England pulling out all the stops in must-win against Australia
LONDON— Clearly, it must be close to crisis time for the Rugby World Cup hosts. The national dailies are featuring England’s must-win Pool A match on the back pages and Clive Woodward has been trotted out to take pot shots at the Aussies.
After a torrent of criticism following England’s late loss to Wales last weekend, the domestic media swung behind Stuart Lancaster’s beleaguered team Friday on the eve of the match at Twickenham.
A loss to the Wallabies would put England out of quarter-final contention barely two weeks into a tournament which has set early benchmarks for attendance and support.
Predictably, 2003 World Cup-winning coach Woodward delivered some verbal barbs to ratchet up the banter that is common between the sporting rivals, questioning the intelligence of the Australian players.
In a Q-and-A forum in the Daily Mail about the merits or otherwise of trying a running game against the Wallabies, Woodward suggested England should do the opposite of what the Australians were expecting: “Contrary to popular belief, they are not the brightest team.
“It’s not a case of playing random running rugby against Australia. If you can run through the phases, always moving forward, Australia will disintegrate,” Woodward explained. “Do the opposite of what they expect, move the ball quickly from the scrum, take quick lineouts.”
England was famously lured into adopting Australia’s running style in the 1991 World Cup final, and lost. It was the first of Australia’s two World Cup titles, which have both been won in Britain.
Since that defeat, England has won three World Cup matches against Australia, including the extra-time win in the 2003 final in Sydney. Eng- land also has won the last two test encounters between the teams at Twickenham.
Austin Healey, who was renowned for getting under the skin of the Wal- labies during his playing career, used his newspaper column to appeal for unified support.
“After all, this is meant to be an English World Cup — what does home advantage count for if there is already so much negativity?”
The same newspaper on its front page highlighted Prince Harry’s visit to rally morale at an England training session — some old-school propaganda.
England captain Chris Robshaw, heavily criticized for opting against taking a penalty shot late in the 2825 loss to Wales, attempted to reassure the country’s rugby public that the World Cup campaign could get back on track.
“Last Saturday was heartbreaking,” he said, “but we can put it right.”
England forwards coach Graham Rowntree, a rugged former prop who is distinguishable by his cauliflower ears, said composure was the key.
“It was always going to be a big game, and (losing to Wales) has hardened us,” Rowntree told a news conference on Friday.
“There’s been a real focus about the week.”