AFTER being rightly berated for his impetuous handling of Mathew Tait last spring, it seems strange that England coach Andy Robinson is now being accused of undue conservatism ahead of this weekend's Six Nations opener against Wales.

Tait's rapid elevation to last season's squad, followed by his even rapider expulsion, smacked of desperation and severely hampered the rest of England's spring campaign.

Goodness knows what it did to Tait's mental development.

So, while Robinson's decision to stand by his centre pairing of Jamie Noon and Mike Tindall is hardly the most adventurous of plans, at least it is a plan of sorts. Twelve months ago, Robinson's strategy seemed to be little more than plucking names from a hat.

In many ways, the England coach cannot win. While the pack has tended to pick itself in recent years, the midfield has been the conundrum of choice for rugby's chattering classes.

Setting the tone for how the rest of the side will play, England's centres are expected to provide the best of both worlds - strong and robust enough to outmuscle the artisans of Australia and Wales, too fleet-footed and nimble for the powerhouses of Scotland and South Africa.

Noon and Tindall are seen to fulfil the first criteria, but question marks remain when it comes to the latter.

'Too similar' was the cry after the duo teamed up in the first two autumn internationals against Australia and New Zealand, when England's attacking play foundered amidst a welter of predictable angles and uninspired running.

There is little doubt that, in an ideal world, both would prefer to play at outside centre with a more agile runner inside them. This is not an ideal world though, as last season's defeats to Wales, France and Ireland proved, and, while the likes of Josh Lewsey, James Simpson-Daniel and the injured Olly Barkley all have reasonable claims to the number 12 shirt, for the moment it will be covering Tindall's back.

It might well not be by the time England kick off their defence of the World Cup next year but, as Robinson rightly points out, there is a Six Nations to be won first. After the intense soul-searching that accompanied last year's capitulation, this is no time for frivolous experiment.

The priority on Saturday has to be a win over last season's champions.

At this stage, the elusive expansive game so beloved of the Twickenham faithful can wait, although it would no doubt help Noon and Tindall's cause if fly-half Charlie Hodgson was able to supply rather better ball than he provided in the autumn. A misfiring midfield does not start and end with the centres.

Robinson's decision to leave a resurgent Lawrence Dallaglio on the bench has also been criticised this week but, again, it is a sound one.

Dallaglio can only play at blindside flanker or number eight and, given that Robinson was never going to drop his captain Martin Corry, the inform Joe Worsley would have been rightly aggrieved if he had been ousted for his Wasps colleague.

It might not be pretty and it might not even be particularly conclusive, but England's muscularity should nevertheless ensure a successful start to the Six Nations. As Wales proved last season, from the tiniest of acorns, the largest of oaks do grow.

It helps, of course, that Saturday's opponents are suffering from an injury crisis that threatens to undermine their entire championship.

Wales will field six players who did not start a single match in last season's Six Nations and, with Chris Horsman and Brent Cockbain taken out of the tight five, it is difficult to see how Mike Ruddock's side can hold their own up front.

That is likely to be the case all spring and, despite the continued strength of Ireland's club sides, it looks like England and France will battle it out for the honours. March's showdown in Paris should be decisive and, with the powerhouses of Stade Francais and Toulouse accounting for 12 members of the French starting XV, it would be a surprise if it did not go the hosts' way.

Ireland will no doubt impress and infuriate in equal measure - trips to both Twickenham and the Stade de France should scupper any hopes of the title - but Scotland look capable of finally kick-starting a recovery.

The autumn defeat to the All Blacks showed promise and Frank Hadden's men are more than capable of a surprise success in Cardiff.

Equally, though, they also remain capable of losing their final game in Italy, a match that is likely to be the hosts' only chance of avoiding a whitewash.

GRAEME SOUNESS has made much of his misfortune with injuries this season, adding further weight to former Newcastle boss Ruud Gullit's assertion that the club was cursed.

Well, if it is, the curse does not seem to extend to the environs of Soho Square. A protracted FA Cup run always looked like Souness' best chance of hanging on to his job, and the balls have duly dropped in his favour for the third time in a row.

While Southampton represent a stiffer test than either Mansfield or Cheltenham, bookmakers would have offered huge odds on the Magpies reaching the last eight of the competition without having crossed swords with Premiership opponents.

In Alan Shearer's final season, fate already seems to be playing a hand.

GOLFER Ian Poulter is likely to be fined for wearing an Arsenal shirt during the third round of a recent European Tour event. As Arsene Wenger is likely to find out to his cost next season, Arsenal shirts are no longer welcome in European competitions.

Published: 02/02/06