Notebook

England's flyhalf dilemma

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Posted: Thursday October 21, 1999 01:59 PM

Clive Woodward hopes the four England players to receive knocks against Fiji will be fit by the weekend. David Rogers/Allsport

LONDON (AP) -- England coach Clive Woodward is facing a selection dilemma at flyhalf for Sunday's showdown against World Champion South Africa.

Does he bring back Paul Grayson, who set a new English record of 36 points against Tonga? Or will he stick with Jonny Wilkinson who kicked 23 points after being recalled against Fiji?

Wilkinson was rested after the defeat against the All Blacks, a match in which he missed some crucial penalties, but impressed against Fiji.

"I thought Jonny played well and bounced back well. It's going to be a big call on Sunday," Woodward said after his team qualified for the quarterfinals with a 45-24 victory.

The choice may in fact be made for him since a groggy Wilkinson had to be substituted toward the end of the Fiji match after being caught with a late body-check by skipper Greg Smith.

Wilkinson was one of four England players to receive knocks against Fiji. But Woodward says he hopes all will be fit by the weekend.

Empty seats

The furor over poor turnouts at games in Scotland reignited after fewer than 16,000 spectators paid to see the Scots muscle aside Samoa in Wednesday's all-or-nothing playoff, with the winner meeting tournament favorite New Zealand in Sunday's quarterfinal.

That was a smaller turnout than for against minnow Spain.

And calls are now being made for mass resignations among the organizing bodies if even the prospect of watching the All Blacks, widely regarded as the world's best side, fails to fill the 67,500-capacity Murrayfield stadium.

The Scottish Rugby Union has been slammed for pricing tickets too high and for scheduling games on weekday afternoons, forcing fans to take time off work.

Scotland coach Jim Telfer has stayed tightlipped after coming under fire last week when he complained about the low level of support for his side.

But now two former Scottish rugby stars have joined the fray.

David Sole, who led Scotland to its last Grand Slam in 1990, expressed sympathy for the players who appear in front of empty stands, saying it's "immensely disappointing."

Jim Aitken, who captained Scotland in its 1984 Grand Slam win, was more pointed, saying the attendance figures were "pathetic."

"If they don't sell out on Sunday, then it is time for some serious blood-letting," he was quoted as saying by the newspaper The Scotsman. "The SRU administration should resign en bloc. They have nobody else to blame."

French lose prop

"It is not right that a club should be penalized for a sanction collected during a match for France," said club president Rene Bouscatel. "It is a real blow for the club to be deprived in this way. There needs to be some way of appealing against World Cup rules."

Califano, given the ban because of violent play in France's match against Fiji, is also exasperated about his ban from the game.

"I don't know what to do with myself and now I don't even have the European Cup to lift my sprits," he said.

Fiji in the red

Fiji, whose players weren't even kitted out with official blazers until after the tournament had started due to financial problems, has ended the World Cup in the red. And Johnstone, whose contract is now nearly up, fears for the future.

"We had to tap government and public funds just to get here," he said. "Sponsorship is the answer, and hopefully we'll have pinched somebody's nerves during the World Cup."

"If not, I don't know where the money's going to come from for the next three years."

The Fijians won many new fans at Twickenham, playing entertaining rugby in the playoff against England. During a lap of honor they were given a rousing farewell.

And Johnstone, who has said the young team will peak by the next World Cup, says money would make a real difference to the country's rugby and help them compete with the best.

 

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