Tasty World Cup starter
> England open campaign against Fiji in at Twickenham as stronger opposition lay in wait
FACING THE sport’s ninth-best nation would normally be a pivotal Rugby World Cup fixture for a top seed but such is the depth of quality in Pool A that England’s tournament opener against Fiji on Friday is a relative hors d’oeuvre.
With matches against Australia and Wales to come in the toughest group ever assembled England must complete a straightforward victory at Twickenham if they are to have any pretensions of challenging for the trophy.
That does not mean the hosts will take the threat of the powerful islanders lightly, but they will want to put down a marker on the pitch and in the stands where coach Stuart Lancaster is hoping for a wave of noise to make home advantage really count.
After two scratchy warm-up performances against France, Stuart Lancaster’s side looked much more like the real deal in dispatching Ireland.
The performance finally settled the coach’s mind over a number of selection issues and he has named an unchanged side for today game.
The new centre partnership of defensive enforcer Brad Barritt and elusive runner Jonathan Joseph gets its second outing, with mighty rugby league convert Sam Burgess ready to come off the bench for some seismic midfield collisions.
Wingers Anthony Watson and Jonny May have given England an extra attacking edge and with flyhalf George Ford confidently pulling the strings, they are no longer a onedimensional side.
Of course, the pack remains the cornerstone of England’s game plan, although after set-piece wobbles in recent games Lancaster has turned again to lock Geoff Parling to ensure the lineout delivers.
England are likely to keep things relatively tight, certainly in the early stages as the last thing they want is an open game with Fiji running amok in broken field.
“One on one they can beat anyone,” England prop Dan Cole said yesterday. “We don’t want to be drawn into sevens. We need to control the territory and possession.”
Scrumhalf Ben Youngs, however, promised that England would look to go wide.
“We are not going to stick it up the jumper,” he said. “We are going to make sure we use the set piece. But we will pull the trigger when we can. We are confident we can play both ways.”
Fiji, who have lost all five previous games against England, are not short of confidence themselves, coming into the game fresh from winning the Pacific Nations Cup in August.
They also boast a Jonah Lomu-style wrecking ball in the shape of 198cm, 127kg winger Nemani Nadolo.
However, it would be a monumental shock if they were to end up as anything other than brave losers as England turn their attention to tougher tests ahead. – Reuters