“We were leading 16-0 on Sunday and should have killed the game then,” he said. “Instead, we allowed England to come back and were lucky they scored only three points before half-time. We need a stronger tactical dimension against Wales, because they have more creative players.” Ouch.Another Frenchman, the excellent referee Joel Jutge, did a Stevens yesterday and pulled out of the England-Ireland game after suffering a muscular injury while controlling the Wales-Italy fixture last weekend. This is a blow to England, without question.Meanwhile, the France coach, Bernard Laporte, added insult to red-rose misery by informing the world that Wales, whom the Tricolores must beat in Cardiff tomorrow to ensure a third title in five years, pose a greater threat than England with ball in hand. Freshwater, who now earns his corn in with Perpignan, may offer greater mobility than the incumbent, but there is still more of the White than the Stevens about him. With Stevens operating at full tilt, the visitors might have feared something unexpected from the England pack.

With White occupying the tight-head position, they know full well what is coming to them: a physical confrontation at the set-piece, ruthless rucking and mauling and.. very little in the way of running and passing. Yesterday, the decision was made.In a sense, his absence will clarify matters in Irish minds. The South African-born prop was deemed fit enough to face the French, but he failed to go the distance On Wednesday, he quietly confessed he was still suffering. Now that Stevens, the most gifted ball-handler among the forwards, has ruled himself out, Plan A can be fed into the shredder.
Stevens injured himself while on Premiership duty for Bath against London Irish at the Recreation Ground on 18 February, and he missed the Calcutta Cup defeat in Scotland as a result.

But Andy Robinson, the head coach, was desperate to maximise the ability in his pack for this crucial game, hence his decision to omit White from the starting line-up. White is nobody’s idea of a seven-stone weakling, as the French discovered in Paris last weekend. Together with Stevens, the aggressive Devonian sent the Tricolore scrum into a tailspin, and by so doing provided the one glimmer of light in the darkness that enveloped England from first to last. Julian White, of Leicester, will replace him at tight-head prop, with Perry Freshwater filling the gap on the bench. England need all the good fortune in the world right now, so what happened to them yesterday? Almost inevitably, they suffered another sickening blow to morale. Matt Stevens, the outstanding figure in the world champions’ pack over the course of this increasingly benighted Six Nations Championship, made his apologies and withdrew from the front row for tomorrow’s meeting with the Triple Crown-hunting Irish at Twickenham after suffering a recurrence of a shoulder problem that has bothered him for a month. Gareth Ellis returns.
Castleford could give a debut against Wigan on Sunday to Willie Manu who has completed his community service order for an assault conviction in Sydney..

The Leeds hooker Matt Diskin has agreed a new, four-year contract, but the Rhinos will miss Jamie Peacock, who has a knee injury. Andrew Dunemann has had an even more dramatic impact at Salford since leaving Leeds, steering them to four wins in their first five games. Button, in particular, has unhappy memories of dehydrating here in the steaming heat and humidity. “A few years ago I got very dehydrated towards the end and started shivering in the cockpit. If you’re not careful your eyesight starts to go too, and your performance definitely drops off. I drink five litres of liquid before the start, and have a litre drink bottle in the cockpit.” Button is at a peak of fitness after a winter of working out, despite a disappointing fourth place in the opening race in Bahrain.
Coulthard, however, will start near the back of the grid.