Steve Thompson back to face Australia as Martin Johnson draws on the spirit of 2003

Chris Jones
4 Nov 2009

Martin Johnson has asked World Cup heroes Jonny Wilkinson, Lewis Moody and Steve Thompson to help power England to victory against Australia at Twickenham on Saturday in a team shaped by injury.

It was Wilkinson's extra-time drop goal that won the Cup against Australia in Sydney in 2003 with Thompson a key member of the fearsome team captained by Johnson, who lifted the trophy to mark England's greatest rugby triumph.

The trio have been unavailable in recent years due to their own serious injury problems. But while younger England players have been dropping like flies this season, they have defied the odds to line up against the country that made them legends.

Team manager Johnson described his current injury crisis, with 13 players ruled out, as the worst he had ever known. He said: “Clubs all have their issues with injuries and we are working together with them to get players fit.”

For Thompson (above, today), the walk down the tunnel to the Twickenham pitch will be particularly sweet. The hooker wins his 49th cap on Saturday to move tantalisingly close to a half century he never thought would be possible after medical experts told him a serious neck injury had ended his playing career.

As a result, two years ago Thompson announced his retirement from rugby. He signed for Brive as a “recruitment and technique adviser” and was in Paris to watch his former England team-mates just fall short of retaining the 2007 World Cup when they lost in the final to South Africa.

But in the same month, he surprised the sport by announcing he would be returning to the game after consulting medical staff, though he he had to pay back a £500,000 insurance claim he had received.

The 31-year-old completed his remarkable return by making appearances as a replacement last summer for England against the Barbarians and Argentina and makes his first start for three years on Saturday thanks to an injury doubt over Northampton captain Dylan Hartley.

Wilkinson's long injury list has not allowed him an extended run in the England team since 2003 and he was ruled out for 10 months last season by a dislocated knee but he, like Thompson, has found a new lease of rugby life in France, where he plays for Toulon.

Moody, only recently recovered from a broken ankle, makes his 54th England appearance having seen off the challenge of Steffon Armitage and forms an all-Leicester back row with Jordan Crane and Tom Croft, who made a huge impact with the Lions in South Africa.

The uncapped pair of Northampton lock Courtney Lawes and Ayoola Erinle, the former London Wasps centre who is now at Biarritz, have been named amongst the replacements for the first time.
Lawes, 20, replaces injured Quins No8 Nick Easter while 29-year-old Erinle was called into the squad last weekend as a replacement for the injured Mike Tindall.

In the face of his injury woes, Johnson has opted for tried and tested combinations in the form of the entire Leicester back row and locks Steve Borthwick and Louis Deacon, who played in three summer matches together to give the pack solidity.

The front row of Tim Payne, Thompson and David Wilson also played together, albeit for short periods, against Argentina.

However, the backs are a new grouping and inevitably, the main focus on Saturday will be on Wilkinson who has amassed a record 1,032 points in 70 England appearances.

England line-up v Australia

Reps: D Hartley (North'ton), D Bell (Bath), C Lawes (North'ton), J Haskell
(St Francais), P Hodgson (L Irish),
A Goode (Brive), A Erinle (Biarritz)