Fears over Mark Cueto put Chris Ashton on alert for England debut

Mark Cueto is a doubt for England's clash against Ireland with the uncapped Chris Ashton on stand-by to play at Twickenham this Saturday.

The Sale wing has been struck down by a stomach bug but it is not the same illness that affected the squad in the build-up to the win over Italy.

If Cueto is not passed fit tomorrow then his place will go to Ashton, who has made such an impact for Northampton this season that he has edged ahead of Harlequins wing Dave Strettle in the England pecking order.

The 22-year-old is the top try scorer in the Guinness Premiership this term despite this being only his second campaign in rugby's top flight.

The loss of Cueto would still be a severe blow as the wing is an accomplished member of the back three and is seen as a safe pair of hands under the high ball and a good kick chaser — something England lacked in their 17-12 win over Italy in Rome.

With the tactical kicking against Italy attracting plenty of flak, captain Steve Borthwick is backing Jonny Wilkinson to prove his critics wrong against the Grand Slam champions.

Having come through personal attacks on his own captaincy credentials Borthwick is in a good position to address the barbs aimed at the No10.

"Jonny is very self-analytical and works extremely hard on his game and despite criticism from outside, he knows what he is about," said Borthwick. "Jonny knows what he wants to achieve and I know how fantastically significant his contribution to this team is.

"He is a key leader in the ground and has been crucial in the preparation for this game as he has been for every game. I cannot praise him enough and I am proud of every player and the way they handle criticism."

Borthwick has enormous respect for Ireland and does not believe their 33-10 loss to France indicates the reigning champions are vulnerable.

He said: "Ireland have been together for a long time, won the Grand Slam and know each other's play so well. They are coming off a defeat but will still have a lot of cohesion because of the time they have spent together in past seasons.

"The longer we spend together as a team, the better we are becoming and there has been stability in the coaching set up and the squad which is vital. Our job is to go out there and win matches and that's the aim on Saturday.

"We have to make good decisions against Ireland and hopefully the fantastic Twickenham crowd will be a major factor in our favour."

Although England have beaten Wales and Italy in this Six Nations, they have yet to put in an inspiring performance. However, Ireland coach Declan Kidney is telling his players to ignore criticism of Johnson's team.

"Last year there was some negative press over England but they still finished second in the Championship," he said.

"We only just got the better of them last season — and that was at home. Now we're going to Twickenham and they're coming off the back of two wins."