Shaw is cleared for take-off after dash to hospital

Shaw was admitted to hospital yesterday with a facial infection which required antibiotics to be given by intravenous drip and he was able to rejoin the squad at their Heathrow hotel last night.

Shaw's facial problems have earned him the new nickname 'Desperate Dan' from his team mates and he sported a new goatee beard for the official departure photograph on the steps of the aircraft because he cannot shave at the moment.

The antibiotics are understood to have halted the spread of the infection, allowing Shaw to make the flight to Paris and he will be available for selection for England's opening 2007 Rugby World Cup match against USA in Lens on Saturday.

Shaw's World Cup experiences have been largely forgettable. He appears to be jinxed when it comes to the biggest rugby tournament in the world, having missed selection in 1999 and then was axed on the eve of the 2003 cup, eventually collecting a winner's medal as a replacement despite never making it onto the pitch during the tournament.

Shaw was keeping a low profile today while Josh Lewsey, the Wasps wing, was dealing with thousands of autograph requests and insisting the defending champions would finally reveal their attacking threat in France.

Lewsey said: "We cannot demand respect just because we won the trophy four years ago. The slate is completely clean and we can't rely on what happened in the past.

"I know that the vast majority of people have written us off, which is annoying, but this is, basically, a knockout tournament and if we can collectively come up with a performance then we could make a real impact.

"The best form of defence is attack and we have to get control of the ball to add that X-factor you need against the best defences.

"This Cup is not going to be won purely on desire and physical power, because all the teams have those. It's about getting the right balance and being clinical about the chances you get.

"People judge you on your results and even when we were top-ranked in 2003 people wrote us off as a Dad's Army whose arthritic limbs wouldn't take them to the title. It doesn't really matter what people think about us, you have to earn respect by winning and we haven't done enough of that."

Will Greenwood, Lewsey's fellow World Cup winner in 2003, will be watching this World Cup from the comfort of the commentary box and expects Mike Catt and Jamie Noon to form the first-choice centre partnership for England.

Greenwood said: "It's an enormously difficult task for England to get past the quarter-final stage. And they will need all the stars aligned and it's a huge ask of form and fitness and not even their mothers think they can win the Cup.

"However, there are too many guys I've played with still in that England dressing room and that means you cannot completely write them off.

"England appear to be adopting the attitude of 'Let's be in it at 60 minutes and see what happens'. They want to go eyeball-to-eyeball in defence with the opposition and keep them try-less.

"That is why I expect Jamie Noon to be at centre because he has shown enough solid defence, while Mike Catt will be the comfort blanket for Jonny Wilkinson at inside centre.

"Jonny loves having Catty alongside him because of his ability to read the game and communicate well. It was telling that Catty made the best break of all the warm-up games against France.

"He makes the kind of yards we see the All Blacks creating, but they have waves of support runners flooding through the channels and that's what England have to develop off Catt."