Let’s just go for it, Owen tells England
CAPTAIN Owen Farrell expects his England team-mates to seize the opportunity to realise their boyhood dreams by emptying the tanks in today’s World Cup final.
South Africa stand between Eddie Jones’ side and the Webb Ellis Trophy as the sport’s top two teams face off at International Stadium Yokohama in a repeat of the 2007 showpiece.
England are favourites but the Springboks have the firepower to cause mayhem up front and in midfield.
Farrell, who is the son of Wigan Warriors legend Andy, spent yesterday practising drop goals under the guidance of Jonny Wilkinson.
As the extra-time architect of Australia’s downfall in the 2003 final, Wilkinson’s counsel has been sought on the eve of a seismic clash between rivals who are tied at 2-2 in meetings over the last 18 months.
And Farrell has echoed Jones’ mantra of approaching the match with ‘no fear’ by offering all-out commitment in the climax to the first Asian World Cup.
“Everybody wants to be involved in this game and there are probably a lot of people who grew up wanting to be involved in this,” Farrell said.
“Now this opportunity has come around, you want to enjoy it, you want to go for it.
“You don’t want to dip your toe in and see what happens, you want to throw all of yourself into it and that’s the way that we’ll look to go about it.
“There are a lot of lads who have a good feel for where the group is and we’ll be open enough to feel what’s needed before the game.
“We’ll let that happen and hopefully prepare in a way that allows us to throw ourselves into it and be free.”
England enter the repeat of the 2007 final with a good luck message from
Prince Harry that included a photo of his son Archie in a Red Rose jersey and a warning from Jones to be ready for anything.
South Africa’s Rassie Erasmus steps down after the World Cup and Jones is an admirer of a coach he describes as ‘cunning’.
“Rassie’s a very good coach, he’s an outstanding coach. He’s inventive, so they’ll have a few tricks up their sleeve,” Jones said. “They’ve got great players: Faf De Klerk has probably been the half-back of the tournament so far and Willie Le Roux is a fantastic player at full-back.
“And they’ve got talent like Cheslin Kolbe on the wing, so we’re expecting the unexpected.
“We’ve just got to focus on each moment and play with no fear.”
“They know South Africa aren’t going to give us the game. They also know we’ve got to go out there and win the game.”