England confusion exposed by experiment with Vickery

Gloucester prop set for switch to loose head in attempt to improve scrummage as club colleague aims to stake claim for scrum-half berth

A bad week for England, no question. The world's richest team, so awash with money that no expense was spared in preparation for this tournament, committed one of the great bog-standard errors in rugby history by putting 16 players on the field against Samoa six days ago. If there were mitigating circumstances - as nobody involved in the red rose army has any need to count the dollars these days, they are bound to be out of practice on the mental arithmetic front - they did not amount to much. It was a dumb mistake, and those responsible should hang their heads in penitence.

Yet the World Cup favourites, admittedly less strong in the market as the days go by, are in danger of fouling up in a far more significant way. After weeks and months of single-minded planning, it now emerges that the management are far from convinced of their élite combination. Tomorrow, when England play what should be a 60-pointer against Uruguay, they are thinking of experimenting with Phil Vickery at loose-head prop, a role he has rarely performed at any serious level of the sport.

Concern over Trevor Woodman's form and fitness make this an obvious tactic, but there is more to it than is apparent on the surface. In essence, England are already looking ahead to their likely semi-final with France, who lay fair claim to being the fiercest scrummagers in the world. Vickery's limitations in the intensely demanding tight-head position have been well documented: outstanding around the field, both in tackling and ball-carrying, his technical deficiencies at the set-piece are frequently exposed by heavy-duty opponents. Hence the Springboks' diplomatically delicate decision to drop the one black forward in their side, Lawrence Sephaka, for the formidable Christo Bezuidenhout - an iron prop from the high veld who duly gave Vickery a punishing reminder of the realities of life at the sharp end.

The switch to loose head was being discussed by the England coaches as long ago as the summer of 2002, when Vickery led the team to victory over Argentina in Buenos Aires. The prospect of the out-sized Gloucester prop joining forces with two other front-row monstrosities in Steve Thompson and Julian White was understandably appealing. "Of all the teams in the world," Andy Robinson, the forwards coach, said at the time, "only the French could begin to handle that unit. It's worth following up."

As it turned out, Vickery spent the domestic season in his usual position, while Woodman, his club colleague, made spectacular progress on the left-hand side of the scrum. Come last June, when England beat the Wallabies in Melbourne, Woodman was playing out of his socks. But he was less convincing against the Boks a fortnight ago, hence the possibility of change if the circumstances are right tomorrow.

Between them, Woodman and Vickery face the most difficult tasks, for if the South Americans are naïve in the back division, they do love a scrummage. Eduardo Berrutti, Diego Lamelas and Pablo Lemoine are useful operators - back-rowers like Rodrigo Capo and Nicolas Grille would hardly have caught the eye as they have without significant help from their cauliflower-faced brethren up front - so the challenge is there to be met.

Of course, England should pack too much firepower to be troubled for more than a few minutes. But this is not the most reassuring line-up ever fielded by Woodward and company: Martin Corry will certainly be jet-lagged following his return flight from England on Thursday, Danny Grewcock is woefully short of game time, Mike Catt has not started an international match for almost two years and Dan Luger may still be suffering the horrors after his contribution to the 16-man controversy. A couple of early tries to settle the nerves would be very welcome indeed.

Uruguay have made six changes to the side that triumphed over Georgia in Sydney on Tuesday - a cup final for the have-nots, and an occasion to be savoured. Only one was forced on their coach, the estimable Diego Ormaechea, but it was a change he could well have done without. Martin Mendaro, a versatile sort with a decade of international experience in his kitbag, damaged his knee during the match, and therefore leaves Ormaechea without a midfield organiser to call his own.

It could have been worse, though. If, from a Uruguayan perspective, there is a more unnerving prospect than playing England in a full-on World Cup game, it is playing them with half the team on their knees.

"We have not had the necessary recovery time since the game with Georgia," the coach said, caustically. If the tournament organisers should even dream of imposing such an unfair match schedule on the 2007 competitions in France, those nations affected by it should vote with their feet and stay at home.