REASONS TO BE FEARFUL
Hartley: Hype has made us a target for everyone
IT’S still two years away but the World Cup in Japan already looms large over everything England do. Whether they can withstand the weight of expectation over that period and beyond remains to be seen.
And, make no mistake, the expectation is great.
In this autumn Test series, Eddie Jones’ side face Argentina today, then a resurgent Australia and finally Scotland’s opening opponents Samoa. A clean sweep is demanded — not just by their fans and media, but the players themselves.
However, as England have climbed the rankings — they now sit as second only to the All Blacks — so has their scalp become all the more prized, the desire to knock them down a peg or two that little bit greater.
And skipper Dylan Hartley insists they must now learn to live with a target on their backs as they strive to meet their own expectations.
‘We’ve had two great years evolving as a bit of an unknown team,’ said the combative hooker. ‘People are aware now and we need to kick on. We’re not the surprise any more. Maybe we have a target.
‘We want to win everything. In the past, we were too polite. We want to win every game. The belief’s 100 per cent there now that we can get to No 1 and that we can win a World Cup.
‘If you don’t have these goals, these dreams, I don’t think you’ve got any chance of achieving them.’
England also demanded much of themselves in this year’s Six Nations. They had dreams of a second, successive Grand Slam. However, in Dublin, Ireland unceremoniously ripped apart those hopes and ended Jones’ 100-per-cent record.
It would perhaps be too much to call it a humbling experience but it seems that, at least, the England players are keen to learn from it.
That loss back in March was the last time many of Jones’ firstchoice squad played together due to the summer tour of Argentina clashing with the British and Irish Lions’ trip to New Zealand.
And England scrum-half Ben Youngs insists they now have an opportunity to rediscover the form which saw them win 18 consecutive Tests, prior to the loss to the Irish.
‘We’re massively excited as a group,’ he said. ‘It’s the first time many of us have been together again since the Ireland game, which was a defeat, so we’re very keen to come together and show that we have learnt our lessons from that game particularly.
‘I think it’s really important that we get momentum building again nicely. We feel that we’ve still got a lot to go in certain areas and a great period for us to try and develop those areas is certainly the next three weeks.
‘I think the next two years is hugely exciting to be a part of this team and the main thing for us is we’ve got to keep developing our team, our squad and the way that we play.’
The targets they are setting to that end, then, are high. ‘I want the best defence in the world and I’ve told that to Eddie and told that to the team,’ insisted Jones’ assistant coach Paul Gustard, picking up on the theme.
‘We want to have the best defence, whatever percentage increase that equates to I don’t care. Eddie wants me to deliver the best defensive team in the world.
‘Any team that wins the World Cup, apart from the last one when the best attack also won, has the best defence.
‘Going into the World Cup we need to trust each other, have confidence in each other, be adaptable, confrontational and absorb pressure when our attack isn’t firing.’
Argentina’s players, meanwhile, aren’t currently blessed with the same confidence as their opponents today, having chosen to consult psychologists to improve their mental toughness ahead of their Twickenham encounter.
In fairness, the Pumas have endured a wretched 2017, winning just one match — at home to Georgia — and losing all six games in the recent Rugby Championship against New Zealand, Australia and South Africa.
They were also beaten twice by an understrength England team on home soil in June.
Yet Argentina have led in several of those matches, including at half-time in New Zealand and in the first Test against England.
And head coach Daniel Hourcade admitted: ‘We lost the opportunity to win against England because we dominated the first game. The second game was more equal, but we had an opportunity to win, but we were unable to take the opportunity.
‘It’s probably mental and that’s what we have to work on, so we don’t have those ups and downs during the games.
‘Some of the players have consulted (people) in terms of mentality, some individually with psychologists and some as a group with coaches.’
Argentina’s habit of fading badly in the last 20 minutes raises questions about their fitness. But assistant coach Pablo Bouza also believes the problems lie between the ears, rather than in the legs.
‘Where we have to improve is to play 80 minutes at the same level,’ he said. ‘In the Championship we played six matches and in three we won the first half against very good teams.
‘It’s not about fitness, it’s about making errors so many times in areas we should not make them.
‘That’s what we are talking about, the mental toughness to do it for 80 minutes.
‘It’s decision making. Sometimes the mistake is because of a person on the other team, but sometimes, no, it’s our mistake.
‘Since the Championship we have been working to improve this. We know what to do, it’s about what we do under pressure.
‘Every time you play at Twickenham it’s a big occasion for the players, but we are thinking about how we play, the decision making, the unforced errors and what it will take to win.’