So he was right then, all those weeks ago. At Lord’s, when he held a December thank you to the rugby writers in the Long Room, Clive Woodward told me we’d never see that World Cup winning side again.
Sitting there, next to the soon-to-be-knighted one, I thought he was talking about tinkering in the Sir Alex Ferguson style. Gradually letting the Bryan Robsons, the Steve Bruces and the Dwight Yorkes move on.
Soon Martin Johnson was gone. Mike Tindall and Jonny Wilkinson picked up serious injuries. Hooker Steve Thompson remains doubtful with an ankle injury.
But now the real shocker. No Neil Back. Just 11 weeks ago Backie was proving himself a world leader in the art of rucking, mauling and picking up serious gashes all over his head.
Now he’s been left out in the cold. And you have to wonder if there’s any coming back for Back as Joe Worsley gets ready to pull on the number seven shirt. And Chris Jones comes in to contention for his first cap at lock or in the loose.
Back is as shocked as the rest of us. After all those years trying to convince us that commitment and fanatical fitness could make up for a lack of height behind the scrum, Back finds himself dropped for Sunday’s opening Six Nations clash against Italy in Rome.
And he’s not happy. He said: ‘I was a world champion a few weeks ago. I was on top of my game, nothing’s changed. I don’t think my form has dropped … But Clive picks the team.â€
Did Sir Alf Ramsey do this to Nobby Stiles after the World Cup? Did Ferguson do this to Paul Scholes after winning the European Cup?
No. But Woodward simply says: ‘I am looking at current form. It’s always hard to leave out the established players.â€
Back was the oldest of the dad’s army loose trio; Richard Hill and new captain Lawrence Dallaglio have both made the cut, though, for my money, Backie was the best of the three during the World Cup.
Dallaglio struggled badly early on and Hill’s hamstring only healed sufficiently for the semi and final. They function as a trio, not as three individuals. When Hill came back in to the side, they were different gravy.
Yet it is Backie who pays the price.
This is no way to treat a World Cup winner, especially when Johnson, Wilkinson, Tindall and Mike Catt are already out.
Back has 65 caps, 10 years of hurt behind him. And he’s a vital part of what happens in the ruck. Yet now he says: ‘I’ll be taking Olivia [his daughter] to ballet. I’ll spend some quality time with my family.â€
Ouch. Woodward has gone beyond what I expected here.
Don’t forget, Lewis Moody is out with a foot injury too and he’s dropped World Cup squad members Kyran Bracken and Martin Corry. Real performers with serious experience.
Poor old Back was made Leicester captain this season. But he jacked it in last weekend and gave the armband back to Martin Johnson because he thought he’d be spending the next seven weeks with England.
I only hope Sir Clive knows what he’s doing. He generally does.
And as I understand it, Back was going to join Johnson in international retirement until he had a chat with Woodward after the World Cup.
What’s going on? Has Woodward gone back on his word to field an experimental side against the lowly Italians? Or does he feel Back, now helping with the coach at Leicester, has got too much on his plate?
England go in to the Italian game with eight of the 22 in the World Cup squad missing: Back, Johnson, Tindall, Catt, Moody, Bracken, Corry and, of course, match-winner Wilkinson.
Did Clive really need to create chaos when he has yet to name his new Wilko? Will it be Olly Barkley (22), so off target for Bath on Saturday or Alex King (29), who didn’t kick for Wasps during that win at The Rec? Or Paul Grayson (32), who wasn’t even picked for Northampton over the weekend?
I’m worried about this Six Nations anyway. Everyone will be out to stuff England, to knock them off their perch. As Dallaglio says: ‘I’d like to have a piece of the world champions if the positions were reversed.â€
I believe Woodward will regret dropping Back. Worsley won’t make it to the breakdown as fast or as often. He won’t work with the same uncanny understanding of the twilight zone in tandem with Hill.
But what do I know? Sir Clive has the Webb-Ellis trophy. He’s a genius.
Maybe Back will be back. But this is how I think England will start against Italy. Full back: Josh Lewsey; wings: Ben Cohen and Jason Robinson; centres: Will Greenwood and Henry Paul; flyhalf: Paul Grayson; scrumhalf: Andy Gomarsall; forwards: Trevor Woodman, Steve Thompson and Phil Vickery; locks: Simon Shaw and Ben Kay; loose trio: Hill, Dallaglio and Worsley.