Lievremont stunned at Wilko snub
FRANCE coach Marc Lievremont admits he was shocked to see Jonny Wilkinson dropped by England – but is still not ruling out the fly-half making a match-winning cameo.
England boss Martin Johnson has preferred Toby Flood over the world record points scorer as he looks to end the Six Nations on a high note.
Lievremont rates Leicester No10 Flood highly but is half-expecting Wilkinson, who suffered a blow to the head last week, to have a say in the match.
“I was a little surprised when I heard Wilkinson was not playing,” said Lievremont, whose side are chasing the Grand Slam.
“I was expecting Wilkinson to start if he was fit, or not to take part at all if he hadn’t recovered from his head injury. I haven’t forgotten, however, that Wilkinson was not playing last year at Twickenham and Toby Flood was at fly-half. It didn’t save us from conceding 30 points. And we know that if the match is in the balance, Wilkinson can come on and that could be decisive.”