All roads lead to World Cup for Woodward

Welcome to Boomtown, where everybody gets a larger slice of an ever-expanding pie. England play all three southern hemisphere superpowers – Australia, New Zealand and South Africa – in the space of as many weeks in November; the Heineken Cup, more competitive in more areas than ever before, looks every inch the best rugby tournament around; and the Zurich Premiership, which begins on Friday night, has a fresh influx of very superior talent to lay before the record crowds anticipated virtually across the board. Delport, Rossouw, Bond, Satala, Reihana? That is some back divison, some recruitment drive.

So why the rampant insecurity, sufficient to keep Woody Allen in film scripts for the rest of the decade? Simple. This is the year – or in international terms, the 14 months – where boom may turn to bust. For Clive Woodward's England, the build-up to the 2003 World Cup begins here, and the coach has some mighty awkward selection issues to address before he goes much further down the road to Perth and the sink-or-swim meeting with the Springboks that will expose the true nature of his red rose vintage, for good or ill.

Does Woodward gamble on Neil Back's 33-year-old legs lasting another season? Or does he say to the brilliant Lewis Moody: "You're the main man now, prove me right." How much time does he allow Lawrence Dallaglio to rediscover the authority, not to mention the freakish lung-power, that put him in the front rank of the world's loose forwards before injury cut him dead in the spring of last year? What happens to Martin Johnson if Ben Kay and Danny Grewcock, younger and quicker and more vital, begin the campaign with a hiss and a roar and leave the great tyrant of the second row fraternity looking more like a tyrannosaurus awaiting extinction?

Over and above these difficult exercises in selectorial judgement, the national coach, not exactly renowned for his diplomacy, must sweet-talk the Premiership clubs into toeing the red rose line. Training release dates remain a sore point: Woodward wants far greater access to the players than hitherto, but the clubs, distinctly underwhelmed by Twickenham criticism of their own coaching methods, are in no great hurry to grant it.

"Clive says we are off the pace when it comes to skills work," said one director of rugby last week, "yet he allows Phil Larder [the influential England defence specialist] to spend all his time with one team, Leicester. If he is that worried, why doesn't he get Larder to visit the rest of us, rather than have 40-odd players driving all over the country to visit him every second Monday?"

Woodward also wants Phil Vickery, the Lions tight-head prop who captained England in Argentina during the summer, to experiment with the loose-head role, and would love to see James Simpson-Daniel, perhaps the most electrifying young back to emerge on the British mainland since Jeremy Guscott, settled comfortably in Guscott's old position of outside centre. The problem is that it suits Gloucester, who pay the wages of both men, to do something different – and they call the shots. Somewhere along the line, a mutually beneficial agreement will have to reached. As things stand, there is more chance of Roy Keane winning the Booker Prize.

In England, the clubs are the ones driving the bus – not unreasonable, given that they provide 95 per cent of the entertainment and develop 99.9 per cent of the players. But they too are edgy and fretful as they fine-tune themselves in preparation for nine months of bish-bash-bosh. This being the final year of automatic relegation from the Premiership – from next season, the deadbeats of the top flight will take on the National League One champions in a play-off, which will load the dice in favour of the status quo – the scramble to avoid finishing 12th of 12 will make last season's relegation scrap seem like a church barbecue.

Of course, that particular scrap turned out to be a red herring of Moby Dick proportions, thanks to Rotherham's laughable failure to meet the promotion credentials hammered out and ratified 12 months previously. But the Premiership grandees will have to be seriously quick with their goalpost-shifting if they are to survive en bloc this time, for a number of National League One sides, most notably Orrell and Worcester, have more credentials than they know what do with. If ever there was a season not to finish bottom of the heap, this is it.

So who will it be? Once again, Leeds are the popular candidates: short of star quality up front and a little elderly in midfield, they barely know what it is to win a Premiership match away from Headingley. But élite club rugby will hold fewer mysteries for them this time round, and they have traded intelligently at the summer market stalls, shedding some flotsam and jetsam while picking up a decent player or three. Phil Davies, for whom faith springs eternal, is convinced his side will steer clear of trouble, and while the engaging Welshman took a similar view last season only to be proved wrong, he has more cause for optimism now.

Bath, so obsessed with all things Australian that they would not currently employ a pasty salesman unless he was reared in Brisbane, look as fragile as anyone, and with away games at London Irish, Saracens and Northampton in the first four weeks of the campaign, they could easily find themselves screwed to the wall by mid-September. Newcastle are short of know-how, having waved goodbye to five experienced internationals and replaced them with thin air, while Harlequins, far more active on the transfer front, will probably turn out to be as insufferably inconsistent as ever. The Premiership has no wish to lose any of these clubs, but may have no choice in the matter.

