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Wilkinson to the rescue

The sole reason England are in the World Cup Final

Cast your mind back to the group stages of this World Cup and you will be greeted by memories of a shambolic England side seemingly spiralling towards a premature exit.

Now, with less than a week to run, they are in the Final. Nobody would have predicted it, not even their most ardent fans. Deep down they might have clung desperately to a shred of hope, but reality would have told them that a successful defence of their crown was just not possible.

That was until Jonny Wilkinson, absent from their opening two games, returned to fitness to take control of a creaking ship that was in danger of beaching in spectacular fashion. It is the sole reason England are in the final: not their rugged forward pack, or the backs-to-the-wall defence, but the boot and guidance of Wilkinson.

All the evidence you need for this comes in the contrast seen between the England team that spluttered to an unconvincing win over USA, not to mention the record 36-0 defeat at the hands of South Africa, and the side that has quietly but surely made their way to the final.

Wilkinson was absent for the opening two games, and to say England looked poor would be an understatement. In fact, they looked so out of sorts that an uninitiated eye would have reckoned them to be minnows rather than defending champions. That they now stand on the brink of becoming the first side to successfully defend the Webb Ellis trophy is a testament to Wilkinson and his prodigious boot.

Without him England would be at home already, licking their wounds and nursing their pride. Against Australia he scored all of England's points, and on Saturday he was England's star man, those six points in the dying stages of a pulsating game were invaluable.

The rest of the England side is not poor, but it is not great, and you would be foolish to argue otherwise. Whilst the pack is solid it lacks dynamism. That much we have garnered from their last two knock-out games. There is a distinct lack of flair, their job hardly requires it. They grunt and grind their way into position for Wilkinson to do the rest.

A backline that has struggled to find tries hardly strikes fear into the opposition, hence why Wilkinson is constantly singled out as the dangerman. Look at the tries England have scored, even with Wilkinson in their ranks, and you will see a glut of scores borne from opposition errors rather than sensational attacking rugby. Take out Wilkinson and you have a very ordinary England team.

England hooker Mark Regan spoke, in the aftermath of the semi-final win, of how his side had few superstars and just were an honest, hardworking team. I would go one step further and say England only have one superstar, Wilkinson, whilst the rest would struggle to make it into any other top international team.

The reality is, with an average age of 32, the remainder of the side is long past its peak. Wilkinson on the other hand has bounced back from a disastrous three years to prove his class is permanent. He is the reason England will walk out in Paris next Saturday, he has single-handedly dragged his troops to Paris for one last trench battle. But it remains to be seen if Wilkinson can win the World Cup single-footedly.

Are England a one man team?

By Marcus Leach