Graphic: The final reckoning - where the game could be won

Mike Tindall, England’s outside centre for the 2003 rugby World Cup, missing this time because he could not recover quickly enough from a broken leg, says England must continue to broaden their game in the final. And that the outcome may all be decided by one secret word from our Jonny. . .

Matthew Pryor: First minute of the final, the first set-piece, a lineout on halfway with an England throw-in. What should they do?

Mike Tindall: Hopefully out to a backs move and into a phase game. They need to play. I don’t want to see a catch and drive off the first lineout.

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Jonny is the man who can maximise England's opportunities

Martin Johnson

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Multimedia

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MP: No huge up and under on Percy Montgomery then?

MT: There is a time to test Percy, but England have to set their stall out and they need to play some rugby if they are going to win. In the first two matches they played a tight game and it didn’t get them anywhere. In the last two they have played wider and were more successful. In the Australia game they moved the ball.

MP: Has Brian Ashton made the right selections this week?

MT: Yes. He’s tried not to change it as much as possible. He’s made a straight swap by bringing Cuets (Mark Cueto) in for Josh Lewsey. I spoke to Cuets and people have been saying that he hasn’t played for weeks and wasn’t playing well and he’s chomping at the bit to prove people wrong. He’s a big-game player.

MP: Do you think it was the case that Dan Hipkiss has been good off the bench, but the pressures are different starting a game?

MT: I’m a big fan of Dan Hipkiss, I think he was the best centre in the country last year. He was a bit unfortunate not to get more starts. But he’s a good impact player as well, depending on how the game is going.

MP: How do you think it will go?

MT: I think the forwards will set out their stall and Gomars (Andy Gomarsall, the England scrum half) who has been the best England player at the World Cup, will get the ball out and Jonny and Catty (Mike Catt) will pull the strings. I am not saying the up and under should be outlawed, but you have to get it right. If you give him time, Percy Montgomery will boom 60 to 70-metre kicks back at you and kick his goals. You also need to kick it behind Bryan Habana.

MP: So turn two of South Africa’s greatest strengths into weaknesses?

MT: They’ve been very good at putting pressure on other teams and Habana is one of the best in the world going forwards — we’ve seen how lethal he can be. But not many people have kicked it over him and made him turn and chase and I am not sure his kicking game is as good.

MP: If this game was played ten times how many times would England win?

MT: I don’t think it matters.

They’ve beaten us, what the last three times?

MP: Four. . .

MT: But we beat them six times in a row before that. It’s very even going into the game. Saturday is just a one-off game and it will come down to who wants it most.

MP: Has “that meeting” (between England players and coaches after South Africa’s 36-0 drubbing) — I think you called it “player power” — been given too much significance?

MT: I spoke to a couple of the boys and what happened was the players sat down with the coaches afterwards. I don’t think it was life or death. But the point was made that they were playing in a very conservative way and it wasn’t working. Now they were in a situation where they had nothing to lose so they had to give it a go. If they hadn’t been so beaten by South Africa would they have changed things?

MP: Good question. One of the players was quoted as saying England moved from playing the Leicester way — tight, pick and go — to a wider Wasps way, is that fair?

MT: Wasps are the biggest pick and go merchants playing, they’re definitely not playing the Wasps way.

MP: Seventy minutes gone, 12-10 to South Africa, where’s your money?

MT: Hmm. . . The good thing for England is that they’ve been in that situation before and you have Jonny to take all the kicks. If you look at what they did against France you’ve got to fancy them in that position.

MP: “Zigzag” (with a succession of runs and rucks left and right up the centre of the field) was the move that set up “that” dropped goal in the dying moments of the 2003 rugby World Cup final, will England use that again?

MT: Every team has a dropped-goal routine and I’m sure they will be well rehearsed on both teams. I’m sure England have been practising. I can’t repeat the word Jonny uses for the dropped goal, but when he calls it, the ball comes back.

MP: But that can create space for other runners around the fringes if there are defenders rushing up to block. Will players overrule him?

MT: You ask (Matt) Dawson about that. He and (Kyran) Bracken talked about it before the final. There is suddenly space and Daws actually did it and went through it and made life a lot easier because the kick was from 20 yards not 40. But it takes a brave No 9 to do it.

MP: Is Gomarsall that brave?

MT: Gomars has got it. But it’s a very big call. Hopefully we won’t be in that situation.

Mike Tindall supports the RFU’s Go Play Rugby campaign. For more information, visit www.goplayrugby.com