But I can’t look you in the eye and say there was no element of shock.”Nobody seriously doubts that Hodgson, born in Halifax and a deeply competitive soul in the best Yorkshire tradition, can trip the light fantastic as an attacking playmaker. His bravura performance for Sale at Wasps at the start of last season confirmed Woodward in his suspicion that he had a special talent at his disposal, and there were subsequent flashes of something approaching genius in an array of big matches, not least the Parker Pen Shield final against Pontypridd at Oxford in May.This season’s efforts have been interrupted by injury, but the Premiership statistics, which reveal Steve Hanley and Mark Cueto, the Sale wings, as the leading try scorers with 22 between them, tell a tale nonetheless Wings do not score in isolation. They score when their outside-half is pressing the right buttons.If Hodgson has a question to answer, it is in defence – and especially today, against a Tricolore back-line full of pace and imagination. “It’s the biggest challenge I face,” he agreed, all 12st 13lb of him.”Defence is such an important aspect of England’s game, and the moment I became involved in the squad, I knew I would have to shape up in that area if I wanted to stay involved. I’m not Jonny Wilkinson, and I may never reach his level in defensive terms. But I’ve worked hard on my tackling and my general awareness of things when my side is not in possession, and I see no reason why I shouldn’t be confident going into this match.”I’m fairly sure the French will identify me as the new boy and come looking for me, just as they went looking for Jonny last year, when Serge Betsen gave him a bit of a hammering. But if I can make them doubt themselves by turning them with my kicking game, I’ll have the last laugh, won’t I?”It’s such an exciting prospect, the whole thing.

I love the unpredictability of French rugby, that flow they have when they’re on their game. At least they would be getting their hands on the ball and making things happen We get too hung up on this position thing. When Mike Catt was playing centre for England, he was playing 10 for Bath. What’s the difference in Charlie’s case?”There is no difference, except for the wholly relevant fact that unlike Catt, Hodgson has nothing of the inside centre’s instinct Not a smidgen. Whether Woodward admits it or not, he has seated himself at the roulette wheel and risked his shirt on this latest selection.Traille and company may decree otherwise at Twickenham today, but at this premature stage in the Six Nations proceedings, it seems like a gamble worth taking.. For A place that churns out history quicker than Wales once turned out outside-halves, a second Six Nations victory for Italy today would not be one of this city’s most prized landmarks.

But, for the small-but-dedicated bunch of Azzurri oval-ball fanatics, such a triumph would be an even bigger watershed than the first. There have been brief moments since when another success seemed on the cards – in Ireland last year, for example, but having two men sent to the sin-bin saw them stumble to a 32-17 defeat – but these have been all too brief and all too far apart.Never will they have as good a chance as they do today of casting off that tag of one-win wonders. On the face of it, Wales present as demanding a challenge as they ever have in Italy’s short tenure in Europe’s ?te. The record books show that not only have Wales won all eight games against Italy, but have done so with some aplomb, the nearest Italy coming being the flattering 33-23 reverse here two years ago.

The form of the autumn internationals also points to Steve Hansen’s men. In November, Wales kept New Zealand to within five points in normal time before the floodgates collapsed to allow the All Blacks romp to a cruel 43-17 win. Italy, meanwhile, were being swept aside by Australia and, more depressingly, losing 36-6 at home to Argentina.So why should it be any different today? Because due to a long list of injuries to key personnel, allied to the fact that Wales have been up to their eyes in internal politics rather than competitive mud of late, they have a distinctly there-for-the-taking look about them.John Kirwan, the former All Black winger who took over from Brad Johnstone as Italy’s coach in March, is certainly aware of the opportunity that presents itself “This is the one for us,” he said “I want us to win one game Just one game. That will give the country a massive boost and kick-start people’s interest in the sport. It’s all a question of timing.”Indeed, the timing has never been better as Wales have not won their opening Six Nations match since 1997.