Rugby Union: Perry knock-out blow to Woodward

FIFTEEN MONTHS into his tenure as England coach, Clive Woodward has yet to send his optimum starting line-up into the international arena. At this rate, he could wait 15 years and still not manage it. No sooner had he welcomed David Rees, his favourite right wing, back into the squad for this weekend's historic confrontation with the Springboks at Twickenham than his favourite full-back, Matt Perry, was sidelined by medical staff who belatedly decided that concussion, rather than the lingering after- effects of a good Saturday night, was to blame for a sudden outbreak of wooziness.

Perry will not play again for a mandatory three weeks, which is grim news for his country and a near disaster for his club, Bath, who face make-or-break Allied Dunbar Premiership matches with Northampton and Saracens before Christmas. His likely replacement is the Northampton full-back, Nick Beal, who was a Lion, albeit a peripheral one, during last year's triumphant romp around South Africa. Beal did not exactly cover himself in glory during England's laughably mishandled trip to the southern hemisphere during the summer; of an embarrassingly over-matched back division, only the two Matts, Perry and Dawson, could claim that rare distinction. But he possesses a howitzer of a right boot to go with some genuine gas and his recent form has had more than a little to do with the sharp upturn in Northampton's fortunes.

Woodward is virtually certain to make further, alterations to his back division following last weekend's curate's egg effort against the Wallabies. Assuming Rees is fully recovered from his seemingly interminable groin problems - the news from Sale is positive - he will surely reclaim the No 14 shirt and allow the coach to shift Tony Underwood to left wing. Will Greenwood, another victim of rampant groinism, will return to the centre provided he responds to treatment over the next 24 hours.

As ever, though, the outside-half position remains the great imponderable. Will it be Paul Grayson, dodgy knee willing, or Mike Catt, dodgy radar willing? Or even Alex King, the Wasps stand-off effectively jettisoned by Woodward after the New Zealand leg of the summer tour, but granted the most unexpected of reprieves.

"He provides me with an option at No 10," acknowledged the coach yesterday, a mere five months after deciding that his only option was to book the same player a seat on the earliest flight out of Auckland.

The best King can realistically hope for is a seat on the bench, which will be his for the taking if Grayson succumbs to the knee injury he suffered half an hour into the Wallaby Test. Still, it is gratifying to see the 23-year-old playmaker involved again at the top level. He remains the most subtle attacking stand-off available to Woodward and in a courageous response to the humiliations inflicted upon him by 15 snarling Maoris during a desperate night in Rotorua last June, he has worked hard to beef up his defence.

Two regular squad members, Tom Beim of Sale and Garath Archer of Newcastle, were omitted from the party yesterday and if Beim is getting used to the feeling, Archer, the one ever-present lock in England's engine room last season, will not have felt quite so depressed since Jack Rowell shelved him after two appearances in the 1996 Five Nations. The message from on high is clear: Tim Rodber is the coming man in Woodward's second row. Archer faces a long, hard winter in the cold.