the weakest team in pool B, an indication that he wants one more game
to iron out the significant wrinkles ahead of the pool-defining match against
Scotland in Auckland on Oct 1.
Significantly,
Jonny Wilkinson is also set to return to the starting line-up at fly-half even
after an impressive performance by Toby Flood in Sunday's bonus-point victory
against the Georgians in Dunedin, which moved England to the top of pool B at
the halfway stage.
Wilkinson,
who missed five successive penalties in the opening victory over Argentina, is
given another chance to prove he is the first choice fly-half, even though
Flood kicked 11 points and helped create tries for Shontayne Hape and Manu
Tuilagi.
Wilkinson
admitted that he was facing strong competition from the Leicester fly-half.
"We both love the game and both play with a similar approach, which is
just wanting to get the best out of the players around us," said
Wilkinson.
"We are
constantly talking and communicating – there have been times when we've been on
the field together and there's been no thought of 'what could we do'. We are a
squad, and when the selection happens you get on with it.
"The
squad is blessed with some fabulous centres who are taking the game by storm –
Shontayne (Hape) scored a couple of tries and finished them brilliantly; I
thought Manu (Tuilagi) looked dangerous and you can see the impact he's having.
"Having
decision-makers like Floody around is good on and off the field. The guy thinks
rugby and knows rugby, so it's great to have him even if it means I'm not
playing. But I can input something that helps him go out and flourish and he
can do the same to me."
There is
also expected to be a first start for Sale Sharks wing Mark Cueto, who has
recovered from a back injury he sustained in the final World Cup warm-up game
against Ireland, in Dublin, on Aug 27. Cueto will replace Delon Armitage on the
left wing, with the London Irish full-back dropping to the bench unless
full-back Ben Foden fails to shake off a side strain.
Bath's David
Wilson is also expected to make his World Cup debut, coming in for Dan Cole at
tighthead prop, while Steve Thompson will return at hooker in place of Dylan
Hartley. Matt Stevens is set to continue at loosehead prop if he shakes off an
ankle injury.
Leicester
lock Louis Deacon should return in the second row, in place of Simon Shaw,
where he is expected to join Tom Palmer.
With Nick
Easter still suffering from a back injury, which forced Johnson to call up
Leicester forward Thomas Waldrom as emergency cover, James Haskell – England's
outstanding forward in the tournament to date – will probably continue at No 8.
Tom Croft should return at blindside flanker in place of Tom Wood, while Lewis
Moody will continue to captain the side at openside.
Wilkinson
said England could not afford a repeat of their below-par performance against
Georgia. "You just can't afford to miss a game here – you've got
Argentina, Romania, Scotland, Georgia all playing well. Who knows who's going
to win, what's going to happen.
"Its
just being accountable. It goes back to everyone. In the meetings, believe me,
guys are quick to put their hands up and say 'that's me', 'that's not good
enough' or 'I shouldn't have done that', or whatever.
"I
don't really understand it, even though I've played in a few World Cups, but
they are do or die."
Wilkinson
admitted that England must improve their disciplinary record after an
alarmingly high number of penalties conceded against Argentina and Georgia.
"The
answer has to be: be onside, be behind the back foot, take your hands off when
the referee says it," added Wilkinson.
"It's
part of the urgency that people understand that in World Cup rugby it's got to
stop. Then maybe it becomes easier to penalise us because maybe we've done it
twice.
"But
the guys are taking this massively on board and, believe me, guys are
understanding now that once is a mistake, twice is a lot more than that and
three times just can't happen."
Probable
team: B Foden; C
Ashton, M Tuilagi, M Tindall, M Cueto; J Wilkinson, B Youngs; M Stevens, S
Thompson, D Wilson, L Deacon, T Palmer, T Croft, L Moody, J Haskell.
Ben Foden
(side strain):
expected to be fit.
Matt
Stevens (sprained
ankle): limped off against Georgia but also hopes to be fit.
Nick
Easter (back):
stiffened up after sleeping on soft mattress in Dunedin. Not expected to be
fit. Thomas Waldrom called up as emergency cover.
Alex
Corbisiero (calf):
missed training on Tuesday because of injury against Georgia. Not expected to
be risked
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