End of line for Leonard

England dropped Jason Leonard from their Six Nations line-up yesterday for the first time since 1990, signalling the end of his marathon career.

The 35-year-old front rower has been replaced for the Ireland clash at Twickenham on Saturday by Matt Stevens, an uncapped Anglo-South African who was seven when the world's most-capped prop played the first of his 114 Tests for England in Buenos Aires 14 years ago.

Matt Dawson replaces Andy Gomarsall at scrum half, Steve Borthwick fills the second-row gap caused by an injury to Bath colleague Danny Grewcock and Joe Worsley reclaims his place on the blind side of the back row from Chris Jones. Sale's multi-purpose forward reverts to the bench as an emergency lock after the World Cup winners lost both of Martin Johnson's long-term understudies in weekend domestic cup ties.

No sooner had Grewcock been ruled out because of a damaged achilles tendon than his replacement, Simon Shaw, broke a bone during Wasps'Powergen Cup humiliation by Pertemps Bees.

Jones' redeployment as a secondrow replacement clears the way for the unscheduled recall of Neil Back, at 35 the same age as Leonard, as a back-row replacement.

Leonard has withstood four World Cups and three Lions tours but not even his powers of endurance could make him indispensable any longer.