We’re all out to win a medal for Jack says Robson
ENGLAND’S rugby stars have found extra motivation to beat Wales by pledging to ‘Do it for Jack’.
Eddie Jones’ side head to Cardiff a week today needing victory to stay alive in the Six Nations title race.
Scrum-half Dan Robson says seeing Jack Willis’ season ended so cruelly by injury against Italy has fired up the team.
“It was pretty horrifying,” said Robson, recalling how hisWasps pal cried out in pain as he was rolled out of a ruck, wrecking ligaments in his left knee.
“That moment Jack screamed out was probably the worst I have had in a long time on a rugby field,” Robson, above, said.
“It was pretty devastating for him and tough for me, being a team-mate who had seen him go through that process before [of returning from long-term injury].
“As a team we said straight away, ‘Let’s go out and finish it for him’ and wanting to go on and get Jack a medal is definitely something we’ve talked about.”
Wales-England is not a fixture either nation traditionally struggles to get up for and you would not expect this to be any different. Not with Wayne Pivac’s unbeaten side 80 minutes away from a
Triple Crown. But Jones admits England are suffering from the drop in aggression that is evident across rugby and football due to the absence of spectators.
“If you look at our first performance against Scotland, we lacked our normal aggression, our normal go-at-them type of game,” he said.
“We were a little bit better against Italy, but still not where we need to be.”
Robson concedes there is “no easy solution” and that each player has to find a way to get themselves right for kick-off.
He said: “With there being no crowds and standing two metres apart for the anthem, it’s all a bit different.”
Wales have called WillGriff John into their squad – almost a year since a dream first cap was KO’d by the pandemic.
John was selected to start against Scotland in Cardiff in March 2020 but the match was postponed.
A neck injury to Dillon Lewis has presented him with another chance, and the front-rower said: “Although it was very tough to go through, it’s helped me to be more ready for the next chance, physically and mentally.”