WILKINSON DROPPED FOR ENGLAND
Jonny Wilkinson has been dropped from England's final Six Nations clash with Ireland on Saturday.
Wasps' in-form fly-half Danny Cipriani will take over the number ten jersey from Wilkinson, who is demoted to the replacements bench.
Wilkinson, who became the world record points scorer at the weekend after kicking all of England's points in a 15-9 Calcutta Cup defeat to Scotland at Murrayfield, has struggled for form in an England side that has looked devoid of any attacking urgency throughout the tournament, with a particular concern surrounding his often-praised kicking game.
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Cipriani was originally named a full-back for the Scotland clash although was dropped just 24 hours later after being spotted in a London nightclub in the early hours of Thursday morning.
The change sees Charlie Hodgson drop out of the 22, while James Haskell returns to the replacements bench in place of Luke Narraway.
It is the first time that Wilkinson has been dropped from the England side since a 1999 World Cup quarter final defeat to South Africa.
England coach Brian Ashton has resisted calls for wholesale changes but has denied that Wilkinson is being made a scapegoat for England's sub-par performances in the tournament.
"This might seem bizarre but I don't consider him dropped because he is on the bench and still an integral part of our squad," Ashton told BBC Radio 5 Live.
"He is covering 10 and 12 and could come on in the first five minutes and win us the game.
"I have got a tremendous amount of confidence in his ability to bounce back and show himself to be a very confident international player again.
"Danny has been playing exceptionally well at 10 for Wasps and was due to play last week but managed to side-step that one," Ashton quipped.
"He is pretty quick on his feet and hopefully we will see him now at long last out on the field in a starting XV.
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