ARGENTINA LEGEND IGNACIO Fernandez-Lobbe has said his country would prefer to see Toby Flood and not Jonny Wilkinson start for England when the two sides clash.

While Martin Johnson has yet to confirm which of the two players will start, there is no doubt as to who is more deserving of a place in Lobbe’s mind.

While Flood was predominantly given the nod during the Six Nations, Wilkinson is favourite to play in the World Cup, as he started his side’s final World Cup warm-up match against Ireland.

However, Lobbe described Wilkinson as “one of the top three fly-halves in the world” and said:

“Argentina would love to see Flood in the side, and not Wilkinson.”

He also claims Flood is more error-prone than Wilkinson, pointing to a stray pass the player made when the two sides met in 2006, which led to an Argentina try. He added:

“We’ll see how he copes, if he starts against Argentina. Wilkinson is a better player for England, he has the ability to win a game on his own.”

Wikinson was an integral part of England’s World Cup-winning side in 2003 (see video below), but a series of lingering injury problems have hampered his career since then.

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