England drop Cueto for Scotland decider

England manager Martin Johnson has dropped wing Mark Cueto in favour of Delon Armitage for the crucial Pool B clash against Scotland at Eden Park on Saturday.

"I just feel that Mark is probably a game off being absolutely as good as he can be," said Johnson. "Delon's in very good form and deserves a shot."

Cueto scored a hat-trick of tries in England's 67-3 defeat of Romania last weekend, but is still feeling the effects of a back injury.

The 31-year-old is one of three changes to England's starting XV. Matt Stevens and Courtney Lawes come in for Alex Corbisiero and Tom Palmer, who are on the bench.

Stevens returns from a knee injury, while Lawes is back after a two-match suspension for kneeing Mario Ledesma in the closely-fought victory over Argentina.

Although Nick Easter has recovered sufficiently from a back injury to be picked on the bench, James Haskell retains his place at number 8.

England are looking for a fourth straight win to ensure a likely quarter-final berth against France. Scotland must win by more than seven points to keep their finals dreams alive.

Walk the walk

"It's knockout rugby, let's not worry about points differences and things like that. We've got to win, they've got to win, it's what World Cups are about," said Johnson.

He has selected fellow 2003 World Cup-winner Jonny Wilkinson over Toby Flood at fly half. Wilkinson will play his 18th Rugby World Cup match, more than any other player at RWC 2011 and equal to Johnson's total as player and manager.

"It's now time to try and walk the walk as opposed to talk about it," said Wilkinson.

Johnson is taking the threat from England's arch-rival seriously. A loss without any bonus point could bring their RWC 2011 campaign to a swift end.

"No one is under any illusion as to what it's about," he said. "It's a huge game. If we get it wrong it could be a boarding pass on Sunday night.

"If we get it wrong there's a chance we could be sitting at home on Tuesday."