There will be few Frenchmen this evening who are desperate for Jonny Wilkinson to come off the bench in Paris and prove the England selectors wrong. But Philippe Saint-Andre is one who hopes that the deposed fly half is given a chance, if only to restore his confidence before he returns to club rugby in France next week.

Saint-Andre, the former France captain who is Wilkinson’s coach at Toulon, is baffled that his player has become a scapegoat for England’s lacklustre RBS Six Nations Championship campaign. He feels that England should blame instead a conservative game plan that stifles creativity and does not allow players to shine.

“I’m not sure Jonny Wilkinson is the problem for England,” Saint-Andre told The Times. “It is more the system that is wrong. Over the past few weeks, he hasn’t looked the same sort of player that he has been for Toulon.

“For us, he is playing very well. He is kicking well, his defence is good, his distribution is very good. I am very pleased with him. But we have a system that allows him to play, with runners in support on his shoulder and men out wide to build an attack quickly.”

In his first season at Toulon, Wilkinson’s form has been near his best. He is the third-highest points-scorer in the Top 14, despite missing seven matches on England duty, and has steered the club to fifth place and the quarterfinals of the Amlin Challenge Cup. With Toulon only four points off the top of the table and a Heineken Cup place for next season in sight, Saint-Andre is anxious to have Wilkinson back.

“Against Saracens [in the Challenge Cup in October] he was fantastic,” Saint-Andre said. “He attacked the line and created three tries with short, flat passes to the centres. He really ran that game, but England don’t give him those options and, without men at close quarters to take the ball at pace, he finds it difficult to do much with it.

“He is a quality passer, but when the nearest receiver is 20 metres back, it is easy to see why he takes the ball into contact himself. I would like to see him a bit deeper, with men running on to him to build a move. But I don’t think that is the way England want to play.”

With typical colourful expression, Saint-Andre describes England’s tactics under Martin Johnson as “one-pass bosh, one-pass bosh”, a war of attrition in which territory is gained inch by inch. He feels that the strategy does not suit players such as Wilkinson, especially with two centres outside him in Mathew Tait and Riki Flutey, who also prefer to be given space and width.

“With them in midfield, the balance looked wrong,” Saint-Andre said. “The return of Mike Tindall for Tait will help. Dan Hipkiss is another big centre whose style would have suited England’s game plan better this season.”

Yet there are signs of England throwing off the conservatism. Saint-Andre is pleased that Ben Foden, whom he coached during his five-year spell in charge of Sale Sharks, has been given his first start after three impressive cameos from the bench. “Ben is one of the best players I have coached,” Saint-Andre said. “He has the pace to beat anybody, is brave under the high ball and has a good kicking game. I saw him as a full back, but he left Sale to join Northampton to play scrum half. I’m delighted to see him back wearing the No 15 jersey. He really deserves it.”

The man whom the French call “Le Wilko” has almost as good a record against France on their home soil as Henry V, with three wins out of four against Les Bleus at the Stade de France. His sole defeat was by five points in 2002. Can he go once more unto the breach, stiffening the sinews and summoning up the blood like he did in the Six Nations two years ago and in the 2007 World Cup semi-final?

“France will find England tough to beat,” Saint-Andre said. “England are strong, powerful and there is quality there. England have struggled to impose themselves on teams that they should beat, like Italy and Scotland. Maybe with the pressure off, they can play at their best against France.”

Times Online