Don't write me off, warns axed England star Wilkinson

The player who has scaled more peaks of excellence than any other in the contemporary game responded by preparing for the steepest climb of all, the one aimed at recapturing the treasured Red Rose jersey from Danny Cipriani.

He gave immediate notice in typical Wilkinson fashion - 90 minutes' goalkicking practice - while the new man 'congratulated' head coach Brian Ashton on his tough line for going nightclubbing.

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The deposed fly half had no time to feel sorry for himself and wonder why he, alone of those responsible for the shameful 80 minutes at Murrayfield, would not be starting against Ireland on Saturday.

He said: "Trying to be great, trying to get the best out of your team and seeing great results is the pinnacle of the process. You search for those moments. I've been trying to do that for 10 years. I'll be trying to do it for many more."

Wilkinson, 29 in May, knows there is no guarantee he will be back.

"Danny is a great player with a fabulous future, and deservedly so. He applies himself brilliantly and I've the utmost respect for him."

Despite the prognosis that he would be dropped for the first time since Sir Clive Woodward made the mistake of omitting him from his starting XV for the ill-fated 1999 World Cup quarter-final against South Africa in Paris, Wilkinson had not prepared himself for the news when the beleaguered Ashton asked for a private word minutes before a lunchtime team meeting.

The reason given - "inconsistent performances".

Wilkinson said: "I don't walk around thinking I'm going to get dropped, but neither am I presumptuous enough to think I'm in the team. I was called aside for the first time in a while and told. It took a millisecond to get over the disappointment and start concentrating on a different role."

He then went as close as he dared to confessing that the Scotland game had gone horribly wrong.

"I wasn't able to be me, to do the things I love doing. Those are the games you can be judged fairly harshly on," he said. "The last time I felt 'me' was after the French game.

"But one thing will never change. I will never stop going out there trying to get better; morning by morning, afternoon by afternoon, day by day. I may be engaged in a 180-degree spin on how I see life but it doesn't take anything away from caring desperately about what I do.

"If I am at my best, anything is possible. My drive to do that is desperate because time is passing and the fire within me to achieve that burns as much as ever. I'll keep going until someone tells me they don't want my fire any more.

"For me, this is no longer a game but a lifetime experience. If this is the end for me, I'd be no one. One day this will all come to an end but not, I hope, for some time yet."

Cipriani, 20, will dispatch match tickets to his friends this week by post rather than via a nightclub.

"Sounds a good idea," he said with a rueful grin. "Playing for England means everything to me and, hopefully, nothing will stop me from doing so this week.

"Brian made his point and that's going to stand me in good stead. He has taught me a lesson and I'd rather be taught it now than later.

"Brian came in for a lot of criticism but he's sent out a clear message. He should be congratulated for that. I've known Brian since I was 14 and this has not changed my relationship with him.

"Jonny was the first to wish me well and say, 'If there's anything you want from me, just ask'."

Ireland, aiming to repeat their Seventies heroics of five wins in a row at Twickenham, will be captained by Ronan O'Gara.

With Brian O'Driscoll hamstrung by injury following last week's failure to derail the Welsh Grand Slam bandwagon, the Munster stand-off leads his country for the first time.

He will have a reshuffled three-quarter line outside him.

Rob Kearney reverts from full back to left wing, Tommy Bowe crosses to his favoured position on the right, leaving Andrew Trimble and Shane Horgan to form a brand new centre pairing.

ENGLAND: I Balshaw, P Sackey, J Noon, T Flood, L Vainikolo, D Cipriani, R Wigglesworth, A Sheridan, L Mears, P Vickery (capt), S Shaw, S Borthwick, T Croft, N Easter, M Lipman.

Subs: G Chuter, M Stevens, B Kay J Haskell, P Hodgson, J Wilkinson, M Tait.

IRELAND: G Murphy, T Bowe, A Trimble, S Horgan, R Kearney, R O'Gara (capt), E Reddan, A Horgan, R Best, J Hayes, D O'Callaghan, P O'Ceonnell, D Leamy, J Heaslip, D Wallace.

Subs: B Jackman, T Buckley, M O'Driscoll, S Easterby, P Stringer, P Wallace, L Fitzgerald.