Youth policy is paying dividends for England
STUART LANCASTER is backing his young tyros to rise to the challenge of halting Ireland’s Triple Crown ambitions.
England return to Twickenham on Saturday after starting their Six Nations campaign with a narrow loss in Paris and a comfortable 20-0 shutout of Scotland last weekend.
Now the competition steps up as they entertain the Irish, who’ve enjoyed strong home wins over the Scots and Wales.
Lancaster is building a squad towards the 2015World Cup on home soil, so this year’s Six Nations is an important stepping stone.
The coach is set to name an unchanged XV for the third game in a
We’re a tough team to play
row, which means a first appearance at HQ for backs Luther Burrell, Jonny May and Jack Nowell.
That contrasts starkly with the experience in Irish ranks. Brian O’Driscoll, in his final game against England, has 130 caps on his own.
However, that doesn’t faze Lancaster. Although he thinks it will be a stiffer test than 12 months ago, with Ireland much improved under new coach Joe Schmidt.
“This sort of challenge has never daunted us,” he says. “We’ve always filled the team with self-belief.
“When we went to Paris, of our supposedly ‘experienced’ pack, only three of them had played in there before. And very few of them had played at Murrayfield before either.
“So, that was a big step for guys like Billy Vunipola, Joe Launchbury, Joe Marler.
“We’re playing a very experienced Irish side, with an average age of 29. We’re at the opposite end of that scale.
“But on the flip side of that, they’ll have to make changes at some point, as someone like Brian O’Driscoll won’t be around for theWorld Cup.
“They’re a more complete side than a year ago though.
“Having fewer players to choose from benefits them because you have less chance to chop and change selection.
“But any side that comes up against us will think we’re a tough team to play against.
“We’re organised, committed and there’s a desire to work hard for each other.”
It’s England’s first game at Twickenham since the 30-22 defeat to New Zealand in November. The side earned plaudits that day for running the All Blacks close.
But don’t tell that to flanker Tom Wood. The Northampton player isn’t a fan of hard-luck stories.
“I came off the field very angry that day,” he admits. “It was a chance gone begging.
“To come off, having been in a winning position with 15 minutes to go and then coughed it up, was tough to take.
“It was annoying. We could have proved that beating New Zealand the year before wasn’t some sort of fluke.”