I CAN’T WAIT TO SINCK MY TEETH INTO JAPAN
After rattling All Black bones Kyle sets sights on Land of the Rising Sun
ENGLAND have been told they must put Japan to the sword if they are serious about going to the World Cup as contenders.
The warning came from inside their own camp as Eddie Jones prepares to start a number of his ‘finishers’ on Saturday.
Prop Kyle Sinckler said that if the All Blacks were playing Japan this week they would stuff them – and challenged England to show a “ruthless” streak.
Sinckler reasoned: “It’s easy to get up for a game like New Zealand at Twickenham.
“It was a massive day for the country, there was the haka and the atmosphere was electric.
“But if you’re a good squad, one that says they want to be the best in the world, you have to be ruthless when you play Japan.”
Jones has again ruled out Manu Tuilagi and he is also considering resting Dylan Hartley to give Jamie George a rare start, and perhaps allow Owen Farrell a first shot at captaining the side alone on home turf.
Sinckler is another set to start on the bench, but he will help set the emotional tone by demanding his teammates follow Jones’ order to “physically smash” the Brave Blossoms. “That’s music to my ears,” said the Harlequins star, who got stuck in against the All Blacks (below).
“Jack Goodhue felt that from me at the weekend. I heard his ribs crack a little bit! One of the things I love about rugby is you can always let some frustration out in the tackle.”
England are using this week to replicate the fourday turnaround they will have between their first and second pool games at the World Cup in Japan.
They have adjusted their training schedule accordingly, and even spent Tuesday night eating plates of sushi with chopsticks.
The more immediate challenge has been to get over the disappointment of having victory over the world champions ripped away from them by a TV ref breaching protocol to chalk off Sam Underhill’s late score.
“I’m still trying to get over it,” Sinckler admitted. “It was such a big game and you put so much emotional energy in. To come that close and lose is a tough pill to swallow.
“When you realise what it means to all of us as Englishmen and women, it does take an extra day or two. We should definitely have won.”