Leicester, Gloucester and Northampton should dispute the title – they have the best packs, the bolshiest audiences and the most forbidding fortress mentalities – and the games between the three should have "be there or be square" stamped all over them. Unforgivably, the Northampton-Leicester and Leicester-Gloucester fixtures will be diluted by international calls, having been scheduled for Test weekends. Would the football programmers reduce the appeal of an Arsenal-Manchester United game in so cavalier a fashion? Not in a month of Sundays.

Come next June, when the Premiership is decided and the Powergen Cup has been won and possession of the European trophies has been claimed and eight full internationals have been played, the brightest sparks will join Woodward and his coaching team for summer Tests in New Zealand and Australia, followed by World Cup warm-ups against the French (home and away) and the Welsh. Then, if they are still in command of their bodily functions, they will return to Wallaby country to take on the rest of the oval-ball planet.

The very best of British to them. If a knackered England, or any other home nation for that matter, go remotely close to laying a paw on the Webb Ellis Trophy, the new age of miracles will truly be with us.

ZURICH PREMIERSHIP LINE-UP CHRIS HEWETT'S GUIDE TO ENGLAND'S ELITE CLUBS

BATH

For the first time since the Romans left town, Bath are expected to struggle. (Last season's pratfall was not predicted by anyone). Matt Perry's career is threatened by injury, Iain Balshaw's by an inflated belief in his own publicity. Unless the big summer signing, Alessio Galasso, shores up a creaking scrum, the erstwhile heroes of the wild west will find themselves three wheels short of a wagon.

Entrances: Alessio Galasso (Montferrand), Jon Humphreys (Cardiff), Adam Vander (Bristol), Ross Blake (Bristol). Exits: Sam Cox (Caerphilly), Mark Gabey (Worcester), Mark Regan (Leeds)

Prospects: Not many.

BRISTOL

Three of last season's four-man hierarchy – Messrs Rowell, Ryan and Little – disappeared through the out-door in June, but Peter Thorburn is still in situ. And Thorburn knows his onions. Expect Bristol to dominate up front – Alex Brown and Michael Lipman are the men to watch – while playing direct, confrontational rugby out wide, where Phil Christophers and Lee Best should blossom. Bags of nuisance value.

Entrances: Scott Morgan (Llanelli), Peter Richards (Treviso), Martin Shaw (Sale). Exits: Ross Blake (Bath), Jim Brownrigg (Cardiff), Jason Little (retired), Adam Vander (Bath).

Prospects: Solid mid-table.

GLOUCESTER

The house that Philippe Saint-André built now has a state-of-the-art extension, designed by Nigel Melville. The new bits include a dash of wit, a splash of colour and a clearer understanding of how a back division might occasionally contribute to the winning of a game. Mighty strength in depth – what will Melville do with all those forwards? – and a deep yearning for success. Potent.

Entrances: Simon Amor (Cambridge Univ), Peter Buxton (Newport), Thinus Delport (Natal). Exits: Joe Ewens (Rotherham), Federico Pucciarello (Bourgoin), Dimitri Yachvili (Biarritz).

Prospects: Obvious contenders.

HARLEQUINS

The Londoners have signed bigger and better than most over the summer: Andre Vos, Viliame Satala, Laurent Gomez. There again, they have never been short of big names. Harlequins' shortages tend to be found among the indefinables – pride, spirit, sheer bloody-mindedness – and these qualities were in scant supply last term. They need more out of Keith Wood and Will Greenwood.

Entrances: Laurent Gomez (Montferrand), Villiame Satala (Mont-de-Marsan), Andre Vos (Cats). Exits: Garrick Morgan (Pau), Steve White-Cooper (ret), David Wilson (ret), Nick Burrows (London Irish), Jonny Roddam (Sale).

Prospects: Bottom four, but safe.

LEEDS

Everybody's dead ducks, which is how they like it up Headingley way. The new Phil Davies-Jon Callard coaching partnership will be among the most vibrant and enthusiastic in the Premiership, and it is just possible that Diego Albanese and George Harder will provide the Tykes with the wide cutting edge they failed to offer last time out. A Heineken Cup place is well out of range, but bottom? Maybe not.

Entrances: Diego Albanese (Gloucester), George Harder (Auckland), Gordon Ross (Edinburgh). Exits: Steve Bachop (ret), Kris Fullman (Orrell), Shaun Woof (Birmingham/Solihull).

