Launchbury: It’s not been easy to get in this squad
JOE Launchbury believes fierce competition within England’s vastly experienced, power-packed second row unit is boosting their World Cup chances.
Having seen off the challenge from Bath’s Charlie Ewels, Wasps man Launchbury heads into his second global gathering determined to exorcise the ghosts of 2015, when he was part of a Red Rose side which imploded on home soil and failed to make the knock-outs.
With 60 caps and after being selected alongside Courtney Lawes (74 caps), George Kruis (35) and Maro Itoje (29), Launchbury believes there is so much more to come from England as they aim to build on encouraging warm-up wins over Wales and Ireland.
He told The Rugby Paper: “There’s always a certain amount of nerves heading into any tournament but we’ve got the first part of our preparation off to a good start and, when we get to Japan, we aim to be in the best place we can be, physically and mentally.
“To have the opportunity to be in this squad is something I and my family are very proud of, but this is just the start and there’s a lot of really hard work ahead.
“One thing for sure about this squad is there’s a lot of competition among the second rows and the fact that there are so many good players in England right now means nobody has had it easy to get here – and I can guarantee you that I was in that category.”
Launchbury, 28, added: “I’ve worked extremely hard over the last ten weeks but, having got into this squad, there’s so much more to do.
“The competition between myself, Maro, George and Courtney is massively fierce but that’s only going to be good for us all.
“I’m always looking to improve and I feel like I’m at an age and a level of experience now where I’ve played in a lot of big games and understand what it’s all about. I’m excited about where I am, where I can get to and excited about this World Cup.”
England are among the favourites to triumph in Japan and Launchbury believes their preparation under Eddie Jones ensures they are ready for that challenge.
He said: “I’ve enjoyed every single chance I’ve had with England over the last seven years, but I’ve enjoyed the last four years and the build-up to this World Cup the most.
“It’s something we’ve talked about for a very long time after the disappointment of 2015, so everything’s been geared towards it and I would have been gutted to have missed out on this squad.”