Lose and it's all over

The grim reality that their global reign might not survive this evening's ambush planned by Tonga at the Parc des Princes will be hammered home before the holders leave their base in Versailles.

That the Tongans spent yesterday dyeing their hair green in support of an online Irish bookmaker and falling foul of the tournament advertising rules merely heightened the Pythonesque absurdity of England's predicament.

The organisers saw nothing funny about a stunt which they felt would bring the game into disrepute.

"This is the most important match in Tonga's history and the world is watching," said a World Cup spokesman said. "We felt it was totally inappropriate. They will be playing without any green in their hair."

Should the unthinkable happen, England will be back in London by Monday for the start of a national inquest instead of heading to a quarter-final against Australia in Marseille.

"There's no point dressing it up — we lose and we're out," said Phil Vickery, the official captain who has to bide his time among the substitutes after serving a two-match ban. "You've got to have that fear there somewhere. The last thing any of us wants is to be part of an England team which doesn't get out of the pool stage.

"For me, fear is always a huge part of playing the game. I've always wanted it as a motivation whatever game I'm playing in. People are going to have to be edgy and so they should be. We're not a school team playing in the Daily Mail Cup. These are players who have won big matches in big tournaments. It's up to us to go out and perform.

"There's no point throwing any blame around. You can have the best coaches in the world but if you don't do the basics as players, you're going to be in trouble. We've got to be better than we have been, otherwise what happened in 2003 could end this weekend."

Vickery will hope to smell enough fear in the dressing-room to ensure that England, left in pieces by South Africa a fortnight ago, have put most of them back together in time for the serious business of the last eight.

Another of the few left from Sydney four years ago will be sitting alongside him, straining at the leash for the opportunity to remind the world at large that he is not finished yet.

Lawrence Dallaglio admitted that the thought had crossed his mind more than once during the fortnight since paying, along with a few others, for the alarmingly ponderous effort against the United States.

"I'll be honest," he said. "I didn't expect to come here and not play in that game against the Springboks but I'm not looking to apportion blame other than to myself.

"It's painful to watch the team get beaten 36-zip. I shared that pain with everyone else. I've got to try to do something about it and this is the first opportunity I've had to do that. It is exactly what I intend to do."

If the old warhorse felt in hindsight that this tournament had turned out to be a bridge too far, he certainly gave no hint of it yesterday, rejecting any question of regretting the decision to abort his Test retirement.

"Not at all," he said. "You can't script it all. I've tried to do most of that for much of my career. It's just that whoever wrote the script this time round didn't consult me beforehand.

"There's no guarantee I will get an opportunity but the priority is not about me, it's about winning the game. Considering what's happened since the last World Cup it's no huge surprise we are in this position.

"I'm not one to look back at the last three or four games otherwise we'll be here all day. It's a tricky one when you are not in the match 22. You play a supporting role, which I think I have played particularly well, and we'll see what happens from here on in.

"I stayed calm, tried to work hard and keep a decent attitude until an opportunity came again. If required I will do whatever I can to make sure we win the game. I enjoy proving the doubters wrong. That's something we intend to do and get a quarter-final against Australia."

Dallaglio's belief that England "have a few more gears to shift into" will need to be realised if the Red Rose army is to avoid a night potentially more damning than the one against the Springboks in a different part of the same city a fortnight ago. Tonga, up to 12th in the world rankings and rising, sense English blood and believe their rampaging back row will cause more havoc.

Finau Maka, with his shock of hair, bears comparison to any No 8 in the tournament, his New Zealand-based sidekick, Hale T-Pole, is fresh from his red card for stiff-arming a Samoan, and Nili Latu, the other flanker, makes light of lingering doubts over a hamstring.

"We're going to throw the kitchen sink at them," said Latu. "The losers won't get another chance and we've got the best team we've ever had.

"It's been a long struggle but we've already made history. To unite our country and stand as one is a major achievement. This isn't about a rich team against a poor one, it's about showcasing talent. It'll be hard because England are beginning to hit their straps."

As the tension mounted, head coach Brian Ashton calmly stated his faith in the chosen few to "do the job".

It will save him and English rugby in general a whole lot of grief if they win by at least 25 points, something which would have been considered routine not so long ago.

TV: ITV1, 7.30pm (kick-off 8.0).