JOE LAUNCHBURY
Baa-baas game will have no impact on South Africa tour
JOE Launchbury has ordered England to “come out firing” in Johannesburg this Saturday as they launch their bid for a first away series win over South Africa.
Launchbury, one of four locks fighting for starting places alongside Maro Itoje, below, Nick Isiekwe and Jonny Hill, is aiming for his 53rd England cap as Eddie Jones’ chastened side look to banish memories of a poor Six Nations and defeat to the Barbarians.
“It’s a hugely exciting prospect,” he told The
Rugby Paper: “I love the summer tours and I think it’s a great dynamic going overseas with a group of guys who have only one goal: to win that series and put England rugby back on track after the Six Nations.
“We know how big a challenge this is but with the guys from Saracens and Exeter joining us, we’re going into these games with a really strong squad.”
Launchbury was a member of the England side humbled 63-45 by the Barbarians last week, but he added:
“It was two teams that came together at short notice and they adjusted a bit quicker, but this is a very different England squad we have now. “All of the England players stood up and performed well in last week’s Premiership
final and that’s a huge boost for us going into this demanding series.
“We’ve got a good preparation time to focus on South Africa and what we need to do is come out firing in the first Test.
“We understand the challenge but I believe we’ll be more than competitive and we’re aiming to play some good rugby as well.”
Meanwhile, Wasps skipper Launchbury has angrily denied ever having any intention of quitting the club amid reports of unrest among star players.
A national newspaper recently reported that marquee performers such as lock forward Launchbury, Elliot Daly and Christian Wade would leave when their contracts expire unless Wasps addressed grievances over training facilities and image-rights. However, responding for the first time on the matter, club talisman Launchbury told TRP: “Things can be written pretty easily but they didn’t represent my view and, hopefully, by the way I play for Wasps each week I’ve more than proved my loyalty.
“There was nothing in what was written at all. I’m definitely happy where I am and although I was bitterly disappointed with the result at Saracens at the end of the season, we’re in a good place and being a regular top-four team is where we want to be.”
While a summer of evolution will see Danny Cipriani, James Haskell and Kyle Eastmond leave, Launchbury believes the arrivals at Wasps of flyhalf Lima Sopoaga and new England back row Brad Shields, plus the return of Nizaam Carr, will compensate.
He said: “We’re bringing in some really experienced senior players next season which will help us as a group moving forward.
“We’ll still have a lot of talent in our squad and, hopefully, some of that senior leadership group will make a big impact.
“We thought we were ready to make that next step towards the Premiership title this year, but if we’re honest we probably weren’t as consistent in the domestic game as last year and we came up against a very good Saracens side on the day.
“The frustration of that is still pretty raw because we thought we had the attacking game to go all the way, but we saw the importance of finishing in the top two and getting a home semi-final last year and, ultimately, that’s probably cost us.”