Vickery injury adds to England woes

Julian White, Vickery's understudy on the tighthead of the scrum, is also injured and Corry's choice as Dallaglio's successor at No.8 will be subject to a check of the hamstring trouble that kept him out of Leicester's win at Northampton.

White, despite having been ruled unfit for Bristol's match at Newcastle 24 hours earlier, reported to England's headquarters outside Dublin, which suggests he expects to be fit.

If Vickery and White are ruled out, England will either switch Jason Leonard from loosehead and recall the in-form Graham Rowntree or call for their oldest prop, Leicester's tighthead Darren Garforth, 35, who won the last of his 24 caps in Rome 18 months ago.

Vickery said: 'I don't think there is any major damage to the knee but it is painful and swollen. It's not looking good. It just depends how quickly it settles down but I know I'm up against it.

'Perhaps I might be able to train by Thursday but I'll be guided by the doctors. To miss such a fantastic occasion as Saturday would be heart-breaking, especially when you've waited to put the wrongs of last year's Grand Slam match right.'

Rowntree, 30, clearly intends to use a recall as a platform for the World Cup in two years. He will be named in the 22 today for the first time in the Five or Six Nations since the win over Wales in the last match at the old Arms Park more than four years ago.

A Lions tour of South Africa followed but Rowntree's career then went into such a sharp decline that he might have disappeared from the international scene. Instead, to his credit, he climbed out of a pit of despair and fought his way back.

He said: 'I lost my form and the faith in my ability to play at the top level. Then I slowly began to realise that anxiety gets you nowhere.

'I used to tie myself up in knots worrying about whether I'd play for England again. But I don't lie awake at night thinking about it as I once did.'

In his quest to regain lost ground, he unwittingly incurred Wood-ward's wrath for '30 minutes of stupidity', playing a Premiership match against Saracens before recovering from a previous knee injury.

He said: 'I feared for my chances every day and every hour of every day for a while after that. I was so desperate to get back into action, but it taught me a lesson.'

The 'Tour from Hell', so called because of the beating a depleted squad received in the southern hemisphere three years ago, may have ruined several hopefuls' chances but it was a turning point for Rowntree as Leicester's prop rediscovered himself.

He has overtaken younger challengers and climbed back to be No.1 contender to Leonard, who will receive his 92nd cap in Dublin. Rowntree will remind him that he dare not slip up if he is to reach 100.

Dawson's confirmation as captain raises the question of what England will do with Austin Healey.

I believe they would have played him at scrum half had Johnson not broken his hand but the sudden need for a proven skipper tilted the balance in Dawson's favour.

Dan Luger and Jason Robinson will take some shifting on the wings and, with Matt Perry easily the safest pair of hands at full back, Healey may be left on the bench. That would be harsh on him, given that he is in the form of his life.

As the inquest raged into Wales' failure against Ireland, Scott Quinnell offered some solace by confirming he would be fit to face Argentina in Cardiff on November 10.