Prospects: Another year behind the eight-ball.

LEICESTER

How much longer will it it last? Four successive titles is at least two too many for the good of the competition, and English club rugby needs the Tigers to fall flat on their posteriors this time. The signs are faintly encouraging: the Leicester pack has begun to look long in the tooth, and the demands of fighting on domestic and European fronts may take their toll. Still hot, though.

Entrances: Gareth Raynor (Hull RL), Tom Tierney (Munster), Franck Tournaire (Toulouse). Exits: Richard Cockerill (Montferrand), Andy Goode (Saracens), Guy Manson-Bishop (Birmingham/Solihull), James Grindal (Newcastle).

Prospects: Title favourites, just.

LONDON IRISH

If few saw them coming last season, even fewer will be taken for suckers a second time. But Brendan Venter knows that, and will have spent the summer refining the Exiles' unique brand of ultra-disciplined keep-ball. Irish will find it difficult to sustain a Premiership challenge while negotiating a first Heineken Cup campaign, but their home form alone should ensure a another rewarding nine months.

Entrances: Nick Burrows (Harlequins), Bob Casey (Leinster), Pieter Rossouw (Western Province). Exits: Nnamdi Ezulike (Worcester), Eddie Halvey (Munster), Steve Williams (Northampton).

Prospects: Top half of the pile.

NEWCASTLE

It is a brave shout to pension off assorted Armstrongs, Weirs and Tuigamalas, even when you have succeeded in nailing Jonny Wilkinson to the team roster. Rob Andrew can spot a talented youngster with one eye shut and there are some exciting rookies kicking down the doors at Kingston Park, but the Premiership is very much a man's world. This pubescent team cannot be expected to sprout moustaches overnight.

Entrances: James Grindal (Leicester), Soa Otuvaka (Manchester), Joe Shaw (Northampton). Exits: Gary Armstrong (Scottish Borders), Va'aiga Tuigamala (ret), Doddie Weir (Scottish Borders).

Prospects: Smelly end of the stick.

NORTHAMPTON

They should challenge, and challenge hard, especially with Bruce Reihana, an All Black three-quarter of serious quality, around to boost the back division. The Midlanders will be among the best-coached teams in the competition – Wayne Smith, another New Zealander, is an absolute diamond – and if their physical pack whip up a decent storm, they will take some stopping.

Entrances: Mark Connors (Queensland), Bruce Reihana (Waikato), Oriol Ripol (Rotherham), Steve Williams (London Irish), Joe Shaw (Northampton). Exits: Olivier Brouzet (Montferrand), Dom Malone (Munster), Craig Moir (Scottish Borders).

Prospects: Definitely in the hunt.

SALE

Even if the tight forwards fail to stack up – and the exceptional Chris Jones may ensure that they do – Sale will trip the light fantastic. Their back division, pretty damned good last season, now incorporates Graeme Bond, who gave the Lions all the trouble they could handle in Australia 14 months ago. They do not possess the all-round game to land the silverware, but they will enjoy the ride.

Entrances: Graeme Bond (ACT Brumbies), Jonny Roddam (Harlequins), Nick Walshe (Saracens). Exits: Adam Black (Ebbw Vale), Steve Davidson (Manchester), Mark Giacheri (Connacht).

Prospects: A thrilling fourth.

SARACENS

Buck Shelford is the new head honcho at Vicarage Road, and basically, you don't argue with Buck. When he says "win", you are well advised to do so. A better Premiership on the cards, then? Certainly. Saracens still look bottom-half material, but their brightest youngsters – Adryan Winnan and Ben Russell – should develop sufficiently to spare them the worst of the trauma. A good cup bet.

Entrances: Christian Califano (Toulouse), Craig Quinnell (Cardiff), Morgan Williams (Stade Français). Exits: Jannie de Beer (retired), Scott Murray (Edinburgh), Luke Smith (Birmingham/Solihull), Nick Walshe (Sale)

Prospects: Eighth sounds right.

WASPS

They have been crying out for a high-class scrum-half for longer than they care to remember, and now they have one in Rob Howley. Quite a catch is Rob, not least because he has retired from international rugby and can devote himself to club affairs. Assuming they also get a full season from a fit and in-form Lawrence Dallaglio, Wasps should prosper nicely in their new home at High Wycombe. Not to be taken lightly.

Entrances: Rob Howley (Cardiff). Exits: Mike Friday (unattached), Ian Jones (retired), Laurence Scrase (unattached).

Prospects: A European place looks attainable.